Recommendations for a good headphones (PS5)

[AllyBassman]

Hi everyone,

looking for some recommendations for a good set of headphones that will work with a PS5.

Mainly for driving games, GT7 / ACC so not too fussed on a mic / quality of the mic. Sounds (especially in ACC) are incredible IMO so I'd like something decent to build on the immersion. Being told to turn it down constantly ruins the mood ha!

Seems to be quite a saturated market... so real world experience appreciated!

Thanks!

[24lemons]

I use Sony WH1000XM3 on my PS5. I have them wired directly to the pad and they sound great to me. Not sure if I’ll be able to use them with the PSVR2 though…

[Wayoftheflower]

Arctis 7 are great on my PC and can't see why they wouldn't be similarity good for PS5.

https://steelseries.com/gaming-headsets/arctis-7p-...

[Stevil]

I ordered a pair of these a couple of years back and they are top quality, you'll not beat the sound for the price.

https://drop.com/buy/massdrop-sennheiser-hd6xx?sea...

Have a look for Sennheiser HD600 reviews to see how highly rated they are.

[AllyBassman]

Thanks for the suggestions! I'd never thought to use more 'audiophile' focused headphones before. Wow that opens an even bigger kettle of fish!

[Stevil]

AllyBassman said:

Thanks for the suggestions! I'd never thought to use more 'audiophile' focused headphones before. Wow that opens an even bigger kettle of fish!

Yeah, the 3D audio on the PS5 is pretty impressive too, can certainly hear when something is behind or above you.

[Steven_RW]

AllyBassman said:

Hi everyone,

looking for some recommendations for a good set of headphones that will work with a PS5.

Mainly for driving games, GT7 / ACC so not too fussed on a mic / quality of the mic. Sounds (especially in ACC) are incredible IMO so I'd like something decent to build on the immersion. Being told to turn it down constantly ruins the mood ha!

Seems to be quite a saturated market... so real world experience appreciated!

Thanks!

I've been using these whilst PC gaming and used to have the optical out from my PS4 feeding into the DAC so I could switch between PS4 and PC with no changing of wires. Sadly the PS5 doesn't have optical so I just dedicated this setup to my PS5. It really is very good. I've put them through thousands of hours of pubg on pc and PS4 and PS5 gaming too. Highly recommend and the fact they have their own proper little amp system and dac means they are ahead of the rest for me.

There is a "used very good" set for only £109 from amazon warehouse and due to the fact it's warehouse you can just see how they arrive and if not totally fresh and mint you can send them back. Used Very Good usually means hardly used for an hour or maybe even less and then returned. For £109 it is a total steal.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SteelSeries-Arctis-Pro-Ga...

Edited by Steven_RW on Thursday 26th January 00:37

[TimmyMallett]

I started with the Pulse 3d.

Ergonomically they are truly the worst headphones I have ever bought, they are not adjustable (they have this 'self adjusting' headband that simply doesn't work properly, so the cups hang on the top of my ears and push them down which makes them uncomfortable for anything more than 30 mins. Others may have bigger heads so this may not be an issue.

The buttons are utterly sh*t. When I use headphones I want the controls easily usable when it's on my head so they need to be raised and different, on this it's just a slightly raised profile and they're all in the same place. If you look at the standard XB1 set, with the volume on left and right earcups and a mute button a massive sticking out thing, that's a pair that have been designed with function over form, as opposed to these god awful things. Fine if you don't need to adjust in game but not otherwise. The battery life is absolutely awful. Do not buy.

I swapped to the H9's which are nicer, but not worth the RRP (I got them in a sale at £180 I think) the noise cancelling is reasonable, but not up to the likes of Sony. Better than the Pulse but not £140 better.

[AllyBassman]

Steven_RW said:

I've been using these whilst PC gaming and used to have the optical out from my PS4 feeding into the DAC so I could switch between PS4 and PC with no changing of wires. Sadly the PS5 doesn't have optical so I just dedicated this setup to my PS5. It really is very good. I've put them through thousands of hours of pubg on pc and PS4 and PS5 gaming too. Highly recommend and the fact they have their own proper little amp system and dac means they are ahead of the rest for me.

There is a "used very good" set for only £109 from amazon warehouse and due to the fact it's warehouse you can just see how they arrive and if not totally fresh and mint you can send them back. Used Very Good usually means hardly used for an hour or maybe even less and then returned. For £109 it is a total steal.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SteelSeries-Arctis-Pro-Ga...

Edited by Steven_RW on Thursday 26th January 00:37

Thank you - i've just taken a punt on them! £109 seems like a good price, if they turned up trashed or faulty i'll just send them back.

I was looking at a DAC for the PS5 to use with my HIFIman Sundara headphones, but they are coming out at a similar price to a all in one setup without the need for me to move one set of cans from my desk to the living room every time I want to play the PS5 *first world problem I know!*

[ArsE82]

I was just going to go for those Arctis but realised they are wired only. I've got some wireless Arctis which are brilliant, for gaming and for music.

[Steven_RW]

ArsE82 said:

I was just going to go for those Arctis but realised they are wired only. I've got some wireless Arctis which are brilliant, for gaming and for music.

There is a wireless equivalent model but for gaming I've always used wired and just taken them off whenever I needed to move away from the pc.

For extra sound isolation i replaced the standard steelseries ear cups with some fake leather. It definitely helps isolate even better.]
Cheers
RW

[ArsE82]

Steven_RW said:

ArsE82 said:

I was just going to go for those Arctis but realised they are wired only. I've got some wireless Arctis which are brilliant, for gaming and for music.

There is a wireless equivalent model but for gaming I've always used wired and just taken them off whenever I needed to move away from the pc.

For extra sound isolation i replaced the standard steelseries ear cups with some fake leather. It definitely helps isolate even better.]
Cheers
RW

Any idea how long the cable from the headset to the DAC is? I sit on the sofa, which is about two metres from the PC and PS4.

Cheers

[Steven_RW]

ArsE82 said:

Steven_RW said:

ArsE82 said:

I was just going to go for those Arctis but realised they are wired only. I've got some wireless Arctis which are brilliant, for gaming and for music.

There is a wireless equivalent model but for gaming I've always used wired and just taken them off whenever I needed to move away from the pc.

For extra sound isolation i replaced the standard steelseries ear cups with some fake leather. It definitely helps isolate even better.]
Cheers
RW

Any idea how long the cable from the headset to the DAC is? I sit on the sofa, which is about two metres from the PC and PS4.

Cheers

I just measured (roughly) and say 1.5m. It isn't as long as I am tall at 6ft ish.

In your case all you would need to do is run a 1 meter usb cable from PS5 to dac, add that to the 1.5m headphone to dac cable and you're sorted. For safety you could just get original USB to usb micro in a 2m cable and that would give you tonnes spare to bring the dac closer to you. Obv that might not work for how you want your livingroom.

[AllyBassman]

Got my 'used' Actris Pro on Friday, first of all the condition is brand new - it's obviously been opened and used for no time at all.

Looks to be older stock, didn't have the PS5 option, so I made sure to update the firmware - which was a PITA as I have a M1 Mac and the software does not place nice on it! Ended up having to use my Wife's intel machine.

Sound quality is good, much better than my old Turtlebeach cans that plug directly into the PS controller, with regards to Assetto Corsa, I feel that the sound is less crashy, distorted and I don't know if some of the sound processing is handed off to the DAC, but to me the game runs smoother!

For £109 they're a bargain.

[Steven_RW]

AllyBassman said:

Got my 'used' Actris Pro on Friday, first of all the condition is brand new - it's obviously been opened and used for no time at all.

Looks to be older stock, didn't have the PS5 option, so I made sure to update the firmware - which was a PITA as I have a M1 Mac and the software does not place nice on it! Ended up having to use my Wife's intel machine.

Sound quality is good, much better than my old Turtlebeach cans that plug directly into the PS controller, with regards to Assetto Corsa, I feel that the sound is less crashy, distorted and I don't know if some of the sound processing is handed off to the DAC, but to me the game runs smoother!

For £109 they're a bargain.

Glad you took up the advice. I am a bit of a headphones geek with 4 good sets of over ear cans and 4 in ear. I knew they were a great option and I expected you would find the amazon warehouse deal with new or near new. That is a proper deal of a price you got. And it's great they were momentarily attached to a good pc (intel) ;-).

[AllyBassman]

Steven_RW said:

Glad you took up the advice. I am a bit of a headphones geek with 4 good sets of over ear cans and 4 in ear. I knew they were a great option and I expected you would find the amazon warehouse deal with new or near new. That is a proper deal of a price you got. And it's great they were momentarily attached to a good pc (intel) ;-).

haha - I should have said, it was an Intel Mac ;-)

Thanks you for yours and everyones advice... next up is a sim rig setup... It's getting addictive.

[WhisperingWasp]

In the same boat. Was just going to get the PS5 Pulse set but think aftermarket has the better options.

Think this is the same as you have gone for OP?

SteelSeries Arctis 7P+ Wireless Gaming Headset - Lossless 2.4 GHz - 30 Hour Battery Life - For PS5, PS4, PC, Mac, Android and Switch - White https://amzn.eu/d/2Cl4skW
https://amzn.eu/d/2Cl4skW

Although these are cheaper and from a higher original price:

Razer Kaira Pro - Dual Wireless PlayStation 5 Headset with Haptics HyperSense, TriForce Titanium 50mm Driver, Detachable Hyperclear Supercardioid Mic, SmartSwitch, RGB Chroma Black-White https://amzn.eu/d/0h2JAZG
https://amzn.eu/d/0h2JAZG

Any thoughts?

[Steven_RW]

WhisperingWasp said:

In the same boat. Was just going to get the PS5 Pulse set but think aftermarket has the better options.

Think this is the same as you have gone for OP?

SteelSeries Arctis 7P+ Wireless Gaming Headset - Lossless 2.4 GHz - 30 Hour Battery Life - For PS5, PS4, PC, Mac, Android and Switch - White https://amzn.eu/d/2Cl4skW
https://amzn.eu/d/2Cl4skW

Although these are cheaper and from a higher original price:

Razer Kaira Pro - Dual Wireless PlayStation 5 Headset with Haptics HyperSense, TriForce Titanium 50mm Driver, Detachable Hyperclear Supercardioid Mic, SmartSwitch, RGB Chroma Black-White https://amzn.eu/d/0h2JAZG
https://amzn.eu/d/0h2JAZG

Any thoughts?

The ones I recommended him are the ones I use that are the wired Arctis Pro with game dac. Game dac is a little box that allows you to connect a few inputs and also has a DAC and AMP built in. It is wired but very good. From the link below there is another set that are "used very good" that is the same as OP got hold of for £109. Originaly back in time these were £250 at launch iirc.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SteelSeries-Arctis-Pro-Ga...

[WhisperingWasp]

Steven_RW said:

The ones I recommended him are the ones I use that are the wired Arctis Pro with game dac. Game dac is a little box that allows you to connect a few inputs and also has a DAC and AMP built in. It is wired but very good. From the link below there is another set that are "used very good" that is the same as OP got hold of for £109. Originaly back in time these were £250 at launch iirc.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SteelSeries-Arctis-Pro-Ga...

Thanks. Must admit all this DAC talk was passing me by! I’ll do a YT video so I understand it!

[Steven_RW]

WhisperingWasp said:

Steven_RW said:

The ones I recommended him are the ones I use that are the wired Arctis Pro with game dac. Game dac is a little box that allows you to connect a few inputs and also has a DAC and AMP built in. It is wired but very good. From the link below there is another set that are "used very good" that is the same as OP got hold of for £109. Originaly back in time these were £250 at launch iirc.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SteelSeries-Arctis-Pro-Ga...

Thanks. Must admit all this DAC talk was passing me by! I’ll do a YT video so I understand it!

Digital to Analog Convertor. Taking a digital signal from your pc or playstation and turning it into an analog signal that your headphones can reproduce. Your pc or laptop or whatever has one in it. If the machine has a 3.5mm headphone jack out it will do the DAC inside the machine however the DAC in the machine will have been built at the lowest cost and barely acceptable performance as most users won't care. To get the best out of better headphones you want to provide them a good clear, accurate and strong signal. So these arctis headphones take a USB out of your pc or optical out (this provides a raw digital signal, untampered with) and your DAC that comes with the headphones converts that to analog and also amplifies the signal nice and strong for your earphones.

Essentially when you start to spend any money on better hi fi stuff you are trying to provide the speakers or headphones with the best signal possible within budget. No matter how great your headphones or speakers are, if you put duff signals in you get duff sound out.

The clever DAC on this arctis headset has it's own volume control on the device and you can also up the level of your microphone sensitivity and also increase the sound of other team mates voices and seperately control the volume of the game. You can also plug your phone into the DAC so you can listen to music and calls or whatever, over the same headset and mix that in too.

So essentially it is more advanced than just plugging in a set of headphones in to a 3.5mm jack and taking whatever signal it is been given by the pc or tv or whatever.

Hope that helps and yeah a reasonable youtube video for the headset may help it make even more sense.

Cheers

RW