Must have type $200 range Pc gaming headset?

Get a good set of cans and then add an Antlion MODMIC 5.

That way you don't have to worry about the normal ricer looking and sounding trash that passes for a gaming headset.

If you must have surround, then one of these would fit the bill:
Sennheiser PC 373D (most likely going to be the best sounding)
SteelSeries Siberia P800

If you must have wireless, then something like this would work:
Sony MDR-DS6500 (no mic)
 
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cyclone3d said:
Get a good set of cans and then add an Antlion MODMIC 5.

That way you don't have to worry about the normal ricer looking and sounding trash that passes for a gaming headset.

If you must have surround, then one of these would fit the bill:
Sennheiser PC 373D (most likely going to be the best sounding)
SteelSeries Siberia P800

If you must have wireless, then something like this would work:
Sony MDR-DS6500 (no mic)
Click to expand...

This.

Or https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-x-sennheiser-pc37x-gaming-headset if you're a mass-dropper. 120 for the PC37X currently in stock. Probably the best bang/buck headset you'll get without sacrificing quality. Plus it's a simple black, no fancy colours or RGB.

Otherwise definitely consider a good pair of cans and add a mic or get a desktop mic.
 
cyclone3d said:
Get a good set of cans and then add an Antlion MODMIC 5.

That way you don't have to worry about the normal ricer looking and sounding trash that passes for a gaming headset.
Click to expand...

+1 for this. An Antlion paired with a Sennheiser HD598 SR can be had for about ~$230.

I'd vote to skip the wireless and surround features. Unless you plan to game a serious distance from your PC (like your couch) wireless just adds unnecessary cost and the maintenance of having to charge another gadget. Surround is hit and miss for people. I don't care for it, but I have friends that swear by it.

My current setup uses a Modmic 5 and a pair of Sennheiser HD 600's and it's been my favorite gaming combo thus far.
 
For $200:

For surround, I'd rely on a software solution that is either free or low cost. Options:
  • HeSuVi is free and offers free software emulations of almost all popular virtual surround DSP's.
  • Waves Nx (same thing the Mobius uses) on PC is $30.
  • The gamer preset on Darin Fong's "Out of Your Head" is $24.99.
  • Razer and Windows Sonic are free but they sort of suck.
  • Dolby Atmos is $10 but only works for Atmos content which is not always available
Then depending on what is left of your budget, buy some good headphones. Look for headphones with removable/replaceable cables that you can buy a mic cable for such as the VModa Boompro which was on sale for $20 recently on Amazon. You can also go the modmic route which works on any headphone but those are a little more expensive.

The P37X mentioned already is a solid, low cost headset. For a bit more money you could also buy something like the Sennheiser HD598SR, which also has an inline mic cable. (You can buy actual boom mic cables for it too.) These are the same as the old HD598 and are fantasic all-round heaphones.The Fidelio X2 is a nice sounding, bass-y and popular headphone which you can also buy a separate mic for and which you can sometimes find sales on for under $200. No inline or removable cable but Beyerdynamic DT770's are a decent closed option, and they're usually cheap enough that you can afford a pair of those with modmics, which stick easily on the outside of them. The VModa M100 was recently on sale for $150 and sometimes goes for that price, which is a great price for these cans. Also very bass heavy like the X2's if you'e into that.

If a microphone is secondary/optional to you, other good headphones in the $200 range would be the HE-4xx (Massdrop) and HE-400i, or the AKG 7XX (also Massdrop). Those are NOT bass heavy cans and are considered more neutral sounding, but generally sound fantastic. (My preference of those two would be the 4xx/400i)
 
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Ok wow, tons to absorb thanks all I appreciate it. Def will be looking into all the suggestions
 
Pass on those Sennhesiser PC373D (which i haven’t heard) IF they are like the Sennhesiser Game Zero and Game One (which I have).
The game version headphones from Sennhesiser leave a lot to be desired after owning their HD-595 and above headphones. I tried the game version and sent it back in short order after owning the HD595 for years (HD-598 equivalent) I now too own a pair of HD-6xx headphones from mass drop and combined with a magnet attached mod mic that’d probably be the best setup (assuming you like open ear headphones) for ~ $250.

However, for much cheaper and VERY nearly on the same level (<$100)
What Id recommend if you can find it would be a pair of Phillips SHP9500. (Which were recently discontinued so may be tough to find?) and a $20 vmoda boompro modmic, currently on sale at Amazon. I own that setup too and it easily beats the mid tier Sennhesiser headsets for comfort, sound quality, and physical touch and feel. It’s very nearly as good as my HD-6xx. In some ways better. (Single standard cord, much easier to drive) For a pair of $60 headphones to sound very nearly as good, by all accounts, as a two decade reigning champ top shelf product like the Sennhesiser HD600 is truly remarkable. And I have a feeling that’s why they were discontinued. They were TOO good for the price point and Philips knew they could charge more. They were probably eating too much into their much higher priced X2 sales. They’ll likely get rereleased under a different name at a higher price point with minimal modification.

Here’s another set of recommendations to look through from a YouTube headphone reviewer personality.


Here’s his review on the Philip SHP-9500. As a several decade headphone enthusiast, they truly were/are the best deal in headphones at their retail/street price of ~$60

Review NSFW due to coarse language.

 
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Archaea said:
Pass on those Sennhesiser PC373D (which i haven’t heard) IF they are like the Sennhesiser Game Zero and Game One (which I have).
The game version headphones from Sennhesiser leave a lot to be desired after owning their HD-595 and above headphones. I tried the game version and sent it back in short order after owning the HD595 for years (HD-598 equivalent) I now too own a pair of HD-6xx headphones from mass drop and combined with a magnet attached mod mic that’d probably be the best setup (assuming you like open ear headphones) for ~ $250.

However, for much cheaper and VERY nearly on the same level (<$100)
What Id recommend if you can find it would be a pair of Phillips SHP9500. (Which were recently discontinued so may be tough to find?) and a $20 vmoda boompro modmic, currently on sale at Amazon. I own that setup too and it easily beats the mid tier Sennhesiser headsets for comfort, sound quality, and physical touch and feel. It’s very nearly as good as my HD-6xx. In some ways better. (Single standard cord, much easier to drive) For a pair of $60 headphones to sound very nearly as good, by all accounts, as a two decade reigning champ top shelf product like the Sennhesiser HD600 is truly remarkable. And I have a feeling that’s why they were discontinued. They were TOO good for the price point and Philips knew they could charge more. They were probably eating too much into their much higher priced X2 sales. They’ll likely get rereleased under a different name at a higher price point with minimal modification.

Here’s another set of recommendations to look through from a YouTube headphone reviewer personality.

Here’s his review on the Philips SHP-9500. As a several decade headphone enthusiast, they truly were/are the best deal in headphones at their retail/street price of ~$60

Review NSFW due to coarse language.
Click to expand...

I'm not big on Zeos (because he is far too subjective); but he does have a nice headphone lineup -- and he is right on the money re: Philips SHP9500 -- they are some of the absolute best bang/buck headphones out there (sadly, they are not made anymore, and are now commanding prices well north of $100). Up until this summer, I'd have recommended them as a "starter audiophile headphone" to anyone who wasn't a basshead -- I used to own one (and greatly enjoyed them), and even bought 2 of 'em (along with DAC/AMP sets) for one of my cousins as a wedding gift for both him and his bride.

Philips SHP9500 measurements and micro-review here: https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/measurements/brands-philips/shp9500/

Very roughly, for headphones, you need to see if you prefer treble (very badly defined as clarity), bass (the boom booms), a nice balance of the two, and comfort. Making for yourself a rough scale of 1-10 (with 5 being average) for both the clarity, bass, and comfort categories will help yourself out greatly.
Then check out review sites like this:

https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/

You don't need to be an engineer to know what the reviews on that site state; skip the charts and read that guy's notes/conclusion if they are too "mathy" for you. I've found his (objective) observations to match my (subjective) ones very closely, so I rely on him.

Side note: alas, with Rafe Arnott taking over from Tyll Hertsens, I can no longer recommend the reviews on https://www.innerfidelity.com/ (at least, the ones written after Tyll's goodbye message, which was on 05/12/2018). Otherwise Innerfidelity would be my top pick for objective reviews. I still recommend reading Innerfidelity (in particular, Tyll's Wall of Fame and his earlier reviews) for headphones in every price range -- just don't pay too much attention to what Arnott writes, though.

For those that prefer subjective reviews, I actually like Steve Guttenberg Audiophiliac (Google him).
 
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Very happy with my HD6XX from massdrop (hd650) with a modmic.
IMHO they need some sort of amplifier to really wake them up though.
 
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