Decent headset with a decent mic?

[80-watt Hamster]

My work-supplied headset is on-ear, which my ears hate (for comfort, not sound, though they are garbage for music), so I find myself shopping for a new pair. The only over-ear headsets I can find are gaming headsets, and while I generally shy away from anything labeled "gaming" since that usually indicates a price premium for either no extra functionality or added features I don't care about, maybe there's something out there that fits the bill. It's easy to find feedback on sound quality and comfort, but there's generally little, if any, mention of how the mic works, specifically noise cancellation. That's REALLY important for my use case. It can't be picking up the ambient office and shop noise.

I tend to like Logitech stuff, and was considering the G533. Everyone seems to love the Steelseries Arctis 7. Other than that, there's just SO MUCH out there. Any other suggestions? Criteria summary:

• Over-ear
• Long-wear comfortable
• Reasonable sound quality (voice > music, but good music reproduction preferred)
• Good noise cancellation for microphone
• <$150US
• Oh, and wireless

To any audiophiles making recommendations: DO NOT suggest a "proper" set of headphones and standalone mic. If that's what I wanted to do, I'd have already done it. I also don't care that headsets have $h!t sound quality relative to comparably priced discrete cans. Go kvetch on Whathifi? or something.

 

[jboydgolfer]

id get a pair of sennheiser's or a similar quality headphones, & grab an antlion mod mic. that way you dont end up with some baboon ass red , or candy blue abomination on your head all day. or if youre not opposed to wireless, a pair of Apple Air pod pro's work great with Win10, as long as there isnt too much BT traffic in your area.

i buy these for myself & the kids. theyre comfortable enough to be worn all day.

 

[GerKNG]

after using a Steel Series arctis Pro (with a completely broken DAC) and a Astro A50 i am very happy with my Sennheiser GSP 600.

 

[P4-630]

I tend to like Logitech stuff, and was considering the G533. Everyone seems to love the Steelseries Arctis 7. Other than that, there's just SO MUCH out there. Any other suggestions? Criteria summary:

• Over-ear
• Long-wear comfortable
• Reasonable sound quality (voice > music, but good music reproduction preferred)
• Good noise cancellation for microphone
• <$150US
• Oh, and wireless

Hi I'm a G533 owner and I love it, great sound quality imo, microphone I don't know, never use it.
I have it a few years now and the built-in rechargeable battery is also really good.

 

[Countryside]

If it comes to headsets its easy to recommend Sennheiser PC37X

 

[P4-630]

If it comes to headsets its easy to recommend Sennheiser PC37X

That looks a bit more sturdy than the G533 but it isn't wireless?

 

[Countryside]

That looks a bit more sturdy than the G533 but it isn't wireless?

Alrighty then, Sennheiser GSP 370 its wireless, but the wired PC37X is cheaper and better.

 

[sneekypeet]

SteelSeries is a solid choice. I was running the first edition Wireless H for years. Just got my hands on a top tier Corsair set of Virtuoso SE and am using them as sound trumped my very old SteelSeries.

Keep in mind, I didn't have to shell out $200 for them either, so take it all with a grain of salt.

 

[TheLostSwede]

These. They've been much improved since the review here via firmware and driver updates. Very comfortable, even when worn for a long time.

Corsair Virtuoso RGB Wireless SE Review

Corsair's most expensive and luxurious gaming headset, the Virtuoso RGB Wireless SE, offers a couple of upgrades from the "regular" Virtuoso RGB Wireless, but also surprisingly falls behind in the microphone department.

www.techpowerup.com

 

[80-watt Hamster]

Thanks for the replies, all. So that's two votes for the Virtuoso SE. It looks like a good unit, but that price is a little tough to swallow. Maybe I'll get lucky and find a deal on it, or perhaps nab the Arctis 7 from the local Best Buy. Returns will at least be easy that way.

 

[WhiteNoise]

I know you want over ear (i prefer that as well) but I really like my Plantronics Voyager Focus Bluetooth headset. It sits on ear (with very light clamping force) and I can wear them all day long, but sounds really good for music and works fantastic for talking and listening and to top it off it has a HUGE range. HUGE. For work this is all I will ever use. Oh yeah and the battery lasts days.

 

[milewski1015]

I second @jboydgolfer's suggestion. The mic on most "gaming" headsets incorporates a lot of compression which, while cutting back on a lot of background noise, tends to reduce quality overall. I find HardwareCanucks produces some good gaming headset mic content:

 

[Toothless]

I'd avoid LucidSound headphones. Their quality on build is horrific and the battery life dies off in a year. (10 hours to three)

Another vote for Steel series, though.

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Don't care about sound quality from a headset

Best wireless gaming headsets in 2024: the top cans I'd buy myself

The best wireless gaming headsets allow you to enjoy your games and music tangle-free.

www.pcgamer.com

 

[80-watt Hamster]

Ended up with the Arctis 7. A little bass-y, so not as good for music as my K240 or Aurvana Live!, but it's acceptable and has been great for voice chat. The two sound sources and balance dial are great, as is having a volume wheel. Comfort is excellent (if a bit warm), and build quality is so far solid. I've gotten good feeback (opinions, not noise ) from chat participants on the microphone. The flexible/poseable/retractable boom is clever, though the robustness of the design seems suspect. I like that the mute button is a toggle latch rather than a membrane switch, and that you can temporarily un-mute by pressing the switch part-way without engaging the latch. And they look normal!

Downsides: I get an occasional "snap" during voice chat, sometimes it can be pretty loud. This is far more pronounced on my work laptop than my home PC, but hasn't happened this week that I can remember. Another bit of odd behavior between devices: Both sound sources are nigh-identical at home, but the "Game" source through the laptop sounds like it's being run through an echo filter, like a Creative Sound Font for an empty warehouse or something. That can be circumvented by using the "Chat" source for output, but is odd/frustrating nonetheless. Steelseries Engine software is a bit bloated IMO, and doesn't have a whole lot of options for this particular product.

To sum up, as long as it holds together physically, I'm optimistic that I'll be satisfied with this thing long-term. Thanks, everyone, for your input.