Any thoughts on this Headphone setup?

Semtax · 10 Feb 2011 at 16:51

Thanks to all of the informative posts in this forum ive come up with this list for my headphone setup. I will be using it for music, some movies and I may end up using it for gaming instead of my G35's.

Goldring NS1000 (not from an auction site)
Asus Xonar DX 7.1 PCI-Express
FiiO E5 amplifier
Speedlink Spes Clip-On Metal Microphone

What do you guys think about this? The only thing i have ordered so far is the E5 so the rest is still open to change.

Ill put up some pics and thoughts on them when they get here if people are interested

Edit: ill try ordering things tonight if possible

Marsman · 10 Feb 2011 at 17:06

That looks good to me. If I were you, get them from SuperFi, not Play. Play seems to be having some issue with dodgy pairs of late, for whatever reason. So far, no one has had any dodgy pairs from SuperFi, that I've seen.

Semtax · 10 Feb 2011 at 17:13

Thanks for the info Marsman ill be sure to buy from there.

Out of interest what do the NS1000's feel like quality wise? Are they a little delicate?

Global_Inferno · 10 Feb 2011 at 17:23

They are very light weight and as such it probably wouldn't be too hard to break them if you sat on them or dropped them. But other than that they are pretty solid, being light is a good thing in my opinion; means they don't hurt your head!

Looks a good setup, my only comment is that if you intend to use it for gaming with voice comms most of the time, you'd be better off with a headset instead. The Speedlink Mic is good, as are the NS1000's, but you can't hear yourself and it's a bit of a "fiddly" setup. You will end up standing up and walking off with your mic attached at least once!

Marsman · 10 Feb 2011 at 17:24

Don't have any sorry. I do have DR150's though, which while I wouldn't call delicate, are not tough either. I think the build quality is fine for the price.

NS1000's are said to have a better build quality, although in the thread about problems with the NS1000's, some people have said they just snapped. Not from ill use or abuse, but just general use. Someone, maybe more, thought the design was flawed, meaning more chance of them breaking, but it possibly might just be down to a bad batch, or batches. I'm assuming most people bought them from Play, seeing as they were the recommended place to buy them, and was up until these problems started appearing.

I think unless people start mentioning pairs bought from SuperFi have issues, it's very possibly Play is having a significant number of faulty pairs, for whatever reason. If pairs bought from SuperFi show no sign of failure or problem, then there is no reason to think the overall standard of the NS1000's has dropped, and breakages are not down to poor design, but rather dodgy pairs from bad batches.

Uriel · 10 Feb 2011 at 17:44

Phitek (the NS1000 OEM) have already confirmed that identical breakage problems in other headsets made by them is down to bad batches of plastic. Additionally hair product doesn't help matters.

It's not just the plastic quality at Play.com though. There have also been problems with the noise cancelling circuitry. Makes me wonder if it's something to do with the way play have been storing them or something...

Semtax · 10 Feb 2011 at 20:15

Global_Inferno said:
Looks a good setup, my only comment is that if you intend to use it for gaming with voice comms most of the time, you'd be better off with a headset instead. The Speedlink Mic is good, as are the NS1000's, but you can't hear yourself and it's a bit of a "fiddly" setup. You will end up standing up and walking off with your mic attached at least once!

I was thinking that the mic might be a bit of a pain alright. To be honest i think ill prob stick with the G35's for gaming and use the NS1000 for everything else. It will be interesting to see how the two compare for gaming. Ill see which ones win me over, the quality of sound from the Goldrings vs the convenience of the mic and buttons on the G35.

Marsman said:
I think unless people start mentioning pairs bought from SuperFi have issues, it's very possibly Play is having a significant number of faulty pairs, for whatever reason. If pairs bought from SuperFi show no sign of failure or problem, then there is no reason to think the overall standard of the NS1000's has dropped, and breakages are not down to poor design, but rather dodgy pairs from bad batches.

Uriel said:
Phitek (the NS1000 OEM) have already confirmed that identical breakage problems in other headsets made by them is down to bad batches of plastic. Additionally hair product doesn't help matters.

It's not just the plastic quality at Play.com though. There have also been problems with the noise cancelling circuitry. Makes me wonder if it's something to do with the way play have been storing them or something...

Thanks guys you seem to have helped me dodge a bullet there. I dont mind being a genie pig with a pair from Superfi so ill post back my findings of them here.

Ill place my order for them in a few mins. Going to see if i need any extra bits and bobs first

rG-tom · 11 Feb 2011 at 02:52

I use headphones for gaming and have clipped a tie clip Mic to to headphone lead, all the convenience of a headset but with far better quality

PhoenixSP · 11 Feb 2011 at 11:52

My Ns1000's came from superfi and the quality is fine , both the noise cancelling and the plastic appears to be working well, so good luck with your new Hp

Semtax · 11 Feb 2011 at 17:29

rG-tom said:
I use headphones for gaming and have clipped a tie clip Mic to to headphone lead, all the convenience of a headset but with far better quality

That seems like a good way of keeping them tidy.
I was thinking i might cable braid the two leads together if the clip on mic is any good. Does the mic pick up much room noise being far away from your mouth?

PhoenixSP said:
My Ns1000's came from superfi and the quality is fine , both the noise cancelling and the plastic appears to be working well, so good luck with your new Hp

Thanks for that PhoenixSP. My order was shipped by them earlier today so hopefully ill get them Monday

The E5 arrived earlier today. Much smaller than i thought it would be. Ill test out it out on some Sennheiser's I have later on.

PhoenixSP · 11 Feb 2011 at 18:10

I was very surprised at how fast he shipping was so you should get it very soon , the nC function is actually quite peaceful if you have no music on

keeping an eye on the hinges just in case but they seem sturdy enough at the moment i just keep them on top of my cupboard.

Gelly54 · 13 Feb 2011 at 10:56

Like a good setup, go for it dude. I got mine from superfi and had no problems at all (ns1000)

Ginger-Menace · 14 Feb 2011 at 01:00

im upset now, as im awaiting delivery of my ns 1000 from play, i hope there not crappy

Semtax · 15 Feb 2011 at 21:14

Ginger-Menace said:
im upset now, as im awaiting delivery of my ns 1000 from play, i hope there not crappy

Hope yours are ok mate.

Mine arrived today from superfi and havent fallen apart so thats a good sign. Im just in the early stages of testing them out now.

Impressed so far especially at how they eliminate background noise. Im glad i got the e5, it definitely helps.

I decided to go for a Asus Xonar D2X which should be arriving Friday so my definitive sound verdict for them will come then

valkia · 15 Feb 2011 at 21:22

Asus D2X! Can not go wrong with that!!

Such quality with that soundcard.. you will not be disappointed that's for sure

Semtax · 15 Feb 2011 at 21:31

valkia said:
Asus D2X! Can not go wrong with that!!

Such quality with that soundcard.. you will not be disappointed that's for sure

Hopefully you will be able to get my order shipped nice an early tomorrow morning so i can give everyone my thoughts on it

Forgot to mention i also ordered another sandy bridge build for the family. That will have an Asus Xonar DG 5.1 in it so ill compare the two using my ns1000's for anyone thats interested.

valkia · 15 Feb 2011 at 21:47

Semtax said:
Hopefully you will be able to get my order shipped nice an early tomorrow morning so i can give everyone my thoughts on it

Forgot to mention i also ordered another sandy bridge build for the family. That will have an Asus Xonar DG 5.1 in it so ill compare the two using my ns1000's for anyone thats interested.

Sure! If you can give me your order number i'll keep checks when it ships

Global_Inferno · 15 Feb 2011 at 21:56

valkia said:
Sure! If you can give me your order number i'll keep checks when it ships

Now if only I had the trust in ASUS' drivers to press the "Checkout" button with a D2X in my cart. I don't suppose OcUK would do a "try before you buy" ever valkia!? lol.

I really want one to review for my website, but I'm not sure if I can justify spending £80~ on something that may not work! :confused: