What Surround Sound Headphones for Gameing?

ShiWarrior · 25 Jun 2006 at 19:17

My Medusa's are giving up the ghost.

Need some new "Sourround sound" headphones with a MIC

any recomendations ?

Thanks

yhack · 25 Jun 2006 at 19:27

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Surround_Sound_Headsets.html

Bottom ones

ShiWarrior · 25 Jun 2006 at 19:40

yhack said:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Surround_Sound_Headsets.html

Bottom ones

I assume you use them ? any bad points to comment on ?

nice sig by the way, at least we know when the OcUK fourm clocks change!

StixxUK · 25 Jun 2006 at 20:37

Zalman > Medusa?

ShiWarrior · 25 Jun 2006 at 20:41

StixxUK said:
Zalman > Medusa?

I don't know ? are you asking me ? or are you stating a fact ?

fish99 · 25 Jun 2006 at 20:58

I found the Medusa better than the Zalmans, but I think both are very average in terms of their sound quality and their surround sound.

devilkazuya · 25 Jun 2006 at 22:27

don't get surround sound headphones for gaming, they are awful, if you take your gaming seriously. Stick to actual decent stereo headphones, and the introduction of openal in the latest games will give you massively improved positional awareness in games. If you are wanting the increased 360 effect in headphones, go for the X-fi Fatality sound card, and use the CMSS-3d setting. That definitely improves awareness especially in conjunction with openal.

ShiWarrior · 25 Jun 2006 at 22:34

devilkazuya said:
don't get surround sound headphones for gaming, they are awful, if you take your gaming seriously. Stick to actual decent stereo headphones, and the introduction of openal in the latest games will give you massively improved positional awareness in games. If you are wanting the increased 360 effect in headphones, go for the X-fi Fatality sound card, and use the CMSS-3d setting. That definitely improves awareness especially in conjunction with openal.

no idea what all that means, but i will look it up, thanks

I use Sourround sound headphones at the moment, i found them better than stero hearphones for games

mrbios · 25 Jun 2006 at 23:47

tbh ive had the zalmans and medusas, and 5.1 headphones just seem to have awful sound quality and are of a tacky build

the only ones i might recommend would be the steelsound 5Hs, but i keep hearing of them breaking easily

TooNice · 26 Jun 2006 at 01:11

ShiWarrior said:
I use Sourround sound headphones at the moment, i found them better than stero hearphones for games

The problem is, what stereo headphones? Good stereo headphones with decent soundstage can sound very good in games. I happen to prefer without CMSS, but many vouch for it.
While the most commonly recommended gaming headphones tend to cost about £70-80, you can get pretty versatile stereo headphones for much less.
That said, there is no real reason to pick the Fatal1ty edition of the X-Fi line up at the moment: the X-RAM does too little/nothing, front bay is available in the Platinum edition, and superior sound quality only available in the Elite Pro edition..
I think that most people are better off sticking with the Xtreme Music/OEM version.

devilkazuya · 26 Jun 2006 at 11:33

i take my first person gaming seriously, high end clanning etc. So it's the extra ram from the fatality soundcard that is a bonus, as it does give a boost in frames, significant boost for a lot of people in the community too when combined with openal. The sound quality is great on it too, though i imagine just marginally shy of the elite pro.

The reason CMSS-3d is good for first person gaming, especially with openal enabled, is that in practice, it does give a more accurate positioning on enemy footsteps, and distance. As a gamer, that is the most crucial element.

On the Fatality soundcard, there are 3 different modes. When you game, select gaming mode, and then just switch it to entertainment mode when you want music, and take off the CMSS-3d for music, as it doesn't sound better with CMSS-3d enabled. it sounds perhaps fuller, but not as accurate if you left it enabled. When it comes to movies, i am torn, and slightly indecisive for that very reason as to which the better setting is.

mrbios · 26 Jun 2006 at 17:01

what game and clan you play in devil? (curious cause i play css at a high level)

ShiWarrior · 26 Jun 2006 at 17:59

im not really interested in a sound card at this stage, i want some decent headpgones, recomendations?

TooNice · 26 Jun 2006 at 18:15

devilkazuya said:
The reason CMSS-3d is good for first person gaming, especially with openal enabled, is that in practice, it does give a more accurate positioning on enemy footsteps, and distance. As a gamer, that is the most crucial element.

I am more inclinded to say "in theory" (it is designed for it). I certainly prefer the positioning without CMSS on my K701. On the other hand, I find that CMSS to be undoubtedly better for movies. To each their own.

StixxUK · 26 Jun 2006 at 19:15

ShiWarrior said:
I don't know ? are you asking me ? or are you stating a fact ?

'twas a question, hence the question mark. I probably should have been less lazy and actually written a sentence though

ShiWarrior · 26 Jun 2006 at 19:18

StixxUK said:
'twas a question, hence the question mark. I probably should have been less lazy and actually written a sentence though

I know it was

but not sure who u was asking etc...

are Zalmans better than Meduasa's ? do u have any of these?
I have Meduas's at the moment

Whats all this "CMSS" and "openal" etc..

gonna goto google for the time being

Openal is a software u need to install ?
can I just download that and install on any soundcard ? I use onboard sound at the mo, do i just use stero headphones plugged in and it will work?

devilkazuya · 27 Jun 2006 at 14:56

my grado sr 125's are great for music, and gaming. I stopped using my sennheiser hd600's for gaming when i got the grados. I find the grados far better for music too, i listen to a lot of music, mainly funk/jazz and ambient, and it kicks my sennheiser's ass for each of these.

ShiWarrior · 27 Jun 2006 at 14:59

that good!?

how about one WITH a microphone

Steveh_monkey · 27 Jun 2006 at 17:22

I've got to advise getting a good pair of Stereo Headphones right now. I've had the Medusa 5.1 for ages, and I loved them to bits. However, I just went and bought a jack plug converter (big to small) and used a pair of fairly old but very good quality Headphones I've had around the house for a while.
Combined with X-Fi Xtreme Music, it absolutely blows away Medusas, and they are obviously better for music. With CMSS-3D enabled the surround sound is also much better than the Medusas.
I've also found there are gaps in the Medusa's surround sound speaker system.
Example.
When a plane flies past you in Battlefield 2, you'd probably expect to hear a gradual change in the direction of sound as the plane goes from in front of you to behind you. Unfortunately not the case.
Example Picture
You see that red area? There is a jumpy transition from front right to back right which can really stand out sometimes. And it's about the only indication I ever got that the Medusas were actually Surround sound.

So yeah, just get some good Stereo Headphones. I can't recommend any unfortunately. Mine are a Sony Pair, but they look fairly old. I bet there are much better pairs around as well. Only problem is now I gotta buy a desktop microphone..

TooNice · 27 Jun 2006 at 19:19

devilkazuya said:
my grado sr 125's are great for music, and gaming. I stopped using my sennheiser hd600's for gaming when i got the grados. I find the grados far better for music too, i listen to a lot of music, mainly funk/jazz and ambient, and it kicks my sennheiser's ass for each of these.

Umm, I can't second that. I have the HF-1, which is considered a significant step above the SR-125 in the Grado line. I have my AKG to be more suitable for gaming. Spacious soundstage that Grado are known to lack (except for their latest GS-1000 which I've not tried and probably won't, since it cost about $1k).

The upfront presentation of Grado cans in general -is- great for some of the music I listen to. But I prefer my AKG to the Grado for movie and games. And having tried many of the Senns (from the HD555 to HD650), I prefer the HD600's soundstage/positioning to my HF-1 for games. For music, Grado is a love or hate affair for many. I happen to really like mine, but there are people who prefer Senns (and vice-versa). I'd say that they both make quality headphones, but with different sound/presentation which is favoured by different people. If you want an affortable way to get a "feel" of what the Grado sound is like, then look at the Koss (KSC/Porta Pro/Sporta Pro). Their sound is more Grado-like than Senn like. Yes ultimately the Grado doesn't lose to the Koss except for... the cost (pretty significant difference).

Headsets (those with mics) are typically not designed for serious music listening (if you think about it, they are mostly used for chatting etc. where SQ is not crucial). I know the Senn PC series are well regarded, but I doubt they are even on par with the PX100 (which is Senn's "bang for buck" portable headphone).