Hi, I want to buy a headphone for gaming, but I’ve read a fair few times that it’s better to have normal headphones and a dedicated mic than to have gaming headsets. I mean, it certainly has been true for nearly everything except mice so far (I really appreciate the extra buttons), but then again, it hasn’t been true for mice. Currently I only have an Apple wired earphone, and it’s pretty good, but I would also like to have headphones.

For some context, my budget is about $150, and I necessarily want either wired headphones, or wireless ones that can also operate via an AUX cable. I don’t really mind mic quality, so long as does have any serviceable mics that can get my voice across. I can go with both stereo or surround. I do play fps games - but I’ve played for about 5 years with a stereo gaming headset with no problems in directional audio.

One thing I’ve noticed is that out of the four gaming headsets me and my family have bought, all of them have disintegrated really quickly - like 2 years from purchase. That’s one of the reasons I believe gaming headsets fall into the overpriced category compared to normal headphones, for now. Plus alongside being able to game on a normal headphone, I would have something for movies and music too - all in one device.

So, is it better for me to purchase gaming headphones, or use normal ones? What would be some of your recommendations?

  • Vik@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2·
    5 months ago

    I don’t like steel series as a company but the 2017 and 2019 Arctis 7 headphones are decent. I have a pair of the former and use them practically every day to date.

    Strong wireless perf/range, decent battery life, a dedicated physical chat/media crossfade dial called chatmix (they nerfed this on newer models), excellent mic quality, physical mic mute button, works perfectly on Linux (if you care about that sort of thing), and you can route your desktop speaker system through the headset reciever (3.5mm) to have it dynamically switch audio output when the headset is on/off.

    I appreciate that it looks low profile and not at all gamery. I know that you’re set on having a dedicated mic but I take so many calls/meetings from the kitchen with crystal clear VoIP audio and it’s a game changer.

    Some cons:

    • the earcup hinge design is daft (several people have had this break on them)
    • the physical mute button isn’t always reliable (meaning this is a software switch rather than physical disconnect)
    • uses MicroUSB instead of USBC (A7+ has USB C but they made the receiver design super basic)
    • it uses this weird proprietary cable for 3.5mm analogue use (comes with the headset but still shitty)
    • and as you might expect, the chatmix feature doesn’t work when used as an analogue device.