# Budget Headphones



## Aastii

I'm not ashamed to say when it comes to audio equipment, I don't have a clue.

I'm looking to get a pair of budget headphones, mainly to be used for gaming, music and VOIP programs, sub £50. I am in UK, so please don't go posting site from overseas, I will spend more on shipping than the headphones themselves, if they even offer international shipping.

I already have a microphone, so although I will be using VOIP software, they don't need to have a mic on them. If there is a decent set with one, I won't complain, but it isn't a requirement or even something I want.

Thanks in advance


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## ScOuT

I don't know if you like ear buds...I never have liked them. I bought a $20 pair of Panasonic ear buds to run with, they are amazing! Absolutely the best sound quality from a headphones I have used. I have a $200 pair of Sony full headphones and the small Panasonic ones sound better. No joke! If that's what you are looking for I would consider them.

http://shop.panasonic.co.uk/RP-HJE120/RP-HJE120E-D,en_GB,pd.html?cgid=Headphones&start=1


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## Aastii

ScOuT said:


> I don't know if you like ear buds...I never have liked them. I bought a $20 pair of Panasonic ear buds to run with, they are amazing! Absolutely the best sound quality from a headphones I have used. I have a $200 pair of Sony full headphones and the small Panasonic ones sound better. No joke! If that's what you are looking for I would consider them.
> 
> http://shop.panasonic.co.uk/RP-HJE120/RP-HJE120E-D,en_GB,pd.html?cgid=Headphones&start=1



I would prefer headphones, however, if they are as good as you say, then I would definitely consider it, especially for the price!!

How good are they for deeper tones though? In games most explosions, engines, gunshots etc sound better with clearer lower tones than with those at the higher end


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## daisymtc

I usually go to head-fi and ask headphone question...
Here is one of their review post
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread...db-logic-hp-100-arctic-sound-p281-added-12-24

BTW, do not buy Sennheiser via amazon/ ebay, I remembered their warranty not included if you buy via those. I didn't notice until my earphone broken within warranty period, and they don't replace it....


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## Aastii

daisymtc said:


> I usually go to head-fi and ask headphone question...
> Here is one of their review post
> http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread...db-logic-hp-100-arctic-sound-p281-added-12-24
> 
> BTW, do not buy Sennheiser via amazon/ ebay, I remembered their warranty not included if you buy via those. I didn't notice until my earphone broken within warranty period, and they don't replace it....



I don't particularly like buying from ebay, and as for Amazon, with the except of films, I don't shop there either, but that is only if it is cheaper there than Play.

Thanks very much for the link, will have a look through later when I have more time, looks a very comprehensive list with a heck of a lot of options


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## SslagleZ28

My buddy has a set of these and they surprised the crap outta me, the sound is very nice.  Razer did a great job on this crossover, theres no mic, and they color is well to each his own, but if your using them at home whocares right.  Def worth taking a look at

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/...onesandheadsets/razer/rz04-00370600-r3m1.html


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## Aastii

SslagleZ28 said:


> My buddy has a set of these and they surprised the crap outta me, the sound is very nice.  Razer did a great job on this crossover, theres no mic, and they color is well to each his own, but if your using them at home whocares right.  Def worth taking a look at
> 
> http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/...onesandheadsets/razer/rz04-00370600-r3m1.html



I'm sceptical of headsets that are designed with gaming in mind and/or made by companies that tend to specialise in gaming components or peripherals, they generally fall short of the mark when compared to other brands and are overpriced. I'll do a bit of searching for reviews on them, thanks


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## Nanobyte

I've previously commented on cameras where the actual optical quality is not even mentioned these days.  Cameras are chosen by celebrity promotion (Avril, you go girl!), appearance and gizmos.

I'm sure I'm going to be trundling out this comment numerous times in the forum.  In the days of hi-fi, people used to actually go and audition loudspeakers at the store.  Not everything was sweet and rosy - there's the urban myth of the audiophile asking the salesman for speakers that would match their amp.  The response was, "What colour is it?"

These days most computer stores don't even have the facility to audition.  Reviews may weed out the poor products but ultimately what is good for one person is dependent on their hearing.  I doubt stores will even permit trying ear buds, headphones maybe.  How can you judge wear comfort of headphones from an ad on the Internet?

Good luck, try before buying if possible.


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## Aastii

Nanobyte said:


> I've previously commented on cameras where the actual optical quality is not even mentioned these days.  Cameras are chosen by celebrity promotion (Avril, you go girl!), appearance and gizmos.
> 
> I'm sure I'm going to be trundling out this comment numerous times in the forum.  In the days of hi-fi, people used to actually go and audition loudspeakers at the store.  Not everything was sweet and rosy - there's the urban myth of the audiophile asking the salesman for speakers that would match their amp.  The response was, "What colour is it?"
> 
> These days most computer stores don't even have the facility to audition.  Reviews may weed out the poor products but ultimately what is good for one person is dependent on their hearing.  I doubt stores will even permit trying ear buds, headphones maybe.  How can you judge wear comfort of headphones from an ad on the Internet?
> 
> Good luck, try before buying if possible.



Yea I get what you are saying, and it is true for everything really, and why I'm asking for recommendations. If you have 1 or 2 people saying they are good, that isn't enough proof, if you have dozens or hundreds of people saying they are comfy, they have good sound quality, they have decent sound isolation, there is still the chance that you will have a different opinion to the rest, but it is must less likely

=EDIT=

Does anyone have any experience with Sennheiser HD 205-I? Please don't say "Sennheiser therefore good", I've had some awful seets from them before, and that is being kind to them. They are perfectly on my budget at ~£36 and most places say they are great for the price, however, would like some first hand input if anyone has any.


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## FuryRosewood

i own the HD201's not sure how much a diff the 205's will be, i love my 201's tho, they sound excellent to me.


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## Aastii

FuryRosewood said:


> i own the HD201's not sure how much a diff the 205's will be, i love my 201's tho, they sound excellent to me.



I've got some 201's, or rather my step dad has, and they are great, however, I find that they have great amounts of bass, but mid tones sound quite weak. They are a hell of a lot better than my current couple of £ logitech crap, however, I want something with a bit more oomph.

However, from doing a couple days of research and posting at Head-Fi (thanks daisy, they definitely know what they are talking about over there ), I'm set on giving JVC HARX-700's a go.

But, I now have another question. It has been years since I last used a sound card, and when I last did I think it was a soundblaster Live! 5.1, which is about as good as current integrated audio...

So, I have got an extra ~£35 kicking around after the purchase of my headphones. I was going to spend it on expanding my clan into other games, we are multi-gaming but only have a CoD4 server, but I think it would be a bit of a waste to do so at the moment until we grow a little, most are hapy with what we have now. So, my new questions:

1. £35 sound cards, are they actually worth it? I have experienced, but never owned and used the very high quality (X-Fi Titanium and Asus Xonar Essence) cards for any long period, but was pretty impressed.

2. Which of these cards is the best, as in which will put out the best sound quality? I'm aware that Creative haven't had the best luck with drivers recently, however, I'm able to get work arounds and what not should any problems crop up:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/creative-labs-sb-x-fi-xtreme-audio-pci-express-x1-(new-version)

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/creative-soundblaster-x-fi-extreme-audio-sound-card-24bit-71ch-oem

or

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus...d-192k-24bit-true-pc-hi-fi-audio-presentation

?

3. Would any of those give substantially better sound quality over my integrated sound?

Thanks


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## linkin

Using HD201's with a half decent soundcard (Like I am) over onboard will show their true potential. Good headphones won't fix a crap soundcard 

EDIT: Get the Xtreme Audio, well worth it over onboard. Also, if you like clear mid and highs, creative's Crystalliser does just that, while leaving bass intact. Maybe get the PCI-E version as it has optical in/out if you care for that.


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## diduknowthat

linkin said:


> Using HD201's with a half decent soundcard (Like I am) over onboard will show their true potential. Good headphones won't fix a crap soundcard
> 
> EDIT: Get the Xtreme Audio, well worth it over onboard. Also, if you like clear mid and highs, creative's Crystalliser does just that, while leaving bass intact. Maybe get the PCI-E version as it has optical in/out if you care for that.



The Crystalizer is just a smiley face equalizer. It doesn't actually replace any of the data lost through mp3 compression. It may make unbalanced cheap speakers/headphones sound better but it'll make any type of monitor speakers sound sharp and unnatural.


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## linkin

diduknowthat said:


> The Crystalizer is just a smiley face equalizer. It doesn't actually replace any of the data lost through mp3 compression. It may make unbalanced cheap speakers/headphones sound better but it'll make any type of monitor speakers sound sharp and unnatural.



Yeah but who uses monitor speakers


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## diduknowthat

linkin said:


> Yeah but who uses monitor speakers



I do actually, AV40s .


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## linkin

Well it's not like the crystalliser isn't optional, you can set it to your tastes.


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## Aastii

All soundcards come with an equalizer of some sorts, so I'm not getting sold on a technology or marketing term, I can always change it to how I want it manually.

Speaking to people from Head Fi, they confirmed what I was thinking all along that the Asus would be the better option.

Thanks for the help guys and gals


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## linkin

Let us know how it goes


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