Best headphones under 50$ for music and gaming

[Fapling]

I need headphones for music and games ranging from 30-50$. I already did a lot of research but couldn't find any headphone in my price range that is good for both gaming and music. If i had to choose between music and gaming i'd prefer music quality with bass and all, because i figure gaming headphones are for competitive gaming mostly and cod 4 is the only competitive game which i play from time to time.

Forgot to mention that my previous headphones were bloody g501. And also to clarify, i play a lot of games but not many competative ones

 

[greens]

If you can't swing an M50x, then you get an M30x.

https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-M30x-Professional-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B00HVLUQW8

Audio Technica is where it is at.

 

[Fapling]

If you can't swing an M50x, then you get an M30x.

https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-M30x-Professional-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B00HVLUQW8

Audio Technica is where it is at.

I've had my eye on the m30x for a while now but was waiting to see if i could find something else. But, if i get m30x will i need a good sound card with it to get good quality audio because my current one is not that good and i always used usb headphones so never really used it. Also i heard that you can get a usb converter which might be cheaper instead of buying a new sound card?

Lastly, how about Sennheiser HD 202? They are really cheap and the reviews are great.

 

[greens]

I think the M30x is going to have a better build quality. The Sennheisers just look sort of cheap on their low end models.

I do not believe a USB sound card is going to help anything. As a rule of thumb... the less processing the better, and those USB sound cards are going to muck with things in an attempt to improve "gaming" performance, but really what it does is just mess with frequency response.

The sound card in your PC is already worlds better than those in say, an android phone, ipod, or laptop. And those kinds of devices are often used exclusively for music.

You certainly aren't going to need a high end card for an entry level set of cans.
But i'm of the group that argues a high end sound card is never, ever necessary. If my motherboard was producing poor quality sound - it would have been RMAd.

 

[Fapling]

I think the M30x is going to have a better build quality. The Sennheisers just look sort of cheap on their low end models.

I do not believe a USB sound card is going to help anything. As a rule of thumb... the less processing the better, and those USB sound cards are going to muck with things in an attempt to improve "gaming" performance, but really what it does is just mess with frequency response.

The sound card in your PC is already worlds better than those in say, an android phone, ipod, or laptop. And those kinds of devices are often used exclusively for music.

You certainly aren't going to need a high end card for an entry level set of cans.
But i'm of the group that argues a high end sound card is never, ever necessary. If my motherboard was producing poor quality sound - it would have been RMAd.

Thank you so much. I'll go with the m30x or maybe m50x if i wait till march. Thanks for your answer

 

[greens]

Yeah man, the M50x have been on my desk, under it in the dust, on my seat when i sat on them, an my chair arm when i jump out and yank the cord hard, have run over the cord more times than i can count with hard wood floor and a PC chair...

They look freaking brand new. I think they are about 4 years old now.

Never had m30x, but if you do end up going with the m50x - they are going to last you a very, very long time.

 

[ssddx]

i think i better step in here with some other advice.

audiotechnica is not the be all end all of headphone companies. sennheiser, beyerdynamic, akg amongst others. while i do like AT, they are not perfect.

what you did not tell them greens is that the m30x and m50x have an extremely small soundstage even when comparing them against other closed cans. this means that they sound very boxed in with sound coming from right at your ear without any sense of scale or distance. i like my m50 as well but i make certain to point this fact out because it does not mesh as well with gaming. the dt770 all around is a better headphone though for about the same price.

i have an m50 and i gifted the m30 a few years back. big difference. sound quality is not so bad on the m30 but the earcups are much shallower and less comfortable (earcups on the m50 are already small) and build quality is certainly cheaper. they would work well as cheap cans but i was not nearly as impressed with them as the m50. be aware that the pads do get hard from sweat so buying new pads for the m50 after 1-3 years is normal. i keep mine in the leather bag and they do look like new otherwise.

on the cheap some decent options:
ad500x/700x
hd518/558/598
hyper x cloud
aurvana live
558b
mdr7506
hd598cs - only 109 on amazon now
hd429
....there are many more i did not list. there are simply too many options that could work. my favorites to recommend are however:
ad500x - if you want bass light sound for advantage
hd518 - if you want fairly neutral

 

[Fapling]

i think i better step in here with some other advice.

audiotechnica is not the be all end all of headphone companies. sennheiser, beyerdynamic, akg amongst others. while i do like AT, they are not perfect.

what you did not tell them greens is that the m30x and m50x have an extremely small soundstage even when comparing them against other closed cans. this means that they sound very boxed in with sound coming from right at your ear without any sense of scale or distance. i like my m50 as well but i make certain to point this fact out because it does not mesh as well with gaming. the dt770 all around is a better headphone though for about the same price.

i have an m50 and i gifted the m30 a few years back. big difference. sound quality is not so bad on the m30 but the earcups are much shallower and less comfortable (earcups on the m50 are already small) and build quality is certainly cheaper. they would work well as cheap cans but i was not nearly as impressed with them as the m50. be aware that the pads do get hard from sweat so buying new pads for the m50 after 1-3 years is normal. i keep mine in the leather bag and they do look like new otherwise.

on the cheap some decent options:
ad500x/700x
hd518/558/598
hyper x cloud
aurvana live
558b
mdr7506
hd598cs - only 109 on amazon now
hd429
....there are many more i did not list. there are simply too many options that could work. my favorites to recommend are however:
ad500x - if you want bass light sound for advantage
hd518 - if you want fairly neutral

Thanks for the reply. I checked all the ones you mentioned and they are all above my budget. I can stretch my budget up to 70-80$ but i'll have to wait another month without any sound from my PC (which really sucks).

Also, any thoughts on the siberia v2? I know they are mainly for gaming but the music quality is said to be fairly good on those. Plus they are really cheap (30$).

 

[ssddx]

v2 when compared with other cheap gaming headsets or headphones arent terrible actually. the sound quality is better than some others for the price. the problem is that they are built very poorly and break easily which is where most of the complaints come in. they of course will not compare with many higher priced headsets nor good headphones very favorably though but for such a cheap price you can not expect much.

another dirt cheap product is the 558b which is around the same price. likewise its not bad for budget cans but anything half decent in the 70-ish + range is going to sound much better..

 

[Fapling]

Thanks for the answer. I think i'll go with v2 for now and if needed i can get a better one later.

 

[Fapling]

v2 when compared with other cheap gaming headsets or headphones arent terrible actually. the sound quality is better than some others for the price. the problem is that they are built very poorly and break easily which is where most of the complaints come in. they of course will not compare with many higher priced headsets nor good headphones very favorably though but for such a cheap price you can not expect much.

another dirt cheap product is the 558b which is around the same price. likewise its not bad for budget cans but anything half decent in the 70-ish + range is going to sound much better..

Hey, so i know i'm a little late but i'd really appreciate it if you could help me with my current situation.

So i was just ordering v2 and saw ASUS Cerberus which is about the same price as v2. So, i searched a little and found out that cerberus has deep bass which will be good for my situation but in some reviews it was said to have terrible mids and highs. So, i just wanted to know if i should still go with v2 or maybe go with cerberus as it has more bass?

 

[ssddx]

treble and mids are where you hear things like footsteps, bullets and other needed game mechanics the most so poor response or not much clarity will hurt advantage. heavy bass also covers up such things and more often then not bassy cans tend to be flabby or bloated on the low end instead of clear.

it doesnt sound like a good headset from your words, but i cant say as i never heard much about it.

 

[Fapling]

Thanks for the reply. I think i'll go with v2 and get it by tonight before i see something else and get in doubt again.

Anyways, thanks for your advice, really appreciate your help

 

[aaronriley]

Audio Technica ATh-M40x is under 100 and good for music