Headphones?

[Thortok2000]

I'm looking to buy a new pair and am posting here for recommendations/suggestions as to what brand or model I should get. My current headphones (Razer "Carcharias") still work fine except for a couple things. First, they don't trap sound well, when I turn it up loud people around me ask me to turn it down again. They also aren't surround sound (although they do fairly well for positional audio, they're not actually flagged as supporting surround sound that I know of) and I wouldn't even mind bluetooth to get rid of the cord.

Also, these are really loose on my head, meaning I can wear them for hours but if I tip my head back to drink or something, they fall off. Also, the cord is really long and often gets stuck under the wheels of the chair.

And finally, it's showing its age. It will get 'stuck' with audio only coming on the right or left ear, but if I use the in-line volume control and very slightly change the volume, I can knock it back to going in both ears again. They're still a good pair of headphones, but I'd like something new.

I'm willing to pay up to $300 for a good pair but of course willing to pay less if it meets my requirements.

Priority of requirements:

1 - Be good for gaming on, no lag, good sound quality, good positional sound, etc.
2 - People near me unable to hear what I'm hearing. (I don't care if I'm able to hear sounds outside of my headphones or not...I just wanna turn them up loud without bothering the person next to me)
3 - Simulated surround sound (for watching movies and even better positional audio in games)

I wouldn't mind it having Bluetooth, but I'm fine without it, especially if it meets my other requirements and is cheaper that way.

I don't really care if it has a mic or not, I'm fine without, but if it does have a mic it would be nice if it was good quality for gaming with.

I plan on using the headphones for gaming (all types of games, particularly FPS games want positional audio the most), listening to music (such as Pandora, possibly from my phone), and watching movies on bluray.

~

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

[Deleted]

The new Sennheiser PC 350 Special Edition Looks really good, it's $250 and basically like the old 350 with a few quality of life improvements, these are closed cans. Review Google search if you need more info.

Corsair Vengeance 2000 might be worth taking a look at as well, they're much cheaper, they're wireless, 7.1 (software) etc. People on this forum seem to really like these (Vengeance 1500 is basically the same just not wireless). They are $108 right now.

Even cheaper is the Skullcandy Slyr at around $80 but from what i've heard they're quite decent considering the price. Ctrl+f search "Skullcandy" in this forum post

Lastly there is Astro A40's at $250 but I don't have much experience with them. I just always hear good stuff about them, well all but the price. Check out the comment/review on the same same as before.

Edit: I assume you're looking for a headset since you mentioned the Razer "Carcharias" although thread title said "Headphones".

[Thortok2000]

Thanks for the response!

- I'm not looking for a headset, I'm looking for headphones. If I need a mic I can use my webcam mic. (In fact I currently use my webcam mic anyway because the mic on my headset tends to leak audio from what I'm hearing at the moment. Many people complain about the audio quality of the mic on the Carcharias. However, the mic on my webcam is so sensitive that it picks up the sound of me pressing keys on the keyboard, meh.) That said, if it happens to have a good mic, that's a bonus, but it's not necessarily something I'm looking for. I didn't make that clear in the OP? =(

Although, most headphones good for gaming are actually headsets so that's fine, it's not like I don't want a headset, it's just that I could just as easily take headphones instead.

I did a bit of research and it seems like I'm going to try 'closed' headphones instead of 'open' headphones because I want the noise trapping...but I don't want to give up sound quality to do it. I also want something I can wear for awhile without getting uncomfortable, and that's another thing 'closed' headphones are reportedly bad at. Which is why I probably have to get really good high-priced closed ones in order to combat the sound quality and comfort weaknesses and still have the features I want (such as surround).

The PC350 is stereo, not surround, virtual or otherwise. They are closed, though, and have good reviews. It's not like stereo is bad for positional audio, I do great with my current set, but I'd like to try surround to see if it makes a difference.

The Vengeance looks pretty good, I can't find if it's closed or open, and it seems to be USB. If it's wireless I'd like it to be bluetooth so I can use it with my phone, if it's not bluetooth it would be better for it to not be wireless because then I can plug it into the aux port on my phone. It doesn't look like I'd be able to use the Vengeance with my phone at all. Still, of the ones you suggested it's the one I'm most interested in.

The Skullcandy Slyr doesn't look like it would be any better than the Carcharias I'm currently using. Doesn't look like surround sound or bluetooth for that matter either.

The A40's look good in terms of quality, and have the surround sound mixer, but are rated poorly for 'leakage' of sound to nearby people.

Thanks again for the suggestions and I hope I can get some more suggestions. ^_^