Surround Sound HS, Which One?

Xyanzi

Xyanzi

Xyanzi

Associate
Joined
15 Jul 2009
Posts
133
Hey all,
Im in the market for good surround sound headset for gaming, i want to know where the enemy is before i see them and was wondering which is best? i also want good sound quality :)

1st: creative Fatal1ty hs-1000.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SP-113-CL&groupid=702&catid=1058&subcat=
The model before this was my previous headset and just wondering if its improved a lot over it or not cause the old one wasnt that good to me.

2nd: Creative HS-950.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SP-112-CL&groupid=702&catid=1058&subcat=
I know this is the model 950 over the Fatal1ty's 1000model but is there a difference i mean this one costs more than the fatal1tys, just want to know which one will be better ^^

3rd the medusa's
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SP-026-SL
And for the wild card the medusa gaming headset.

overall i would like your opinions on which headset to get out of these 3.
ATM im pushing towards my 2nd option the creative 950 due to good reviews.

Thanks
Xyanzi
 
Xyanzi said:
i also want good sound quality :)
Click to expand...

Good luck with that. Do a search, you'll find many questions on the very same subject many times over...

Seeing as it's your first post I'll give you the general outline, which is headsets are poor, headphones are generally better, and some headphones do an incredible job at this supposed "surround" when paired with the right soundcard as well as having excellent sound quality, which the crappy headsets won't provide no matter how many deluded people say otherwise.
 
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kk these forums are no help im getting my 2nd option, btw fubsy i dont want to buy headphones and a sound card, what i ment is good sound quality for the price £35-45
oh btw headphones would be better wouldnt they if they can be £10-20 cheaper than headsets due to no mic which is what i want as well for the money as i wanted them for gaming.
lastly thx for thew biased post :rolleyes:
 
Xyanzi said:
kk these forums are no help im getting my 2nd option, btw fubsy i dont want to buy headphones and a sound card, what i ment is good sound quality for the price £35-45
oh btw headphones would be better wouldnt they if they can be £10-20 cheaper than headsets due to no mic which is what i want as well for the money as i wanted them for gaming.
lastly thx for thew biased post :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Basically , the general consensus is that surround sound headsets are a poor implementation designed to reel in "pro gamers". Whereas if you were to buy a decent headset and seperate micophone (mb a clip on one) then you recieve better performance alround, regardless of your budget.
 
As said before, forget a headset and get a pair of headphones for the price. They are infinately better and do actually sound good !!!
 
Have fun with your **** sound quality then. I was trying to help you, but you are obviously ignorant, so go ahead and throw your money on some half assed headset that will do their job fine, but you said good sound quality, and headsets aren't that.

My post wasn't biased at all, it was an educated reply having owned plenty of headsets in the past before moving onto headphones. I've also heard some of the new breed of headsets and they are certainly no better in terms of build, sound and value from the stuff in the past.

You sound like the perfect kiddy gamer that these companies are constantly reeling in to buy their secondary products (the mouse mat makers etc)
 
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if headsets are so terrible then why do pro gamers use them please answer this as im sure there managers will know more about whats best for gaming and will want the best for there client.. and im the kiddy?? your the one raging at one of my post like a grumpy little boy. so take your headphones out of my "HEADSET" topic plz k thx.
ps: dunno why im even here at overclockers they sent me a pc that blue screened all the time! and these forums are full of grumpy old people CBA CYA
 
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bye then lol.

i wonder, what pro's actually use surround headsets? obviously im excluding jonathon 'id wear stiletto's and makeup to a match if i were sponsered for it' fatal1ty edwards.
 
Pro gamers use them becuase it gets them MONEY from sponsorships maybe? And they get these offers because the manufacturers know that little Xyanzi will see such and such a pro gamer wearing these headsets and want one himself.

They are fine for games, nothing wrong with them for games, what I'm saying is your expectations for good sound quality won't be fulfilled by a headset, so carry on being ignorant and it won't matter either way.
 
Xyanzi said:
if headsets are so terrible then why do pro gamers use them please answer this as im sure there managers will know more about whats best for gaming and will want the best for there client.. and im the kiddy?? your the one raging at one of my post like a grumpy little boy. so take your headphones out of my "HEADSET" topic plz k thx.
ps: dunno why im even here at overclockers they sent me a pc that blue screened all the time! and these forums are full of grumpy old people CBA CYA
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Don't be soo naive. You asked for advice, and when given it you turn your nose up against those with plenty more experience than you because of some gaming tards who promote these as they have to as part of the sponsorship. The marketing machine has truly got you, now go and buy a faatt1t1tt1y branded graphics card, because it's 'L33T3R WITH BADGE OMG FPS SKILLZ'

Take your insults and attitude elsewhere.
 
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Sorry mate again Im going to side with the headphone backers; having used headphones and headsets. 'ProGamers' make money from being relatively good and also, largely, sponsorship deals, which is why you see Fatal1ty logos on everything for example.

Headsets come with a microphone, but that is the ONLY benefit. They use cheaper, weaker quality drivers and are built to take far far less punishment (so you replace them quicker!).

If you're actually after sound quality, go for a decent headphone kit, and get a standalone mic; you really will get more for your money.
People were only trying to help you, hence them getting a little unhappy with your attitude; nobody should have to waste money because of marketing!

I'd recommend Goldring DR100s or some Grados inside your budget, with a logi desktop mic, or a clip-on.

Look at it this way...how can sound quality from 2 drivers costing ~$10 compare to sound quality coming from two larger, better made drivers worth ~$40? Adding more drivers doesn't improve sound quality, same as adding more wheels or exhausts to a car doesn't make it go faster :)

If you are going to go for one of the 3 above, get the Creatives, the build quality is better, but really, if you can bring yourself to, look at the alternatives, they really are that much better; producing clearer sound for games, music or films which will better let you hear where people are coming from.
 
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Xyanzi said:
Hey all,
Im in the market for good surround sound headset for gaming, i want to know where the enemy is before i see them and was wondering which is best? i also want good sound quality :)


3rd the medusa's
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SP-026-SL
And for the wild card the medusa gaming headset.
Click to expand...
I had medusas (the ones with the mains powered amp) and am currently looking at getting some proper stereo headphones.
The sound quality from the medusas is very poor and the mic is even worse :(

After using them on 5.1 for a month, I set them up to stereo and just set my soundcard to do 5.1->stereo as it sounded better

My medusas broke recently so I got out my old cheap speedlink headset (cost me around £10 from OcUK over 2years ago) and the sound quality is better.
Also the microphone actually works and sounds better :eek:

I can hear stuff a lot more clearer on CS:S with stereo output on the medusa's than I ever could with them on 5.1 :eek:
on 5.1 the bass just makes the headset rumble and the vibration is annoying, someone behind you sounds like they have slippers on or sounds really high pitch (if u mess with volumes putting rear balance up) in comparison to when they are in front of you.
 
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Hi Op

Just to add my weight to the headphone camp I got some Sony MDR-IF3000 IR headphones years ago and never looked back (they are IR wireless take an SPDIF optical link to the base station and do D-Pro Logic II, DD-5.1 and DTS playback)!! I just use a basic Logitech USB mic with them when gaming, etc. I remember the first time I tried them to watch an episode of the Sopranos. I heard two people talking behind me and looked round in amazement - it was all on the AC3 (5.1 channel) sound track of course!! :cool:

A good pair of headphones is an investment you make once... A cheap headset will always have you forking out more each year to try and get decent (better) sound/ replace them when they break!! You will never be satisifed with the sound... :(

Bob
 
siumatfung said:
speedlink medusa +1
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Eh? I didn't notice them being recommended in the first place.

I'll take a +1 that they sound better in stereo mode with a soundcard doing the surround bit. Unfortunately, they don't sound quite as good as other headphones in the same price bracket.
 
Blimey this guy got a bit of a beating on here..

Anyway I stumbled on this post after just ordering a pair of Creative HS1000.. - I guess it's too late now.

In the past I've had the Medusa 5.1's (but sold them as they made my ears too hot)

More recently I have been using a cheap stereo plantronic headset (USB) which finally fell apart so I was looking for a replacement.

I did come across various posts making reference to normal headphones but no particular examples. - let alone reviews.

I'm hoping that the creatives wont be to hot for my ears and that the surround experience is going to help somewhat in online gaming (MW2 etc)

Anyone comment? (Should I cancel my order?)

What should I have bought instead

(I only have onboard 7.1 sound card from Abit IP35Pro)

Thanks
 
I don't think the creatives are actually a "5.1" headset it mentions creative alchemy so I'm guessing they use a software system similiar to CMSS-3D.


If you want a surround sound experience for gaming then you really do need to avoid cheap substitutes and order a decent set of headphones sennheiser or goldrings, etc. and use them with a X-Fi properly setup for surround -> CMSS-3D headphone.
 
Hmm interesting.. you are right they don't say 5.1 !

Only '3D positional surround sound'

Right well they are Creative X-Fi and they DO support CMSS-3D, this is one of the reasons I went for these as they even support EAX in older games under Win7.

How much is software rather than hardware I don't know. (But my quad has some spare capacity anyways)

What the *sound* difference between USB driven X-Fi and Hardware X-Fi is I don't know either.

So I guess they will be better than my current cheapo stereo headset and probably still beat my onboard sound (as this has no Dolby Headset / CMSS-3D capability).

So for £60 they are not to bad.

I just hope they are not going to make my ears too hot during play.. Otherwise they will be straight on fleebay.

Then again - I have read that if want the surround effect you *need* to have phones that cover your ears; that's what makes those Goldrings / sennheiser's a good match...

It's a shame that the heaphones are not detachable from the X-Fi unit.. (Hmm I feel a mod coming on ;-) - My cheapo set has a usb device with 3.5mm jacks..

I wonder what sort of signal is sent between vol / mute switch to the headphones ? Just standard analog I guess? - As all the processing / remote stuff has been done already..

Anyone know of such a mod? - And which headphones would match best?

Can you get a pure USB only X-Fi unit without headphones?

So many questions - soz..
 
Roccat Kave's real 5.1 are doing just fine for me,
ive gone through a few medusa's,at first i thought they were brilliant but compairing them with the Roccats now the sound seem's rubbish but they are more comfy.
 
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