good for gaming (spatial awareness is what I’m looking for, I guess)
up to $150
over-ear
open back
wired
good for electronic music (dubstep, EDM, drumstep, etc.) and rock/metal
I have restricted myself to gaming headsets in the past, because I was uneducated. I still don’t know what to look for since I have no experience with nicer headphones, so if you want to explain why you picked a certain pair, I’m all for it.
Also, I need a good mic. I’ll use it mostly to talk to my friends while gaming, but occasionally for recording myself for gaming videos. If anyone has any recommendations, they would be welcomed.
Oh, I forgot to mention that I will be wearing them for hours at a time, so I would like for them to be comfortable. And I have a smallish head, I guess. I'm a 19 year old girl. Lol. And black is my preferred color. :)
Comfortable - earpads are some of the most comfortable I've felt. Not all that heavy Over ear Openback Wired (removable cable, standard 3.5mm, so you can use whatever 3.5mm cable you want) Has good bass and EQs well. And they're well under half your budget.
Source: My brother has a pair. They're just as good as people say they are, but they won't blast your ears off with how good they are. They're just solid headphones with an amazing soundstage. Be aware though, that your phone probably doesn't have an amp powerful enough to drive these as loud as you want. Your computer or laptop should be fine though.
I prefer my M30Xs, but that's personal preference. They're closed-back, have a more balanced sound, EQ better imo and fold up nice and tight for the road.
As for the mic... I've gotten a lot of mileage out of cheap USB-powered line-in condenser mics like this. This particular one isn't available anymore but there are quite a few on Amazon just like it. Nope, I'm not bullshitting anyone. Despite pricing and looks, it's actually pretty impressive. Rather than using 48V phantom power, it gets its power from 5V USB supplies and the audio goes through an analogue 3.5mm jack. So it's kinda best of both worlds there. No need for a janky power supply.
I'd second the 9500's. I've had mine for a few months and I use them to watch movies at least once a week. I am, however, going to disagree on the bass, I think they're definitely lacking in that department. It's not like earbuds bad, but there's definitely better out there.
Another problem with the 9500's (and most open backs) is that they will feedback into a condenser mic, if you're monitoring your mic in your headphones.
The only pair of GOOD open headphones that have good bass at this price point are the Pioneer SE-A1000's (video review in the links below). If you go this route, you'll definitely want to get a new pair of pads (also linked below). Also, the same problem with feeding back into your mic.
As for microphone there's a couple camps. Either get the best USB mic that blue makes that you can afford (probably a snowball in this case), or get a used powered mixer from GuitarCenter/eBay, and get a monoprice condenser mic.
For Full disclosure, my gaming setup is Fostex T50RP, Shure 1540 Pads, Schiit Magni/Modi, Xenyx 302 Mixer, AT2035 Mic. That being said I still own a pair of SHP9500s, and have gone through the Blue Yeti, Blue Snowball, and Monoprice 600800 mics. Each of them has their pros and cons, and the fact that I kept the 9500s when I have a full stable of headphones, means they are an AWESOME set of cans.
For your needs your "End Game" is probably going to be the AKG 7XX, and Blue Yeti. Unless you pickup the audiophile hobby, stop there, you'll just be spending money for the fun of it after that.
I gotta say, I had a lot of cans and I still have a few. For your needs I would grab the Philips Fidelio X1 or X2. I have the X2 and they sound incredible. The soundstage is ginormous and the bass is absolutely insane, but it is clean and tight bass. The X2s are extremely comfy even for hours and since they accept any 3.5mm jack, you can use them with a V-Moda Boompro. So you would end up with something like a headset but basically the best one ever made. ;)
Another +1 to the SHP9500s. They can be found for ~$60 or less on newegg. They are fine if you don't mind them being a little bit on the loose side. They are my daily cans, and I took them over my previous AKG K553. They're super easy to power. I purchased my sister a pair for her birthday, and they fit on her small-ish head as well. You just don't have the capability to head-bang or look up/down because they will slip off your head. Since they don't clamp onto your head though, you can easily wear them forever.
Also +1 to the Samson Meteor Mic. Sister has one and audio quality that comes through is pretty damn good for the price.
I'm rocking my ass off with the Sennheiser HD598. I use them to play guitar (playing metal 99% of the time) and games. Since they're open back they have a really good sound stage and, if you're not keeping a windows open, you're not getting disturbed by outside noise. They're easy to drive and they don't distort at all at high volumes. The detachable cable is a pretty good idea but requires you to buy one that works with the locking mechanism. Overall I think they're a really good buy for the money.
I have personally tried the ATH-M50X and I don't like them, especially for comfort. The cups are pretty small and will mash the edges of your ear. The clamp is also pretty tight.
Since they're studio monitors, they are closed headphones. As a result, the soundstage is super small, which basically means the sound from the headphones feels like it's right in the middle of your head. This is okay for listening to music and such, but isn't ideal for a lot of games.
In this price bracket are the HD 598 and HD 598 SE(basically the poop brown or the black color). A little bit cheaper is the HD 558.
Nevertheless I still prefer the SHP9500's sound. The sennheiser cans are built a bit better, though.
There are 2 main differences you'll notice between the 598s and the 990s.
The 598s are the more neutral sounding of the pairs. The 990s have much more accentuated highs and better bass. To me, that meant that I really couldn't listen to music on the 990s for too long, but I think they'd probably be alright for gaming.
The other difference is comfort. You can just have the 990s on your head for 8 hours and never think twice about it. The 598's have a little more clamp, and the pads are just a bit less comfortable.
My review of the 990s is the Pro 250s with a O2/ODAC. 598s are on a Schiit Magni 2/Modi 2.
You also asked about the M50xs, and I recently sold my pair because I had no use for them. A little heavy handed on the bass side of things, and then everything else is just neutral...not really my style. Also you asked for open headphones for sound stage, and the M50xs have 0 sound stage. In addition, to use all day, I replaced the ear pads with the Shure 840 pads, but the clamp was still a bit too strong for 8 hours of use. Not really my thing, but they did convince me to buy my T40s for the office, so they were good for that.
I think I would really prefer the comfort of the 990s, but I have heard that they're fatiguing to use to listen to music. I don't really understand how that could be the case. What about the highs/bass makes it fatiguing? If you don't mind elaborating for me.
It's not the bass, it's definitely the highs that make it fatiguing. For me the only way to describe it is like the apple ear pods. If you work out for an hour they sound fine, but after 2 hours, the highs are just so harsh you dont wanna listen to the music anymore. Thats the way the 990s were for me. If it were my money (because 8 hour days is THE most important thing I listen for), i'd skip the 990s and go for the horrible looking, ivory, 598s.
The four sets we've mentioned are all good (598s, 990s, 9500s, and 1000s), but if it were my money the 9500s are the best of the goup, wite the 598s following in a VERY close second. Comfort is a high priority, so that say a lot about all the sets we're comparing. The long and the short of it is, the sound stage on the 9500s is GIGANTIC and it makes up for a lot of flaws. the 990s are exaggerated across their frequency response, but that might be fine for gaming. The 598s are super neutral, but not 600 level neutral. Finally 1000's blend all of the other 3 pretty naturally. Out of the box they're the worst headphone by a wide margin. It all depends on what you want. It sounds to me like you want the pioneers, but would rather have the brand associated with the sennheisers. There's nothing wrong with that. The 4 sets recommended here are all awesome.
In the end it's your decisions, but there's definitely a reason why I have owned nearly 50 sets of headphones. None of them do EXACTLY what i want, but there are a few that come close. Of the ones in the discussion the 9500s are the only pair I've bothered to own over the years, even though the 598s were in the running. The others are fine, but i've found other headphones that do the same job.