I'm looking into purchasing some decent headphones, primarily for gaming use on my PC & PS2 when everyones in bed, and was wondering if anybody could recommend a good set? Main requirements would be having better sound quality than my £8 ones, good cable length (so I don't have to sit right next to the telly for the PS2, seen wireless ones but no idea if they're any good or not), and not too pricey - around £50 or so is my upper limit. I've heard of directionional ones that apparently "fake" surround sound, are these any good? Any and all advise/suggestions appreciated.
If I'm not mistaken, pretty much all headphones are capable of doing the surround sound thing, all you need is the software to do it (i.e. pretty much any 3D game).
That's about how much you will need to spend for good quality headphones. Try to avoid models that feature bass boost or some other bass enhancement, you want as flat a response as possible if you aim to hear the original audio accurately.
I'm using $20 Sennheiser headphones. No neat features really, they are just really good headphones. Good bass, and I actually forget that I have them on, because they are quite comfy.
1. Avoid cordless, you get less sound per pound.
2. Avoid anything with surround sound or sound enchance gizos (like Gunn said)
3. Avoid anything by any brand you've probably heard of in the micro hifi market.
4. What style of headphone do you want? Earbuds, In-ear monitors (IEMs), portable headphones, full sized closed back headphones, full sized open back headphones.
I mean, you couldn't spend £50 on a set of earbuds, would struggle to find IEMs at that price, could get decent portable headphones, or could get some cheapish full size jobs. So your price figure is potentially quite vague.
I have a couple of pairs of Sennheiser 'phones - they're necessary as the PC is in the living room and Mrs H likes her TV Nice long cord, good bass response. I use 'em for my e-pod too, no sound-bleed to annoy fellow train passengers (all my decibels are belong to ME thanks ) and the quality utterly craps on the standard earbuds you get with those things. Sennheiser have always made great headphones and 50 quid should get you a pretty nice set.
Sennheiser, AKG, Beyerdynamic... can't go wrong with those and you'll certainly find a good model for your price. I've been using Senns closed monitoring HD280 Pro 'phones for about 4-5 years and they are still as good as new.
Thanks for the advice & link, looks like a good selection there. I'll be using them pretty much all the time in a deskchair so no need for earplug things or portable headphones. I don't need perfect quality sound when on the bus, they're just for gaming when I don't want to disturb other people.
I think closed backs would be better for me because they'd contain the sound better..is there much quality difference between open/back ones?
Any particular reason your thinking of flogging the Beyerdynamic's?
Open back headphones (generally) sound clearer and more open, but they offer no sound isolation (from an external sounds point of view you don't know you're wearing them) and they don't stop sound leakage what-so-ever - not recommended unless you're going to be listening on your own in a quiet room.
Closed back headphones often have a punchier bass sound.
My only reason for possibly flogging the Beyers is that, even though I loved the sound when I first bought them (they were my first set of proper cans) the difference between them and my current Grados is amazing, the SR80s are so clear (if a little harsh sounding) that anything else just sounds muffled. I have IEMs for portable use so open back isn't a problem (I used to wear the Beyers around town, got some well weird looks ).
Also I can vouch that these Beyers are supremely comfortable, much more so than the Grados or any others I have tried. Oh and I think the lead is about 3m.
A cheap and affordable set of headphones are the Sony Studio V6's. They are a common headphone (though nowadays somewhat hard to find) used all around the world, and they are great. I've had mine for a long time, and they are still in perfect condition. And actually a lot of the newer consumer Sony headphone models are worse... these are the older version of the MDR V6's, don't get the newer ones, they are terrible.
Here is a good read on them --- http://byrneweb.com/sunburn/audio/hd280vsv6.html. Sennheiser sure are good, but I do believe the price is always a bit more for a good set of theirs. The Sony Studio V6's were just in my desired range, and a few friends of mine who are musicians recommended these. Anything that is more expensive is really just not needed for the general day-to-day usage in my opinion.
i would recommend the "technics rp dj1200" i got them since 8 years
i did everything tryin to kill them (not intentionally) but they still sound like i bought
them yesterday they fully close around your ears so they are quiet for oustanding
people even if you listen really loud got a long cable (3m i think) you can also turn
the auricles fully around that way they can get really small if you want to take
them with you. pricing is around 64£ worth every penny at least i think so
Unfortunately both the Sony's and Technics are ruled out by price - both seem to be in the £80-£100 range, which is more than I want to spend. My home stereo didn't cost much more than that (Panasonic AK520).
Sennheiser has a good quality price ratio I think, atleast compared to the big brands like Sony. I like mine, one of the cheapest models, 65 euros or such (not that expensive in more civilized countries with less taxes), enough for me and because they are open I can actually hear my phone ringing. But those more expensive Sennheisers, or any of the more high-end headphones, are the porn, have them if you have extra money
I also chose headphones because I want both quality and volume at reasonable prices. I use my headphones mainly at my PC for games, but also often plug them into anything that delivers music. Thus I got myself the Sennheiser PC 140. They rest in the neck, are open, very light, produce very good sound for the price, have a long cable, a microphone-switch and volume-slider on the cable (which can be attached to your clothes so your head only carries a very small part of the cable, which makes them more comfortable to wear), aren't expensive, and have a microphone with a good quality.
But they are uncormfortable if you move your head a lot because your ears support them. If you hold reasonably still however you can wear them all day.
Well, I personally own a pair of Grado SR-60s and Sennheiser HD650s. While the latter is WAY out of your price range, the former is definitely a "big bad bang for the buck" headphone (imo).
These can without a doubt be considered an "entry-level high end" headphone at a very humble price.
The SR-60s work well without any decent amplification and I promise that you will be delighted with the sound of these at first. They have some very nice and punchy bass and quite remarkable resolution overall.... so I think you'll like them... if, yes if, you're not too much bothered with: their brightness (sibilance), their relatively low comfort (start to become uncomfortable after 2-3 hours of usage for me), their lack of soundstage (some say it's bad for gaming, I personally wouldn't know) and their poor isolation.
I may add that some people who own much more expensive (and supposedly higher-quality) gear have kept their Grado SR-60s because they're simply fun - despite being less refined and resolving. I think it says a lot
If you're more out for a very low-budget purchase, I've heard a lot of positive comments (from respectable people who know what they're talking about) on the Koss KSC75's and I suppose you'll find it hard to believe that they go for only ~9 Pounds new: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Koss-5 ... ie=UTF8&s=electronics
Most people I know say that they sound better than just about anything up to 5-6 times their price, so you might wanna have an eye on them.
So when you say that you wanna do gaming/listen to music while people are in bed, does that mean they'll sleep in the same room? If so, you cannot go for anything else but closed phones and the above cans might not suit you at all.
But if there's at least a door in between, you shouldn't worry too much.
However, in order to give you proper recommendations, it would be helpful to know what your sonic preferences are: mids, highs, lows? Soundstage? A more relaxing sound, or rather somewhat engaging? Are you sensitive to any parts of the sound spectrum? Would you even care to listen to music with these at all?
Functional, yes. Decent sounding? Well, that's highly subjective. Until you've heard something better you'll probably think you're doing okay. But you won't believe how much is in your recordings that crappy headphones simply hide from you. Better headphones make you experience music in a totally new way. Been there, done that.
It really depends on your preference and if you're someone to whom music and the ultimate enjoyment of it is important or not. To me, music and good sound IS important, that's why I'm willing to throw a bit more cash in that direction than most people would
) MDR-G52's, haven't had anything to complain about, save the shortish lead, but one can always get an extension.. 
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