Looking for good headphone recommendation?

[dburne]

Hey gang, I have been using earbuds plugged into my Creative sound dac for the longest time. I use a desktop mic with this setup. Getting tired of the earbuds I think, so want to give some headphones a try. Wireless with Mic would be ideal. I am big on my sound, so looking for something that will have very good sound with rich bass. 

Any recommendations? I already have Logitech software for some other devices.

[Mr_sukebe]

Beyer 990 pros

[Rodeo]

@dburne SteelSeries Nova 7 is awesome especially with the Varjo Aero.  Lot of early discussions about the Nova 7 on that very long thread; Aero Beginners, you and I follow.  Fits comfortable and very convenient mic that retracts into the headphones.  I hard wire directly into the output jack in the Aero but there is the wireless/bluetooth options as well.  I am extremely happy with it.  

Edited October 3, 2023 by Rodeo

[dburne]

Thanks @Rodeo and @Mr_sukebe

I will certainly check those out! Wireless with mic is what I most want that will work well with Vaicom/Voice Attack. And I do love very good sound.

[MAXsenna]

Thanks @Rodeo and @Mr_sukebe
I will certainly check those out! Wireless with mic is what I most want that will work well with Vaicom/Voice Attack. And I do love very good sound.

Remember to make a new microphone profile in Microsoft Speech Recognition and redo the initial training.

Sent from my MAR-LX1A using Tapatalk

[dburne]

1 hour ago, MAXsenna said:

Remember to make a new microphone profile in Microsoft Speech Recognition and redo the initial training.

Sent from my MAR-LX1A using Tapatalk
 

 

10-4 thanks!

[dburne]

6 hours ago, Rodeo said:

@dburne SteelSeries Nova 7 is awesome especially with the Varjo Aero.  Lot of early discussions about the Nova 7 on that very long thread; Aero Beginners, you and I follow.  Fits comfortable and very convenient mic that retracts into the headphones.  I hard wire directly into the output jack in the Aero but there is the wireless/bluetooth options as well.  I am extremely happy with it.  

 

 

Ok so I went with this one:

https://www.amazon.com/SteelSeries-Arctis-Multi-System-Gaming-Headset/dp/B09ZW52XSQ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2VK6F88KFRLN2&keywords=SteelSeries+Arctis+Nova+Pro+for+Xbox+Multi-System+Gaming+Headset&qid=1696371678&sprefix=steelseries+arctis+nova+pro+for+xbox+multi-system+gaming+headset%2Caps%2C120&sr=8-1&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.f5122f16-c3e8-4386-bf32-63e904010ad0

Hoping for some good sound with that puppy. I should know here in a couple of days.

[Rodeo]

14 hours ago, dburne said:

Hoping for some good sound with that puppy. I should know here in a couple of days

I am impressed with the sound; of course many many years of minimum hearing protection in my multiple job roles have started to dull my hearing… it is amazing how the range of tones of my wife’s voice I just can never quite make out what she says the first time 

[Hiob]

On 10/3/2023 at 11:58 AM, dburne said:

Hey gang, I have been using earbuds plugged into my Creative sound dac for the longest time. I use a desktop mic with this setup. Getting tired of the earbuds I think, so want to give some headphones a try. Wireless with Mic would be ideal. I am big on my sound, so looking for something that will have very good sound with rich bass. 

Any recommendations? I already have Logitech software for some other devices.

From my very recent experience I can't recommend Corsair-Headsets. The function overall was fine, but after a few month of use the fabric of the ear-pieces started to loose itself from the foam. This is only from a single experience of course but I won't buy another Corsair. 

[Lange_666]

12 minutes ago, Hiob said:

The function overall was fine, but after a few month of use the fabric of the ear-pieces started to loose itself from the foam.

Having the same problem with my HS 70 Pro Wireless, also on the inside of the headband. Used a wired Sennheiser before the HS70 which didn't had that problem at all.
Also, Corsairs iCUE software needs to be running and open and the headset needs to be selected to see the battery level. However, iCUE is not needed to use the headset.
Wireless connection sometimes is instant, sometimes it takes up to 20 secs before the connection is established.
I'm not impressed.
 

[Hiob]

Just now, Lange_666 said:

Having the same problem with my HS 70 Pro Wireless, also on the inside of the headband. Used a wired Sennheiser before the HS70 which didn't had that problem at all.
Also, Corsairs iCUE software needs to be running and open and the headset needs to be selected to see the battery level. However, iCUE is not needed to use the headset.
Wireless connection sometimes is instant, sometimes it takes up to 20 secs before the connection is established.
I'm not impressed.
 

Agreed. I don't like the iCue software at all and therefore don't use it. The battery info doesn't bother me so much, but I miss the equalizer. Because without curves it sounds rather mediocre 

Also +1 on the Sennheiser - I have a wired pair as well, >15 years old and it doen't show any signs of degradation. I don't use it much though.

[dburne]

1 hour ago, Hiob said:

Agreed. I don't like the iCue software at all and therefore don't use it. The battery info doesn't bother me so much, but I miss the equalizer. Because without curves it sounds rather mediocre 

Also +1 on the Sennheiser - I have a wired pair as well, >15 years old and it doen't show any signs of degradation. I don't use it much though.

 

I have had a pair of wired Sennheiser for a while, never really cared that much for them. Did not have enough oomph for me really. Anxious to see how these new Steel Series Wireless do for me. They show scheduled to arrive sometime tomorrow.

[Hiob]

Just now, dburne said:

 

I have had a pair of wired Sennheiser for a while, never really cared that much for them. Did not have enough oomph for me really. Anxious to see how these new Steel Series Wireless do for me. They show scheduled to arrive sometime tomorrow.

Let us know! Since my Corsairs are dissolving, I'll be on the lookout sooner or later.

[dburne]

4 minutes ago, Hiob said:

Let us know! Since my Corsairs are dissolving, I'll be on the lookout sooner or later.

I certainly will. Will update this thread as soon as I get to check them out. Either later in day tomorrow or Friday morning, depending on what time the package arrives here.

[LucShep]

Beyerdynamic 990 Pro

On 10/3/2023 at 10:58 AM, dburne said:

Hey gang, I have been using earbuds plugged into my Creative sound dac for the longest time. I use a desktop mic with this setup. Getting tired of the earbuds I think, so want to give some headphones a try. Wireless with Mic would be ideal. I am big on my sound, so looking for something that will have very good sound with rich bass. 

Any recommendations? I already have Logitech software for some other devices.

I'd usually recommend the Beyerdynamic DT990Pro or the Sennheiser HD599SE, with a separate mic attached. But then you mention "Wireless with Mic would be ideal", and these would mean two lose cables around you....

So, for your needs, I'd probably recommend the ΗyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless (around 190$) or the Logitech G PRO X Wireless Gaming (around 220$).
Both are excelent wireless headphones (with built in mic) for the price, good sound and comfort

Edited October 4, 2023 by LucShep

[dburne]

3 minutes ago, LucShep said:

Beyerdynamic 990 Pro

I'd usually recommend the Beyerdynamic DT990Pro or the Sennheiser HD599SE, with a separate mic attached. But then you mention "Wireless with Mic would be ideal", and these would mean two lose cables around you....

So, for your needs, I'd definitely recommend the ΗyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless (around 190€).
Absolutely excelent wireless headphone with built in mic, by far the best I've ever listened, very good sound and comfort (and here's a review on RTINGS).

 

 

Thanks so much! However you probably missed my post where I already ordered the wireless Steel Series. Will be here tomorrow.

[LucShep]

7 minutes ago, dburne said:

 

Thanks so much! However you probably missed my post where I already ordered the wireless Steel Series. Will be here tomorrow.

Ah sorry, didn't notice. That should be awesome as well. 

[dburne]

Ok so here is the deal. My new headphones just arrived. I have opened and examined, and discovered I did not order what I thought I was. I thought I was getting a wireless set, however these are wired. I looked up my order and discovered that is in fact what I ordered - a wired set. That is ok, not that big a deal for me anyway and the wireless are even more expensive than what I paid for these, so am just keeping them. I have lots of wires anyway so one more is not going to bother me as I play seated anyway.

I can tell you just from picking them up they just reek of quality. Very nice in the way they feel and very solid. I am excited about the DAC that comes with it along with the software for all my sound settings including equalizer, also it can hook up both to the headphones and to PC at same time, so I could use this same sound DAC for all my sound should I so desire. I will give it a try and see how it compares to my Creative sound I have on board.

Stay tuned, should be able to give these a good workout during the day tomorrow. The next several days are clean on my calendar, so lots of flying inbound here soon. I will post my impressions of these new headphones once I have some good time in with them. Should be here soon.

 

Edit: Probably be best for me to do some voice training in Voice Attack since this is a new sound/mic device. Hopefully can get some done this evening to be better ready.

Edited October 5, 2023 by dburne

[dburne]

Ok so I have it all hooked up now and have been working on adjusting the sound. The led display on the control box is very nice, adjust and change all the sound settings from this box. Been working on that along with equalizer settings.

Again the build qualify is just supreme on this headset. Very solid.  However I am having some trouble getting the sound up there to levels I would like. But there is a big caveat on that for me. See my ears - both of them - currently are heavily impacted with wax packed in on both of them. Probably from using those dang earbuds I had previously. I am very hard of hearing right now, can hardly hear people even talking to me and my wife tells me while I have the sound on my computer where I can barely hear it, she says it is booming throughout the house. So my initial impression of the sound level is flawed because of that. I have an appt with my doc on Wed., and he will also be getting all that wax out of there for me. Then I can be a good judge after that is done, on how the sound level is really going to be for me in these headphones. I have a feeling it will be much better. I have 30 days to return to Amazon if need be, hoping I don't have to do that cause I am really liking what I am seeing so far with these.

So stay tuned, I will be using them in the meantime and will just have to advise on my concern with the sound level I am getting after my ears get their cleaning on next Wed.  I won't know till then if this is a keeper or if I return it for something else. Hoping it is a keeper.

[dburne]

Hmm seems with some more adjustments I already have it sounding pretty darn good in the headset, with my ears all stopped up even. I am starting to really like this headset now, and I am sure I will have more than enough volume once these ears are irrigated next week. I think I am going to end up with some really rich sound with deep bass with these headphones. 

I will update when that is done and follow with my final impressions. Next Wed. stay tuned.

Edited October 5, 2023 by dburne

[Hiob]

That is a pretty normal effect, to getting used or adjusted to your speakers/headphones. Unless they massively lack somewhere in the band. That's the reason I stopped caring TOO much about high-end audio equippment. Once you reached a descent quality, you can only tell differences in direct A to B comparison. That is why - especially for a Gaming-Headset - secondary aspects like build quality, ease of use, software, weight and such a very important t o me.

Unfortunately my current Corsair lacks in a lot of them. First and foremost the build quality, but also battery life and software.

Can you, maybe, add some pictures of your new piece? Including the DAC? I'm rather interested in giving Steelseries a shot next time....

[dburne]

3 hours ago, Hiob said:

That is a pretty normal effect, to getting used or adjusted to your speakers/headphones. Unless they massively lack somewhere in the band. That's the reason I stopped caring TOO much about high-end audio equippment. Once you reached a descent quality, you can only tell differences in direct A to B comparison. That is why - especially for a Gaming-Headset - secondary aspects like build quality, ease of use, software, weight and such a very important t o me.

Unfortunately my current Corsair lacks in a lot of them. First and foremost the build quality, but also battery life and software.

Can you, maybe, add some pictures of your new piece? Including the DAC? I'm rather interested in giving Steelseries a shot next time....

 

Sure I will get some posted here a little later on in the day.  Really not much to grab a pic of, just the sound DAC. There are like a gazillion settings in the software to adjust sound. Almost a bit overwhelming. However once you get set up to your liking then no need to even bother with the software any more, it is all contained in the DAC. 

Edited October 6, 2023 by dburne

[dburne]

Been going through some windows speech recognition training this evening for the new headset, have done it several times so far.

Hoping tomorrow will be a better day for me and I can finally get back to flying DCS. It has been one crazy week for me. I just want to fly now.

[dburne]

Ok so to update - had some big issues with Vaicom and worked on that off and on mostly all weekend, so no flying then.

Got everything back in perfect working order this morning - whew - and just had a wonderful flight in the Hornet off the Super Carrier in the Persian Gulf. Ok so regarding these headphones - both my ears are still totally stopped up and hard for me to hear, however after some adjustments I got the sound up to where it is pretty loud. OMG I am so impressed with these headphones. The richness, the deep bass, it all sounds great. Fits just fine over my Aero strap, no issues. I am very, very impressed and can't wait to hear them in all their glory after my Doc irrigates my ears on Wednesday. The Mic on the headset is doing great as well, no issues using it with Vaicom Pro/Voice Attack.

On a side note - during all this I had also replaced my 32GB of PC3200 CL14 ddr4 ram with 64GB of PC3200 CL16 DDR4 ram. I run vysnc locked at 45 fps no motion smoothing with my Aero. So I do not know about any FPS increase but I can tell you it is even a smoother experience now. Everything is just very fluid and smooth, more so than before that is for sure. So yes I believe DCS does benefit from having more than 32 GB of system ram.

Edited October 9, 2023 by dburne

[Rodeo]

On 10/9/2023 at 2:27 PM, dburne said:

Ok so to update - had some big issues with Vaicom and worked on that off and on mostly all weekend, so no flying then.

Got everything back in perfect working order this morning - whew - and just had a wonderful flight in the Hornet off the Super Carrier in the Persian Gulf. Ok so regarding these headphones - both my ears are still totally stopped up and hard for me to hear, however after some adjustments I got the sound up to where it is pretty loud. OMG I am so impressed with these headphones. The richness, the deep bass, it all sounds great. Fits just fine over my Aero strap, no issues. I am very, very impressed and can't wait to hear them in all their glory after my Doc irrigates my ears on Wednesday. The Mic on the headset is doing great as well, no issues using it with Vaicom Pro/Voice Attack.

On a side note - during all this I had also replaced my 32GB of PC3200 CL14 ddr4 ram with 64GB of PC3200 CL16 DDR4 ram. I run vysnc locked at 45 fps no motion smoothing with my Aero. So I do not know about any FPS increase but I can tell you it is even a smoother experience now. Everything is just very fluid and smooth, more so than before that is for sure. So yes I believe DCS does benefit from having more than 32 GB of system ram.

 

So glad they worked out for you and thank you for the review. Always nice to hear, pun unintended, from someone that has some experience in a subject. My caveman brain with my Nova was simply “sound is good… me like” .
 

The only benefit I have with the wireless is that I do have it connected to my phone so when I am flying I don’t miss a call from the wife or kids, everyone else I ignore. I do use the wire direct to the headset jack.

Hopefully all went well at the doctors and nothing more serious is going on with your ears/hearing.