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 liked all of mine. I've had steelseries headsets since the Siberia 800s. I had them for over a year when they stopped working and steelseries gave me a full refund even though I had them for longer than a year. I used the credit to buy a pair of Arctis 7 and Arctis 3. Had them for a long time gave the threes to my friend who had them for a long time. I gave my sevens to my boys when they needed a pair of headphones and I bought myself the Nova 7s. Never had a problem with any of them.
Edit: unfortunately I can't say the same about my Apex pro keyboard. It works great functionally but certain colors are out on many of the keys on the board. It happened not too long after I bought it and I expected better quality switches to have an the colors work for the premium price I paid for it.
peachpandarodriguez4
