Hi guys!

[Slacky]

Hi all. This is my first post here, although i have lurked for some time


I have a problem that i hope you can help with!


Basically i need a pair of headphones that meet the following requirements, and just cant find any that really look good.

Open design (would be nice but not essential)
Would like them to totally enclose the ear for comfort.
Needs to have a microphone
To be used for gaming,MP3 and the odd movie here and there.
Would like them to be Sennheisers if possible or equivalent build quality (AKG, Grado?)

Basically i have tried all the "gaming headsets" out there, and not one has impressed me, or has had faults that annoyed me.

My budget is about £150.

For the record i have tried the Medusa 5.1's, the plantronics lineup and the Sennheiser pc150's.

Was looking at the HMD280 Pro's but im unsure if these are right for the job. For a start the Mic for those is some sort of odd connection i never heard of :D


Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,

[Slacky]

Further to the above. The HMD 280pro's appear to use an XLR connector for the Mic. Converters are available for XLR to 3.5mm but im unsure if this would work properly.

Everywhere i have posted the above i havent got an answer. It seems most people just dont really have any use or experience of anything other than dedicated gaming headsets, which is expected really

[extremelydodgy]

I can't answer your question regarding the requirement for phantom power or not. As far as I know, most headsets come with the equipment necessary to supply power to the mics, or rigged for phantom power and you should be able to choose which. Even if it needs phantom power, it's not a big deal to power it... the most flexible way would probably be to buy a low-cost mixer like the entry-level Behringer ones, use that for phantom power as well as a basic but very usable headphone amp.


I suppose that you won't get a lot of response in consumer forums, as most people feel that the mic is a secondary aspect of the purchase of the headset and they all seem very expensive compared to the non-miced versions... and perhaps fail to realise that all of these are pro-use headsets so the emphasis is if anything more in the mic than the headphones.


Beyerdynamic do a headset in the HMD280's class, and one below which is easier to hook up (and cheaper). The lower-model headset is the headset version of the £40 DT231 (the DT234), and the other is the headset version of the £100 DT250-80/250 (the DT297).


I was considering one of the above when I needed a mostly skype headset which could pull double duty with music, but I've owned both of the non-headset versions of the phones and I don't like the fit of the DT231 (it's kind of half-on the ear, half-off) and I'm not fond of the DT250 as a headphone sound. You might like the way they sound though. The DT297 will go round your ears and be very comfy, are built for a hard life and don't isolate much even though they're closed. The DT234 will isolate even less.


Eventually I opted for a cheap headset for skype use and use my existing phones for listening.