Headphones

P

Pooky

New member
I know there are some audiophiles on here so I need some help please (looking at you DuckKnuckle)

I purchased the Corsair 1500 headset and while the sound quality is decent; the mic is so soft to the point I am returning them.

I think it's probably better to go with a normal headset and a clip on mic... So looking at options for a headset.

Some advice in the R1000 range will be appreciated. I think I saw in another thread someone mentions the Sennheiser HD 215... THey still the best option? It could also be a gaming headset but it seems you sacrifice a lot when going for a headset/mic combo.

Suggestions preferably from takealot if they have them...
 
You're definitely correct in thinking it's better to buy a pair of decent headphones and add a clipon mic.

For your price range, I wouldn't recommend anything but the Sennheiser HD 215s. The soundstage is exceptional considering that they're a closed design. What I like about them is that after ~20min of wearing, they kind of disappear off your head. The comfort is great on them and surprisingly, the cups don't get sweaty.

They are available on takealot.com but you'll be paying more than your budget. If you're willing to buy from audiowarehouse.co.za, you'll find they're R100 over your budget.

I've ordered from them before and had no issues. An added bonus to the HD 215s is that the impedance is only 32, so anything will be able to drive them easily.
 
DuckKnuckle said:
You're definitely correct in thinking it's better to buy a pair of decent headphones and add a clipon mic.

For your price range, I wouldn't recommend anything but the Sennheiser HD 215s. The soundstage is exceptional considering that they're a closed design. What I like about them is that after ~20min of wearing, they kind of disappear off your head. The comfort is great on them and surprisingly, the cups don't get sweaty.

They are available on takealot.com but you'll be paying more than your budget. If you're willing to buy from audiowarehouse.co.za, you'll find they're R100 over your budget.

I've ordered from them before and had no issues. An added bonus to the HD 215s is that the impedance is only 32, so anything will be able to drive them easily.
Click to expand...

Wow now that's service! :D

They also have the HD449... Don't really know the difference.

I have the HD-202's which I have had for quite some years and they sound amazing, but I really don't like the fit; they are rather uncomfortable.

With the HD-215 can you hear outside?

I hate having the headphones completely block off outside noises; the corsair one's I liked because they have a cloth earcup instead of that fake leather stuff.

What about something like these? http://www.takealot.com/tv-audio-vi...io-headphone-system-black-and-silver,10809434
 
The HD 215s have really good noise cancelling actually. I don't really hear much when gaming, but then again, I have Battlefield 4 and TS3 at the same time.

You can go with the RS 120s as well, but the advantage with the 215s is that they're used for monitoring. The EQ is very linear or 'flat' in a sense. The bass isn't too much but isn't too little. Same goes with the highs and mids.

The RS 120s appear to have a smiley face EQ. Extended lows and highs makes gaming unpleasant for me. This makes pinpointing certain sounds very difficult ie. footsteps in BF4 when explosions, gunfire, vehicles etc are going off.

Personally, I would recommend the HD 215s for the sound signature, comfort and longevity.

You could also go with some AKG K99s from a1sound.co.za which are semi open instead of closed. This will remove the total sound isolation that you don't want and also produce fantastic sound as they're also designed for monitoring work.
 
Those K99's look great too; in terms of comfort and sound quality how do they stack up to the Sennheisers?
 
The K99s are really comfortable. We had a couple of those and the K141s at my college back in '11.

Sound quality, very open and wide soundstage due to the semi open design. Slighter wider with extended mids and highs but ever so slightly. Very difficult to notice unless you've been using them long enough and switch to the Sennheisers (like myself).
 
I'll never buy open-backed headphones again. I bought my wife a pair of HD598s and they leaked sound like there's no tomorrow. Yes, they sounded incredible at home, but I prefer being able to actually take my headphones with me and not bother everyone else around me.

What would your suggestion be for my use? I still swear by my CX300 II, but my wife prefers over-the-ear.

Also on a gaming note, what would be the best virtual 5.1 or 7.1 'phones for around R1k to R1.5k?
 
FarligOpptreden said:
I'll never buy open-backed headphones again. I bought my wife a pair of HD598s and they leaked sound like there's no tomorrow. Yes, they sounded incredible at home, but I prefer being able to actually take my headphones with me and not bother everyone else around me.

What would your suggestion be for my use? I still swear by my CX300 II, but my wife prefers over-the-ear.

Also on a gaming note, what would be the best virtual 5.1 or 7.1 'phones for around R1k to R1.5k?
Click to expand...

I think you can have the virtual 7.1 thing with Razer Surround on any headphones.
 
FarligOpptreden said:
I'll never buy open-backed headphones again. I bought my wife a pair of HD598s and they leaked sound like there's no tomorrow. Yes, they sounded incredible at home, but I prefer being able to actually take my headphones with me and not bother everyone else around me.

What would your suggestion be for my use? I still swear by my CX300 II, but my wife prefers over-the-ear.

Also on a gaming note, what would be the best virtual 5.1 or 7.1 'phones for around R1k to R1.5k?
Click to expand...

Completely agree with you regarding open headphones and sound leakage. I actually use IEMs when travelling though as I don't enjoy taking my headphones out.

And you be better off using stereo headphones and using something like Razer Surround.
 
DuckKnuckle said:
Completely agree with you regarding open headphones and sound leakage. I actually use IEMs when travelling though as I don't enjoy taking my headphones out.

And you be better off using stereo headphones and using something like Razer Surround.
Click to expand...

Ha! Didn't know about Razer Surround. No special hardware required? If that's the case, I'll also be looking at the HD215s...
 
DuckKnuckle said:
No extra hardware needed. Works with any headphones.

You also calibrate the surround settings to your ears.

Fantastic software
Click to expand...

Busy downloading it. Either it's huge or Razer's servers are busy, because it's taking really long to download - only at 18% after 15 minutes! My internet connection really isn't that slow...
 
FarligOpptreden said:
Busy downloading it. Either it's huge or Razer's servers are busy, because it's taking really long to download - only at 18% after 15 minutes! My internet connection really isn't that slow...
Click to expand...

The installer is under 2mb...

Not sure how big the whole application is, but it didn't take too long.
 
Still busy with it. I started monitoring bandwidth usage after 20% and so far it's used up around 200MB at around 90% done. Still, 200MB should download much faster than this...
 
Pooky said:
I know there are some audiophiles on here so I need some help please (looking at you DuckKnuckle)

I purchased the Corsair 1500 headset and while the sound quality is decent; the mic is so soft to the point I am returning them.

I think it's probably better to go with a normal headset and a clip on mic... So looking at options for a headset.

Some advice in the R1000 range will be appreciated. I think I saw in another thread someone mentions the Sennheiser HD 215... THey still the best option? It could also be a gaming headset but it seems you sacrifice a lot when going for a headset/mic combo.

Suggestions preferably from takealot if they have them...
Click to expand...

Are you using Windows 8?
Have you correctly set the mic volume in windows and the Corsair Software?
 
Glordit said:
Are you using Windows 8?
Have you correctly set the mic volume in windows and the Corsair Software?
Click to expand...

Yeah Windows 8. Set mic volume to 100% everywhere and it's at an average volume.

Tried it with 2 other PC's as well with the same result.
 
Pooky said:
Yeah Windows 8. Set mic volume to 100% everywhere and it's at an average volume.

Tried it with 2 other PC's as well with the same result.
Click to expand...

Yea sadly Corsair dropped the ball on their Vengeance headsets and the Software for it :/. Thats the primary Reason I don't want to move to windows 8 because my headset wont work 100%. There are Beta drivers out but they are seriously hit and miss at the moment.
 
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