Headphones / Headset

alex2k10 · 29 Apr 2011 at 15:15

Hi everyone.

Im hoping someone in hear can help me out i have a budget of about £70 and want a decent set of headphones / headset for gaming and music.
I have been looking at :

Razer Characias
Roccat kave
Goldring NS1000
Sennheiser HD 555

Im currently running a Asus Xonar DX and wondering if any of these will be good for gaming.
Also if i go for headphones i will need some sort of mic any one got any ideas on that. Im open to any suggestions tbh just want the best for my money.

Thanks Alex

Auraomega · 29 Apr 2011 at 15:33

Avoid the Goldrings, too many issues with them these days. The best option would be to buy some audio headphones, the Speedlink clip mic and use Dolby Headphone; the vast majority of people will agree with me although as with everything audio some people do prefer the 5.1 headphones rather than stereo with DH.

alex2k10 · 29 Apr 2011 at 15:46

Ok then so from that list would the sennheiser be my best bet with the clip on mic.
Also what is Dolby Headphone is it software you can download or something else.
Shame about the goldrings as i could pick them up pretty cheap. What is the problem with them?

Auraomega · 29 Apr 2011 at 15:55

Search on here for Goldring problems, there are numerous threads including 2 of my own. The NS1000s particularly are rife with problems due to poor quality control.

Dolby Headphone is a DSP which you can enable through the Xonar control panel of your DX.

As for the headphones, I'm no longer aware what is good value for money in the sub £100 range, but I'm sure someone else will be able to offer some advice.

alex2k10 · 29 Apr 2011 at 20:18

Well the goldrings are out of the picture now. Im down to 2 possibles either the Sennheiser HD 555 or the Shure srh240 any one had experience with either any pros or cons.

The Shure ones are cheaper but i can get the Sennheiser ones for more or less half the rrp i just dont no what either sound like.

sHo0sH · 29 Apr 2011 at 20:35

The Senn's have been highly recommended for gaming on another forum - google Mad Lust Envy Dolby Headphone Thread. Helped me choose my current setup!

Marsman · 29 Apr 2011 at 23:19

Sennheiser HD555's are not free of issues though. Plenty of people have had problems with the plastic above the ear cups cracking. Such a thing happening on a product that has seen a £40 price increase, is not on IMO. If they were still £50, then it is perhaps more understandable. Goldring DR150's might also have a build quality issue with the headband cracking, but they are £50. Sennheiser charging £90 for the HD555's, makes them not worth considering IMO. Which is a shame, as they are very good headphones. They do have a 2 year warranty though, which is something.

The price of headphones is terrible here in the UK. So many are overpriced, it makes it hard to know what ones are actually worth what they sell for.

jorzeh · 29 Apr 2011 at 23:39

HD555 hands down the other headphones are not even in the same league, Not to mention with a soundstage mod (removing some plastic 5 mins per can) turns them into HD595 they have the same drivers.

This is the reason the prices shot up because you're getting a £200+ headset for £70.

alex2k10 · 29 Apr 2011 at 23:44

Thanks for that I have found a place I can get hd555 for £60 which I thought was pretty good. Hum the cracking doesn't sound great but I spose every product has it's weak points and at least with that I can uber carefull not to drop them or anything.
More thought needed it also appears my friend has some hd555 so I'll go check them out tomorrow.

jorzeh · 29 Apr 2011 at 23:48

It's just the cloth tearing, It's best to cut the cloth under the plastic after you click all the plastics, I've modded about 5 pairs now, There's other mods you can do like upgrade the wiring which is my next mod.

£60 is a bargin i think i paid £65 for mine.

Eric's collar · 30 Apr 2011 at 12:41

Where are they for £ 60? They a lot more everywhere I look.

Auraomega · 30 Apr 2011 at 13:07

jorzeh said:
turns them into HD595 they have the same drivers.

Not entirely true. While they use the same drivers a few people have commented on how the 595s sound better than the 555s even when modded. I believe (and I know others agree) that the cones are a combination of those which weren't good enough to use in the 595s (I.E. movement not accurate enough) and not calibrated to the same level as the 595s. Think of it like buying a CPU, they are speed binned and the CPUs which aren't fast enough are sold as cheaper CPUs with lesser clock speeds; the same tech just not at the same level.

alex2k10 · 30 Apr 2011 at 15:23

Eric's collar said:
Where are they for £ 60? They a lot more everywhere I look.

Yeah that price isent an online price it's a local hi-fi store near me I told the guy I could get them for £70 and he said he would do them for £60. They sound a sam sight better than my current headset so might have to grab them.

Marsman · 30 Apr 2011 at 15:44

ATi did a similar thing with one of their flagship cards. I forget which GPU it was. They may still do, and Nvidia the same. The flagship card had GPU's that met strict requirements. The GPU's that didn't match up, went into the cheaper cards.

Sennheiser use the same drivers for the 555 and 595. I would be surprised if the drivers used in the 555 are to the same standard. If they are, then Senheiser are just conning people, by gimping the 555's, and making people pay considerably more for the 595's, when the 555's are potentially capable of the same sound quality.

I have seen comments on Head-Fi, from people who have performed this mod on 555's, but found they still didn't sound quite as good as the 595's. To me, that suggests there is more to it, than a piece of foam.