# Yet another budget headphone question



## brutlern (Jan 17, 2013)

Just broke my Gamecom 777 (the plastic headband snapped) so i'm looking for a replacement. BUDGET replacement. So anything that's considerably more expensive than the 777 is, should not even be mentioned. I was looking along the lines of Sennheiser PC 320 or Creative Tactic3D Sigma (and even those are sort of over my budget). While I am looking for a "gaming" pair, I will be using them for everything, music, movies, and whatnot. And I will be using onboard audio, so please refrain from recommending me a dedicated audio card.


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## Fourstaff (Jan 17, 2013)

Creative Fatality HS800, cheap and does the job.


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## Jack1n (Jan 17, 2013)

The sennheiser is solid.


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## Kalevalen (Jan 17, 2013)

audio technica m50


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## xvi (Jan 17, 2013)

I picked up a nice Klipsch Image S2 a while back. It's an IEM/earbud, but it does pretty darn well for gaming and general "home theater in your ears". No microphone, of course. I've found that IEMs usually pack the best punch for price/performance. I've been pretty happy with them and have been considering an upgraded model. If I want some extra punch, I use my Fiio E5 preamp.

As far as cheap headphones go, I picked up a Sennheiser HD 202 and I was pretty disappointed. Sound quality was decent, but they were uncomfortable (wish I'd gone for the HD 201 instead). I had a Logitech Precision (or similar?) headset that gave out in about a month of light use. It had absolutely zero warranty, so I was SoL. My former earbud was a Sennheiser CX300 which I used every day, but seemed to degrade in sound quality over time.

I'd suggest poking around headphone.com for reviews. They do a lot of very high end stuff, but still give good reviews on less expensive options.


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## Kaynar (Jan 17, 2013)

everyone i know with budget sennheiser headphones is dissapointed. This brand is only good for high-end headphones.
At this price point, I would firstly be concerned about comfort and then about sound, cause sound wont be "omgamazing" anyway at around 50 euro.


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## brutlern (Jan 17, 2013)

Fourstaff said:


> Creative Fatality HS800, cheap and does the job.


A bit too cheap, maybe a little higher.



Kalevalen said:


> audio technica m50


A bit (and by a bit and mean a LOT) too expensive. I did mention budget, didn't I?


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## KingPing (Jan 17, 2013)

Razer Carcharias, i have a Gamecom 777, and the Carcharias is a better sounding headset (a little less bass though) and way more comfortable than the 777.
 I use a sound card, so i don't know which is better with onboard sound.


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## Kalevalen (Jan 17, 2013)

brutlern said:


> A bit too cheap, maybe a little higher.
> 
> 
> A bit (and by a bit and mean a LOT) too expensive. I did mention budget, didn't I?



(Ranked #2 on Head-Fi) and there the same price as the Sennheiser PC 320's. Maybe you should edit your post then


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## Fourstaff (Jan 17, 2013)

Kalevalen said:


> (Ranked #2 on Head-Fi) and there the same price as the Sennheiser PC 320's. Maybe you should edit your post then



Ranked #2 only because everyone was told to get them as the first recommendation. At current prices they are just average.


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## Nordic (Jan 17, 2013)

I have the jvc rx700's. I like them. Had good reviews. $30


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## LightningJR (Jan 17, 2013)

Superlux HD668B

Trust me, can't be beat for the price. Diamond in the rough. Only down side is it doesn't have a mic.


I sold my $150.00 Alessandro's and kept my Superlux headphones.

Clarity you have never heard before.


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## brutlern (Jan 18, 2013)

Kalevalen said:


> (Ranked #2 on Head-Fi) and there the same price as the Sennheiser PC 320's. Maybe you should edit your post then



I actually checked the price and is more than double the PC320, so no.


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## brutlern (Jan 18, 2013)

KingPing said:


> Razer Carcharias, i have a Gamecom 777, and the Carcharias is a better sounding headset (a little less bass though) and way more comfortable than the 777.
> I use a sound card, so i don't know which is better with onboard sound.



The Carcharias was actually one of the ones I have been looking at, but it's out of my buget. Also, because I would use and onboard audio, the THX dongle from the Sigma looks mighty enticing (i have tested THX TruStudio Lite and it works superbly, so I can only imagine what the Pro version can do with a dedicated usb dongle)


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## iKhan (Jan 18, 2013)

brutlern said:


> I actually checked the price and is more than double the PC320, so no.









Senns: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006RF9HX8/?tag=tec06d-20

ATH-M50: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000ULAP4U/?tag=tec06d-20

Not sure where you got double the price from.


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## brutlern (Jan 18, 2013)

iKhan said:


> Not sure where you got double the price from.



I can get the Senn for 95$ from official retailer, and cannot get the Audio for any less than 200$. 

If I were to order from amazon, with shipping and whatnot, would still end up with around 180$. So, still no.


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## a111087 (Jan 25, 2013)

Do yourself a favor and try legendary Grado Labs headphones. SR-60i and SR-80i are all under $100.
I wear SR-60 for up to 15 hours a day and they never get old.  
They have really nice, clean and crisp sound to them.  They just sounds very natural. 

http://www.gradolabs.com/page_headphones.php?item=f4ba8830232696b5f580bd531134b668






Also, I wouldn't use any USB dongles.  All of them sound just too artificial. 
You might as well be wearing $5 headphones.

And I know you will not buy a good sound card (can be had for ~$20), but they really do make a HUGE difference in sound.
You have no idea until you try. The difference is day and night. 

Just my 2c.


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## RCoon (Jan 25, 2013)

Fourstaff said:


> Creative Fatality HS800, cheap and does the job.



This.
Been using mine 2 years. Still no problems.


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## SirKeldon (Jan 25, 2013)

Mine are doing a perfect good job since i got them few months ago, they're the Tritton PC510 HDa, true analog so it's a real 5.1 (not emulated, you have to hook up 3 audio jacks + the mic one, also every side carries 4 real speakers) so you can hook it up in any 5.1 soundcard w/o needing special drivers for the headphones. Also you have manual controls for Front/Rear/Center/Subwoofer volumes to adjust them while in the game and the microphone is removable.

They're so comfortable (similar as some professional AKG/Technics) ... true 5.1 sound, Win/Mac/Linux compatibles due to the previous explanation, amazing quality when listening music and/or movies (and the possibility to "equalize" it on the fly) and in your 90-100$ range.













PS: The USB port is used to light the TT led on headphone sides as well as the remote controller one, which indicates if mic is on/off, audio is not in the middle.


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