Which Gaming Headset with *NO USB*?

St0rmer66

St0rmer66

St0rmer66

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I've got the Logitech G35 headset which at first seemed awesome. Sound quality is good, microphone is good, sturdy design etc etc. But after a period of gaming, I get the dreaded "white noise/crackling" problem which I've now found out is quite common (it gets gradually worse and eventually I lose all sound, only a restart fixes it). Got RMA authorised with OcUK (great service so far) but didn't want to be left without any headset at all I ordered the highly recommended Roccat Kave headset which I intended to plug into my Xonar DG 5.1 (the £20 one) which had become obsolete since getting the G35's. So I get them out, plug into the sound card and then plug the USB in (which I had not anticipated) and BAM... white noise. Just a constant droning white noise in the background, ALL OF THE TIME. It appears I have quite a lot of USB interference and looking around there is virtually nothing I can do about it. I've tried having nothing but the headset plugged in and it makes no difference at all. So this is probably what's affecting the G35's too, but to a lesser extent.

So another RMA (these postage costs are adding up :( ) and now I'm left wondering what to do.

I need a decent headset, cost is not a consideration (within reason), I just want it sorted and not to have to throw away any more money on RMA'ing. Are Sennheiser PC360's worth considering? I have some HD 555's from when I stopped gaming completely for a while and the sound quality is excellent and being able to hear things around me is always handy. Are they going to be any good at directional sounds in games with them not being natively "surround" sound?

Any other options? I don't want wireless, they will be used for a complete range of music, videos, films and gaming. If an inline control (volume etc) can be avoided or at least kept to a light weight then all the better.

Thanks in advance guys.

Edit: ... or should I just use the HD555's and get a separate microphone? I worry about the sound quality is all.
 
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Why not give the 555's a go? I would, might save you some money, if you find they perform well.

I know they are just stereo, but so are those G35's. They use similar audio tech to create surround sound with stereo.

Just enable Dolby Headphone on your DG.
 
St0rmer66 said:
So I get them out, plug into the sound card and then plug the USB in (which I had not anticipated)

Edit: ... or should I just use the HD555's and get a separate microphone? I worry about the sound quality is all.
Click to expand...

Wait. The Roccat Kaves have both 3.5mm jacks and USB? If so, and you plugged the jacks into the Xonar DG, you don't need to use the USB connection at all.

Decent stereo headphones and separate mic is almost always going to have better sq because there's more focus on the headphones rather than both headphones and mic, and then sticking a 'gaming headset' tag on it, they are going to charge more for it. And people will buy it.

With the Xonar DG you can use Dolby Headphones, which simulates surround sound and I think it sounds good. Very debatable so it's very personal preference.

If you already have HD555's they'll be good. And you'll only have to buy £5-10 on a mic.
 
I don't know if it is something to do with the other two connections. Normally, they are used by speakers, which have an amplifier to amplify the signal. Maybe the sound card, cannot supply enough power to drive so many drivers, without an amplifier of some sort.

Headphones normally, only have two drivers, not several.
 
Are you using a proper grounded kettle lead and preferably no extension cords/multiplug adapters?

Does the noise stop if you Mute sound from Windows? Is it linked to volume? (IE - increases as volume does)

You could go through 100s of headsets and have the same problem on all of them if you have something like a ground loop.
 
Marsman said:
Why not give the 555's a go? I would, might save you some money, if you find they perform well.

I know they are just stereo, but so are those G35's. They use similar audio tech to create surround sound with stereo.

Just enable Dolby Headphone on your DG.
Click to expand...
Think this sounds like a good plan and only a few quid if it doesn't work out, are clip on microphones generally beter than desktop mounted ones? Will get it ordered today if possible.

Razor-BladE said:
Wait. The Roccat Kaves have both 3.5mm jacks and USB? If so, and you plugged the jacks into the Xonar DG, you don't need to use the USB connection at all.

Decent stereo headphones and separate mic is almost always going to have better sq because there's more focus on the headphones rather than both headphones and mic, and then sticking a 'gaming headset' tag on it, they are going to charge more for it. And people will buy it.

With the Xonar DG you can use Dolby Headphones, which simulates surround sound and I think it sounds good. Very debatable so it's very personal preference.

If you already have HD555's they'll be good. And you'll only have to buy £5-10 on a mic.
Click to expand...
As someone else mentioned, it uses the USB to power it. There is a large (and heavy) box inline with the cables with volume control and an equaliser which only lights up if the USB is in, perhaps without all that it wouldn't need it but as Marsman said... perhaps it's just all the drivers for the 5.1.

Sin_Chase said:
Are you using a proper grounded kettle lead and preferably no extension cords/multiplug adapters?

Does the noise stop if you Mute sound from Windows? Is it linked to volume? (IE - increases as volume does)

You could go through 100s of headsets and have the same problem on all of them if you have something like a ground loop.
Click to expand...

Not sure, it's just the kettle lead that came with my PSU I think. I need to use a multi-plug adapter because I only have 2 plugs in here and they're not even next to where the PC is! No it doesn't go away when Windows is muted and stayed the same volume IIRC.

I'm just going to get a non-USB headset, I know I won't get any interference then. I even went to the extent of taking everything out of the case and mounting it back in again, making sure I had nothing touching in the wrong place but it made no difference (except from managing all my cables instead of a spaghetti junction :) ).
 
St0rmer66 said:
I've got the Logitech G35 headset which at first seemed awesome. Sound quality is good, microphone is good, sturdy design etc etc. But after a period of gaming, I get the dreaded "white noise/crackling" problem which I've now found out is quite common (it gets gradually worse and eventually I lose all sound, only a restart fixes it). Got RMA authorised with OcUK (great service so far) but didn't want to be left without any headset at all I ordered the highly recommended Roccat Kave headset which I intended to plug into my Xonar DG 5.1 (the £20 one) which had become obsolete since getting the G35's. So I get them out, plug into the sound card and then plug the USB in (which I had not anticipated) and BAM... white noise. Just a constant droning white noise in the background, ALL OF THE TIME. It appears I have quite a lot of USB interference and looking around there is virtually nothing I can do about it. I've tried having nothing but the headset plugged in and it makes no difference at all. So this is probably what's affecting the G35's too, but to a lesser extent.

So another RMA (these postage costs are adding up :( ) and now I'm left wondering what to do.

I need a decent headset, cost is not a consideration (within reason), I just want it sorted and not to have to throw away any more money on RMA'ing. Are Sennheiser PC360's worth considering? I have some HD 555's from when I stopped gaming completely for a while and the sound quality is excellent and being able to hear things around me is always handy. Are they going to be any good at directional sounds in games with them not being natively "surround" sound?

Any other options? I don't want wireless, they will be used for a complete range of music, videos, films and gaming. If an inline control (volume etc) can be avoided or at least kept to a light weight then all the better.

Thanks in advance guys.

Edit: ... or should I just use the HD555's and get a separate microphone? I worry about the sound quality is all.
Click to expand...

I have had this exact issue with Roccat Kaves. Even with just the USB plugged in, there is this white noise. Then with the 4 audio cables plugged in, it gets louder.

Very annoying, so like yourself I'm after a headset without a USB connection.
 
As sin_chase said if white noise bothers you your probably going to have to look at the interference from the power supply, VRMs, etc. and get a properly shielded soundcard and a bit higher than gaming grade equipment.
 
i had same problem when my fatal1ty champion arrived with its front socket for headphones . traced it back to power-line interference as i had wrapped the cable that went from sound card to front panel around an in-between my mobos main power connector and the connectors to my gpu abit of simple cable management quickly dropped the static i was getting. if possible you should try moving your sound card away from your gpu etc to minimise interferance
 
sorry to jump on your thread, just wanted to know if the Audio-Technica ATH M50 would be any good for gaming was looking at the PC 350's or 360's but i never use my mic now i dont play wow. ty for any help
 
No. The M50's are very good headphones, but for music, not for gaming. There are much better options for gaming.

I'd look at Beyerdynamic DT770 or DT990 Pro headphones. Both are very good for gaming, and around the £130 mark.
 
Marsman said:
I'd look at Beyerdynamic DT770 or DT990 Pro headphones. Both are very good for gaming, and around the £130 mark.
Click to expand...

The only thing I don't like about the Beyerdynamic's is the look of them, I know that should not matter, But I will have them on at work most days. And game with them when i get in.

Have you any thoughts on the Sennheiser HD 380 Pro or HD 518/HD 558.

Thanks for any help:)
 
558/598's are good headphones, if not a bit overpriced. That's my opinion though. Others may feel they are worth what they retail at.

They are good headphones for gaming. Probably very similar to the PC360's, as they are all based on similar design and drivers.

I probably wouldn't bother looking at the 518's. The 5x8 series replaces the 5x5 series. Of that series, the 515's were not of the same quality as the 555/595's. They used cheaper lesser quality drivers. Chances are, same applies to the 518's, in comparison to the 558/598's.
 
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