New headphones for gaming.Advise?

DaCookie

DaCookie

DaCookie

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19 Oct 2008
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Hiya, I only ever use headphones and I want them primarily for gaming and then for a little music.I currently have the razer barracuda(Wow why did I get these, your literally paying 90% of the money for the crap brand.The black paint has been scraped off mostly and I wasnt even touching it.The very left ears speaker in the surround sound doesnt work anymore and to top it all off the sound isnt great either, ooh wait sorry that doesnt top it off, the microphone on it broke within a week. I tried to leave a review on the site but I guess it didnt get put up because of all the cursing and 1star rating :mad: )

I have the xfi extreme gamer fatl1ty professional series soundcard.They dont sell it anymore I think, but its not that old.I dunno if this card is good or not.

I was mainly looking at these headphones because I saw too many people going OMG SENNS and I feel you are paying a bit for the brand because they are quite popular.So I wanted to get some opinions about these, I am looking for bang for buck.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SP-002-GR&groupid=702&catid=1058&subcat=251

I also saw people talking about an amp.Ive never ever got one, also wondering if an amp is worth the bang/buck for gaming/music.

Cheers!

Edit: I forgot to say im using windows xp professional.

Edit2: Lets say the gaming:music ratio of how important it is is about 60:40
 
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I got a pair of these last week and there amazing, I use them for gaming and music. I used a pair of Zalman cans before these and the difference is quite considerable, the sounds are so precise and clear its awesome.

They can be had for £40 if you look.
 
Your soundcard is still a decent one and the Goldrings are very good for the money (compared to Senn HD555 and HD595). I think you'd be pleased.

As you'll be using an X-Fi though, I wouldn't dismiss the HD555 entirely. It has a bigger, more in-front headstage than the Goldrings and CMSS-3D Hedphone would benefit from this.

On a Xonar soundcard, the DR150s would come high on my recommended list but that's because of the way Dolby Headphone alters the soundstage. Sure, I think the DR150s are better overall than the HD555 but it's all about synergy. X-Fi and HD555 have certain qualities that go rather well together.
 
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I have the same sound card as you, and a pair of senn HD595s.

Now i am no audio expert, but the 595s are really comfortable, and sound great.

If you set them up with the sound card software, games sound truely amazing, and you do hear in 3D with the CMSS-3D.
I have not regreted buying the 595s.
 
Uriel said:
Your soundcard is still a decent one and the Goldrings are very good for the money (compared to Senn HD555 and HD595). I think you'd be pleased.

As you'll be using an X-Fi though, I wouldn't dismiss the HD555 entirely. It has a bigger, more in-front headstage than the Goldrings and CMSS-3D Hedphone would benefit from this.

On a Xonar soundcard, the DR150s would come high on my recommended list but that's because of the way Dolby Headphone alters the soundstage. Sure, I think the DR150s are better overall than the HD555 but it's all about synergy. X-Fi and HD555 have certain qualities that go rather well together.
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Well I want these headphones for long term(About 2-4years.)And in that time I think I will have bought a new soundcard.

Just also would like an opinion on gaming and music for creative, asus, and auzentech keeping in mind the ratio of 60:40 and only headphones.

I was looking at this, to pair with the headphones.Or is the upgrade not worthwhile?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SC-005-AS&groupid=701&catid=11&subcat=

Also can I get an opinion on amps bang for buck.Like do they really improve the quality etc.Heard that card has an amp, and sound cards take a good long while for their price to go down from what ive seen, so maybe its worth it.
 
Get the goldring dr150 amazing value for that price mentioned above.

Not worth upgrading soundcard no.
 
If you're going to be mainly using headphones, I would certainly recommend a Xonar. I have a Xonar D2 with DR150s and they work very well with Dolby Heaphone. It's a very speaker-like listening experience, giving a spaciousness that you don't get on X-Fi.

A Xonar isn't the perfect upgrade though. You will lose EAX effects in a few games, as Asus's emulation software isn't perfect.

I do wonder whether an STX is really necessary though. You could get a DX or D1 and spend the the change on a dedicated headphone amp. Must stress I've only heard the D2 personally though.
 
If your main focus is gaming then there is no alterntive to the X-Fi - dolby headphone is great for movies, etc. but it can't touch properly setup CMSS-3D for positional accuracy in games.

I highly reccomend getting a decent pair of sennheisers (the soundstage works better with CMSS-3D than other high end headphones IMO) and making sure you setup CMSS-3D properly on the X-Fi.


Personally I use virtual speaker mode rather than headphone mode with CMSS-3D - theres a slight positional artifact when sounds pan over the space where speakers would be in a speaker setup, but the sennheiser soundstage helps to offset this - and it gives a much more spacious sound than headphone mode which imo sounds a tad close and muddy.
 
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I will be buying the goldrings cause the hd555s are about 25 pound more which is not worth it IMO.

How should I setup the CMSS-3D cause I find that if I put it in 5.1speaker mode music sounds much better.Where as it doesnt sound so good in headphone.(Which is the full surround sound one i think.)I havent tried in games yet.
 
crikey, the price has shot up on senns

i got my 595's brand new for around 95 quid a few months ago



those DR150's are highly regarded on here, go for it :)

stick with the card for now, it's the same as the current xfi's that are out tbh..

i have the xtreme music, not sure if they still make this either
 
Ok I bought the goldring dr150.Quite a big improvment in music(Especially techno and anything with a lot of bass)Will edit post when I try some games.CSS, cod4 and some other random games no one plays but a select few.But so far I would recommend them.Definitely good price seeing as the sound is 5x better than the twice as expensive PIECE OF **** razer headset.Better than the razer headset at surround sound by a fair bit.Definitely would recommend.
 
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Bang for buck, seriously, get something "comfortable"! There's nothing worse than sitting playing a game for an hour whilst some cheap, fake-leather-plastic tins sit on your head, cooking your ears and gradually turning your lobes into 2 swimming pools of sweat ;)

I can vouch for the Senns, as music used to be my thing, and I've got HD600's and HD650's for me reference hifi system, but they're excessive for gaming etc.....

For Gaming, I use these.... http://www.sennheiser.co.uk/uk/home_en.nsf/root/private_headsets_pc_pro-gaming_500924
because they come with an AWESOME little external USB soundcard that you plug the cans and the mic into (thus avoiding static screaming, that you get in PC's).

These slightly better ones... http://www.sennheiser.co.uk/uk/home_en.nsf/root/private_headsets_pc_pro-gaming_500926 would probably do just as well.

Senn's are just mighty comfortable and have propper burn-in design. That means they gradually sound better and better the longer you use them (they design most of their good stuff to last you a few years mate, which is important, as you don't want to have to buy these kinda things twice!) the better they sound, which still amazes me with my 650's, listening to the same Charles Mingus or Miles Davis vinyl and still hearing something new in the background.


oh, sorry, footnote.
The problem with them above Goldrings' is they don't have a flip down mic, so if you ever play a game for a clan using TS or Trillo, you're gonna miss out! Whereas my Gaming Pro-senns, have an INCREDIBLY good mic on them for VOIP gaming. Put it this way, when I chaned from my Dodgytec headset to one of these Senn GameSolutions, the people on the other end thouhght they were talking to some new guy, as my voice came across at such as quality!
 
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geogaddi said:
Bang for buck, seriously, get something "comfortable"! There's nothing worse than sitting playing a game for an hour whilst some cheap, fake-leather-plastic tins sit on your head, cooking your ears and gradually turning your lobes into 2 swimming pools of sweat ;)

I can vouch for the Senns, as music used to be my thing, and I've got HD600's and HD650's for me reference hifi system, but they're excessive for gaming etc.....
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I agree with the comfort comment. People forget how important it is.

However, HD600s (and presumably HD650s, which I've not tried) are not overkill for gaming as long as your soundcard is good enough. I once had the pleasure of doing A/B tests in Bioshock and a few other games with a set of HD600s (amped), several other headphones, an X-Fi Xtreme Music and an Xonar D2. The HD600s sounded awesome. For Dolby Headphone especially they were a vast improvement over most lower priced sets.

And by getting one of the Senn USB headsets, you're limiting yourself to EAX2. That's the same capability as most onboard sound these days. Hardly an upgrade for gaming (although I'm sure the noise floor will be lower). There's no Dolby Headphone or CMSS-3D headphone. I just wouldn't game on headphones without one of those (unless you're playing something like CSS that has a decent headphone mode).

As for the mic, I agree that it's more convenient but there's nothing wrong with the clip on or desk top ones available.

Edit: To the OP - absolutely storming value with the DR150s. If you're plugged straight into the soundcard, I'd rather have them than the Senns, as they're easier to drive.
 
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