Finding the perfect headset and soundcard for gaming!

Absorbentsolid

Absorbentsolid

Absorbentsolid

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Hey guys,So i've been a hardcore gamer for many years primarily on the xbox.
I've built my self a great pc that runs any game with ease,I am getting quite good at games like FPS.
I want a great headset and i understand i also need a soundcard?
I have a onboard soundcard on my Asus Rampage IV will that be good enough?
I don't have a budget to be honest with you all!
Any help would be appreciated Thanks!
 
rampage comes with a Good soundcard, a decent onboard chip

else Xonar D2X or DX tbh or higher a stx

Headphones PC-360's or Senhesier HD555 with separate mic

i love my STX & PC-360s tbh
 
surround sound headphones are rubbish fake sounds meh just marketing hype, proper set of stereo headphones are better
 
lol mate has 200 pound pair of directional head phones and cant even hear footsteps in many games.

by either a good set of sennheisers and have seperate mic or get a good amp and speakers

keep your fancy 3d headphones .
 
~>Dg<~ said:
lol mate has 200 pound pair of directional head phones and cant even hear footsteps in many games.

by either a good set of sennheisers and have seperate mic or get a good amp and speakers

keep your fancy 3d headphones .
Click to expand...

I have a pair of Tritton 510 and find I can locate positions a lot better than i could with my stereo headphones. Almost as good as I can with the 5.1 speakers I have. The other benefit is I can turn down the front and front side channels and can listen to anything sneaking up on me. I have never tried the virtual surround headphones that only use 2 speakers. I have 4 speakers in each ear on mine so it is a true 5.1 surround. I believe a true surround sound is important.
 
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end of day it depends on your budget

no surround speakers or headsets will ever sound as good as a good single set of normal speakers or normal headset .

the more you split the source the worse the quality gets.

if you not after mega quality stick to well known brand

i would still go with good set of sennhiesers though
 
~>Dg<~ said:
end of day it depends on your budget

no surround speakers or headsets will ever sound as good as a good single set of normal speakers or normal headset .

the more you split the source the worse the quality gets.

if you not after mega quality stick to well known brand

i would still go with good set of sennhiesers though
Click to expand...

Absolutely agree (although the true surround sound headphones take individual sources from the sound card or USB for each speaker but I know what you mean). This is why the surround headphones are not great for stereo sound. Gaming only.
 
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Just got the Tritton 720+ headset, best sound I've ever had in games!

They are comfortable, look amazing and feel solid like they won't break easily.

Very pleased and I've finally found my ideal headset.
 
I've just done a review of the tritton headset.

They're virtual surround sound and have a great neutral sound but still retain their quality when you ramp up the bass.
 
I've recently moved to gaming with headphones so here are my thoughts:

  • The surround effect with headphones is never as good as surround speakers. (My "ultimate" setup would be home theatre quality surround speakers.)
  • Surround headphones with multiple drivers in each ear are a waste of money. I tried the Cooler Master Storm Sirus and the surround effect was not convincing.
  • Gaming headsets that connect via USB are prone to interference (ground loop?) When I scrolled my browser window the CM Sirus made a buzzing sound!
  • A soundcard with a virtual surround mode (like my X-Fi Gamer) sounds better than multi-driver surround headphones. I didn't think this would be the case (hence buying the CM Sirus), but it's true (for me).

I am now using my X-Fi Gamer with Sennheiser HD 518 open back headphones. I didn't choose the Sennheiser's because they are particularly suited to gaming - I just wanted to invest in some decent stereo headphones which I could also use for gaming.

My suggestion would be that you buy a soundcard that supports a virtual surround mode: Dolby Headphone or CMSS-3D, and then pair that with some decent stereo headphones.
 
Engram said:
[*]A soundcard with a virtual surround mode (like my X-Fi Gamer) sounds better than multi-driver surround headphones. I didn't think this would be the case (hence buying the CM Sirus), but it's true (for me).
[/LIST]
Click to expand...

Lol. That's what made me decide surround sound headphones where the way forward. I plugged my Sennheiser headphones into the sound card and tried the virtual surround sound and it had zero positioning other than left and right. I took the plunge on some true 5.1 headphones (Tritton 510). I have a 5.1 speaker setup and these are almost as good. I can position audio a lot better. I also get the advantage of being able to turn channels up or down from the remote on the headphones. I can hear people sneaking up on me and position them easily and can pin point vehicles approaching extremely easily.
 
delta0 said:
I plugged my Sennheiser headphones into the sound card and tried the virtual surround sound and it had zero positioning other than left and right.
Click to expand...

Is it possible that you didn't have it correctly configured? With the X-Fi cards (apart from X-Fi Audio, which doesn't support virtual surround) you must do the following:

  • Set the Windows speaker settings to 5.1 or 7.1
  • Set the Creative Audio Control Panel to Gaming Mode, the output to Headphones and enable CMSS-3D.
  • Set any in-game audio settings to 5.1 or 7.1
If you miss any of those steps then you will only get stereo.
 
Engram said:
Is it possible that you didn't have it correctly configured? With the X-Fi cards (apart from X-Fi Audio, which doesn't support virtual surround) you must do the following:

  • Set the Windows speaker settings to 5.1 or 7.1
  • Set the Creative Audio Control Panel to Gaming Mode, the output to Headphones and enable CMSS-3D.
  • Set any in-game audio settings to 5.1 or 7.1
If you miss any of those steps then you will only get stereo.
Click to expand...

I have the X-Fi Fatal1ty and it was setup like that. In game I only got left and right sound. Running the CMSS-3D surround sound check that sends sounds in a circle around your head just turns the volume up and down in each ear, i.e. just like stereo with no surround. Since I have changed to 5.1 headphones I have no problem positioning precisely. The issue is not left and right positioning but front and rear (i.e. rear, rear left etc...) It just made me confused in game which meant I preferred using the 5.1 speakers to the annoyance of the other half, so the 5.1 headphones solved that problem. I liken the stereo headphones to the 5.1 speakers when the rear speakers send out the same signal at the front, you can see why it becomes confusing in game and it seems like surround sound but without positioning.
 
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Hmmm.. it still sounds like it wasn't properly configured. Or perhaps the effect doesn't work for everyone?

With my setup I can position sounds around me despite only using stereo headphones. The effect is not as strong as using speakers, but there's definitely a difference between between "in front" and "behind".
 
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