SteelSeries - Arctis 3 (2019 Edition)

I loved the arctis 3!

In short, I am looking for a great allrounder with which I should be able to hear myself and ideally, precise audio. I am not an audiophile, but I want a huge improvement to my current headphones. I am open to suggestions. A list of my findings is down below. Thanks for your help in advance :) **Budget and location**  Around 100€, so likely up to 200€ new, in Germany. I do not mind buying used on kleinanzeigen or refurbished shops like rebuy and backmarket. **Source/Amp**  Likely AUX or USB of my PC. But I do not mind buying an amplifier if necessary. I will go for an mITX-PC soon, so a soundcard is not an option. 32 or 80Ohms (?) is likely preferable since it might be used on a laptop. **How the gear will be used** I would mostly use it for YouTube, calls, listening to music and gaming, both competitive FPS and single player. Regarding isolation, I need either open-back ones or some with a well implemented feature like Sidetone (so integrated mic) because I have to be able to hear myself when talking with people online. I am talking quite loudly anyway and I do not want to make it worse. Being able to talk to a person next to me without removing the headphones would also be quite nice, aswell as my tactile keyboard or else I might press thourgh it xD But this is just a nice to have. **Preferred tonal balance** What I despise of mostly older gaming headphones, their bass is overloaded and the rest is subpar at best. I do not need super strong bass, I like precision and I do not mind spending some time with an equaliser. **Past/current gear experience** Currently I am using an Steelseries Arctis 3 2019 Edition. What I like about them: The bass is not overloaded, they are light and despite being closed I can hear the room around me and myself sufficiently. Also they do not get that loud which prevents me from destroying my ears, but this is not important for the new ones. What I dont like about them: I had to use an equaliser to make hearing music any enjoyable. Before, I think, I had a Logitech G430. My issues with this one are described at the "Preferred tonal balance". The G733 of my gf is okayish, but also base overloaded with weaker mids and lows. For mobile use I have the Sony Linkbuds S are amazing in comparison to the Arctic regarding sound quality. **My thoughts** * Wireless would be nice, but not a requirement. * I do not like the overly eccentric elliptic shape of most Sennheisers (I know they are recommended a lot) * I need to be able to hear myself and, as a nice to have, my keyboard and a person next to me. * Likely my gf will have hear setup right next to me. * I prefere velour or foam cushions I think. **Headsets/Heatphones I found in my research** * Logitech A50: a little too expensive, but it seems to be a great allrounder * has Sidetone * Logitech G Pro X 1st vs 2nd Gen.: I do not like the ear cusions surface, but I could live with that. * Beyer Dynamic DT 880 Edition / DT 990 Pro / Tygr 300 r: all have comfy cushions * 880: half open, so maybe nice for my case? But they are quite hard to get used with 32Ohm. I would likely have to buy new (150€) or get an amplifier for 250Ohm. * 990: I have mostly heard great things in this forum. * 300: Isn't it nearly the same as the 990 "tweaked" for gaming? I do prefere the looks of the 990 and 880 though. * Steel Series Arctis Nova Pro

I've only used SteelSeries my whole life. Have the expensive one now nova 7 wireless. But the cheaper ones are also great arctis 3

If you don't mind me asking - I've had the Arctis 1 and Arctis 3 before and both have really thin ear cushions to the point where they touch my ears and make them hurt after an hour or two because of the friction. Did the Novas do the same to your ears?

I use a cheap cabled Steelseries 3(?) cabled one. Good enough for me, but just like my old bose headset I had the glue in the earpads give up the same week and the headset becomes more or less junk. The fit and smart headstrap design is very comfortable.

My Steel Series Arctis has done great for 5 years. I've had to replace a the receiver dongle (cat bit it) and the removable ear cushions (also cat related).

I have a second hand pair of SteelSeries Arctics that work well. I just had to replace the batteries, which is to be expected. I am in agreement with many who recommend mic and head set separately, though. I’m finding more and more that I’ll grab light on-ear or ear buds over the heavier over-ears. I use my Jabra speaker phone mic (for work) more often for online communication now.

Don't get studio headphones. They are for listening to and producing music, but they don't sound "good" they sound "accurate". What's the difference? Mostly how much your ears can take before they fatigue. Modern causal headphones have comfort and "listenable" as a key tuning concept. They are designed to be worn for hours and hours on end enjoyably. Onto recommendations, for music and gaming with a great microphone too? There's one simple suggestion; The Steelseries Arctic range. They are incredibly comfortable, sound great, have an excellent mic and come in a range of price points and features. Plus on many of them the mic slides away so they don't look so goodfy. Personal recommendation.

Steelseries arctis earbuds are good, got the over ear ones for xbox they are really good quility and good sound as well, stay away from the sony pulse earbuds,awkward to git into your ears and uncomfortable as f**k and volume is piss poor for my old ears

Steelseries Arctis. My first pair lasted 9 years. My current pair has lasted 6 so far.