Next-Gen Headsets

[Chooch]

I’m looking to buy some new headphones mainly for gaming but I’ll use them elsewhere too. 
 

Will the Sony xm3’s work with all the new audio options that the Series X and PS5 are bringing?

 

I know I’ll need a lead with a mic in it for chat but I’ll mainly be using these solo. 

[Shimmyhill]

15 minutes ago, Chooch said:

I’m looking to buy some new headphones mainly for gaming but I’ll use them elsewhere too. 
 

Will the Sony xm3’s work with all the new audio options that the Series X and PS5 are bringing?

 

I know I’ll need a lead with a mic in it for chat but I’ll mainly be using these solo. 

 

For the mic solution I’ve used one of these for years and it’s been perfect, I use it with some Philips Fidelio X2 headphones and I assume they should be fine with next gen as the trickery will be in the encoding not the headphones I presume!

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/V-MODA-BoomPro-Microphone-Gaming-Communication/dp/B00BJ17WKK/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=boom+mic&qid=1601045424&sr=8-4

 

Thinking about it... I wonder if the new headsets do any head tracking?

[Harsin]

As the release date of both new consoles rapidly approaches, I was wondering what everyone is currently planning to use for their next generation headset needs.

 

At the moment I have a pair of Sony Platinums that I use wireless on the PS4 and wired on my Xbox One. Ideally I'd like to use one really good headset that has wireless on both consoles going forward. But navigating the world of headsets and what they do and don't do on each system is surprisingly confusing.

 

I know Sony have said that 3D audio will work on just about any set of headphones (as opposed to the PS4 where it’s exclusive to the Platinums), is Xbox's Dolby Atmos functionality the same or do you need a certified headset?

 

So far it looks like the second gen Astro A20s might be the only ones designed to work on both PS5 and XSX (albeit with dongles).

 

https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/1/21404415/astro-a20-gen-2-next-gen-pc-ps5-xbox-series-x-wireless-headset
 

But it doesn't appear to have surround sound functionality?

 

Also it's really fugly.

 

[bobontheway]

I just use my Sony WH-1000MX2 headphones connected to the PS4 controller via a V-MODA Boom Pro microphone. Works a treat and means I don’t need an extra set of “gaming” headphones.

 

Unfortunately this obviously isn’t a wireless solution but the current gen consoles don’t like Bluetooth headphone connections.

 

 

[Marlew]

I've had the Astro A50, top tier Steel Series, and the Audeze Mobius in the past. They're all good at some stuff and limited in other ways.

 

The Mobius have the best sound quality by a mile - but only really if you're running USB audio, which the Xbox won't do. Even then, they're gimped by the Switch and PS4 limited output, so none of the fancy 3D audio head tracking which you've paid for. If you run them via the headphone jack, you might as well not bother. You need a PC to get the most out of them. Bluetooth is too laggy, it's just not an option. 

 

Ultimately, if you really need wireless the Astros or the Steel Series are the best quality, but after years of kidding myself with gaming headsets, they're all compromised, ultimately. Almost any half decent wired stereo headphones will sound better. They're just a bit more of a faff depending on your setup. 

 

I run all my devices into an HDMI audio extractor (4K HDR pass through) so they're on the same HDMI input on my telly. It auto-switches when you power on separate devices. I send the line out from the extractor into a DAC/amp unit which runs to my headphones. Could I have all that shite in the living room? Doubtful, but if you're also banished to the grief hovel paradise, reconsider wired. It's much better. 

[Uzi]

3 hours ago, Harsin said:

is Xbox's Dolby Atmos functionality the same or do you need a certified headset?

 

 

 

 

Atmos for Headphones and DTS X Headphones are both software solutions and need no special hardware - any stereo headphones work but obviously the better soundstage and quality sets work better

[Jamie John]

@Harsin

 

Digital Foundry recently did an article on this and recommend the SteelSeries Arctis 7 overall. Switching between sources is fairly convenient, by the sounds of it - you just need to plug the USB dongle into the console/PC you're using.

 

As @Marlew says, however, a decent set of comfortable, wired stereo headphones will always be better in terms of sound quality, and, if they're plugged into your TV, less faffy as they'll just play whatever audio the TV is outputting. You won't get gimmicks like 3D stereo, or what have you, but having bought and sold the Sony Platinum headset, as well as a HyperX headset that offered broadly the same thing, I'm a bit dubious about those sorts of added features, anyway. Obviously, with headphones you won't get a microphone, unlike a headset, but the quality of a separate boom mic that you plug into the headphone jack will likely exceed any microphone that comes attached to a headset anyway.

 

Currently, I swap between my Sennheiser 599s and my Philips Fidelio X2s. They're really quite similar and I should probably sell one pair, but I can't decide which set; the Senns are more comfortable but the Fidelios are just so lovely I can't bear to part with them. I've got a 5m 3.5mm coming out of the back of the telly which I've fed around the edge of my man cave underneath the skirting board, so it's unseen and doesn't get in the way. It then comes up through the side of my armchair and I just plug whatever headphones I'm using into that. I turn the TV on and the sound routes to it immediately - I don't have to faff about with Bluetooth or anything. If I'm on the PC at my desk then I'll use either pair through my Fiio K3 DAC Amp, which isn't entirely necessary - they sound fine just plugged straight into the motherboard - but I like the extra oompf, and it's nice for listening to music, too.

 

Having tried about 5-6 different headphone/headset setups in the last 12 months, I'd say that comfort is the most important thing when it comes to gaming - you want something that's going to still feel good after 1-2 hours. Unfortunately, there's no real way to test this without buying a pair first, so read reviews carefully with comfort in mind.

[Shimmyhill]

I don’t think there is an answer to what to use on the next gen machines at the moment, we are seeing last gen headsets made compatible with FW or accessories but no mentions of how 3D audio will work or the quality if plugging into a pad (garbage being the level on PS4/Xbone)

 

I use Philips Fidelio 2 with V-Moda boom mic and it’s a lovely setup, the weak link is the Astro Mixamp TR as stuck with Dolby DD headphone so I’m hoping we will get mixamps with lossless audio this gen - I’d also like to know what the Xbox is capable of wirelessly as plenty of bandwidth vs BT but again no info anywhere!

[bridger]

I’ve ordered the new Sony headphones to go with the PS5 but now I’ve seen the new Astro A20 Gen 2 solution above that’ll hopefully work well on both PS5 and Xbox I think I’m going to cancel the Sony ones and see what the reviews are like for those before making a decision. 
 

I’ve got an Astro A40 TR headset that I can use plugged into the pads for the time being until I know I’m making the right decision. 
 

 

[Quest]

I have the V-Moda Boom Pro plugged into a pair of Fidelio X1s. I wanted the headset chatter from the controller output but didn't like the game audio from that source, so I have a tangle of wires to get the game audio from my amp at the same time. I'm sure there's an easier way to achieve this result but it works, so I can't be arsed to waste energy thinking about it.

[Sarlaccfood]

6 hours ago, bobontheway said:

I just use my Sony WH-1000MX2 headphones connected to the PS4 controller via a V-MODA Boom Pro microphone. Works a treat and means I don’t need an extra set of “gaming” headphones.

 

Unfortunately this obviously isn’t a wireless solution but the current gen consoles don’t like Bluetooth headphone connections.

 

 

This will be what I’m going to do as I want dem headphones for WFH.

 

Shame you can’t use the built in mic! Any chance of that changing I wonder.

[bobontheway]

14 minutes ago, Sarlaccfood said:

This will be what I’m going to do as I want dem headphones for WFH.

 

Shame you can’t use the built in mic! Any chance of that changing I wonder.

 

The built in mic is pretty terrible tbh. Hopefully they've improved it for the MX3 and MX4 but I definitely wouldn't want to use the MX2 mic in-game.

[Chooch]

What headphone app should I be using on the xbox? There’s three options there, Dolby Atmos and DTS both requiring a licence.

 

Do games have to be built with these apps in mind or do they just rejig the surround sound? 
 

Clearly I haven’t a clue how this works. 

[p1nseeker]

I use an Astro headset with a mix amp that connects with optical so I dunno if I can get some sort of adapter to continue to use that

[Marlew]

You definitely can @p1nseeker. Might set you back ten/fifteen quid. 

[deerokus]

30 minutes ago, Chooch said:

What headphone app should I be using on the xbox? There’s three options there, Dolby Atmos and DTS both requiring a licence.

 

Do games have to be built with these apps in mind or do they just rejig the surround sound? 
 

Clearly I haven’t a clue how this works. 

Works with any headphones. In theory anyway. The Atmos one is better than the dts. 

[Shimmyhill]

22 minutes ago, p1nseeker said:

I use an Astro headset with a mix amp that connects with optical so I dunno if I can get some sort of adapter to continue to use that

Depends on the model and if you’re series x or PS5?
 

Series S/X is just a FW update and works over usb instead of optical. PS5 needs a hdmi adapter they have said will be available for $40

[p1nseeker]

4 minutes ago, Shimmyhill said:

Depends on the model and if you’re series x or PS5?
 

Series S/X is just a FW update and works over usb instead of optical. PS5 needs a hdmi adapter they have said will be available for $40

I'll be on ps5. Nice to know it's possible anyway

[MattKB]

Whats also annoying is that in the astro a20 for example, game chat balance says only for Xbox. So the PS5 presumably has this at an OS level - although Sony basically don’t want to share any details so who knows. 

[Corranga]

I’m another with Philips Fidelio x2 with V-Moda boom pro, since I started working from home, I’ve actually had less need for headphones as I can listen to my CD player so it’s nice to get some use out of them, the lovely comfy things that they are

[Calashnikov]

I have these: 

 

What even are they again? Are these the so-called ‘Gold’ headset or what? They’re alright.

 

I’d like to know if they’ll do the 3D audio PS5 bizness good or not. Does anyone even know?

[Sarlaccfood]

I read this the other day which answers some of the questions being raised here.
 

https://www.polygon.com/2020/9/11/21429424/playstation-5-xbox-series-x-s-next-generation-console-audio-headsets-headphones-surround-sound

 

 

But as usual, looks like we have to wait for the full picture from Sony when it comes to how balance etc. work on older headsets.

 

[djbhammer]

I’ve owned a cheap wired turtle beach headset for years but sold them today (not often I go to CEX but £16 cash was great considering I paid £29 for them originally) and have invested in, for the first time ever, a higher quality headset as a treat going into the next gen.  They are utterly superb, really impressed with them and cannot wait to use them with my Series X. 

 

https://uk.turtlebeach.com/collections/stealth-600-gen-2/products/stealth-600-gen-2-xbox-one

 

[Ferine]

Technically you don't need a headset for PS5, just headphones: there's a mic built into the front of the controller, and a secondary one on the back for noise-cancellation, so it should be decent.

 

Think I'll be picking up a boom adapter for my WH-1000MX3s, as plugging them into the controller for the console I'm currently using seems like the least faff.

[yashiro]

Always look at weight when you buy headsets. Astro's are covered in guff, usually weigh a ton, and thus suck for long sessions.

[MattKB]

On 04/10/2020 at 21:22, djbhammer said:

I’ve owned a cheap wired turtle beach headset for years but sold them today (not often I go to CEX but £16 cash was great considering I paid £29 for them originally) and have invested in, for the first time ever, a higher quality headset as a treat going into the next gen.  They are utterly superb, really impressed with them and cannot wait to use them with my Series X. 

 

https://uk.turtlebeach.com/collections/stealth-600-gen-2/products/stealth-600-gen-2-xbox-one

 

 

These look good. Next-gen it seems like Xbox is going to off a lot of control of game/chat audio by either direct connection to the console or USB (through the controller there's an OS solution the chapped). For PS5, a lot of the upcoming (wireless at least) confirmed functionality says game/chat mix works on Xbox but not PS5.

 

On 04/10/2020 at 21:35, Ferine said:

Technically you don't need a headset for PS5, just headphones: there's a mic built into the front of the controller, and a secondary one on the back for noise-cancellation, so it should be decent.

 

Think I'll be picking up a boom adapter for my WH-1000MX3s, as plugging them into the controller for the console I'm currently using seems like the least faff.

 

I'm not convinced it'll work as well as they say it will. They said the same thing about the Gold and Platinums, and whilst serviceable the mic quality is much worse than a dedicated boom. 

 

On 04/10/2020 at 21:20, Sarlaccfood said:

I read this the other day which answers some of the questions being raised here.
 

https://www.polygon.com/2020/9/11/21429424/playstation-5-xbox-series-x-s-next-generation-console-audio-headsets-headphones-surround-sound

 

 

But as usual, looks like we have to wait for the full picture from Sony when it comes to how balance etc. work on older headsets.

 

 

Thanks for that. Good spot. Weeks away, all we know about PS5 is that you push X instead of O in Japan. 

 

I've narrowed it down to these potentials for me:

 

https://steelseries.com/gaming-headsets/arctis-7x  - I had the 9x and they were amazing, however they cut out randomly for micro-seconds. This seems to be something to do with Windows Sonic on the SteelSeries, as I didn't have the same issue with other headphones using Sonic. They sounded great and were so comfy. I can't quite work out if the 7 are a step down from the 9, but the 9 are an older model so hopefully the 7x will solve this issue. I have tried the old version of the 7 previously and also very comfy, but the lack of game/chat mix on PS4 was annoying, plus I didn't ever feel like they had enough bass. 

 

https://uk.turtlebeach.com/products/stealth-700-gen-2-xbox  @djbhammer mentioned he has the 600 version above, the phone connectivity is a bit more handy than using the PC app, plus you have bluetooth which can be useful - a steel support structure rather than plastic. I had some Stealth 400s on PS4 and they were the best headset I've ever used. The 700 Gen 1 had wireless interference with dual band routers so hope this solves that. The 600 Gen 1 are regarded as better than Gen 2, however it sounds like it might be slightly the other way around for Gen 2 - the differences being mostly physical this time and battery life. 

 

https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/1/21404415/astro-a20-gen-2-next-gen-pc-ps5-xbox-series-x-wireless-headset - can't find a direct link but the A20s could be good. I've tried the A50 and everyone swears by them but found in virtual surround sound mode them to be a bit lacking. They were comfy though.

 

The lack of 5.1 simulation etc and being done by the system does sound a lot better. There's some weird stuff online about how MS has to whitelist things to use it - it sounded a bit confusing but hopefully they get on that as there are reports of the system randomly forcing sound to standard stereo. 

 

The existing headphone and boom adapters sound like probably the easiest/best/cheapest solution but I can't be doing with wires. 

[MattyP]

Just got a Logitech Pro X headset for my PC and it's lovely... very nice piece of kit.

 

Not sure about next gen though it certainly feels like a next gen headset...  

 

Seriously though I'd wait a bit before committing to anything before the consoles actually come out. Problem with a lot of tech is that it needs to be supported in the software (games) and to a degree the hardware too.

 

I've always found Sony to be good at this with their own headsets that support 7.1 sound because they tailor the headset experience to the games they release - so you could download profiles for games they released. It was a great system.

 

MS don't seem to do the same thing although could be wrong since its a while since I looked at Xbox headsets. 

 

Anyway did I mention that the Pro X headset I just got was awesome?!

 

 

https://www.logitechg.com/en-gb/products/gaming-audio/pro-x-gaming-headset-blue-voice-mic-tech.981-000818.html

 

You can even detach the mic too which is great and it comes with a spare pair of covers for the earpieces.

[Ry]

Which headset would you guys recommend that will be compatible with both XSX and PS5 that are around the £60 mark tops?

[rafaqat]

I'm going to go wired. Using a non gaming headphones with the V-MODA Boom Pro microphone attached.   Decent headphone, no battery faffing. Works on PC and all consoles.

[MattyP]

31 minutes ago, rafaqat said:

I'm going to go wired. Using a non gaming headphones with the V-MODA Boom Pro microphone attached.   Decent headphone, no battery faffing. Works on PC and all consoles.

Indeed wired here too. Also the fact that the Pro X wireless was an incredible £70 more expensive! 

 

Reason I went for the ProX is because I mainly just use headsets as headphones anyway so having a detachable mic was a bonus and the build quality on these is exceptional. Oh they sound great too.. especially when you tweak everything though their app for Windows. Dolby surround sounds fantastic.