Recommendation: Need headphones with mic around £150

[purplewakanda]

I'm looking to buy decent-quality headphones for work and gaming with wireless/bluetooth. Comfort is key for an extended period. I'd love some recommendations.

Arctis Nova 7 Dragon Edition

Earn the Dragon's fortune and ascend to Almighty Audio with this unique Arctis Nova 7 gaming headset with multi-platform via USB-C and dual wireless.

steelseries.com

Arctis Nova 7 | PC Gaming Headset with Almighty audio

Almighty Audio meets powerful simultaneous wireless, with AI-powered noise-cancelling mic and Sonar Software's ClearCast AI algorithms.

steelseries.com

Buy Razer Barracuda - Black | Gaming Headsets | Razer.com

Purchase Razer Barracuda - Black (gaming headsets), or browse through our extensive selection of gaming peripherals, and more at razer.com

www.razer.com

Are these any good?

Any other recommendations?

 

[Tron1982]

The hyperX cloud
It's pretty decent, not to much expensive and it sound good

 

[purplewakanda]

Does anybody else have other recommendations?

 

[purplewakanda]

The hyperX cloud
It's pretty decent, not to much expensive and it sound good

Any particular models?

 

[SpyderTracks]

Couple of vids worth watching:

Headsets are a difficult one as peoples expectations are largely subjective, ie personal to them. What one person may consider too much bass, the next could find just right. Similarly microphone quality may not be of huge importance to some and more to others.

I've currently got the Steelseries Arctis 7 which is a few years old now, previous to that I've had several like the Astro A50 (really didn't like them, thought they were HUGELY overpriced for their performance), the really old Logitech G35 (my favourite headset of all time for sound performance, only let down by weak join between ear cup and head strap, had two pairs and both broke in same place, INCREDIBLE bass response)

Actually I've now had the Steelseries since the very beginning of 2020, and overall, I'm extremely happy with them, but I've not used the mic, it's quite a nice design where the mic can retreat into the ear cup if you're not using it. They're not the greatest bass response, but surprisingly detailed highs and mids, and there are moments when the bass hits you more than you expect it to. But 4 years later, I'm still on the original battery and use it daily overnight and I've probably lost 20% battery length, which I think is extremely good. Batteries are also user replaceable which was a huge must.

But it's the price, especially when comparing to something crazy pricey like the Astro's, I really didn't see much difference between the Astro's and the Steelseries at all, in fact in a lot of ways I thought the Steelseries were far better at half the cost.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Best advice would be if you've got a Curry's near you, go along as they normally have quite a few models on demo for you to try out.

 

[SpyderTracks]

The other thing worth mentioning, have you heard of the ModMic?

It's a mic you an attach to pretty much any headphone for voice.

I mention it because, depending on what you're after, you can get an insanely good pair of audio headphones and then attach a mod mic.

There are alternatives to the ModMic as well that are cheaper, I just mention them as they were the ones to start. it off

This would up the budget though, but thinking of a longer term investment.

If that's something you're interested in, I really can't recommend these enough, I have a pair of Hifiman Sundara headphones which use a driver technology called planar magnetic rather than the normal dynamic drivers

Headphone driver types: Which one's just right?

We’re here to give you a breakdown of four different driver types: dynamic, planar magnetic, electrostatic, and balanced armature drivers.

www.soundguys.com

Planar Magnetics are highly sought after (and usually expensive) because they have much much faster reaction, if you think of the mass of a dynamic, having to push and pull that back and forth, there is a delay as the driver settles and then returns. With Planars, it's a molecule thin film that weighs absolutely nothing, so each sound is absolutely immediate.

Hifimans have managed to put out some incredible Planars at really affordable prices.

At around £125 you can get the HE400SE which are their entry level Planars.

This would smash any gaming headset in performance, hearing minute sounds in the distance in games, peoples voices would be far clearer.

They really are fantastic headphones.

In fact they're on offer at Scan for £100, this is an awful lot of headphone for the price.

HifiMan - HE400se, Over-Ear Open-Back Planar Magnetic Headphones

Buy from Scan - HifiMan - HE400se, Over-Ear Open-Back Planar Magnetic Headphones

www.scan.co.uk

 

[Tron1982]

Any particular models?

I think I have the 2nd generation with wire.
But the newest generation may be better ^^

 

[purplewakanda]

@SpyderTracks I got HE400SE and was pleasantly surprised. The cable lead is short, any recommendations? Light for the size and comfortable. I'll take it to work when I go next and see if it's comfortable for a whole day.

Would an equivalent wireless/bluetooth one be heavier?

 

[SpyderTracks]

@SpyderTracks I got HE400SE and was pleasantly surprised. The cable lead is short, any recommendations? Light for the size and comfortable. I'll take it to work when I go next and see if it's comfortable for a whole day.

Would an equivalent wireless/bluetooth one be heavier?

I know what you mean.

Funnily enough I actually picked up some spare cables for my Sundara which use the same cable

This one is 3m / 10ft and incredibly good quality for the price, I was really impressed, it’s also braided so a lot stronger than the stock cables

https://amzn.eu/d/4XPydx8

They do have a bluetooth version which afaik is exactly the same headphone but with an optional bluetooth module, which is tiny so can’t imagine it would add much weight

It's not something I've looked into but reviews do still look good, plus it's half the price it was on release

With headphones if you search for “open box” in google, you often find brand new pairs that have been returned but not used for a substantial discount, it’s worth having a look

HIFIMAN Deva Pro Review

In this review we have an in-depth listen with comparisons on the HIFIMAN Deva Pro open-back planar headphones with wireless capability. It is priced at $329. Disclaimer: This is a sample sent to us in

headfonics.com

Hifiman Deva Pro Headphones - Premium Sound | Home Audio Retailer in London UK

The new NsD is 80% thinner than previous designs, resulting in fast response and detailed image with lush, full range sonics

premiumsound.co.uk

Reviews of the shop I've linked: https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/premiumsound.co.uk

 

[purplewakanda]

@SpyderTracks I bought the cable you suggested and it's a massive upgrade from the stock cable. I took it to the office lasted a few hours and my head started hurting. I recently bought Steel Series Artic Nova 3, which was on offer and lighter than the Hifiman. I didn't go for the Bluetooth as it was much heavier. Nova 3 is comparable with the Hifiman sound quality-wise.

 

[SpyderTracks]

@SpyderTracks I bought the cable you suggested and it's a massive upgrade from the stock cable. I took it to the office lasted a few hours and my head started hurting. I recently bought Steel Series Artic Nova 3, which was on offer and lighter than the Hifiman. I didn't go for the Bluetooth as it was much heavier. Nova 3 is comparable with the Hifiman sound quality-wise.

That’s good, were you able to return the Hifimans ok?

Steelseries I find really good for the price, I think they shoot well above their price point

 

[purplewakanda]

@SpyderTracks no, didn't try. Not sure if they'll accept as they aren't like Amazon. I might give it to my husband looking to change his gaming headset.

I'm surprised Nova 3 came with noise cancelling without too much pressure

 

[SpyderTracks]

@SpyderTracks no, didn't try. Not sure if they'll accept as they aren't like Amazon. I might give it to my husband looking to change his gaming headset.

I'm surprised Nova 3 came with noise cancelling without too much pressure

Just worth mentioning, with the hifimans, they are truly excellent headphones that are likely being limited by the pc sound card.

If you can’t return them, I’d strongly suggest trying them in a headphone port on something with a bit of power like an amplifier or something, if you had any desire for high quality music headphones. Just to get an idea of what they’re capable of.