Gaming headsets

iviv

iviv

iviv

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Well, they don't need to be branded as gaming, but I'm in the market for a good headset/mic combo to use while gaming. I've had the medusa speedlink 5.1s and the razer barracuda 5.1s, but keep hearing that 5.1 headsets are pointless? Now, I don't really have anything I can make a comparison with, but if this is true, what should I get? I have an X-fi Xtreme Gamer soundcard, and a £40-£50 budget (Preferably cheaper), but other than that I don't really know what I'm looking for. Preferably something with the large cups that completely cover the ears and lesten the outside sound. And since I have a decent (I think) soundcard, it means avoid USB headsets?

Looking at OcUK's selection though, annoyingly there is a large price gap, with nothing really sitting in the £40 to £50 region, its either sub 40 or over 50. Would I notice much difference if I'm mainly running around shooting zombies? I don't really use my PC to listen to music or watch movies, and I'm certainly not an audiophile, but if there is a deffinate difference then I wouldn't really want to go for a cheap pair only to suffer.

Thanks!
 
Just an alternative suggestion, that I think will get you better value for money. It's hard to match the sound quality of music headphones in that price bracket. I'd suggest either Goldring DR50 (if you prefer an open headphone) or JVC HA-RX700 (if you prefer closed headphones) plus a logitech desktop mic. Sound quality on either of those is significantly better than any headset I've heard in that sort of price range.

Your X-Fi will handle the directional aspect via CMSS-3d headphone. Just make sure to have it set up correctly.
 
Uriel said:
Just an alternative suggestion, that I think will get you better value for money. It's hard to match the sound quality of music headphones in that price bracket. I'd suggest either Goldring DR50 (if you prefer an open headphone) or JVC HA-RX700 (if you prefer closed headphones) plus a logitech desktop mic. Sound quality on either of those is significantly better than any headset I've heard in that sort of price range.

Your X-Fi will handle the directional aspect via CMSS-3d headphone. Just make sure to have it set up correctly.
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That headphone and mic option certainly sounds interesting, it wasn't something I'd considered, but if its going to have the quality going for it then it would be silly to ignore it. However, looking at the range(!) of microphones available on OcUK, I certainly wasn't thinking of spending quite so much on just the microphone. I only use it for ventrillo chatting, so doubt I would get £20 worth out of the microphone, I'll check out some other stores closer to the £10 region.

That Creative headset does seem quite nice though, and I like the removable mic like I have with my current headset, though as just mentioned, will the £32 JVX headphones sound just as good as them? About the only worrying thing is the apparent lack of reviews on those JVC ones.

As for the CMSS-3D, is that simply a matter of going into the audio control panel and ticking the 'enable' box? I obviously don't have it enabled now, but how much is there to set up? There's just a couple of dropdown boxes and a sliding bar?
 
i have the xonar d1 & dr50s on uriels advise, im well happy. The dolby headphone on the dr50s is great and similar to the creative offering sound wise (from what ive heard).

I also have this paired with a fiio e5 headphone amp as it adds a little more oomph to the music and in game sounds.

Uriel seems to give spot on advise objectively and acurately, like me, you should take it!

EDIT:- I used to have a logitech desktop mic but it wasnt great for me as my fans are a wee bit noisy so caught a lot of background noise. instead i just bought a SPEEDLINK SL-8691-SBK for £6.99 inc delivery (copy and paste that into google will give u the online shop with free delivery). The speedlink is well worth it and even has a croc clip i clip it to the wire on my dr50's. If you so desired you could even cable tie it to the headphone wire. the speedlin kcable is 2.4meters long..... just as well as i keep getting up and walking off with it on >.<
 
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I used to have the Medusa 5.1 Pro Gamers until the mic broke, I've just replaced them.

I checked out other 5.1 headsets from Tritton and a 5.1 Dolby variant from Astro (A40s). My goal was something that sounded ok but gave me good positional accuracy for gaming.
Having looked at loads of reviews for all of them I went for the Turtle Beach HPA2's which I picked up for £75 from eBay. They sound much better than the Medusas (more bass less rattle) the price / quality balance seems to be spot on. If you want a true 5.1 I'd recommend these but they're hard to find in the UK.
Good luck!
 
Alex_S said:
If you want a true 5.1 I'd recommend these but they're hard to find in the UK.
Good luck!
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5.1/7.1 headphones are not true 5.1/7.1. People who say they have swallowed the marketing crap shovelled out by the manufacturers of such products. They provide surround sound without having to own a sound device that has Dolby Headphone or CMSS 3D, so they have their place. For anyone to suggest 5.1/7.1 headphones, when the user has an X-Fi Xtreme Gamer sound card, makes no sense.
 
Marsman said:
5.1/7.1 headphones are not true 5.1/7.1. People who say they have swallowed the marketing crap shovelled out by the manufacturers of such products. They provide surround sound without having to own a sound device that has Dolby Headphone or CMSS 3D, so they have their place. For anyone to suggest 5.1/7.1 headphones, when the user has an X-Fi Xtreme Gamer sound card, makes no sense.
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I'm disappointed you're implying I've swallowed marketing crap and I think you've missed the point.

I'd be interested to hear (excuse the pun) whether you've owned a pair of 5.1 cans? I don't see why suggesting a 5.1 headphone makes no sense - if you are you saying that Dolby 5.1 virtual surround or CMSS is better then do so.

My point is that having tried a stereo pair of cans with Dolby Headphone vs a 5.1 set I experience better positional accuracy through the 'true' 5.1 pair. I have an Asus D2X soundcard so I have plenty of virtual surround field options to choose from. If 5.1 is defined as a pair of front, rear and centre and a sub then the HPA2s are 'true' surround even if you don't think they're particularly good at achieving what they set out to do.

You're entitled to your opinion and to be fair Iviv may find the best compromise is a decent pair of stereo headphones for under £50 combined with Dolby Headphone is the right answer if the budget won't stretch any higher.
 
I have Dr50's & a xonar D1 with dolby headphone the positional sound is good.

I also have a set of gainward sound explosion 5.1 headphones, these have 4 speakers in each cup, all of the speakers are the same size. The positional sound produced by the gainwards is better than the dr50's.

The sound quality of the gainwards is as good as the dr50s so i use the gainwards to game and the dr50's with dolby headphone for movies etc. Once the gainwards die i will just use the dr50s but until then i love the gainwards. It's typical as you cant get the gainwards anymore :(

On a side note, my brother has the medusas and in comparison to the gainwards the medusas are bloody awful - in compariosn to the dr50s the medusas are shi*t.

http://www.behardware.com/articles/497-4/5-1-headsets-comparative-test.html
 
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Alex_S said:
I'm disappointed you're implying I've swallowed marketing crap and I think you've missed the point.
Click to expand...

You think I have missed the point? a point which you didn't get to until your second post. You can't really accuse me of missing the point, because no point was made until after I posted. All I knew, going by your first post, was that you considered 5.1 headphones to be 'true' 5.1, and that you recommended them. Many people join these forums, recommend 5.1 headphones to others, saying how great they are, then just disappear it seems. As if they only joined to say how great 5.1 headphones are. Apologies if any offence was taken.

I wasn't trying to target you personally with the comment in my previous post, but there are so many people who just swallow the 'true 5.1' marketing babble. For anyone, whoever it is, to imply 5.1 headphones are true 5.1, means that person, doesn't know what 'true' 5.1 is. They just buy into what the companies that sell these products advertise them as. Whenever these threads crop up where people want surround sound via headphones, there are people who like to point out that headphones labelled 5.1, are 'true' 5.1, and that what Dolby Headphone provides via stereo headphones is only virtual, just because some manufacturer markets their product as 'true' 5.1. Gaming websites don't help.

Logitech G35. Some people rave about them, and how they are 'true' 7.1. Really? So why are they actually stereo headphones that use Dolby audio tech to give the impression the user is listening to surround sound. How is that better than having a sound card with DH or CMSS 3D and a pair of stereo headphones? Because Logitech slaps 7.1 on them?

Sennheiser 333D, are also stereo headphones, that uses an audio device to provide Dolby Headphone, to give the user the impression the sound is surround. Again, they are labelled 7.1.

So then you get some people say, these 7.1 headphones are 'true' 7.1 and are better than having a sound card with DH + stereo headphones, because that's only virtual.

If people believe that, then they have fallen for the marketing crap, and that is what I am trying to get at.

For those who have 5.1 headphones that use multiple drivers, if they prefer those to DH + stereo headphones, then that's fine. It's the marketing that really gets on my wick.
 
Clarification appreciated and I now better understand and agree with your point about marketing. I guess I'd only seen the 'true 5.1' headphone reference used in the context of a headphone with four drivers in each ear so wasn't aware that companies like Logitech were referring to the G35s as 'true 5.1' which I can't agree with. Hence my use of 'true 5.1' used in the context of the HPA2s which have 8 drivers in total.
Apologies if I jumped in a bit deep :D
 
Please dont get me wrong, I LOVE my DR50's and DH via the xonar, so much so that I've recommended two of my mates to buy it, which they both have and love it also. If I wasnt so stubborn about my gainwards I would only use the DR50s's.

I would also like to clarify that I mainly play CS:S and in my opinion the gainwards are ONLY better for positional sound in CS:S - I believe this is most likely because CS:S is such an old game and the sound isn't brilliant. The footsteps heard in CS:S via the gainwards i would give about 8/10, I would give the DR50 & DH 7/10 in CS:S. Anyone who plays CS:S will know that hearing the footsteps of your opponent gives you a real advantage and you can even judge a 'shot' and prefire based on the sound. anyway......

I cannot tell the difference (really) in MW2 & BC2, between the DH & dr50's and the gainwards. Maybe I should have also clarified this in my previous posts :S

If I didnt play CS:S I would ONLY use the DR50's & xonar with DH.
 
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Let's not forget, the DR50s have been around £10-20 for the last few months. That's superb value but they aren't the be-all and end all of Dolby Headphone. They are the cheapest headphones I've heard that do Dolby Headphone competently. DR150s do it better still (even better with a suitable amp). NS1000s can offer something more. HD600s (well amped) can offer further improvement. More expensive headphones can offer better clarity than the DR50s and I expect this may help with Angel Rex's CSS issue.

Unlike Marsman, I do have some objections in principle to the current implementation of 'true' 5.1 headphones. Multiple drivers strapped to your head are simply incapable of reproducing a realistic soundstage, given that all 5.1 content is designed for speakers (including game audio). When you listen to 5.1 speakers you hear the sound coming from each speaker in both ears. There is some time difference and some acoustic effects of the shape of your head and ears. With true 5.1 headphones you get very little of that happening.

That's not to to say I think 5.1 headphones are a gimmick or they don't work. I would rather use 5.1 headphones than just use plain stereo for gaming (unless it's one of the few games with audio designed for stereo headphones). It's just that I think virtualisation has now surpassed what they are capable of. That's not to say that current headphone virtualisation is perfect. CMSS-3d Headphone is HRTF based so the experience is unique to the user. The directional aspect works for me but it gives little sense of distance. It only becomes convincing for me when used with headphones that have angled drivers and a large headstage. With Dolby Headphone, both the directional aspect and the distance are convincing to me. With the right headphones I can forget I'm wearing headphones at all. Having said that, the room reflections can sound a bit artificial (although that's lesson an issue with DH1).

I suppose 'true' 5.1 headphones do have their uses. They can exaggerate the directional aspect of the sound beyond what's realistic. Although that's unrealistic it could be a useful tool in competitive gaming for example. To a trained ear, it's a bit unsettling, a bit like watching a film shot in 2d that's been made 3D in post production (pop-up fest Clash of the Titans, I'm looking at you). Once you notice the effect, it's very off-putting.

Headphone virtualisation on consumer soundcards still has some way to go. I look forward to the day when we can get something like SVS headphone technology on consumer soundcard. That'll be the day...
 
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Great, Cheers Uriel.... way to make me spend more money :p Now I have to buy some NS1000's....... :D Give my cheap fiio e5 some thing else to drive!

Nice post too, think you summed it up rather nicely :)
 
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