The following is my review of 7 headphones and headsets based on my experience with them. For the review, we used the Astro Mixamp with an optical connection to provide Dolby Headphone virtual 5.1 surround sound for the game Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. We also did a smaller comparison for music as well, though the main purpose of this review is targeted towards gaming.
*Note: This review is 100% independent by myself and will be published through public sites’ forums, eg: MLGPro, Halo3Forum, Head-fi.org, avsforums, and Overclock.net. These sites are not involved with this review in any way besides us posting the reviews in their forums, and these reviews do not reflect the opinion of the sites hosting them. This is just a review from an audiophile who wants to help people make a well informed purchase. Also note that because of the review’s independence, there will be absolutely no bias toward any brand or product.*
Grado Sr80($95)
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Intro-
The sr80’s have a native 3.5mm jack (comes with 1/8” to 1/4th” adapter that branches off into 2 cords, each going into the ear cups. The cups themselves are able to spin independently, so you can rest them flat on your desk. With the 2 cabled V design and these free spinning ear cups, I find a lot of times this twists the cables up a lot making them bunch weird, requiring me to unfurl them before I can listen to them.
The comfort is also pretty minimal. These headphones are super aural, which means they rest on your ears instead of over them like circumaural. The pads on these headphones are pretty stiff, and can become pretty uncomfortable after a long listening session. The headband is made out of leather, it is pretty minimalistic, I don’t really find any discomfort there, it’s really just the ear pads that can cause problems, but there are many DIY modifications s that people have come up with that can remedy this.
These headphones are also open, so this allows sound to leak in and out, so if you are thinking of not disturbing someone else in the room by using headphones, these wouldn’t be the wisest choice. But overall the design is effective but minimalistic, the build quality is good overall, and the comfort is well…eh.
Sound-
Well, these headphones were more or less just brought into the review to listen to some music on them. These were brought in with no intentions of being a real competitor for the gaming roundup. These headphones have no real open sound to them, the soundstage is very small. It does not bode well for a gaming headphone, and throwing in the DD on with these headphones made for a weird listening experience, I wasn’t a fan.
We didn’t test these headphones as much as the others for gaming, though we did have some fun bringing out their sound with the Audio-GD compass. To sum up my thoughts on the Grados, I think for music they are a fantastic set of headphones, though the comfort factor can be a turn off to some people, but they really shine when it comes to rock music, which was the reason I bought them in the first place. They have a punchy sound with clarity to boot. Good in the mid to lower registries in my eyes (or ears, you know what I mean), so you’ll have fun rocking to guitar and bass. Most people describe the highs of these headphones as bright, which can go one of 2 ways for a listener.
When the highs are bright, some people find it to the point of shrillness, and it is a turnoff for them. I kind of love that kind of sound. I love it when highs are bright with headphones, and these Grados don’t disappoint. So you can chalk that one up as a pro or a con, I personally consider it a pro, but everyone’s got their own unique sound signature affection.
For gaming, I mean, they would be able to outdo the clarity of stock speakers of your television, but they won’t really provide a competitive edge as far as directional positioning would go. And knowing the gamers of this site and the long gaming sessions they love, you’ll become acquainted to ear massaging.
Turtle Beach HPX($80)
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Intro-
After hearing the praise over the past few months on the HPX from Pat, I was eager to give them a go right away. When I picked it up, I noticed a few things about the design/build. One is the head adjustment. It is sort of like a spring loaded band that basically conforms when you put them on. No clicking or setting the headphones required. It just conforms to your head. The only problem here is. I have a big head. I didn’t really find this method too comfortable, it just felt like there was constant pressure. I guess it’s something that’s able to get used to, it’s just something I noticed right off the bat.
I also wanted to pay attention to the mic to get a gauge of its build quality. It was surprising to me that it was detachable, because it seemed like it was pretty well secured to the headphone. And the flexibility was very good, yet very durable. If you’ve ever had one of the metal flexible desk lamps, you can basically picture this as a mini version of that, it is very nice.
This headset is an open backed headset, and is circumaural, though I found my ears touching the sides of the pad, something I don’t experience with my 595’s or the pc 350’s. All in all the build is quality, though it’d be nice to have a more comfortable fit on the head/ears.
Sound-
So popping on some team death match with Call of Duty 4, I could finally experience the benefits of the Astro Mixamp, and what I’ve been hearing about the HPX. When I popped on the HPX’s, I at first thought the TV we were using became un-muted and I was hearing sounds from the TV’s speakers. Everything seemed so open with the HPX and the Astro Mixamp. When in the game, I was presented with a pretty full sound. I didn’t find anything really too overpowering or too light. The lows, the mids, the highs, they were all present and accounted for. If you were to compare the HPX’s to the 595′s or 650′s, the HPX’s do have slightly more bass, though i don’t think it’s to the point of drowning the other sounds out.
I had no problem with directional positioning. Usually I’m still stuck in Halo 2 mode where I can run around do what I want and still kick butt and take names. So when I’m in a game where you can easily be picked off, there are no shields and what not, it appears that I run around like a chicken with its head cut off. But when I took the time and paid attention to my ears, I could hear the grenades and gunfire and position them to where I could pick up some good combo kills.
For gaming, I was happy with the package you get for 80 some odd dollars. The clarity and the range of sound make for a great headset for less than 100 dollars. This was pretty surprising given the normal nature of Turtle Beach products(This is the only headset I would recommend from Turtle Beach to date) and multi driver headsets in general. This headset has 4 drivers in each ear cup, but it depends on the type of dongle you use that determines which speakers actually function. With the Astro Mixamp, the HPX uses 2 40mm drivers in each ear cup, these 4 drivers in total employing the Dolby Headphone virtual surround from the Astro Mixamp. So it seems like a weird internal setup, but it seems to work, so I’m not complaining.
For music, I’m a bit torn. While it does have the full sound compared to the PC 350 and Astro A40, and it does have the detachable mic, the problem with this headset is that it is stubbornly driven. The devices that it will work with seem completely random. Some TV’s can work fine with it, some you’ll need to really crank up the volume. The Astro Mixamp can drive them properly, but Pat’s Audio –GD compass can’t. It’s hard to tell what hardware this headset would work with and what it wouldn’t work with, so I am personally torn when deciding the victor in the headset music department. If you can get the proper drive, like hooking an mp3 player to the Astro Mixamp (which is funny because the Astro Mixamp doesn’t really do much to drive headphones more than other straight up devices, so it’s just very, very odd.) then the HPX will outperform the other headsets.
Astro A40 ($200)
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Intro-
You’ve all seen the advertisements on MLG and have seen players and kiosks displaying them at MLG events; the Astro A40 audio system. I have wanted to give this headset a go for a while. My inbox (as well as Pat’s) is full of questions regarding this headset. These are truly a premium priced headset when compared to the more affordable headsets players have been used to like the Turtle Beach X1’s and headsets of that nature.
Picking up the Astros, I noticed a few things about them. The design was pretty cool looking, though I wasn’t a fan of the white and black, the all black one seems like a more serious headset(kind of like when you see a high end camera in color ways like this: , straying away from the all black professional looking high end cameras).
Anyways, putting these on, again, I noticed these were not as friendly to big headed people, and the ear pads seemed small like the HPX’s. They kind of follow the grado design where you can lie this headset on a desk by rotating ear pads, but they only rotate one way. And the expanding headband seems very poorly thought of to me. There is an exposed wire that stretches and coils when you adjust the headband, like a pig’s tail. I’ve also been told by Tommyboy, a member of the MLG forums who is no stranger to dissecting headphones and headsets, that the wiring on the insides of the Astros is very “ghetto”.
However, putting even the internals aside, if you’ve ever had a screwed up cable from constant twisting or unplugging/plugging, you’d agree with me that the design Astro has gone for here is not the smartest, and either that, or the internals, could be the cause of all the problems Astro owners have had with this product. It is good that Astro has good customer service; however, I wonder why the inherent problem that is causing the malfunctions with the headsets just isn’t fixed instead of just continuing to repair the ones that are reported.
*Update 1/1/10: After reading a review from Tom’s Hardware on Astro Gaming’s website, it is noted that the wiring inside the Astro’s have improved. While not seeing this firsthand myself, I thought I should mention it. I do not know if this has helped the amount of RMA’s/problems experienced by Astro owners, it is a fairly recent change, I believe it will be that way for all 2010 A40s/Mixamps*
Another thing to note about the Astros is that they are not really that closed. I compared the sound of the headset with the Astro tags on and off. There actually wasn’t much of a difference at all, and the noise cancellation was…well there really wasn’t any. To the naked ear it doesn’t really make a difference if you leave the tags on or keep them off. Finally, we’re on to the mic. The mic seems to be poorly connected to the headphone. It plugs in fine and everything, but when you rotate it, it seems to go to easy. It makes me worried that it could constantly fall if I owned them for a long time. The way it also is flexible seems like it won’t last very long. It’s like 1 thin rod of metal in the rubber mic stem. I remember when I was a little kid I had some bendy toys with that same flexible metal rod, and they didn’t last long before that metal snapped. It’s good that Astro sells replacement microphones in case yours breaks or you lose it, but I’m just not sure how long the mics last with the headset, and how long the mic jack of the headset would last.
Sound-
Going from the HPX’s to the A40’s, the difference was pretty noticeable off the bat. The a40’s are kind of hollow sounding. I found myself turning up the volume to get anywhere near the same impact as I did with the HPX’s. It still performs ok for directional positioning, but the clarity just isn’t fully there. To put it in perspective, for the spectrum of headphones, the headsets we’ve tested place between HD515’s and HD555’s, for clarity anyways. While the HPX and PC350 lean towards the 555 end, the Astros lean towards the 515’s.
All of these headphones and headsets will offer you an advantage over your TV’s speakers, but we just want to bring the thought of price per quality to you guys. Now, with the A40’s with the quality they produce, II’d see them being more worthwhile is if they were a lower price. When they do not perform as well as 100 dollar headphones and have their build problems, a 200 dollar price tag seems out of the question. I could see this headset being worth it for 100 dollars alone, and 200 with the amp. It would then be the decision between the boost in sound quality with the 555, or the convenience of the microphone for the a40 for the same price. Then the incentive to buy the set would be greater because it would have brought the price of the a40’s down to 70 dollars, the same price as 515’s, where these have the same sound quality as the 515’s, with the mic, and not to mention the Dolby headphone technology provided with the mixamp.
Music is pretty much the same story as gaming; kind of hollow. It has light bass and ok clarity. You won’t feel any oomph compared to the HPX or the headphones tested in this review, and you won’t experience as crisp and clear a sound.
So in short, these headphones perform…ok, and when released, they were going in the right direction for headsets where companies like Turtle Beach and Sennheiser improved upon, but the price per quality just isn’t there for me with the other choices of headsets we have out there.
However, I will say that I really like the Astro Mixamp though. I haven’t heard any problems regarding that, and the idea of virtual surround so you have the benefit of clarity from audiophile headphones paired with the directional positioning from the Dolby Headphone technology, it seems like a winner. If you are really into gaming, this is a handy little gadget to put on the Christmas list; I’m considering picking one up as well.
Sennheiser PC-350($130)
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Intro-
This was also an eagerly anticipated headset to try out. The question of Sennheiser vs. Astro has been going on for a while among gaming forums, and now we have our answer. The idea of a headset with the same drivers as HD595’s sounded like a dream come true.
On the forums of Head-Fi, I have had experience interacting with a man named Eric who goes by the name of TheDeliveryMan. He is a representative from Sennheiser who has been answering community questions regarding Sennheiser products, and has been really hands on with helping where needed on Head-Fi. I knew if anyone from Sennheiser would be interested in a roundup like this, he would. So he generously sent us a review unit to test out.
When taking the headset out of its packaging, I’ve noticed that it retains the sennheiser build quality. Though in some instances, it sort of fools you into thinking it’s a bit weaker than it actually is. The headset is actually collapsible, though it still seems sort of bulky when folded up so I didn’t really see the point of that feature. But at the folding points, it makes you think the headset is a bit weaker than it actually is. After testing its durability, I can assure you this headset is quality. This headset is completely closed. This by far provides the most noise cancelling of any headset we tested.
However, one thing I’ve kind of noticed is that a closed headset has one problem in my eyes. So when you have closed headphones, you listen to the music. With a headset, its purpose is communication, so you are talking a lot with this on. When you talk with a completely closed headset on, you still hear yourself, but it’s sort of pressurized. I’ve described it as like I’m underwater while Pat describes it as being on an airplane. You get the picture. I’ve actually been able to get past this little gripe after a while; it’s just something I noticed off the bat.
As far as the mic, it’s pretty solidly built; it’s neither the flexible desk lamp nor the child’s toy metal rod. It seems to hold up strong, but isn’t as flexible as the HPX, and it doesn’t detach. And finally, good news! Sennheisers cater to bigheads like me. The headset is easily the most comfortable out of all of them. The headband doesn’t clamp and it is completely circumaural.
Sound –
After hearing that the drivers of the 350’s and the 595’s were one in the same, I closely compared the 2. It is amazing how the casing can change the sound so much. With the closed back, the sound stage is slightly narrower than the 595’s. For music, it has just a slight tinny sound to it in music. Finally, the bass is very light. Those are the 3 things I’ve found when comparing the headset to the headphone.
For gaming, the 350′s basically beats the A40′s in each category. It is better than the a40 for clarity thanks to the 595′s drivers, but it’s only slightly better in the hollow sound and light bass department. As for directional positioning, it matches the HPX’s and A40′s.
In music you might be able to hear a slight tinny sound due to the closed back of the headset. I haven’t noticed it in gaming however. Then the music of course has the light bass too, but obviously Sennheiser has designed these for just gaming since the microphone doesn’t detach.
This headphone would be good for those who don’t want to be distracted at all at an event since it blocks out noise so well. Also, people have different tastes for sound. For example, Madrok has posted the quote from a guy from AVS, who feels that bass present headphones are a lot of the times too much. None of the headphones I have reviewed in this thread would be in that category for me, but for some, they could possibly want littler bass to pay attention to gunshots and footsteps. I think the HPX’s and headphones are a good balance, with the headphones having a little more balance than the HPX’s, but like I said, sometimes sound is just darn right subjective.
To wrap up, one thing I would be interested in seeing are potential modifications on this headset. The hardware and everything is obviously there. I think a simpler grill mod could possibly do wonders for this headset; but for now, it stands at #2 for headsets in Patrick’s and my eyes. So when they are priced somewhat near the HPX’s, and have the features it has going for it, it’s pretty much a matter of taste
tro-
Now we are into my familiar territory. Sennheiser HD595’s have been my go to headphones for music listening and gaming for a few years by now. There is a good reason they have been a favorite of the MLG Pro circuit for years now.
Design wise, you will see a pretty standard open circumaural headphone, with a leather headband pad, velour ear pads, clicking headband adjustments, and one very long cable coming from the left ear. It is simplistic and stylish. It is natively a 1/4” jack with a 1/8” adapter, though this adapter is huge. Pat brought out his HD650 adapter while we used the HD595s so it wouldn’t wreck the headphone port from its weight. If you get this headphone I would suggest shelling 10 bucks for the HD650 1/4” to 1/8” adapter.
But these headphones are super comfortable. They do not clamp at all, the velour isn’t hard, but isn’t too soft (they will start to get soft after years of hard use, in this case you can buy replacement pads).
Sound-
As I’ve said above, there is a reason why 595’s are a favorite among MLG circuit players. Basically when you talk about the pro’s of the headsets, when you have the 595’s, you take those pros, and just take them to the next level. We went into this review fully expecting the headphones to outperform the headsets. The headphones were a good way of determining the quality of the headsets, since if you just compare headsets to headsets; you merely get a gauge of the biggest fish in the little pond.
So like I was saying, the 595’s just excels at the qualities you want in a gaming headphone; a nicely balanced sound, a huge soundstage for directional positioning, very good clarity. These will have more of an even sound than the HPX in terms of bass. While AD700’s are the top price to quality gaming headphones for the humungous soundstage, the 595’s closely rival that, and aren’t bass light, which makes them good for the grenade blasts, and also for music.
They are very versatile. I can listen to a variety of genres with these headphones, though they really excel with acoustic guitar/piano/vocals. Rock I now leave to my Grados, but The 595’s perform well enough, they could probably use some EQ adjusting, though I will always defer from that myself.
The one problem you guys will notice immediately since you are gamers is that they have no mic. It’s been discussed in this thread even arguing the convenience of a mic would somehow outweigh sound quality, and that’s something that Pat and I just won’t agree with. Especially when using the Astro Mixamp, you have a lot of options for a mic. A Zalman mic is good for home use, though can pick up a lot of background noise if you were at a LAN. There is also a collar mic produced by Califone that is more noise cancelling, but takes effort to attach it to your headphones. For those without the Mixamp, you can use the stock 360 mic, or you can use the Modern Warfare 2 throat communicator. By far the best technique I’ve seen for converting a headphone into a headset is the modification by Tommyboy, linked below, where he installs a detachable boom mic. Or if you are not competent in soldering which not a lot of people are, you can do the method Fragtality uses. There are always options when using straight up headphones, but if you guys still want to go with headsets you at least know how they stack up.
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