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Whats the best Surround Sound Headsets atm for gaming?
Best Surround Sound Headsets?
- Thread starter Andy-Jones-OC
- Start date
Correction. A normal stereo headset will only give a surround effect if it's fed a signal designed for surround over headphones.
For PC games, this means using either a game that does it natively (which are few and far between), a soundcard with surround virtualisation for headphones (e.g. Dolby Headphone or CMSS3D Headphone on Xonar or X-Fi) or a suitable reciever with surround virtualisation (e.g Dolby Headphone or Yamaha SilentCinema - the former is sometimes built into surround headsets).
You feed a stereo headset a stereo signal and it will give you stereo. It may give the illusion of soundstage but it can't add information about front, back or elevation that isn't there.
My personal preference would be a Xonar (for Dolby Headphone) plus a good set of stereo headphones.
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Was looking at these http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SP-000-ZA
Zalman ZM-RS6F+M 5.1 Surround Sound Headphones
Zalman ZM-RS6F+M 5.1 Surround Sound Headphones
They might be a gimmick to some but others like myself do like them, I have had my medusa's for years & have not got a single complaint. most headphones last about 3-6 months with me & I don't do cheapo's either 
They are NOT as good as a full 5.1 system, they ARE really good for playing games at 3am when the missus is sleeping though.
They are NOT as good as a full 5.1 system, they ARE really good for playing games at 3am when the missus is sleeping though.
I too have the Medusas. Mine broke after several years service, with the '.1' pin being damaged. As a result I was just getting a 'bassless' 5.0 so it was time to replace them. Have tried loads of different headphones since then and it's been something of a voyage of discovery.
I cannot emphasise enough how much better a good set of stereo headphones with an X-Fi (except USB variants and Xtreme Audio) or Xonar are than the Medusas. I still maintain that the medusas' multiple driver surround works and isn't just a gimmick but good virtualised surround over stereo headphones is much, much better. If you enjoy the Medusas surround and go to a stereo set without one of the above soundcards for gaming, I think it is highly likely that you will be disappointed (unless you're playing a game with a native headphone mode).
Somewhat surprisingly, even the Medusas themselves (mine are the original home edition), set to CD mode and with the centre and rear drivers muted) give an improvement over 5.1 mode when using Dolby Headphone. I do still occasionally use the Medusas for multiplayer gaming because of the convenience of the mike but if I had the option of 5.1 mode I wouldn't use it. (Edit: forgot to mention - I ditched the Medusa amp and am using a CMOY or Hi-Fi amp instead)
I think probably your best bang for buck solution from OCUK right now would be a Xonar D1 or DX with Goldring DR50s. I've used DR50s in L4D with a desktop mike and Dolby Headphone from my Xonar D2. It sounded incredible. They're a niced detailed headphone, with quite an analytical sound - superb for giving directional info with Dolby Headphone. They sound a little 'cold' though. Bass is tight and punchy but there isn't a lot of it. If you prefer a warmer sound, the DR100s may be more to your taste.
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Just ordered the megalodons. I have always gone with cheap headsets before but I break them so fast I thought I'd get something worth taking care of. Pity they are not in stock atm... altho didn't realise this until I had finished order because it still let me select the next working day from the delivery calendar, so I naturally assumed it was in stock . OCuk should probably address this because it's a little misleading.
. OCuk should probably address this because it's a little misleading.Just ordered the megalodons. I have always gone with cheap headsets before but I break them so fast I thought I'd get something worth taking care of. Pity they are not in stock atm... altho didn't realise this until I had finished order because it still let me select the next working day from the delivery calendar, so I naturally assumed it was in stock
Well it clearly states that it is on PRE ORDER.
Now if you researched the Megalodons, you would know that they aren't even released yet but will be in the next few weeks.
Jeez
Sorry I meant to say "Get a normal proper stereo headset - Sennheiser 595s or similar. "
It's fair enough to recommend the HD595s but the OP asked for surround sound headsets. The HD595s are stereo headphones. It is misleading to recommend them as surround headphones without clarifying the additional need for a suitable source (Edit: or an alternative mike for that matter).
It's also misleading to actually recommend surround sound headphones as they are rubbish in comparison to a decent stereo set at the same price.
Well it clearly states that it is on PRE ORDER.
Now if you researched the Megalodons, you would know that they aren't even released yet but will be in the next few weeks.
Jeez
People should not be allowed to post reviews for items before they are even released then
.Well it clearly states that it is on PRE ORDER.
Now if you researched the Megalodons, you would know that they aren't even released yet but will be in the next few weeks.
Jeez
Give the guy a break, for the last few weeks OCUK had the Megalodons listed as being released on 01/05/09. It was only today that they removed the date and set them back as pre-order only.
Moved from Medusas to 595's with my X-Fi. CMSS-3D 7.1 beats the medusa method, hands down, the positional audio effect is much clearer and you don't have the nasty change where the medusas switched to using the "rear" drivers.
I do miss having an attached mic, but the cheap elara clip on i picked up for a couple of quid is surprisingly good, I have it clipped onto my keyboard and it's sensitive enough.
Plus the sound quality for music etc is miles ahead.
I do miss having an attached mic, but the cheap elara clip on i picked up for a couple of quid is surprisingly good, I have it clipped onto my keyboard and it's sensitive enough.
Plus the sound quality for music etc is miles ahead.
I'm wondering if the mic on the medusas and and the elara are both essentially the same thing? They're both made by speedlink and the housing looks similar. I've tried using my medusas as a desktop mic and they do seem to work pretty well (apart from looking a bit strange).