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Hey guys.

I think I want a good over-the-head headset. Mostly looking for good sound on both ears and mic. I do have a fairly large head...so something that is a bit flexible would be good.

So if you don't mind, please share any experience or suggestions. A cheap one would be fine, but I'd be willing to spend more if someone has a really good suggestion. Also, I won't be using a sound card any time soon if that affects suggestions.

For $60, the Sennheiser PC151 headset is pretty decent. It's quite comfortable.

Depending on taste - and you should listen before you buy - check out Grados. Lower end models have fine reviews. They are clunky but comfortable, fit large heads well, even glasses.

I have the higher end 325s - which have soundstage and clarity (to my ears) better than the 60s or 80s at the lower price range (yours). Personally, i don't want exaggerated bass, but I want it there too.

ordskiweicz wrote:

Depending on taste - and you should listen before you buy - check out Grados.

But do Grado make headsets? OP needs a mike

Firestarter wrote:

Does Grado make headsets? OP needs a mic

You can use headphones with a lapel mic if you want. I believe that you're more prone to picking up rustling due to movement with a lapel mic than with a headset boom.

JustAnEngineer wrote:

You can use headphones with a lapel mic if you want. I believe that you're more prone to picking up rustling due to movement with a lapel mic than with a headset boom.

Personally I use a cheaper-than-dirt microphone on a stand + my HD595's. Coupled with a decent VOIP application like Mumble, it works great for gaming with friends. 0 complaints about voice quality, although it does pick up speech from half the apartment. Bonus points for also working with speakers (proper echo cancellation required).

I've tried many headsets over the time, and the only model I personally found to be acceptable in terms of comfort (for several hours of non-stop usage) and sound quality (for both microphone and headphones) was Sennheiser PC360. It might be a little bit out of your price range, though It also has standard 3.5mm jacks, so if you prefer using a USB connection you might need to buy an inexpensive USB audio adapter.

The one company I wouldn't recommend is the Razer - I've tried few of their headsets, their sound quality is OK but their general build quality is somewhat poor (same goes for their keyboards) and Razer's tech support is (in my own and other people's experience) pretty slow and not very friendly.

I got the Sennheiser PC350 headset in the Xonar Xense bundle from Asus, while I would say that the 350 headphones parts is half-assed in quality, the headset part is perfect. It has a narrow field that it picks up on so I can use voice activtion and actually have the headset around my neck and use speakers for listening while gaming. The headset wont even activiate from the speaker sounds. Small part of that will leak through once the mic is active, but it's not so it will pick up sounds from all over like the omni capsules will.

Dont know how much difference in sounds the phones parts part of the 360 is, but since they are open instead of closed I expect em to be better. THe PC350 sounded decent at first, when I had my small old Videologic sound system, but since then I've stepped up to a Yamaha RX-V2600 and a pair of B&W 685's for my fronts in my 5.1 computer system and theres just no comparison.

I've always used a desktop 3.5 mic and a good pair of headphones. I like that I can do more than just play games with my headphones. Plus I have found that a desktop mic tends to sound a little better than headset mics.

If you already own a decent pair of headphones or are interested in getting some (most headsets suffer in driver quality), I recommend AntLion add on mic. It comes with a couple of magnets that stick on to almost any over-the-ear headphone. It is a bit pricey (I think around $30-40 with shipping), but it is better than the mic on a lot of cheaper headsets.