I'm looking to buy a new headset. Which are good and which are junk?

[Dayon]

Hullo.


My headset is falling apart and I'm looking into getting a new one.

My current headset is a Razer Carcharias. The cups are falling out of the frame so I have to play 'where the hell did the cup go' about every time I take them off. A minor inconvenience, but I've had them a while and I've got a little extra money right now, so I'm looking at nice headsets.

I did some research, found that handy little list of the top ten of 2013. Some of the tops in there were Astro, Turtle Beach, Sennheiser, among others. What's actually caught my eye are:

Razer Tiamat 7.1
Astro A40
Sennheiner PC333D

I'm not computer illiterate, shopped around for what I consider to be more than a decent rig about a year ago, but I'm not familiar with sound cards, or if any of these headsets are dependent on a decent one or if they're absolutely fine out of the box.

So which of these three would be the champion here?

Really appreciate the feedback, guys.

-Dayon

[Chult]

I've had two Razer Charcharias headsets, and both broke within 6 months. My brother has as well, but his second pair is surviving, although the mic no longer works.

I picked up the Turtle Beach Earforce, and It's fairly nice. The sound quality is better, which was apparent right off the bat. The mic is much better quality as well. It was also cheaper than the Razer alternative.

I really like Razer mice, and my Naga has had zero issues. I'll never buy another pair of their headphones again though. Check out Turtle Beach's line, they should have something which will work for your needs at a reasonable pricepoint.

[Dayon]

Which Earforce did you pick up, Chult? I'm seeing there's a lot of different kinds.

[Obby]

i got some tritons i got when i got my ps3 like a year or 2 ago i love em they were tight at first but theyre comfy now and sound great

[inux94]

Go for either the Sennheiser or the A40 if you absolutely want a headset, and not a headphone which is higher quality.

Stay away from Razer and Steelseries.

[Lithnor]

Had to sign in to say... Absolutely DO NOT BUY a Turtle Beach headset.

My entire family have gone through 9 of these in the last year. This is not an exaggeration. I personally went through 5 of them myself. I RMAd them 5 times, and was finally told that the issue that kept happening was because "All of those types of headsets carry this problem". Which means EVERY headset of that type (Was the CoD version of the Z6a), was bad. They kept having shorts in them from no fault of our own.

So, let's review. They KNOW that there exists a problem in their headsets that causes a short. This was a $120 headset. They didn't bother recalling them. On top of that, their support is absolutely terrible and they refuse to cross-ship replacements to you.

When my brother's broke about a month ago, we had a friend take it apart because he didn't want to go through the same shit I went through and our friend is very good with electronics. He said that in order to fix it he would have to completely rebuild the circuit board.

Stay FAR away from Turtle Beach. They ARE NOT equipped to be a triple A company. (Which makes me sad, because honestly... their hardware sounds amazing and fits great!)

[obake1]

The Astro's seem to be OK. I bought a pair for my brother and he seems to like them...however, be warned if you need to contact their support, it is almost non-existent.

[Noxplod]

Personally a fan of Turtle Beach headsets. They have them for comps, Xbox, PS3, you name it. They have a very broad spectrum as well ranging from a basic headset for about 30 bucks or so (USD) upwards to the high speed wireless multi-band w/ever with all the bells and whistles for over 200 bucks US. I personally have 2 atm, one for the Xbox/Comp and one for my PS3 although the PS3 one can work on all 3 because it's one of the higher end ones. The only thing that annoys the piss out of me about them is the extremely long length of the cord.... until I hook it up and play FPS games on the console systems haha

[Chief Brouhaha]

I got a turtle beach! I use my xbox and my comp and with the Earforce x11s i can use them with both. Cost 60 bucks (on sale i think?), sounds great, works great, comfortable, durable.

[rhorle]

I like the logitech g930. It might not be "audiophile" level but it is pretty decent, wireless, and has lasted me for over a year now. I've never had problems with the wireless either, sometimes it drops signal near the microwave or if I wear it outside when taking the dog out. But I also don't have the best walls and antennae in perfect spot.

http://www.logitech.com/en-us/produc...-g930?crid=721
https://www.google.com/shopping/prod...3153633228200?

[Deleted]

If you insist on a headset then one of these depending on your budget, you kinda listed a variety of budget options.

Sennheiser PC 360
Skullcandy Slyr they're only $80 but actually quite good from what I've gathered, considering the price.

Astro A40 is decent enough as well.

In the $250 you could pick up some super nice headphones though like this:

AKG Q 701

or

Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO

combine that with a clip-on mic or something similar you're good to go.

If you'd go for something like the Plantronics mentioned above then go with these instead:

Plantronics GameCom 780

[Deleted]

I'm using Logitech g930 and I love it, had it soon for a year with no troubles. And now I cant live without a wireless headless.

[Dayon]

I'm definitely looking for a headset, so I've gotta find a set with a microphone attached to it. I hate stand-alone mics, so it rules out anything without a microphone, Notarget. That said, thanks a ton for that guide you provided, it was really informative.

And I might just pick up the Skullcandy headsets.

But what's with all the hate for Razer's headsets?

[Idrinkwhiterussians]

It isn't hate. It is the fact that QC is right out the window.

Most products from Razer have very lax QC, and therefore some people have great products from them that last a while, and some have them that last for 2-3 months before breaking. Obviously this is like Russian Roulette (while not paying with your life, you do take a big chance at getting the shite product as opposed to the good one, there is a great chance you will get the one that will fail.)

[Dayon]

Gotcha.

I'm still looking at the reviews that Notarget provided. The Skullcandy SLYR's seem to have really good sound quality for their price, and look kind of cool, too. Of course I know with Skullcandy, you're usually paying for the design, not so much the sound.

There's a Sennheiser headset in that review too that I'm gonna look at.