Advice On A New Gaming Headset

dante671 · 6 Apr 2017 at 10:02

Hi all,

I've had a pair of Sennheiser PC 350's for years now, and they're finally starting to come apart. So I'm looking to pickup a new headset/headphones, however I'm struggling to decide too many great choices

Some basic requirements/info:

Inteded use - PC only for gaming (I've got others for console).
Microphone - Unimportant as I've got a Blue Yeti.
Sound - 7.1 surround sound, obviously quality is important
Wireless vs Wired - Could go either way here, though if its wireless it needs to have good battery life, interchangable batteries or the option of connecting a wire as I often have 12+ hour gaming sessions.

Some headsets I've been considering, though not limiting myself to these so feel free to suggest alternatives:

Steelseries Siberia 650
Steelseries Siberia 800
Astro A50
Logitech G933

On the budget side of things I've not really set one, all depends on the features.

Any advice/recomendations would be great thanks

neil pettitt · 6 Apr 2017 at 12:35

Dude...I too have the 350s but after an issue with wires I decided I wanted to try wireless...I did all my research and decided for the money the g933s were what I wanted . At first they were OK for about a week then they started to disconnect for no reason. This would happen at least half a dozen times before they stayed connected...I tried everything logitech advised but no go. I returned then and got a new pair ...these had software issues aswell. It's a shame because the sound was good and they were comfortable. Well they went back and I got the Siberia 800s and I really like these . To get the most from them you have to run them through your sound card via optical tho.Read slot about A50s but they expensive but if money no object could be an option...if you want t o spend less have you considered the Razer Man O War wireless?

dante671 · 6 Apr 2017 at 12:49

That's good to know, I was sort of leaning in the direction of the the Siberia 800's both due to the quality side of things but also the changeable battery as sounds brilliant for long gaming sessions on weekends. Plus there's OCUK have them on offer right now with 37% off, down to £179.99.

I've got an optical port so running the 800's via that wouldn't be an issue

I noticed the Razer Man O War seemed to appear alongside the others in lists of top wireless headsets, not sure why I overlooked it.

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated

dante671 · 6 Apr 2017 at 14:14

Well I went for the Siberia 800's in the end, you're recommendation and the changeable batteries sold me on them. Thanks again

V F · 6 Apr 2017 at 16:40

dante671 said:
Well I went for the Siberia 800's in the end, you're recommendation and the changeable batteries sold me on them. Thanks again

I was originally going to go for the 800 but I now have my eye set on the 840's since it has Bluetooth and the headset can be configured with the Steelseries Engine 3.

neil pettitt · 7 Apr 2017 at 10:07

dante671 said:
Well I went for the Siberia 800's in the end, you're recommendation and the changeable batteries sold me on them. Thanks again

Pleased to here that chap.. yes the changeable batteries are a god send...you might need to tweak the eq settings but when you find the sweet spot it's great..I've got a xonar u7 and run my eq on that thought the 800s.....but make sure if you go though your soundcard to enable dd

V F · 17 Apr 2017 at 18:34

Neil, whats your take on the sound quality for the Siberia 800? I've just ordered the 840.

neil pettitt · 17 Apr 2017 at 20:10

Hey dude....personally I think it's up to the individual. If your an audiophile you may say they are ***** . To me I bought these for gaming and some music. Like I said earlier I run mine through my sound cards equaliser and find if you get the right eq setting to the situation you are using them for its great. I might be talking like an amateur but fir example I play a lot of squad and you need to get good clear voice coms so I very got a preset for that. That settings is not that good for music so same again I've got a music preset . Basically I like this headset and with it being wireless it just makes things that much tidier.

V F · 17 Apr 2017 at 22:46

Yeah, I mainly got them for gaming for both PS4 and PC. I'll be able to hook it up to the Auzen Prelude for Dolby Live/DTS.

neil pettitt · 18 Apr 2017 at 12:40

Have you got them yet?.... let me know what you think of them if and when you do get them fella...

V F · 18 Apr 2017 at 13:30

Shipped today. Hopefully here by the end of the week.

neil pettitt · 18 Apr 2017 at 15:10

Were did you get them from.....without getting in trouble and how much did you pay?... if you don't mind me asking

V F · 18 Apr 2017 at 21:54

Steelseries shop directly. £299 with free stand. Lots of places I had looked have been out of stock for a while. Including here.

neil pettitt · 19 Apr 2017 at 10:10

V F said:
Steelseries shop directly. £299 with free stand. Lots of places I had looked have been out of stock for a while. Including here.

Cheers dude....enjoy and give us a shout when you had time to get an opinion on them m8

V F · 25 Apr 2017 at 20:37

Lovely sound off these compared to the Turtle Beach 520. No thundery/boomy bass. I love how clean it is and doesn't dominate. Using a slightly modified flat profile for the EQ from reading one of the reviews. According to his graph readings it was lacking a little more detail for the second from right bar.

Personally I don't know how so many people love boomy bass. So glad I went for these over the Astro 50 3rd Gen. As people complained they too were too bass-y.

The biggest change I would say is that the dialogue is a lot cleaner and natural. Tighter and cleaner. Plus the instruments in some of the games, so clear and detailed. Big change in Horizon Zero Dawn. Some of the slow violin music was beautiful. Lots of subtle changes over the Turtle Beach.

Footsteps is incredibly detailed in both Uncharted 4, Horizon Zero Dawn and Batman Arkham Knight.
The directional changes in sound is so much clearer and alert in the areas where it is.

Shame though in Horizon, the ground sounds a little wooden? False or too digital? Doesn't sound like walking on dirt. The crunchy sound you'd expect. So many detailed clearer sounds I've never picked up.

The memory foam is lovely. It's not tight on my head or ears. The Turtle Beach has elongated ear cups. It can be tight after an hour or two due to the firmer foam. My ears are barely touching the orange fabric versus the Turtle Beach. You can really feel the top of your ears against the fabric with the Turtle Beach.

At times it felt like I forgot I was wearing the Steelseries apart from the awareness of the band but it is so comfy yet so soft.

Seems another thing many complained about the Steelseries 800/840, that it wasn't loud enough for most people. I found it very comfortable. Not too loud, not too quiet but very comfortable listening. Dependant on the game, the volume sits a quarter from max.

I still cannot get over the detail in sound from the next canyon in Horizon Zero Dawn. As well as the detail from above even though you cannot see anything but there is stuff happening high up top hidden out of view. So many subtle quiet things that are so clear. I've had no distortion either.

The Turtle Beach is not bad, if you were a casual but it is horribly boomy/thundery. The superhuman hearing is a complete joke though. No bass and the treble is up so high. Sounds awful on the Turtle Beach.

Also love how you can set the different profiles on the base station for different setups. It is also nice the base station gets rid of the information after 30 seconds so nothing is seen in the unit except the TV.

Really loving them.

Hedge · 25 Apr 2017 at 22:38

They look nice but £110 more than the 800s seems absolutely bonkers for such minor differences.

Drei · 25 Apr 2017 at 22:45

I went with the G933, had issues with the headsets getting stuck ON and not turning off which was draining the battery all the time. Returned mine and got a new set. Seems OK so far. I love my Logitch as I use the same software for Mouse, Keyboard, headsets, Gaming Pad and just purchased the G29 Steering Wheel too

) yes yes fan boy but I like their reliability compared to others.

V F · 26 Apr 2017 at 05:45

Hedge said:
They look nice but £110 more than the 800s seems absolutely bonkers for such minor differences.

True but I needed the Bluetooth and the software to tweak things quickly on the PC with Steelseries Engine 3.
https://youtu.be/9TGyiY35wDU

This was the video I found last week as he was finding the weakness in the EQ. Though I found the bass perfect for default flat.

3:19

neil pettitt · 26 Apr 2017 at 07:24

Drei said:
I went with the G933, had issues with the headsets getting stuck ON and not turning off which was draining the battery all the time. Returned mine and got a new set. Seems OK so far. I love my Logitch as I use the same software for Mouse, Keyboard, headsets, Gaming Pad and just purchased the G29 Steering Wheel too) yes yes fan boy but I like their reliability compared to others.

.
Dude I originally had the g933s and did like them but after about 2weeks they started to drop out and it took up to 6 more times turning them on to get them to stop on. Sent them back and the next pair I had issues with the surround dropping out. Sent them back and got the 800s. It was s shame because I like them and sound was good but software issues ruined them for me.

neil pettitt · 26 Apr 2017 at 07:28

V F ....so glad your liking the Siberia's I m really glad I got mine now and although I o nay got the 800s I did get them at a good price