5.1 Headphones vs Stereo for gaming

Anominity

Anominity

Anominity

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As the title suggests, i am wondering if its worth upgrading my headset.

I currently have the Steelsound 5Hv2, and was wondering if a 5.1 headset would serve me better. I also have an Audigy two ZS, and will probably upgrad this to the Asus Xonar that everyone is raving about.

Sound Cards have never really been my thing, so i really don't know anything about them aside from a couple reviews here and there.

Is it even worth upgrading the card?

Thanks :)
 
MikeHunt79 said:
5.1 headphones are aweful
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Even for gaming, i always knew Stereo > 5.1 headphones for music / movies etc (To a degree), but surely the directional sound in gaming comes in handy?

Perfect link spoon, thanks a lot.


Do you think it would be advisable to upgrade the soundcard then?
 
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Xonar with Dolby Headphone + Stereo Headphones > 5.1 Headsets

That's my personal experience, I get a much more realistic 5.1 effect by using my Stereo headphones over the crappy Medusa 5.1's I had.
 
Definitely a decent set of headphones and something like a Xifi setup well (can't comment on the Asus cards really, no experience of them)
 
Agreed: A decent set of headphones and creative Xfi gamer. CMS3D really does works amazingly well. There is a test in the creative console where you can hear a helicopter circle you. I then went on to try virtual surround in BF2, again it worked perfectly i could get near perfect positional audio.
 
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I've been using 5.1 headphones for 2 years now. I use a set of Speedlink Medusas with my X-Fi.

Can't argue that a proper 5.1 speaker configuration is best but for the £40 they cost me they've been brilliant. You can tell where everything is coming from in games and films. For music I either switch to stereo or just use the stereo expand feature. Sound quality is spot on too.

I think within a month or so of having them I actually ditched my Logitech 2.1 setup entirely. Wouldn't switch back to speakers now. The space it saves alone is reason enough to keep them.
 
PinkFloyd said:
Don't mean this in a nasty way, but you either have really low standards. Or haven't ever gone near a half decent set of earphones.

Medusa's are really really poor for quality.
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It's also possible that I got a really good set, or that your standards are different to mine either for better or worse. I've tried various headphones and speakers over the years and while I'm no expert I know when something sounds bad (to me).

I'm really happy with my set and no amount of discussion will make me think otherwise :)
 
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I would really be interested to hear the medusa headset with xfi card set to 5.1 output compared to my new PC350 headset having headphone and CMS3D output.

Whats the frequency response from the medusa? I couldnt find the info even on their website. Like many have said before - how can several speaker reaching a combined price of £50 be as good as 2 speakers costing £50 (£100 for PC350)?!?
 
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spoonjaffa said:
Like many have said before - how can several speaker reaching a combined price of £50 be as good as 2 speakers costing £50 (£100 for PC350)?!?
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Not really that simple now is it. It's like saying a £500 4WD Vehicle can't be as good as a £1k 2WD, which is correct on the road (music).. take it off road (gaming) and you can stick all sorts on that 2WD to make it perform slightly better, but the 4WD is gunna kick it's arse.

To be fair I don't own a 5.1 Headset before anyone bashes me (;)) and I never got on too well with CMS3D stuff with my set (get major deaf spots behind me)
 
Yea i see that view, i have noticed a lot of comments saying how headphones specifically for music are better than gaming headsets. I bought some PC350s many would say not as good for music yet i cant see how anything could better it for gaming performance.

Cant say i've noticed blind spots in the rear... was this even with the CMS3D test option in the xfi console?
 
Anominity said:
So, keep the Steelsound 5Hv2's and upgrade sound card :)
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Those steelsounds are 5.1 and they are poorly made, as are most of steels products. Medusa sound quality is laughable IMO, I had a pair for months and they are the worse quality pair of headphones i've ever owned. However most people that have no frame of preference think they are great.

But your better of with a xonar and some nice stereo headphones.
 
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Gaming headsets are poor, sorry if anyone is offended, but if youheard some decent headphones then you would agree too.

Iwouldn't dream of gaming with 5.1 headphones, 2 good drivers are better than many little crap ones. Try out some senn 555 or 595 if your budget can stretch and hear the difference.
 
-Ad- said:
Iwouldn't dream of gaming with 5.1 headphones, 2 good drivers are better than many little crap ones. Try out some senn 555 or 595 if your budget can stretch and hear the difference.
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I tried different headphones and heard the difference. I only had 2 channels instead of 5.1 :p

Couldn't give a toss about the rest. My Medusas are perfect as far as I'm concerned. At the end of the day that's all that matters.
 
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