Headset for my soundcard

matty86uk · 30 Nov 2011 at 14:39

I have the Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro 7.1 soundcard along with my crappy creative fatality headset i've had for a couple of years. The difference in quality between my onboard sound and the sound card was a lot, would a gaming headset of similar decent quality give me a similar increase in quality?

On the OCUK shop, there are Gaming Headsets, 5.1 Headsets and 7.1 Headsets, is the difference between these major, are the 5.1/7.1 worth it? i only ever play games so would a gaming headset get the most out of my soundcard? Another point is headsets with USB connectors, are these useless?

MrZippo · 30 Nov 2011 at 14:55

5.1 and 7.1 headsets are a no no. You are better off going for a normal set of headphones with a seperate mic like the speedlink.

USB headsets use their own built in sound processor so they would not be making use of your soundcard.

any ideas on budget?? you already got a very good soundcard so you should be looking at a nice set of headphones to really bring out the best of it.

Marsman · 30 Nov 2011 at 15:06

would a gaming headset of similar decent quality give me a similar increase in quality?

Certainly.

Those Creative headsets look like a pile of crap. Not everyone will have that opinion though, there's probably quite a few people who like them. Plenty of people who have owned them think they are crap though, for them to be considered any good.

USB headsets are useless to you, unless you want to do away with your sound card. Not a good move really, when you consider that a tiny little sound device in a USB headset can't produce the same level of sound quality, your sound card can.

IMHO, 5.1/7.1 headsets, are a waste of space. Not everyone will agree with that, some people love them. Some people think they are superb, and much better than using CMSS 3D and a stereo pair of headphones, or headset.

There are too many people who prefer using CMSS 3D or Dolby Headphone + a decent pair of stereo headphones, for 5.1/7.1 headsets to be considered better.

If you want a headset, I'd get a decent stereo pair. Razer Carcharias are very good for a headset, or something from Sennheiser. Depends what you want to spend. Cheaper headsets are generally rubbish though.

Alternatively, get some headphones and a separate microphone. £40 will buy a good sounding pair of headphones. In comparison, a £40 headset will sound crap.

matty86uk · 30 Nov 2011 at 15:22

about £80 is my limit really, possibly more (£100) considering its an item i can transfer to a new build when the time comes. Is that enough to bring out the best of that sound card?

MrZippo · 30 Nov 2011 at 15:34

matty86uk said:
about £80 is my limit really, possibly more (£100) considering its an item i can transfer to a new build when the time comes. Is that enough to bring out the best of that sound card?

For around £80-100 you should be able to get yourself a very decent pair of Sennheiser. I don't know if your soundcard has a built in amp though so make sure you get a set that your soundcard can drive.
I am sorry I can't be of much help here because I got the Xonar Essence stx with beyerdynamics DT770 pro. I would recommend the Beyerdynamics but they seem to fall just outside your budget.

But I am sure that someone here with the same soundcard as you can give you advice and help in choosing a great headphone to use with it.
All I can say is that it is worth the investment in a decent pair of headphones and they should last you a long time if you get either a Sennheiser or Beyerdynamics.

MrZippo · 30 Nov 2011 at 15:40

Oh check out Global_inferno's blog post with regards to headsets and headphones.

http://www.siyfion.com/?p=24

matty86uk · 30 Nov 2011 at 16:12

MrZippo said:
For around £80-100 you should be able to get yourself a very decent pair of Sennheiser. I don't know if your soundcard has a built in amp though so make sure you get a set that your soundcard can drive.

I am unsure if my card has an AMP, i have looked at the specifications and there is no mention of this. If the headset has a 3.5mm jack(s) i will be ok?

MrZippo said:
Oh check out Global_inferno's blog post with regards to headsets and headphones.
http://www.siyfion.com/?p=24

Cheers for the link, i will be in Option 1, just a simple 3.5mm jack for audio and one for the microphone, with a high end sound card i should be ok for the DAC process with regards to quality.

i've been looking at some already, most expensive one being

Sennheiser PC 350 Pro-Gaming Headset (502141) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SP-042-SN&groupid=702&catid=1058&subcat=1719

it comes with "Connectors Two 1/8” / 3.5mm plugs" so just like normal. has quite a lot of reviews and 5 stars.

MrZippo · 30 Nov 2011 at 16:24

matty86uk said:
I am unsure if my card has an AMP, i have looked at the specifications and there is no mention of this. If the headset has a 3.5mm jack(s) i will be ok?

Cheers for the link, i will be in Option 1, just a simple 3.5mm jack for audio and one for the microphone, with a high end sound card i should be ok for the DAC process with regards to quality.

i've been looking at some already, most expensive one being

Sennheiser PC 350 Pro-Gaming Headset (502141) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SP-042-SN&groupid=702&catid=1058&subcat=1719

it comes with "Connectors Two 1/8” / 3.5mm plugs" so just like normal. has quite a lot of reviews and 5 stars.

Yeah the PC350 are good and should unlock the potential of your soundcard. There are a good few on here that have the PC350s and I have never heard anything bad about them so it's a good choice

Marsman · 30 Nov 2011 at 16:24

The card you have doesn't have a dedicated headphone amp. Except for the Xonar DG, only £120+ sound cards have dedicated headphone amps.

There are plenty of headphones that work fine from the majority of sound cards.

The PC350's are not a good choice really, as they really need a headphone amp. Quite a few people have found they sound pretty average without an amp to give them some extra juice.

PC360's are certainly worth the extra over the 350's, but they are even more over your budget.

It's a real pity there is not more choice around the £50-£80 bracket of decent stereo headsets.

Edit: Sennheiser PC330's look good, but they clamp quite a lot according to one review I had a look at.

MrZippo · 30 Nov 2011 at 16:31

Marsman said:
The card you have doesn't have a dedicated headphone amp. Except for the Xonar DG, only £120+ sound cards have dedicated headphone amps.

There are plenty of headphones that work fine from the majority of sound cards.

The PC350's are not a good choice really, as they really need a headphone amp. Quite a few people have found they sound pretty average without an amp to give them some extra juice.

PC360's are certainly worth the extra over the 350's, but they are even more over your budget.

It's a real pity there is not more choice around the £50-£80 bracket of decent stereo headsets.

Edit: Sennheiser PC330's look good, but they clamp quite a lot according to one review I had a look at.

Would picking up a Filo E5 for cheap solve that problem? just a suggestion.

Marsman · 30 Nov 2011 at 19:27

I would have thought so. The E5 does a good job with Goldring NS1000's, and they are quite picky with what amp they work well with.

I saw a review from a guy who reviews sound products for Guru3D. His opinion was that the 350's were just average, when he first used them, given what they cost. When he tried the Xonar Xense, which comes with the 350's, he was surprised as to how much better they were.

The Xense's amp, seemed to make a world of difference to how they performed.

Quite a few OcUK members have an E5 paired with the 360's. The 360's don't need an amp as much as the 350's do, but they do benefit from one.

Global_Inferno · 30 Nov 2011 at 20:31

If your budget can stretch to the PC360 over the PC350, they have a lower impedance so they should be easier to drive without a dedicated amp.

Also, I'd always recommend a set of headphones + mic over any headset.

glowball · 30 Nov 2011 at 22:42

What card would you guys recommend to go with the PC360's mainly for gaming?
Thanks.

Marsman · 30 Nov 2011 at 22:54

Depends on what you want to spend.

glowball · 30 Nov 2011 at 23:23

Marsman said:
Depends on what you want to spend.

Max of £150

MrZippo · 1 Dec 2011 at 00:00

glowball said:
Max of £150

For that price you can go for a Xonar Essence st or stx which has a built in amp.
Personally I think you should keep the money and not splash out on a new soundcard and keep the one you got and then splash out on a set of good headphones with a headphone amp.

I used to have the Xonar D2 with a Fiio E5 paired up with the Goldring NS1000 and I was very happy with them. But my new PC build meant I had to ditch the Xonar D2 (because of 2 6870s) and run the Goldrings off the onboard (P8Z68 pro).
Unfortunately the Goldrings broke, the plastic parts cracked and fell off. It is still under warranty dispute with play.com I would have recommended the Goldring NS1000 but I don't know if its worth investing in if it's a lottery to see if you get a good or bad batch.
So I have decided to go for the Xonar Essence stx (£139) and paired them up with the Beyerdynamics DT770 pro 250 ohms (£122) and have to say that it sounds amazing and well worth the investment.