Hi folks, with the imminent release of Skylake and the Z170 chipset, I am building a new gaming rig, my dream rig to be precise. All top tier parts, without going too crazy. I already have everything picked out and have started buying the parts, save for one, headphones.

I strongly dislike shopping for headphones, they always give the hardest time. More than any other part, I find them the most subjective to try to research, what may sound great to one person, the contrary may be true to the next person, same with comfort.

So here I am, looking for some guidance and expertise. I currently use a pair of cheap Rosewill on-ear headphones, they are light, comfortable and I like their sound just fine, but I am ready for an upgrade.

I am looking at headphones under $150, primarily for gaming and music listening. I like a tiny extra bit of bass but otherwise balanced sound, on or around ear design, and open/semi open back. Also very important that they be comfortable, I can't stand headphones that clamp down on your head.

These are the ones I have started my search with, each has it's pros and cons, and I am utterly lost in choosing one:

Audio Technica ATH-AD500X, Superlux HD668B, and the AKG M220/K240.

Your thoughts on these, and any others I may have missed or overlooked would be greatly appreciated. =)

I get all my headphone advice from @ninnyjams, so hopefully he sees this and answers your questions.

I was a TurtleBeach whore followed to be a MadCats whore for head phones (I have Madcats keyboard mouse and mat....so I was already a whore.) and these are my own comfortable high quality headphones that I have bought...that were also in my price range. That is with minimal research.

However a true audiophile with probably get you much better sound, more comfortable and for cheaper.

I just purchased some Logitech G430's on a whim and I'm pretty happy with them so far. Battlefield 4 sounds amazing.

I'd recommend the DT 990's series, but the one I own (990 Pro) comes in at around 200, slightly over your budget. An alternative I can recommend are these right here. I used to own a pair awhile back, they were fantastic and the only reason I got rid of them was because my niece cut the wire with some scissors (she was 2 at the time).

You really don't need fancy headphones for gaming. The files are compressed so just find a comfortable pair.

@konig_kei: yeah maybe, but for anything but gaming gaming headsets are junk. Get an ath-ad700 id say plus a separate mic. I personally have hd-598 which are phenomenal imo,but i lucked out getting them for $70 (retail at approx $200).

I record and edit audio professionally, and this is what I use and recommend:

Sony MDR-7506

Exactly what I was about to say. I researched this topic a LOT before buying mine, and this headphone is the one used in most studios, and is pretty cheap. The audio quality is superb, specially if you enjoy good audio quality for music. Gaming headphones in general are kind of terrible.

Get yourself a pair of Sennheiser headphones with velour ear cups, they are the best. I own this pair and they are unbelievably comfortable. That pair also comes with a 4 foot cable for walking around with and a 9 footer you can use with the computer for gaming.

I did a little looking and found this pair on sale which would match your needs perfectly, they're open, currently $150, and have an amazing sound stage if they're the pair I'm thinking they are.

Get the Sony MDR-7506 or Audio Technica ATH M50X (or M40X if you're on a tight budget). It's hard to beat those Sony's, especially for the price, but I really like the detachable cable on the Audio Technica's. Those are all closed back though, so I'm not sure if that's a deal breaker. If you're set on open back, then I've heard Grado (the SR80e) has pretty good sound for the price (I haven't used them myself), though I personally find almost all on-ear headphones uncomfortable for long term use.

You can find some good recommendations here: http://thewirecutter.com/leaderboard/headphones/

The Sony headsets that the others have mentioned have been recommended there as well.

@keirgo:

I'm a location sound mixer and this is basically standard for most professional audio folks. If you're looking for a little extra bass, this isn't for you but, I can recommend these too. I also like that they are quite flexible and isn't tight. I find that most headphones hurt my ears cause I wear glasses but these don't. You can wear them for hours no problem.

I wanted to recommend these as well. I'm no audiophile by any means but I likes what I likes. The software 7.1 audio gives the audio a very spacious quality and the bass is nice and full. The software also includes a software EQ which I didn't really mess with.

Before this headset I had a Roccat Kave. It actually had physical 5.1 speakers and seperate volume sliders for each channel. When I bought those, like, 4 years ago(?) they ran me €150,-. Also a very good headset, but maybe a tad too heavy? There's not much padding on the top, which the G430 does have (like those gel mouse mats).

Hope this helps.

Wow, thanks everyone, you have given me a lot more to consider.

Sadly a few of them I will have to pass on, like the Sony MDR-7506 and Audio Technica ATH-M50X. I have tried closed back headphones in the past, and my ears cannot stand them, which is a shame because those look like really damn good headphones. I will also have to pass on the headsets suggested, I already have a dedicated desktop mic that serves me well, though I did consider them.

Right now I am leaning towards the Sennheiser HD 598s, though I have to say, nitpicking here, not so sure about the color. Haha

After seeing two people recommend the G430 I have to jump in and say avoid these like the plague. I used to have a G35 until the microphone broke and the leather perished, but now I sincerely regret buying another Logitech pair. I totally forgot how their drivers and Game Centre software is completely broken. There's a significant bug with their drivers which makes one ear louder than the other, due to the fake software 7.1 they use confusing Windows. It took me months of tweaking to fix it with the G35s and then it was back with the G430s as soon as I started using them, and I can't replicate the fix.

The software EQ used to be the only saving grace of the headset too, as by default they are way too quiet. You used to be able to crank all the dials up to get a reasonable volume from them, but a software update a couple of years ago made it so that turning up one range on the EQ turns down everything else an equal amount, so no more audio boost.

If you are planning on using the microphone, don't bother. It has really bad software noise gate that is so slow to activate that the first syllable of each sentence you say is not recorded, because it will still have muted your mic. The software issues are so bad at this point I'm forced to just use the headset plugged in via the 3.5mm jack to avoid it.

Just buy a nice pair of Sennheisers or actual headphones (which it seems like you're planning to do) - I know for sure I'm never touching a gaming headset again.

I'm in a bit of a pickle myself. I got these NuForce HP-800 on my mind and I think they'll do the job just nicely. Anyone have anything to say about them?

I'm no expert but these Corsair gaming headphones are awesome, wireless and has plenty of extra bass.

Me and my wife have been using them for 2 years without problems.

I've had several Sennheiser including the HD598 and realised eventually that I didn't like any of them. As you mention the colour the 598 looks really cheap IMO when you actually see them, the 558 look a lot better.

The Superlux are an internet hype thing, really don't sound that amazing nor are they built that well either but are good value for the money.

I do like Grado but they are some of the most uncomfortable Headphones I've used.

What I have now are German Maestro JFB's which I can wear for hours but are closed back.

Sennheiser Momentums have great sound quality, and the added bonus of looking really cool.

If you're willing to pay more, I currently have Bose QC25's and they are the best headphones I've ever owned.

Huh. Weird. I have none of these issues. I use the headset for work as well (remote tech support by phone) and I don't recognize the noise gate issue. Ah well, guess it's good for OP to know it doesn't have a spotless track record. If it was just a software issue it might've been fixed by now.

I'm gonna be a dissenting voice on the MDR-7506s because while accurate and flat they're just so boring! They're truly are ideal for folks who do work in the music industry but holy hell I can't stand using them for more than a few minutes before I'm put to bed. I know plenty of other phones will have their own issues like the recessed mids or earsplitting harsh highs and stuff but I find that for gaming and music a neutral phone like the MDR-7506 is just not a good choice.

As always though sounds is very subjective and people like completely different things so always try and hear them yourself to see if you like them. Sound equipment is one thing you should try and get real hands on with stuff you know well before buying if you can.

If you want an neutral well balanced phone there is pretty much no better choice than the MDR-7506 on top of it being an amazing value.

Though just to give a few suggestions I'm a big fan of the DT 990 Pro @doctordonkey suggested as well as Senn HD598 he and other have suggested. Currently using the extremely comfortable AD900x which I can forget I'm wearing within minutes that it's on.

Again though, for what you described the MDR-7506 are the best headphones that will fit your needs.

Yeah, I can only speak for the particular ones I've used, and although I've seen people on the Logitech forums with similar issues I'd have to assume it's probably the minority that are affected by it, but I thought it was best to at least let the OP know. It's probably a combination of their software and certain PC setups, and I've just got unlucky. Also they're pretty bad at updating their software, they never seem to post on their forums where people have reported the issue.