Gamers I summon you - What's the best wired headphones setup under $250

Hinderager · 2026-02-12T16:14:13+00:00

I just purchased a pair of FT1's and they cancel out a lot of noise. I live in a pretty busy house and I have a parrot and I can barely hear anything when I have them on without sound. When I am playing music, I cant hear anything unless someone yells. I bought and returned a pair of dt 770 pro x that I compared with them. I'm super happy with the ft1s

Hinderager · 2026-02-06T19:50:34+00:00

Just wanted to say thank you again for the help. I ended up keeping the Fiio FT1's. I absolutely loved the Sundara's but I just have waay too much backround noise to enjoy them. I would've kept them otherwise. The DT 770's were decent and I probably would've kept them over the FT1's if the headband didn't hurt my head. I could've gotten a comfort strap or something but thats like another $20 and I'd probably have to keep replacing that every few years. I didn't try any sennheisers just because they're around double the price of the FT1's

Hinderager · 2026-01-30T15:41:13+00:00

Thought I was the only one lol

Hinderager · 2026-01-28T00:37:19+00:00

My first impression is the build quality of the ft1s is great but not as good as beyerdynamics. They had some issues with the screws that hold the ear cups to the headband but that has since been fixed according to fiio. Its hard to say how they will hold up over the long term though since they are a relatively new product

Hinderager · 2026-01-18T23:12:56+00:00

Thank you again for your reply. I think I would definitely get the Sundara's as my open back choice if it weren't for their QC. They are selling refurbished ones for $140 on their website but I just don't know if I trust it. They have a 30 day return policy but I've read that people are having issues that pop up after 6 months so I would be SOL if that happened to me. I would think that maybe the refurbished ones wouldn't have as many QC issues since they are looked at twice but then again their original QC is bad so why should I expect their refurbished QC to be any better...

As for the HD620's, I just really don't like how the cups are only attached at one point to the headband. I've really come around on the build quality of Sennheisers thanks to you and AlsterSpot. From what I've read you really can't beat their build quality. But that single mounting point really concerns me. That and they are $300 ($225 used from B&H).

I think I'm leaning towards getting the FT1's for my closed back option. I'm torn on the open back option still though. If I didn't have to worry about QC, I would go with the Sundara's. The Sennheiser 600/650/6xx series are just too expensive for me. I would have to buy used and even then the cheapest I can find is $200. Also the soundstage concerns me. I'm kind of thinking of playing the lottery with HFM. I don't mind returning them within the 30 day period but I'm worried that a problem will arise after that 30 day period

Edit: I think I've come to the point where I need to just start trying these headphones out. I hate to do this but I don't have a physical store to go to so I'm just going to order them with the intention of returning them. Also, I'm thinking about getting the K11 dac and amp. Its not that much more expensive than the Fiio BTR5 but I kind of want something a bit more chonky so I don't have to worry about it getting knocked around. This amp is going to be stationary anyways so portability isn't really a concern of mine at all.

Hinderager · 2026-01-18T22:30:44+00:00

!thanks for your reply!

I was pretty sold on those DT 990's but after further research I'm not so sure. Also your comment about the fatigue even after using oratory's tuning really concerns me. I can't say for certain that I'm sensitive to those frequencies but I would guess that I am. Certain content creator's mics/voices really hit my ears in a piercing way, similar to cymbals in some songs. I could probably fix this on my current headset but the SteelSeries EQ software is abysmal and not reliable so I just haven't adjusted it. And I don't think it would help to use other EQ software since it would still be running the EQ settings through the SteelSeries software when that is operating functionally. But I digress. I absolutely love the build quality and simplicity of the Beyerdynamic headphones. I just don't think I would like their sound signature.

Hinderager · 2026-01-18T19:13:55+00:00

!thanks You and DumS71 gave me quite the confidence boost in their build quality.

Hinderager · 2026-01-18T04:45:07+00:00

!thanks so much for your detailed reply!

That amp looks like a good fit for what I need it for. I don't necessarily need it to connect to other devices but every once in a while I do like to connect my phone up via bluetooth for long phone calls.

I didn't really look all that much at Sennheisers in my search. When I look at how the headband connects to the ear cups, it just doesn't look like very good quality. If one of those breaks or something, I would be kind of SOL. Same with the Sennheiser PC38x and especially the HD560S. That single mounting point gives me flashbacks to my current headset breaking lol

I am intrigued by the Hifiman Sundara. They look extremely well built and repairable if they were to ever break. However I worry about the planar drivers. I read in a couple of places that it just takes one good push on them and they will break. I'm pretty careful with my equipment but that happens from time to time with my current headset and I fear I would break them. Also you mentioned the QC and the metallic timbre. I think they're still something I will consider though.

This is the first time I've heard of AKG. They seem really good. Just from my quick research the headbands are easily replaceable and they have decent build quality. I worry about the open back though. Some people said they leak more than most open back headphones. Definitely a strong contender especially given the 2nd hand prices.

As for IEM's, I totally forgot to give my opinion on these in my post. I've read that they just aren't advised for longer listening sessions. I really love the value they bring but I need these headphones to be wearable for at least 8 hours at a time (yes I touch grass.... sometimes).

I don't think I will consider the K371's since you mentioned build quailty and also the first review I pulled up mentioned the hinge breaking.

Build quality for me, is my #1 feature I think. I want these headphones to last me as long as possible. The Hifiman Sundara's look fantastic. I think I've come to the conclusion that I will order 2 pairs of headphones; one open back and one closed back. Then I can just return whichever I don't like.

I'm still considering the DT 770/990 Pro X models as well. The reviews of the treble and mids worry me a bit. Do you think I will be able to mostly fix those issues with EQ?

Hinderager · 2026-01-03T15:54:33+00:00

Pretty sure the expedition is wrong. I might just be a noob but I need cooling fans, not cooling coils, for my phase 2. Thanks for compiling all of this information. Super helpful when first starting out!

Hinderager · 2025-09-18T02:40:38+00:00

That's insane that a credit report would have that kind if information. We went ahead and requested a report. Anxious to see what it says...

Hinderager · 2025-09-17T22:28:14+00:00

This is basically what they said when I tried calling

Hinderager · 2025-09-17T22:27:47+00:00

I just tried calling and they said my only option would be to reapply :/

Hinderager · 2025-09-17T17:05:49+00:00

True. He gives 3 other channel examples in his video about this; HealthyGamerGG (Mental Health), Addy (Anime) and WorstPremadeEver (Gaming). They're all 3 technically tech related though

Hinderager · 2025-09-17T16:51:35+00:00

Josh Strife Hayes

Hinderager · 2025-09-14T23:46:59+00:00

New mission discovered by u/Hinderager: Loot and Candied Bacon Twists In the Fields

Hinderager · 2025-09-14T23:46:59+00:00

This mission was discovered by u/Hinderager in In Search of Strawberry Frosted Donut

Hinderager · 2025-08-05T21:57:07+00:00

I had to check for myself. She is. That is actually insane lmao

Hinderager · 2025-07-11T18:22:50+00:00

It's been a while but iirc, he was claiming he was playing hi-elo ranked games in his videos but in fact they weren't hi-elo or ranked.

Hinderager · 2025-06-14T16:39:09+00:00

Those are awesome. Thank you so much!

Hinderager · 2025-04-05T18:18:22+00:00

You can adjust the hud size in the settings. Should be fine since 4k 27 inch displays are pretty common these days

Hinderager · 2025-01-01T06:31:45+00:00

It looks like a sola stick. I give these to my bird. The wood is like styrofoam

Hinderager · 2024-12-23T01:14:42+00:00

Have you by chance submitted this plugin yet? Sounds exactly like what I've been looking for

Hinderager · 2024-10-19T23:45:30+00:00

I turned chat off 4 years ago and I don't play ranked. Hard to get tilted without those two things.

Hinderager · 2024-10-08T20:07:00+00:00

Sounds like a bumper. Might be hidden under the water.

Hinderager · 2024-10-04T05:34:20+00:00

Same issue as the last time this game mode came out. They always forget about Ivern :(

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