Every 6months or so, my latest gaming headset breaks for some reason or another, and having gone through about a dozen headsets over the past 5years, I've reached the end of my patience. Can anyone recommend me a headphone that will actually last me for more than a year? (I can always get an el-cheapo desk mic or clipon mic from somewhere)
Get a decent headset + clipon / desk mic. I have an AKG K701 + cheap Plantronic desk mic and I'm very happy with them. What's your budget ?
I am no no way affiliated with the man or the sale, but Mister_Tad has a pair of in-warranty Bose OE2 Headphones for sale in the marketplace for a bargain price. I can't say I've tried them, but Bose are rarely short of the mark.
+1 Bose can be nice. I personnaly do not like the colour of the Bose sound, but they make good product. It's only a matter of taste rather than quality of the sound.
They actually damn good headphones. My son uses them with his iPod and was very impressed with them. The mid range is superb
I highly recommend Sennheiser headphones, I've had my RS 160 wireless headphones for 4 years now without any problems. They have a large range of products to choose from with a lengthy list of gaming headsets. http://en-uk.sennheiser.com/gaming-headsets-for-pc
Most people will recommend a good set of headphones and an external microphone, I'd also agree. If you really want some in depth reviews, go check out head-fi.
It depends entirely on quite what you want from a set of headphones. Different brands tend to have different sounds when you get up to the higher end of the market. I don't have any experience with anything other than middle-ish range Sennheiser parts, though, so I can't recommend anything. I would agree with the Consensus that Headphones + Seperate Mic is a good idea, I'm personally using a set of Sennheiser HD 518s plus the integrated Stereo Mic on my C920 webcam, and it's clear enough for most purposes, plus the headphones seem far, far better than anything I've heard at around the same price as a "Headset". Adding a microphone seems to drive the price up by 20-30 quid, at minimum.
Headphone + seperate mic is what I'm after, price isn't really a problem (though I wont go more than £150~ish) Really I'm after something that wont have to be replaced/repaired every 6-12months as I've had to do with every "gaming headset" i've owned so far. Over ear, noise cancelling is a must. Surround sound would also be a plus.
I like: Audio-Technica ATH-M35 as cheapies Sony MDR-7506 as still quite cheap (sound GORGEOUS) and Audio-Technica ATH-M50 still quite cheap I agree with Guille and I don't really like the color of bose soundstage, but it's a preference and not to discredit the headphones at all. I've owned all three of the above sets - my ath-m35's are getting on for 10 years old, my most used headphone.
I'm using QPad QH-90s which seem pretty robust although they do have an integrated rather than separate mic. The support bracket from the headband to the earphone is aluminium which reduces the chance of breakage in that area. Available in black or white.
These are quality. I've directly compared them to the ATH M50s mentioned above, and for gaming they are definitely superior. Not only that but they are genuinely robust. I'm not sure why people are recommending the OE2 for gaming? Madness. They have a beautiful treble and mid range, but you'll certainly miss the cinematic bass you get with the Asus Vulcans or Qpads.
if you want durability, get the sony mdr-v6/mdr-7506 (they're pretty much the same) i know people who have owned them for 20 years+, the only part that goes bad are the earpads, and you can replace those they can also be used for self-defense if necessary the main downside to a desk mic is that it will pick up your keyboard noise more than a headset will, but if you're OK with that (or use PTT) then you're OK
Very happy with my Sennheiser 558's that I got 2 years ago, nice and comfortable and they sound stunning
Another +1 for the M50's, really superb headphones, my only complaint is that after so much use (3+years daily) the leather ear pads have started to crack and i'm not sure there's an easy way to replace them.
Is there a treatment that you can use on leather ear pads to reduce the chances of the leather cracking? My oldest pair of QPads are 12 months old with no signs of wear after about 4 hours daily use but if there's something that'll preserve the leather without making them feel uncomfortable I'd try it. QPad only suggested using plain water to clean them.
