Headphones & Audio Devices

I didn’t need an amp for my X2HRs. They’re really solid feeling build wise, no regrets but I’m also not an audiophile with access to $500 cans and good amps.

Well my newer dog loves to try and rape his way into my lap and get tangled in headset cord. Maybe fluke of timing but now like only certain audio channels play. so like some YouTube videos seem mostly fine while others will have like some sound but missing the voice line.

Fuck is o know, but thinking of going wireless.

What's good bang for buck these days? I'm no audiophile but I don't want $20 Chinese awful sounding shit.

Sludig said:

Well my newer dog loves to try and rape his way into my lap and get tangled in headset cord. Maybe fluke of timing but now like only certain audio channels play. so like some YouTube videos seem mostly fine while others will have like some sound but missing the voice line.

Fuck is o know, but thinking of going wireless.

What's good bang for buck these days? I'm no audiophile but I don't want $20 Chinese awful sounding shit.

Click to expand...

Best bet seems to go off of Rtings.com scores, as they use a mostly unbiased testing method that you can evaluate how important each part is, to you.

I briefly looked at wireless but they may get hotter on the ears than wired sets, and they don't seem to perform as well as equally priced wired sets, since you are paying for the extra battery and Bluetooth functionality. Also, some headsets have bad word of mouth on reddit due to the Bluetooth software using a subpar codec, that cant be changed (or some such).

If you see a pair you are interested in, you can then find some decent opinions on the headsets by searching for them on the reddit: r/HeadphoneAdvice

Rtings.com has various lists for hitting certain price points is a good place to start, then go from there:

Deathwing said:

Anyone have a recommendation for work-related headsets? The shitty Microsoft(not even a model name) ones keep breaking. I figured I'd ask before buying something and missing out on some functionality I didn't know I wanted. Dedicated mute button is pretty nice when you're ignoring the meeting you're in.

Click to expand...

Been using these the last five years or so for the call centers. They are indestructible!

Deathwing said:

Anyone have a recommendation for work-related headsets? The shitty Microsoft(not even a model name) ones keep breaking. I figured I'd ask before buying something and missing out on some functionality I didn't know I wanted. Dedicated mute button is pretty nice when you're ignoring the meeting you're in.

Click to expand...

I've used the 1 ear version of the set that Brahma linked for ~10 years (10 - 15 hours a week, roughly) before needing to replace it. I'm on my second pair, and I dont even remeber what part failed. The in line volume controls are always a weak spot for these things, so prolly that.

Amazon makes me take off all ad and script blocking to see it's shitty embed, so here it is, old style LINK TO AMAZON.

Hey bros. I need a recommendation on a decent pair of cheap headphones for my kids (8, 11) for PC games and a smidge of music listening. I don't need a "gaming headset" so all brands are on the table. All I'm really looking for is "not dogshit" in both build and sound quality. I'm hoping to keep it as close to $50 as I can manage, definitely not more than $100.

Thoughts? Thanks.

Janx said:

Could probably pick up some cheap Corsair headphones like the HS35's for like $40. Always worked well for my kids and lasted awhile.

Click to expand...

Heh, thanks, but I should have mentioned I'm actually replacing a set of HS60's that sounded like dogshit, required bloated and buggy software to function, and had soldering that broke in under a year of light use. I'm never touching Corsair headphones again.

Captain Suave said:

Hey bros. I need a recommendation on a decent pair of cheap headphones for my kids (8, 11) for PC games and a smidge of music listening. I don't need a "gaming headset" so all brands are on the table. All I'm really looking for is "not dogshit" in both build and sound quality. I'm hoping to keep it as close to $50 as I can manage, definitely not more than $100.

Thoughts? Thanks.

Click to expand...

Kids are going to do kid things, so I wouldn't expect anything big and "heavy" to work for very long. "Over ear" sets are heavy enough to break fairly quickly when dropped a bunch (I assume). On-ear headsets and earbuds are going to take more abuse, with earbuds probably being the most durable (less points of failure) but I don't feel comfortable letting young-ish kids stick things in their ear (earbuds). Earbuds might also be too big for an 8 year olds ear.

Sennheiser seems to always get good ratings. If you want a mic for future online gaming use, there were the ones Brahma linked above, otherwise, they should make a couple different on-ear headsets without a mic, in your price range. For a cheap set, the Monoprice stuff is also supposed to be a good value. Outside of that, maybe see what Rtings.com has to say.

Burns said:

For a cheap set, the Monoprice stuff is also supposed to be a good value.

Click to expand...

I ordered two monoprice 8323s. They have decent reviews, and for $16 it's really hard to go wrong.

Chanur said:

I'm looking to change from my Klipsch set up starting with my RP-260F front speakers. My wife is kind of sensitive to sound and I think these might be fatiguing to her as they often have a reputation for doing so.

So I'm looking for some bookshelf speakers up to 2k a pair. Can anyone recommend some quality non fatiguing bookshelf's? Mostly for home theater/tv .

Click to expand...

Never had that happen before with speakers, so looked it up. Found a thread on AVS that was decent, but I don't know how applicable, since Klipsch is a high quality speaker already. There were recommendations for trying soft dome tweeters, but it looks like it's all going to come down to demoing out a speaker, to see how it effects her after 30m - 1 hour, and even that might change between a showroom and a house. Links and posts bellow.

Don't know if this would cause issue, but it's generally recommended to have matching center channel with the front left and right speakers, so that all the frequencies line up.

If you want to save money (50% or more for the same quality), you can build your own speakers. There are many options and resources for this but you will lose some money on build mats if you don't like them and have to return the drivers. Few links below.

Here is a good post for a general run down:

Could check review places for various speakers being "harsh" or "soft." This one goes to the highly technical side:



DIY info places:

Chanur said:

I've decided to try the new RP 600M IIs and the new center channel. If that doesn't work I'll be upgrading my AVR and going to some Warfhdale EVO.2s.

Click to expand...

Warfedale makes some beautiful speakers but I'm not sure my ears would be good enough to appreciate them. I've thought about trying to copy the bookshelf enclosure (box) design with one of the Carmody speaker setups in it, but it would cost $150-200 in mats and an unknown amount of time to cut them by hand.