You should go to a shop and try some headphones.
Also high impedance cans (300Ohms) need a proper (external) amp to sound good.

I can recommend Sennheiser HD650s. Descent bass (more compared to HD600) and very detailed sound.

In a shop (probably bad amp and source) I tried (years ago):
Sony 2000 something - most expensive, much bass
Senns HD600 - best sound, not upfront, but may be due to equipment
Senns HD580 - a little less detailed than the HD600 but much less expensive
There were more but those I can remember.

Sennheiser, AKG, Beyerdynamic wont be bad choices..

Quote from SladiVadi :

You should go to a shop and try some headphones.
Also high impedance cans (300Ohms) need a proper (external) amp to sound good.
I can recommend Sennheiser HD650s. Descent bass (more compared to HD600) and very detailed sound.

The HD650s are indeed high impedance cans but they still sound good out of my CDP's headphone jack "unamped" - on a regular basis I'm using a dedicated headphone amp + high quality soundcard though.
They will still blow you away unamped if you've never heard true hifi sound before and you could surely live happily with that sound forever (if you never wonder if there's even more), but clearly the cans are capable of things much beyond this.
Then again the OP was asking for cans for less than 50 pounds... I could go on and rave of the finest audiophile headphones when he actually just wants a reasonably cheap pair for gaming.
So you don't NEED an amp, you can do just fine without, but some people go as far as to spend another $1000 on amps, DACs and aftermarket cables to get the most out of the HD650s. When going down the Grado SR-60 road I suggested, you certainly won't need one.

Quote from TyresHot :

Sennheiser, AKG, Beyerdynamic wont be bad choices..

Don't forget Audio Technica and Stax! :P
And yet, all of these brands have a focus on real audiophile equipment. Something which is clearly uncalled for in this thread. There are low-end models but not many of them are a really good bang for the buck. There are some really crappy Sennheiser low-end phones out there for example...

Quote from biggie :

The HD650s are indeed high impedance cans but they still sound good out of my CDP's headphone jack "unamped" - on a regular basis I'm using a dedicated headphone amp + high quality soundcard though.
They will still blow you away unamped if you've never heard true hifi sound before and you could surely live happily with that sound forever (if you never wonder if there's even more), but clearly the cans are capable of things much beyond this.
Then again the OP was asking for cans for less than 50 pounds... I could go on and rave of the finest audiophile headphones when he actually just wants a reasonably cheap pair for gaming.
So you don't NEED an amp, you can do just fine without, but some people go as far as to spend another $1000 on amps, DACs and aftermarket cables to get the most out of the HD650s. When going down the Grado SR-60 road I suggested, you certainly won't need one.



Don't forget Audio Technica and Stax! :P
And yet, all of these brands have a focus on real audiophile equipment. Something which is clearly uncalled for in this thread. There are low-end models but not many of them are a really good bang for the buck. There are some really crappy Sennheiser low-end phones out there for example...

yeah + Audio Technica and Stax

Yes, the HD580s sounded almost the same compared to the HD600s for half the price because of the bad amp in the shop.

I also tried the HD555s. They have angled drivers for better soundstage and sounded fine. They are 55 Pounds in Germany.

I'm looking for a headset with a mic. Any suggestions? Are USB headsets anything special or just a gimmick?

I'd buy headphones and a clip-on mic. You have more choices then.

Don't get USB audio ever.

If you want to get a nice headset with a microphone, you have to look around and see what fits the nicest. There are a few Logitech ones that are nice, but a few guys from our team use a cheap set of Plantronics headsets, and they are pretty nice actually. You don't need anything special when you have a headset. They should sound fairly good, but you don't need something extremely nice when it comes to headsets.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ ... .asp?Item=N82E16826265009

Edit, or this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ ... .asp?Item=N82E16826106069

Pretty much the same thing. But the 350's are decent I hear.

@Tweaker: Thanks, but I'm a little concerned about the reviews that say the earpieces are uncomfortable. I currently have these:

http://www.logitech.com/index. ... ,CRID=103,CONTENTID=10011

They put A LOT of pressure on my ears and it gets very uncomfortable very fast. Plus the top piece contacts my head in what is essentially a .25" x .25" square, also resulting in a lot of pressure. So I may be looking for something a bit more expensive

That's ridiculous that they are uncomfortable (they say 30 mins?!?!). Well if you want something more expensive, that doesn't necessarily mean they will be more comfortable. All headphones/headsets have different designs for the earcups, and it all depends on how you wear them, and the shape of your ear.

Any headphone should be uncomfortable after a long period of use. They say 30 mins... so it probably doesn't fit their ears so well. Everyone I know that has them play BF2/2142 for hours on end with the thing on, it doesn't hurt them

The premium ones from Logitech are very bad. I found them to be uncomfortable because they rest on TOP of your ear, not around your ear. Plus the earcups were very small on those Logitech ones. The people that I know actually had those Logitech ones and returned them because they hated them so much... and they now have those Plantronics ones, and they like those more. For the price, they aren't as bad as you might think.

Okay, thanks. I'll check them out, especially since I just lost the left channel on the Logitechs.

Quote from Rtsbasic :

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.

Cheers.

Koss SB45, $39.99
http://www.koss.com/koss/kossw ... enform&pc%5Emm%5ESB45

Dunno what the experts think about them, but for me they work really well.

Thanks everyone for the advice - espically Bob & Biggie for the very detailed posts, lots of really good info there. Hopefully it'll help more than just me as well, there has to be other occational late night gamers out there I've decided to take a set of Beyerdynamic DT231 Galactics's off Bob's hands - they sound like they should give good quality espically for the price. A lot of the recommendations in this thread are beyond my budget at the sec but if I decide I want some higher end ones after trying these I'll definately keep them in mind.

TBH when I started this thread I had no idea they could cost so much, a "decent" pair of headphones from a good manufacture costs about the same as a reasonable full blown home stereo. Crazy stuff. Wonder if they'll sound better than my stereo for gaming, I thought it sounded very impressive for the price..

I dunno, I consider "decent" seperates hifis to start at around a grand.
Though obviously the speakers/phones are only a quarter of the chain, you've got your source, amp, and all the cabling ready to reduce the final sound quality.

Anyway, I'll post them of to you tomorrow when I nip into town to get my hair cut (it's been about 9 weeks, I'm getting quite a mop). They did me fine for years, I also convinced two of my mates to buy their own pairs so I'm hoping you won't be disappointed.

When it comes to headphones I have to recomend the Sony MDR-CD280

They are the most comfortable headphones in the world!! (disclaimer: I haven't actually tried every set of headphones in the world)

I bought mine for £15 on the highstreet. Nothing touches your ear, only soft foam on your head. You don't even know you have them on most of the time, which mean you can race for hours and hours.