Headphones give me a headache so I know absolutely nothing about them! I don't talk to anyone, so I don't have a microphone!

Dollar store earbuds break in a week. Don't get those.

If you get new headphones, and you're used to Sennheiser, then just get more Sennheiser. You're not going to find any suitable replacement. The pads are top tier, the sound quality is top tier, the fit is top tier. They're just all around the best headphones out there. If you want to get super autistic then get one of their better quality headphones like the 650s (or just 590s/599s and don't replace the original cord) then pair them with a DAC+AMP combo, I use the JDS Labs Atom 2 set. For the microphone, I've found that all headphones with mics are inherently shit for some reason or another. Whether it be the sound quality, which it almost always is, or that the mic doesn't work well and/or breaks easily. For the mic just get yourself a nice standing mic and pair it with a mic AMP (non-usb, usb ones are shit) and you'll never have mic issues again.

All of this could get a bit expensive though so be sure to take your budget into consideration when buying.

I have DT990 Pros and an audio interface. Some people say they're good others say they're crap. I think they cost $200 all-in. Get a separate microphone. You get better quality if they aren't together. At least that's what I've found. If you get an audio interface instead of DAC/Amp you can plug the microphone in through that instead of relying on usb. Saves some headaches since the audio interface is basically external sound card+DAC+Amp all in one. Everything runs over one usb cable that way and there is less possible lag. I mainly got mine so I could play guitar with it. The little one I have supports two input devices and one output.

Heard of ROG DELTA II? Don't buy them. They're trashy - the cloth under the frame comes off easily as some poor glue stripe was used to hold it, and the Bluetooth codec is worse than from Bluetooth earbuds you can get at 1/10th the price.
A dubious purchase even as a 10% off sale.

I have a ModMic 5 and it sounds like crap even with Antlion's own sound card. Cheap desk mics blow it out of the water. I don't know how review videos manage to make it sound so good. Sadly there seems to be no alternatives for ModMic.

>>4532
If you still own a pair that used to give you headaches, I recommend stretching it over something big for a day or so and giving it another shot! Unless you're sure it's the audio itself and not just the clamping force that is causing the issue.
I actually hated my HD 558 at first because they used to give me severe headaches and ear pain, I even avoided using them for an entire year or so until I had no alternatives left and the problems went away immediately after the fit got looser.

>>4535
>>4545 (Mind sharing guitar content in Kissu OC threads?)
Thank you both, very interesting info! The thing about headsets not being able to hold a candle against separate solutions is exactly why I was worried about giving them another shot, because I've been reading about complaints like that a lot.
Since I'm anything but experienced, would you mind giving your input on these questions?
¥ What exactly are the benefits of a DAC+AMP combo?
I've never used anything like that and just plugged into the motherboard's 3.5mm jacks, Mic and Line-Out. I haven't had issues with volume, so I'm wondering if there are other benefits that an inexperienced user would be able to tell. I could definitely see a mic AMP being very useful, I've always had trouble with volume there.
¥ What is up with the Sennheiser naming scheme?
The HD 558 were released in the early 2010s and I believe the HD 599 didn't come much later. Checking Sennheiser today, all over-ear headphones are in a lower series, 200, 300, 400. I'm trying to find a logic I can go off of.

>>4560
I assume you already tried the omnidirectional mode? I've never owned a ModMic before, but in the few reviews I watched, I've found them sounding much better when switched to omnidirectional.

>>4530
I assume for pc?
I use corsair void wireless.

At any rate, you should make all the comparisons yourself remember that if you get headphones with 3.5mm jack you need a DAC to make it sound good, unless you have awesome motherboard with good integrated sound system

I have a pair of DT 990 Pro X, my first real pair not counting Koss PortaPro. They are nice and every piece is replaceable from the Beyerdynamic shop. They're not exactly fun however and you need to EQ them with Peace. The open ones really do let in every noise. The other pair of headphones that often come up at this price point are the Sundaras and I would like to get those next. You could also look into IEMs. I just got a pair of Zero 2s and they're pretty nice for $20 and they look like they came out of a PS2 Magazine advert.

My 5 year old Artic 7 series are cooked I gotta find something on sale.

For mics you should go with a cheap XLR one, you don't need more than this and I guarantee you will """"mog"""" 99.9% of people online with any of these:
XM8500
Fifine K688

Since they're XLR you're gonna need an audio interface, just get the cheapest one with XLR, they're pretty much all the same.

I use a pair of Pulse 3D. They're alright.

>>4530
>Can Kissu recommend any good headphones and / or headsets and / or microphones?

Probably not. I should be using this (Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 80 ohm + Headphone amp), but 99% of the time it's the Bose QC35 for the ANC, or a crap Corsair headset that sounds like absolute kuso but it's comfortable as heck. And it has a mechanical volume knob that totally beats digital volume adjustments that are always too high or too low.

I'm just too lazy to use the DT770, so I only get them out for listening to vinyl in the living room.

>>5609
I have those exact headphones and also usually feel too lazy to use them
I think its some jewish spell to keep you from getting the most out of nice expensive headphones

>>5610
Pretty much. Sound wise, they are an eargasm, but for casual listening they can be pretty cumbersome to use:

-Extra long cable that can't be detached and is so thick that it seems to have a life of its own
- Can get pretty hot in summer
- So big that you can see them in the corners of your eyes while wearing them
- If I want to use them with a MiniPC or laptop, I need to plug the FiiO K7 (The PC is fine).
- Obviously, a desktop mic or Antlion Modmic (expensive!) is a requirement for voice chat.

I do use them more frequently during vacations, or if I am going to play Splatoon 3 for a whole weekend and I want to enjoy the music, but most of the time, these are my daily cans: QC35 (9 years with them, 2 pad replacements and one band so far), Corsair HS35, and some crappy IEMs

>>5611
Do I need a DAC like that? I have a pair of DT 990 Pro X and either plug them directly into my laptop (Lenovo Legion) or into a CX31993/MAX97220 dongle. I use an EQ profile I found on reddit with Peace.

>>5612
900 Pro X rather

I can recommend against Sony ULTs, I was getting something cheap on the Black Friday sale and thought Sony wouldn't be too bad. To my disappointment they're completely fucking niggerfied with bass boosting, I hate this trend and will hold it against rap music forever. The norms have ruined 90% of headphones with this stupid meme.

>>5612
The DT 900 Pro X are 48ohm, so you should not have any issues.

The problem is with the high impedance versions that go over 60. While the mobo on my main PC is capable of powering them, My kuso Dell Optiplex required a SoundBlaster. I was travelling to a lanparty, and I did not want to carry the desktop amp with me.

>>5614
That's why I always go for completely flat studio headphones. If the sound does not play completely unaltered, I have a problem.

The obsession with bass was already absurd years ago. Remember that Skullcandy garbage that used batteries to power the bass boost?

>>5614
I still want to try the Sony MDR CD900ST

>>5616
I tried Skullcandy just once because it was so cheap and I was in a pinch and it was actually unusable. At least there's a semblance of quality behind the butchered Sony's system. The skullcandy was like sticking wet cancer into your ears, or maybe like the name suggests candy into your skull so that it'd be like hearing all that bass after being filtered through a shitton of pop rocks.

Skullcandy was basically OEM with a brand on top. go to the chinese market, pick the parts and get the product assembled and ready to sell to normies. But teens back then were obsessed with the brand, so it did not even matter.

If I had to pick another pair of non-ANC cans for listening both at home and in the daily train conmute (so foldable), I'd go with Audio-Technica M40X.

>>4535
I have a pair of Sennheiser HD 560S headphones and I can agree. They're really high quality. I would recommend them Especially if you're into music production or just listen to a lot of music. They're comfortable on the ears and the sound doesn't rape your ears.