Good quality gaming headsets

[Savage Henry]

(Hello everyone!)

So after accidentally scaring the bejeezus out of my housemate's two year-old daughter yesterday while having a quick punt on Dead Space 2 with the volume turned up, I've decided to be responsible and buy a set of headphones. That way, the only thing that will make the little one jump is the occasional yelp of me screaming like a girlyman. Can anyone recommend a good gaming headset with at least 5.1 surround? Budget is in the £50 to £100 range. Wireless would also be nice if that's not too demanding on the cost/spec ballance. Many thanks!

[Vexing Vision]

I'm a pretty big fan of the Roccat Kave, but the mic broke after a year already. The rest functions beautifully.

The sound is absolutely amazing (I like full bass and trebble), although the headphones are a bit of a heavy side - which I don't mind, but which may take some getting used to.

[CMaster]

I've used Sennheiser PC150/160 s for years. Good sound, clear mics, comfortable, pricey. They're reliable as well if you don't rip the cables out. Don't know what the higher end ones are like, and they don't have quite the weight of the Sennheiser audio-only headphones.

[EndelNurk]

I'm a huge fan of my SteelSeries cups. You've got a somewhat better budget than I had when purchasing them, so you could probably even go for the 7H model here. All of the H series have retractable microphones (which I really value). The 7H also has two sets of ear cups (one for noise-dampening, one for being able to hear people calling to you from across the room), braided cord, great durability and the ability to be dismantled for transit. I could only afford the 3H which have the same retractable mic and which could fold for travel when heading off to play at other places.

Of course, there's always this.

[Lilliput King]

I also use Sennheiser PC 161s which have served me well for years. No gimmicks, just great sound with a good mic. Would recommend unreservedly if the cables weren't so damn flimsy.

[Kelron]

I have Steelseries Siberia. They're at the lower end of your budget but they're incredibly comfortable and I have no desire to upgrade them.

[Ansob]

I got a Razer Carcharias a couple of weeks ago. It's ultra-light, seems fairly resilient, has good sound quality and an amazing mic (plus a braided lead). Definitely a good purchase, although £80 was a little above what I'm comfortable spending on audio equipment.

[Kadayi]

Steel series Siberia. I bought a pair over a year ago and they are still going strong, well worth the investment. Robust build, comfortable. Zero sound leakage & generous cable.

[Kablooie]

I have a pair of Sennheiser PC 360's. They're about six years old with no problems, great mic.

[ata]

I've also got the Razer Carcharias headset, good sound quality and they are supremely comfortable (even whilst wearing glasses).

[TheLastBaron]

I personally always just use a set of good headphones and a clip on mic. I currently use these with this and I find they work superbly, though I think that particular mic would be more expensive to pick up in the UK, but anything similar would work just as well. Granted you won't get surround sound, but I find that a good set of normal headphones gives just as good sound positioning as a surround sound system, at least in the games that I play, and being able to also have a good set of cans for when I'm just listening to music or what not is a big plus for me.

[deano2099]

Razer Carcharias here too, best headphones I've ever used. Not surround but honestly, I think it's worth asking if you really need that. Most stuff on PC does a good job of emulating surround sound in stereo headphones anyway (amazing what sort of tricks you can pull off) and if you find yourself using them to listen to music as well then getting decent stereo headphones makes a huge difference.

[The JG Man]

A few too many in the price range to list here, but consider looking into Turtlebeaches as well. The more expensive ones are wireless and have 5.1, but they may exceed the £100. I personally paid £35 for some wired ones that are 2.1 and they're great.

[sterlingdax]

Not up on conversion rates, but check out the Logitech G930

[slick_101]

I second vexie,the Roccat Kave is an awesome gaming headset! Really good audio for games music and films, what's also nice is that on the wires coming to from your PC to your headset is a box with all adjustable parts you could play with when it comes to sorting the surround sound, another good feature is the LED on the mic lights up when you've got it set to mute, so you don't end up talking to yourself, the only gripe I have is that it uses all the 3.5 mm jack slots for the surround sound AND. A USB slot for power, which for me is annoying as I only have 4 slots on my mobo at the back

[G915]

Roccat Kave is a good sounding but massive, heavy and uncomfortable headset. And I mean HEAVY, that thing is build like a tank. I've got this headset and as good as it is, I wouldn't buy another one and get a lighter and more comfortable headset, like Steelseries Siberia.

[slick_101]

wow G915, I admit its built like a tank but its nice to feel something. as it feels good being slightly weighty. But it is heavier than some headsets because it has 3 individual speakers in each "can" so its TRUE 5.1 rather than virtual. comfort wise I think we must have different headsets, I've had it on for 5 hours + and I haven't had any ache in my neck/ears/head.

[G915]

I don't know, I don't really "need" to feel something. I used to have Razer Megalodon which was probably the most comfortable headset I've ever had, sadly it had bad firmware and a faulty mic so I returned it and bought this one. I also think that the shape of the cushions on the overhead thing is rather bad, I always have 3 squares imprinted on my head after having the headset on for more than ...well...10 minutes :)
The thing is that I just don't like wearing headsets in general so that is most likely the problem, I just thought that OP should know that Roccat Kave is slightly heavier than average headset..

[Miker]

I'm going to be the guy who recommends the G35. I think it's looked down upon because it's "virtual 7.1" and all that stuff, but I'm hardly an audiophile, so it sounds great to me. It's also pleasantly noise-canceling, which is a plus for me.

[Ash_firelord]

I'm interested on a headset, but I'd really like it to be compatible with both PC and consoles. Also, 5.1 is important.

The Sennheiser 333D seem great, and I love that brand's sound quality, but I'm unsure if they would work on consoles.