I'm looking for some new headphones. While I'm interested in what everyone likes/uses, I have some requirements in what I want to buy...

No USB. (this is crucial).
Must be wired.
Noise canceling.
5.1 / (possibly 7.1) surround.
Microphone.
Will use for gaming, music, movies, voip, voice recording, etc.

My most recent set was the Logitech G930 wireless. They were AMAZING (for about 3 months). So now I'm looking for something to replace them that will actually last (no more wireless issues, no more USB issues... I want a solid headset to last).

I'm looking at the Razer Tiamat 7.1 set. As I understand the USB for those is only power related (still connects via 3.5mm), but I'm still concerned about USB issues, and the price is also a little high since I have had nothing but bad luck with headsets over the past 10+ years. Typically the $200.00 sets become $30.00 sets after just a few months of use... so I'm leery of spending too much, but am willing to spend a bit if the set WILL actually last me a few years.

Thoughts/opinions/arguments/ramblings?

i remember looking up a lot of information about headphones a couple years ago, from what i remember i can tell you this:
if you want some GOOD headphones (ie good sound quality) give up on having a microphone built in on them. Also, a GOOD stereo headphone is much better than 5.1 or 7.1. You might think that more is better, but that's not the case (i'm sure some audiophile will be able to explain this better and using proper terms).
So, my short advice:
if you need a microphone, get a separate one.
Focus on stereo instead of 5/7.1 .

Budget? You mentioned $200...

My only suggestion is to try them out with the media you intend to purchase them for. Easier said than done since it can be tough to find a place with a wide selection on hand, let alone one willing to let you try your own content.

I would first look at brands that don't desing headphones for gaming: Sennheiser, Grado, Beyerdynamic... I think they offer a better sound quality.

I would personnally recommend the Sennheiser HD 558 (or the HD 598, if you can afford it), as they offer good audio but are rather forgiving if you are using a mediocre soundcard. They are open (which means other people can hear what you are listening), so their sound involves you in a pleasant way. But they don't fit your criteria. They don't cancel noise. By the way, why do you want a noise-cancelling headphone? Where do you plan to use it?

I remember hearing that bit about getting a separate mic as well... wonder if the reasoning is still sound. (good point, I'll look that up). My thinking is that it simply puts a low quality mic in (and not the other way around) and I'm generally ok with a low quality mic (well, would prefer an average quality mic).

As for surround sound... I'm a huge fan for games that support it. Also, some music supports it on some levels. But I'll keep that in mind.

As for budget... $200.00 would likely be the most I would spend, but I wouldn't mind hearing about ANY options that people can stand behind. Immersion, but also piece of mind. Loud neighborhood (cars, kids, planes), cranky dogs, naggy wife, etc ;)
This is my home and where I plan to use them mostly.

My current cheapy headphones that I'm using fully cover the ear 100% They visually LOOK like noise canceling, but they are not. I'm often missing dialogue in games from some very common occurrences.

The Logitch ones I mentioned... those were noise canceling. When the cups went over the ears you could hear a feint suction sound and I could barely hear myself talk. Sound was amazing when it wasn't sharing my eardrums with all that other background stuff going on.

Great idea on checking out non-gaming headphones. ;)

Astro A50s can be wired by buying a longer cable (which costs like 7 bucks even if you buy the pricier one Astro offers, but monoprice would work fine, it's a standard cord), they're really nice due to the extra functionality of the mixer that's built in, it really does work well.

But they are usually used as USB (sorta, mic out will use your mic out port on your sound card), but they support optical if you want to use it... I'm not sure why you dislike USB, it works well, you'll almost certainly need it for power/charging no matter what you select, at least if you get a higher end set.

I've been using mine heavily for 5 months and it works fine, I'm not sure how it could turn into a 30 USD set unless it was simply broken, in which case I think the warranty would still apply at this point (for me).

A40s are an option, for wired, but you'll probably want to buy the A50s, even if you don't think you'll use the wireless, you very well might end up liking it.

Every set I've ever used on any combination of computers over the past 10 years have all had problems where the headset simply stops working until I reboot the computer. Pluggin/unplugging doesn't help. They can stop working IN USE. I have to log out, or turn off the movie, or whatever, reboot, and then go back to what I was doing. If this happened once everyone few months, I wouldn't care, but its typically once every few days.

I've seen this on Dell, FalconNW, Gateway, and ASUS PCs. This using headsets from Logitech, Razer, Sony, Plantronics, Steel Series, etc.

I'll go back to 3.5mm and then think, this new and expensive set should surely work... then I go back to a 3.5mm set :(

(I'll check out the Astros, thank you)

That really sucks. Yeah, dunno what kind of issue that is, OS level or hardware level, some of those brands I wouldn't trust for expensive headsets, but Astro seems alright, they have a chat support with techs on their store page, if you want to ask questions.

I am assuming its a bus issue with USB, but no clue otherwise. I do marathon gaming sessions, so that might play into as well.

The Astros look cool at first glance. The Logitechs have that charge and play cable as well. I'll check out the other models after lunch.

I think you are probably a bit confused on the terminology here. When talking about headphones, you do NOT need 5.1/7.1 to have surround, all that matters is that you can properly "hear" where the sound is coming from (the exact terminology escapes me, apologies).

As for the noise cancelling part: you need to think very carefully about whether you want passive or active noise cancelling: the first is because the headphones go into your ear or when they are big enough to cover them fully, the latter is a bit more involved and generally will degrade the sound quality if not done properly.
As always, don't take my word for it but take your time to look it up.

With the caveat that I've never tried 'surround' cans, I can agree with this based on experience. I have an older set of the Sennheiser's Andanza recommends (10+ year-old HD 590s) and they deliver enough directional cues that they allow me to pinpoint things in FPS-type games. "Hmm, sounds like that camping sniper is over there ->" And bang, sniper is dead.

And that goes back to trying out various cans with the types of things you're going to use them on. And dang, there's nothing quite like great audio to help bring a player into the game. If you can find a fantastic set of surround cans that fit your needs and budget, then that's great. But certainly give nice stereo units a try, too. You might be pleasantly surprised at what they can bring to games.

Happy shopping!

In case anyone is interested... I went with my gut on the Razer Tiamat once I confirmed that the USB was for power only and could be powered via any standard USB adapter directly to a wall outlet (solving my PC USB issues). I came very close to trying the Astro's but since I have a few products from Razer, I felt a little more comfortable with that brand.

After using these for a few weeks... I'm very impressed. The noise canceling is amazing. Someone can be standing next to me and I barely, or sometimes don't at all, hear them talking. Which is exactly what I want... "GAMING... DO NOT DISTURB!" :p

They are very comfortable.

The adapter for volume also allows you to switch between speakers/headset with the push of a button. You can modify each speaker without exiting game or going into settings. And, you can switch between 2.1/7/1 on the adapter as well.

People seem to be complaining about a buzzing issue. I have not experienced this at all.

People also seem to complain about the bass. I did experience this, but resetting my audio settings to default and then tweaking them back solved this (only had to do it once). Now the bass is quite impressive. When I ran over a "heart" in Blood 1 that Thump-THUMP sound of the heart... I could feel it in my toes ;)

A little pricey, but I feel like these will last me a few years. I can highly recommend to anyone looking for a very nice and comfy headset.

Thanks again for the comments, they were very helpful.

Glad you could find a pair of headphones that fit your needs.

Old thread, but it looks like he is asking about headsets and not headphones. Headsets have a mic and headphones not having one. At least that is how I always differentiated the two.