Not necessarily, these ones are affordable, extremely comfortable and with great sound quality:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SP-004-CS&groupid=702&catid=1058&subcat=

Braided cable too which is very resilient and wont ever snap.

I use them with an X Fi Titanium HD and they sound phenomenal.

Well if you're like me and don't have the money to shell out on a 300 dollar pair of headphones, I'd recommend going with a nice pair of Razer headphones. A lot of them are pretty affordable, and sound really amazing. A lot of them also double as gaming headsets (which is nice for my multiplayer endeavors)
http://store.razerzone.com/store/razerusa/en_US/pd/productID.234280400/categoryId.35096300

The ultimate thing is comfort... If you're going to be playing Skyrim for hours in one sitting, you don't want headphones that hurt. That's no bueno. I've worn my friend's high-end 500 dollar sennheisers and they actually hurt my ears after a while. For whatever reason the cups just do not feel comfortable. It's really subjective... everyone's preference is difference. Find a pair that feels good and you won't be let down.

I own a TactX headset that I really like. Feels comfortable, and the microphone is retractable so you can hide it when you don't need it. The sound to me (remember I'm no audio expert) sounds good, and there's actual BASS. It's subtle, but you can hear when things thump and bump... and it meets my casual needs just fine. I think I paid like 40 bucks for a pair on Ebay. They're real cheap if you look around. http://www.chip5.com/golchhait/images/com_tienda/products/240/dell-alienware-tactx-gaming-headset.jpg

http://www.play.com/Electronics/Electronics/4-/20428258/Panasonic-RP-HC200E-K-Noise-Cancelling-Headphones-Black/Product.html?searchstring=headphones&searchtype=ELEC&searchsource=0&searchfilters=s%257bheadphones%257d%252bc%257b321%257d%252b&cpage=34&ob=4&urlrefer=search&d=1
My current ones have finally died.

Sennheiser PC350/PC360 if you're looking for a headset.
Sennheiser are exclusively in the headphones business and for me as for many others are undisputably the best.
Beats and Razer are cute and all but if you want quality, leave it up to the professionals.

Recently bought audio technica ath 700 ad haven't tried them out yet.. Bought them from my amazon wishlist didn't bother to see if they were open or closed, wish they were closed...

I've had some bad experiences with these noise-cancelling headphones and steer clear of them nowadays. First of all it tends to sound like putting seashells on your ears. Second, believe it or not, I actually get motion sickness from wearing some of them.

Audio Technica mth 50 Is one of the closed ones and sounds like a dream! I have a pair. But the ones you bought also sounds nice, you shouldn't worry!

But the ero sounds leaking out.

I'm currently using Turtle Beach Earforce x11, surround sound variant. Think that's '51' or whatever. Was about 50 bucks, not quite 30 your going for but it produces good sound, good bass, picks up every little detail 'and' does it in surround. Which is nice.

In case anyone's wondering, surround headphones is actually a separately handles the actual translating 5.1 or 7.1 into a 'surround space' based off how we hear (only have 2 ears when ya think about it). Could technically use 'any' headphones with this little box but the headset also has a nice noise-canceling mic on it, best mic I've used so far with gaming. Anyways, point is if your gonna get headphones for 30 bucks, you could pick up a surround box at a later date though 50 for this sets probably the best deal out there I've ran into for quality on all fronts.

Downside to it is you need a digital (optic) out on the 360. The new slims have it, elites and lower don't. The 2-in-1 HD/SD cable has a plug for it (has since the beginning) and you can buy an adapter but that's kinda costly (20 bucks for some absurd reason). Basically, if you got a slim the surround would work fine straight out of the xbox, if you have a HD cable (not HDMI) it should have an optic plug too. Either way make sure you have one on there before going that quote. But I highly recommend it, surround sound space with these is fantastic, and you'll notice stuff with them that you wont with a normal 5.1 or 7.1 speaker setup.

I use these http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00007E7C8/ref=oh_o02_s00_i00_details, they're pretty good for the price.

TurtleBeach Dolby 7.1 surround sound wireless.
It takes xbox games to a whole new level of immersion.

Especially as Ill be picking up the game at midnight, dont wanna be keeping the neihbours up with my dragon battles!

I got extremely expensive Sennheiser headphones. They're so good that my poor ol' laptop can't even handle them properly, I get much lesser sound quality from my laptop than, say, MP3 Player.


I wonder if there are ways to improve the situation.

Avoid any headphones labeled as "5.1", "7.1" or surround sound. They're almost all junk. Surround sound headphones is a gimmick. What you want are regular stereo headphones with a sound card or external device with surround sound processing.

Which headphone to go for depends on whether you're gaming for fun (where loud, punchy bass is nice) or competitively (where detail and spacial imaging is most important). The two are usually, but not always, exclusive. Then there's closed or open. I like open headphones, they sound better. But closed headphones have their place, especially if you're looking to immerse yourself in the game's world.

And of course, there's your budget to consider. As there's already been a link to Head-Fi, I don't need to explain that some people are crazy about headphones, and manufacturers are more than willing to take their money provide them with expensive alternatives.

Turtle Beach equipment, be it sound cards or headphones, don't seem very good. I've seen measurements of the Micro II DAC, and while I'm sure it's not indicative of every product they make, it's terribad.

^ Pistolero, get yourself an external amp/DAC. Portable players are built for sound, laptops aren't. Most onboard sound is bad. Fiio products are great for the price. If you want specifics, PM me the headphones you have and I can help you pick something out.

Think I'll be going with Sennhieser or w/e it's called.

If you're still taking suggestions, I have a headset called Creative Fatal1ty MkII. I like it and it's not too expensive.

I also swear by my Sennheisers ("feck!" etc), in my case HD 25 SPs; I bought them in 1999, pricey at ￡100, but they're still going strong, just needing the cables to be replaced a couple of times and new pads. Contrasted with the average lifespan of any headphones of around six months before I bought them...