(I couldn't decide which forum to put this in, so I put it in tech because it seemed to fit the general theme)

So, I'm in the market to buy a good (but not necessarily the best) set of gaming headphones.
My situation is this:
-I'm looking to spend $80 or less on the base price (not including shipping).
-Microphone (obvious)
-I'm looking for the headset to be compatible with my PC and Xbox 360 (meaning it can feed sound from my xbox and chat controller to my headset so as to not disturb anyone)
-I'm avoiding wifi connection, unless it is compatible with BOTH Xbox and PC (wifi is nice, but I don't mind cables, as I tend to have a lot of them everywhere anyway. I wouldn't pay extra for wifi)
-Independent in-line chat and game volume is a fairly high priority, although can knocked down if a set is good enough
+The ability to use it as a normal pair of headphones is nice IE for listening to music on the go
+If it does act as a normal set, a way to detach the mic is a nice feature
+Sound quality isn't a must, but it should be worth the money (I have pretty shitty ears and it's hard to distinguish individual sounds)


I'm not very good at online shopping, but here are the three choices I've come up with so far:
The Tritton Detonator
The clincher for me is the removable mic and that it may be used as a regular set of stereo headsets without needing to be powered by USB. I hear mixed reviews saying that they are sturdy, but can get uncomfortable after 6 hours. It's only $10 more than the trigger, but it seems like a fair price. It has some sort of loopback capability as well, and comes with all the cables and adapters for the Xbox. I guess it looks better than the other options on here, but that's not a really high priority. Also has a breakaway cable.

The Tritton Trigger
It's $10 cheaper than the set above, but around different shops, it gets higher reviews. Like above, I hear it gets sturdy and and a bit uncomfortable. Looks cool too. Also has a breakaway cable.

The Turtle Beach Earforce X12
The "Standard" in gaming headphones; generally high reviews. They apparently aren't too sturdy but they are comfortable (apparently). Many reviews talk about how they have a better bass quality than other brands. Also comes with the same loopback capability as the Detonator. It does not come with the adaptor for the Xbox 360, but that's not a priority as I do not need it, but I will be taking my headset to friend's houses and LAN parties, so it's money I might have to spend down the road.

The Sharkoon X-Tatic SX
I hear good things about sharkoon, especially from IRL friends. I've tried them on and they're lightweight and have a deep bass quality, and the good reviews seem to confirm that. The mic is detachable as well, and they look nice, but not as nice as the Tritton ones. Does not have loopback and Xbox adapter.

The Sharkoon X-Tatic SP
Generally the same as above, but $10 more. It's black and is also apparently compatible with the PS3, but I don't have one so the extra ten dollars would be towards having a black headset.

The TekNmotion Yapster Blaster Amplified Universal Headset
Well, you have to have something on the low end, I guess. It has a 3.6 star average review, but it's the cheapest on the list. Comes with a shitload of adapters, but doesn't seem worth the hassle.

Feel free to add some more to the list, I will update it as more suggestions are made.

Post has been edited 3 time(s), last time on Oct 30 2012, 1:13 am by Generalpie.

You'd honestly be better off getting $40 headphones and then a $40 headset. The two have their own pros when separate, but when put together, they generally lose them.

What do you mean? Sound quality?

I'd say go for the Sharkoon SX.

Ignore Dem0n, he demonstrated that he knows jack shit about computers the last few times tech discussion happened in the shoutbox.

I would get this. The headset being USB powered, though, means that it likely won't work with your Xbox.

If by likely you mean wont work at all, you've got it right. And are you sure that the sound quality in headsets isn't worse than that of headphones? I remember being told on SEN that headphones are better than headsets for sound quality.

Still a very good pick though.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=108&cp_id=10823&cs_id=1082302&p_id=8323&seq=1&format=2

I think I'm going to get a pair of these.

Holy shit, I think I will too alongside the gaming ones