Gaming headset, Razer Kraken 7.1 V2 Vs HyperX cloud 2

Matthew Sheridan · 15 Feb 2018 at 11:31

Hi,

I've just started getting into gaming more and have built a PC and am looking at getting a gaming headset as at the moment i am only using some JBL headphones and i am noticing that i cannot hear nearly as much as some of my friends, i would quite like something with 7.1. I went to currys and tried on the Razer kraken 7.1 V2 and they were sooo comfortable and i instantly fell in love but i have also seen many people talking about the HyperX cloud 2's and how amazing they are. I have quite a tight budget at the moment as have just built the PC and still need a decent monitor as just using crappy old one ATM but i could always buy used or wait till birthday or something and get them then. If anyone has used both of these headsets, or even just one of them, please let me know your thoughts,

Thanks,

Matthew

Matthew Sheridan · 15 Feb 2018 at 12:51

the monitor is square and so dark i can barely see anything during the day

Matthew Sheridan · 15 Feb 2018 at 21:06

EsaT said:
Little over £100 can give headphones well balanced for gaming with excellent "fun factor" from above neutral bass and very good competitiveness for picking direction and distance of sounds.

Could you give me a recommendation for a headset like this? I do need a mic.
If i can't get enough money which of those 2 would be better?

Matthew Sheridan · 17 Feb 2018 at 12:12

EsaT said:
Though Creative has very decent budget sound card beating very cheap generic USB dongles...
HyperX Cloud 2's bundled USB dongle doesn't do justice to them:

Is the Razer's better? Are the Razer kraken's open back or is it just a mesh design and would the razer surround calibration make the 7.1 better than the clouds? I do live in a house with my sister mum and dad so it can sometimes get a bit noisy. I think that the Razer mic sounds so much better but they each have their pros and cons. Which would you choose out of the 2 and why?

Matthew Sheridan · 17 Feb 2018 at 12:43

MrRockliffe said:
Sounds to me that the Beyerdynamic MMX 300 are EXACTLY what you're after. Based on Beyer's older cans, but don't let that put you off - they're still excellent. I got myself a pair, and they're by far the best cans I've used for gaming. Mic is next level too.

£99 on the bay atm too.

Do they have 7.1?

Matthew Sheridan · 17 Feb 2018 at 12:44

MrRockliffe said:
Sounds to me that the Beyerdynamic MMX 300 are EXACTLY what you're after. Based on Beyer's older cans, but don't let that put you off - they're still excellent. I got myself a pair, and they're by far the best cans I've used for gaming. Mic is next level too.

£99 on the bay atm too.

£99 for them used is still really high, that is the absolute top i could go, i would have to save for like 8 weeks or something for those and i still kinda need a decent monitor as well

Matthew Sheridan · 17 Feb 2018 at 13:56

EsaT said:
So question is do you have own room and normal everyday noises are "behind door" or always "next to you"?

I do have my own room so could use open back. I really don't know what to get, The razers look really comfortable with the memory foam pads

Matthew Sheridan · 17 Feb 2018 at 18:25

EsaT said:
If environment noise isn't constant problem open design has another advantage besides sound:
Leather/artificial leather isn't exactly well breathing material, so with closed ear cup heat has problems in dissipating effectively. Kinda like in these:
http://solutions.3m.co.uk/wps/porta...369UJT2UU4000000_nid=88M65W4JK1beN8MT32R3VMgl
And lack of pressing ears doesn't really help if ears start sweating.

Ever since moving to full size headphones I've considered it "standard" requirement for comfort that they can be kept on for whole day even if not listening anything.
Because open headphones with breathing fabric/velour pads don't cause much any sweating. (over what room temperature would cause normally)
While added heat insulation of ear muffs is nice only when in cold weather...

could you give me some recommendations

Matthew Sheridan · 18 Feb 2018 at 10:44

EsaT said:
For open headset from gaming products I would trust that Takstar made QPAD QH85 to be on decent level.
(closed QH-90 is basically same as HyperX Cloud)

I guess the only thing with an open headset is I won't be able to play later if I want as there would be sound leakage. Just how much leakage is there? Is it enough to leave my room and let other people hear it or not? But the advantage of open back is that if someone calls me i will be able to hear them and them not have to keep shouting

Matthew Sheridan · 18 Feb 2018 at 11:42

EsaT said:
Keyboard sounds are easily noisier than sound leak at hearing safe volume...

Would i be able to hear my Razer Green Switch mechanical keyboard through the open backs?

Matthew Sheridan · 18 Feb 2018 at 11:52

MrRockliffe said:
What motherboard do you have? Some manufacturers offer their own 7.1 simulation.

The Asus one on my motherboard is decent.

I have a GIGABYTE GA-AB350M

Matthew Sheridan · 18 Feb 2018 at 14:15

EsaT said:
Don't know if Gigabyte has any software besides standard Realtek stuff.

I have a free code for Razer surround pro, is that any good? Still have no idea of what to get, it would be nice to have the Razer headset to match my keyboard and mouse but if it’s no good I won’t, opinions?

Matthew Sheridan · 18 Feb 2018 at 21:16

MrRockliffe said:
The MMX 300 at £99 is probably the best value you'll see in the UK for a long time

If I get those should I use the 3.5 jacks or the included USB dongle thingy

Matthew Sheridan · 18 Feb 2018 at 21:26

MrRockliffe said:
The Razer surround app is great

So would you reccomend the MMX 300s and then using the Razer surround for 7.1 in games like rainbow 6 when I want to know where people are exactly

Matthew Sheridan · 20 Feb 2018 at 16:47

MrRockliffe said:
There is no USB dongle.

Would it be worth getting a budget soundcard or something similar? I'm buying such good audio quality headphones, would they be wasted if i don't get something like a soundcard to improve audio? If so could you recommend a good budget one. My motherboard is a GIGABYTE GA-AB350m, not sure if that has good audio built in or not.

Thanks for the help

Matthew Sheridan · 20 Feb 2018 at 18:10

MrRockliffe said:
While the ALC 887 will probably be fine for the MMX 300, that particular motherboard probably won't drive them loud enough for you.

So yes, you'd probably need a soundcard.

Do you have any budget friendly suggestions?

Matthew Sheridan · 20 Feb 2018 at 18:14

MrRockliffe said:
So yes, you'd probably need a soundcard.

What would be better for the money, A souncard or an External DAC?

Matthew Sheridan · 20 Feb 2018 at 18:17

MrRockliffe said:
So yes, you'd probably need a soundcard.

Is the Asus Xonar DSX 7.1 any good?

Matthew Sheridan · 20 Feb 2018 at 18:54

MrRockliffe said:
What would your budget be?

Do you have a spare PCI slot?

1. As cheap as i could go without it being absolute trash as i have no money even to buy the headset ATM
2. yes i think, i only have 1 Graphics card

Matthew Sheridan · 21 Feb 2018 at 07:39

EsaT said:
But for headphone gaming it lacks Dolby Headphone and is stuck with either stereo or Windows Sonic for Headphones

But I do have the code for Razer surround pro