What are the best wired earphones for VR?

I would like to buy decent quality wired earphones for my StarVR One which does not come with it’s own audio solution. I need something that plugs into a single audio jack and has good bass and 3d sound for a reasonable price.

I edited my post which was originally asking for headphones

Thanks!

Airpods Pros are my go to option for Vr / Gym

do you use motion system or is there anything else loud around you (transducers)?

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Nope, I have a quiet environment. No motion system.

Can you run a DAC (like the dragonfly) off a usb near the headset? Powering headphones will probably be a lot better than just using the onboard audio circuitry.

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Grab Yourself a pair of Koss KPH30i’s while You’re figuring out what the best headphones are … :smiley:

They’re cheap and the sound is pretty amazing (and they have a huge soundstage!) and they’re easy to drive… :slight_smile:

Hell, grab two sets while You’re at it :slight_smile:

I decided on buying these:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07RK3L8R7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have Mpow bluetooth earphones I use which have good sound quality, so I hope this brand delivers in headphones.

The cable is very very long from this gaming headset,so keep that in mind…

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I guess I’ll have to bunch the cable together and tie it.

I got the sennheiser Hd800 , they are the best in my opinion because of the sound stage and resolution . I am using them with a custom Eq on my asus essence stx sound card

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Wow. Those are more expensive than a Pimax 8K-X lol. I’m looking more toward the $60 to $300 range.

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Sennheiser or beyerdynamic are great quality, they have a huge range to suit all pockets.

I have these, which are the open-backed version. There’s a few similar ones with different resistances for various needs. Super comfy too.

https://europe.beyerdynamic.com/dt-990-pro.html

Great sound and have had a huge price cut (used to be about £400 a few years ago), I use them for studio work more than gaming

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Firstly, to sound as good as Index speakers, you might need something that lets you have some natural HRTF and crosstalk. Using the very same Valve Index drivers in a closed earcups with pads probably won’t give an experience as good as once floating over ears. Closing the Valve drivers will make you feel low frequencies (bass) are louder but in detriement of frequency response qualities and overall 3D experience. Ear cups are acting like small rooms where the sound bounces around ; they will add some resonance, distorsion and coloration that is why Vavle decided to bypass them.

That is what Vavle says about its audio solution : “Mid-high frequency sound fidelity is very important. Binaural simulations rely on subtle changes in tonal coloration (1kH-8kHz) to convey the position of a sound source relative to the player. If a listening device adds its own muffled frequency coloration, this will interfere with the player’s ability to localize sound.” Ear Speakers - Deep Dive - Valve Index® - Upgrade your experience - Valve Corporation

So what you are looking for is not much a “great/fun sound” than some kind of “accurate sound”. You are looking for a device able to reproduce/resolve frequencies with as much fidelity as your budget allows. Sometimes the better headset is the one that is precise enough to let you ear all the artifacts, compressions and imperfections of your mp3 source…

Maybe you can try some in-ear (great ChiFi) solutions? There are different budgets :

  • BLON BL03 (22$)
  • Tin T2 Plus (45$)
  • ThieAudio Legacy 3 (130$)

The last two will be the more accurate ones. These are said to have a sound signature close to Sennheiser HD600.

In an other budget you can get the Raal SR1a earfield ribbon monitors : SR1a Ribbon Headphone: First Listen - YouTube

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For light weight, with small ear cup design closed design and relative affordability, I recommend - Sennheiser HD25-SP.

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They are awesome, especially for music, phone calls, fit great on most ears, good noise canceling BUT they come with major disadvantages for VR.

InEars lack of „roomy“ bass therefore way less immersive than on ear phones.
I personally prefer half opened but they can be heard from outside which is not desirable for some. For simmer closed may be a better choice.
Biggest disadvantage is Bluettooth…it came a long way in terms of sound quality but is still heavy on latency. And I simply do not like shooting a gun with the sound coming in late.
So no airpods for VR.

Try to get your hands on senheiser 6xx as they are a great bang for the buck. I have 650 but they certainly come with a price.
For some games even the DAS strap phones are sufficient though. In terms of practical reasons you may look if modicap can be put on the starVR.
otherwise good closed ones in a ok price range are the beyerdynamic 880pro.

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Not all in-ears lack bass compared to on-ear headphones though.

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All do! Just to make sure, it‘s a different feeling if bass can „unfold“ and how it is perceived. I’m not talking about sheer frequency. Believe me, even with the best in ears that money can buy.
I got UE11 that can be considered top tier in-ears (3way 4drivers) But I really still prefer on ears for enjoying bass.
But I admit that it may be a matter of taste.
Probably people that exclusively listen to electronic music may not worry about the difference between in ear and on ear bass.

you may try the „spatial“ option in windows which works great for VR.

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I totally agree on that.

BLON BL-03’s are amazing in that regard and their indirect upgrade is said to be the Urbanfun YBF-ISS014’s.

I own the 03’s and the key is a proper seal (like with any IEM). I’m using Sony tips on them and with those they’re offering the best seal of any of my IEM’s.

They offer so much punch that I am sometimes taken by surprise and have to take them out as I think it was external (“Did one of the kids take down a shelf…?”)… :wink:

They’re, among other genres, great for rock (same is said for the other sets I mention), but I use them for anything from Diana Krall to Iron Maiden.

I also have the YBF-ISS014’s and a pair of ThieAudio Legacy 3’s incoming (among others)… :nerd_face:

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You asked for best in topic related to audio…

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Someone can always propose HD650 or some other high end headphones, and most likely, they will also not suck in VR. But I would argue that they are best for VR. For example I would not consider open headphones best simply because they leak both in and out.

Then, when in VR you may need something which will actually stick to your head even when playing Beat Saber or Space Pirate Trainer. Then because of the spatial localization you may prefer more neutral headphones instead of some (albeit popular) colored ones. Etc.

The fact that Valve managed to get the off the ear design right, does not mean that the plain over the ear is bad. This is always a question of the sound in the end and not of the particular type of the design.

I have been using ear buds with Pimax exclusively, because they are light, do not tangle themselves with the strap and have pretty good isolation.

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