Gaming headset for xmas ? which one?

Neverwhere

Neverwhere

Neverwhere

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my mums asked me to make up a list and as she`s had about as bad a year as I have on the job front im not looking for anything super dooper... (ive never typed that before :/)

looking for the best set of headphones with a mic, £20 to £40.

contenders ove found so far:
Creative Labs HS-950 X-Fi
Plantronics GameCom 377
Creative Fatal1ty

i dont know too much about phones and speakers and things, I just know I want something thats got a damned good base response, oh and it must be comfortable on my abnormally large brain enclosure. Opinions and other options welcomed.


fankoo. :D
 
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Do you use onboard sound or do you use a sound card?

Tbh, I don't think headsets upto £40 are going to be much cop. I think whether you use onboard or sound card the best option might be some Goldring DR50 headphones and get a desktop mic or a clip on one. It's quite a popular combination amongst many people on these forums, as most find headsets suck. The better Sennheiser headsets and the Razer Carcharias are well over the budget unfortunately, they would be more preferable choices in the headset market.

The Goldring DR50 are astonishingly cheap as £15 approx, but they give performance beyond their price tag. I know the majority of people want a headset cause the mic is attatched, and it's easier, no messing about etc, but those Goldring's will trample on any headset upto £40 easily as far as sound quality goes.

My only concern of the Goldring's, and this applies to all DR50/100/150, is that you have a larger cranium shall we say. I think the Goldring's do have some clamping force, so it might be best to get some more opinions on them. Quite a few people have them on these forums, as I say, and can give some feedback on their experience with the clamping force. :)
 
I have the creative fatal1ty set, they're pretty good for games, and bass is where they excel really, music etc is not that great with them. Microphone is fine though.
 
Marsman said:
Do you use onboard sound or do you use a sound card?

Tbh, I don't think headsets upto £40 are going to be much cop. I think whether you use onboard or sound card the best option might be some Goldring DR50 headphones and get a desktop mic or a clip on one. It's quite a popular combination amongst many people on these forums, as most find headsets suck. The better Sennheiser headsets and the Razer Carcharias are well over the budget unfortunately, they would be more preferable choices in the headset market.

The Goldring DR50 are astonishingly cheap as £15 approx, but they give performance beyond their price tag. I know the majority of people want a headset cause the mic is attatched, and it's easier, no messing about etc, but those Goldring's will trample on any headset upto £40 easily as far as sound quality goes.

My only concern of the Goldring's, and this applies to all DR50/100/150, is that you have a larger cranium shall we say. I think the Goldring's do have some clamping force, so it might be best to get some more opinions on them. Quite a few people have them on these forums, as I say, and can give some feedback on their experience with the clamping force. :)
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Hmmm... well I have an onboard sound card thats not much cop, I have a creative audigy card but the drivers dont seem to work properly on windows 7 so i took it out till i can figure out a way to bodge a driver set for it.

as for mics, i have to admit, whilst I do like having the mic attatched... its not essential by any means as im not on teamspeak all the time. where would I find these DR50`s? bare in mind my mothers allergic to the net, thinks its full of evil dooers and such so it has to be store bought, I havent heard of the make before so i have no clue.



alexhull24 said:
I have the creative fatal1ty set, they're pretty good for games, and bass is where they excel really, music etc is not that great with them. Microphone is fine though.
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well I do listen to a lot of music, but even if not great, it may still be better than my current. at the moment im using a plantronics headset but its the type you get in call centres, was never designed for gaming or music, just general office use.

can you elaborate a little more for me on what you mean by "music etc is not that great with them"

cheers.:)
 
OK, well it lacks a lot of midtones, which isn't unusual at this price point. The bass is good, as I said, even may be excessive for some without some fine tuning, depends on what you're after. For a gaming headset though, they're very good, and I'd recommend them, but I wouldn't ever recommend them for music when there's a lot better at this price.

Have you thought about getting a desk mic (they're all much of a muchness from what I've heard)? I think it's already been mentioned actually.

The goldring DR150 seem like a very good choice, but seem to have increased in price. Personally, I just picked up some 'phones for music (Goldring NS1000- a steal at £50! RRP about £130 I think!) and have kept the fatal1ty set for gaming, since both are good at what they do (though the GR NS1000s are much better in general but lack mic etc).

I'm not sure what the best headset for about £30 is now, that should probably be your next question, then get yourself a mic to go with.
 
well, Ive found a place that sells Goldring DR50 Dynamic High Fidelity Stereo Headphones for £14 ! I checked a few reviews on some proffesional audiophile sites and they do seem to be raving about them... think i may ask for a set of these and get a Labtec 333 PC Monitor Microphone, its one of those ones that sticks on the top and has ultra sensitive pickup so i can just mumble at my monitor instead.

How does this sound to you all ?


p.s. if the basic Goldring DR50`s are as good as mentioned, how the hell are they that cheap ? are they made by blind indian children in a swet shop out of bluetack. glue, and lunchbox plastic or is it just one of those rare accidents of design where a product turns out better than it should have been...
 
Sounds like a good start to me.

Not sure why they're so cheap, but it's more or less in line with the rest of their range. I guess it's the joys of mass production and cheap labour, indeed. They are a respected brand though, I would think the build quality is fine. For that sort of money you can't complain though.
 
Neverwhere said:
Marsman said:
Do you use onboard sound or do you use a sound card?

Tbh, I don't think headsets upto £40 are going to be much cop. I think whether you use onboard or sound card the best option might be some Goldring DR50 headphones and get a desktop mic or a clip on one. It's quite a popular combination amongst many people on these forums, as most find headsets suck. The better Sennheiser headsets and the Razer Carcharias are well over the budget unfortunately, they would be more preferable choices in the headset market.

The Goldring DR50 are astonishingly cheap as £15 approx, but they give performance beyond their price tag. I know the majority of people want a headset cause the mic is attatched, and it's easier, no messing about etc, but those Goldring's will trample on any headset upto £40 easily as far as sound quality goes.

My only concern of the Goldring's, and this applies to all DR50/100/150, is that you have a larger cranium shall we say. I think the Goldring's do have some clamping force, so it might be best to get some more opinions on them. Quite a few people have them on these forums, as I say, and can give some feedback on their experience with the clamping force.
Click to expand...

Hmmm... well I have an onboard sound card thats not much cop, I have a creative audigy card but the drivers dont seem to work properly on windows 7 so i took it out till i can figure out a way to bodge a driver set for it.

as for mics, i have to admit, whilst I do like having the mic attatched... its not essential by any means as im not on teamspeak all the time. where would I find these DR50`s? bare in mind my mothers allergic to the net, thinks its full of evil dooers and such so it has to be store bought, I havent heard of the make before so i have no clue.
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Ah, I see. That might be a problem, tbh you would have to go to a store that specialises in audio equipment maybe to buy Goldring's on the high street. I do know of a store that sells them, but it's against the OCUK gods wishes for us mortals to post links from competitors. :p But they are double the price they can bought off the net for, so...... In fact looking at their prices some of them are a bit scary. Definitely wouldn't want to buy Sennheiser HD595 from them at :eek: £150!

Hmm, the electrical usual suspects of the high street normally only stock Sony or Sennheiser, from what I remember anyway. Probably worth grabbing some of the cheaper Sennheisers maybe, at least they are a good brand. Something like HD201, they should be easy to obtain for about £30. Maybe some other posters will have some alternatives to look at that you can get easily from a high street store.

To plump for a headset may seem the easier option, but I would bet there is a range of headphones you could get within your budget, even from a high street electrical store that will sound better than a headset.
 
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Neverwhere said:
well, Ive found a place that sells Goldring DR50 Dynamic High Fidelity Stereo Headphones for £14 ! I checked a few reviews on some proffesional audiophile sites and they do seem to be raving about them... think i may ask for a set of these and get a Labtec 333 PC Monitor Microphone, its one of those ones that sticks on the top and has ultra sensitive pickup so i can just mumble at my monitor instead.

How does this sound to you all ?


p.s. if the basic Goldring DR50`s are as good as mentioned, how the hell are they that cheap ? are they made by blind indian children in a swet shop out of bluetack. glue, and lunchbox plastic or is it just one of those rare accidents of design where a product turns out better than it should have been...
Click to expand...

Aha! Good find. A highstreet store?

They put more effort into the driver and sound than the build quality. I'm not saying they will fall apart, they are good enough, but the emphasis is on the sound. Also, a lot of foreign manufacturers charge so much here in the UK for headphones, that make the Goldring's seem even cheaper in comparison, except the NS1000. Audio Technica AD700, a popular site in the US has them for $91. Here in the UK, they sell on average for £110, double the price pretty much. Shocking the cost of some headphones here. Goldring are British too, whether or not that has anything to do with it.
 
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I got my DR50's for £9.99 just before they went up in price, for £14 they are still an absolute steal m8.

They come very well packaged & are built pretty well too. All I can say is grab them while they are at that price, some places sell them for double that.
 
Just wanted to post a quick "thanks" to all in this thread. Been tryin to work out some gifts to get my eldest lad, and hadn't thouht about a set of bins (for gaming and listening to music whilst he's programming etc). Some good reviews, and as above poster says seems a steal at under £14. Ordered :D
 
They might not be that expensive but bang for buck wise nothing touches them.

Congrats on the purchase :)
 
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