Gaming Headset with good positional audio?

Gundog48

Gundog48

Gundog48

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So, I was interested in the 5.1/7.1 headsets, then I found they were a complete gimmick that uses emulated surround sound which makes it feel that the sound is coming from everywhere- no good for gaming.

The other day I decided to play some Modern Warfare 2 on a pair of earphones that came with my MP3 player, it was then I realised that stereo headphones have great positional audio!

So, I am looking for a gaming headset, with good positional audio with a budget of about £50. I will be using it for FPS gaming with games such as MW2. A USB soundcard would be handy as I am using onboard sound.

So I am really looking for:

* Good Positional Audio
* Good sound quality (was happy with my Sandisk Sansa Earphones so I'm easy to please!)
* Under £50
* I will consider 5.1/7.1 headsets if they have good positional audio
* USB Soundcard preferred
* Good for FPS games
* Needs a mic but quality isn't that important
 
Dont bother with 5.1 or 7.1 headsets you can get great positioning from stereo.
Also onboard sound isn't as bad as it was many years ago.


I'm sure i wont be the only person to recommend this setup:


Goldring DR50's and a desktop or clip-on mic.

A quick Google has the DR50's for under £20 and a Logitech desktop mic should only set you back a few quid.

Plus the Goldrings will also sound great with your MP3.
 
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Sounds like a great choice! What are your opinions on the Logitech G35 (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SP-070-LG), does it actually have good positional audio? Or is it another gimmicky headset? Also, is it worth stretching my budget for the Razer Carcharias (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SP-007-RA) ?

I will pay more if the headset is worth it. I will definatly think about the Fatal1ty, I will see if I can find anyone who owned one and try it out!
 
slight hijack but i am also interested in surround sound headsets. i currently have the sennheiser hd595 headphones but im wondering if im missing out? i know these are excellent headphones but im just curious to know if surround sound is better for games, as i will be using speakers for music.

cheers
 
It would be nice if you could actually try them out in shops! Seems kinda daft that you have to go completely on what people say. But yet they have computers out for you to try when the specs say it all!
 
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Eames said:
slight hijack but i am also interested in surround sound headsets. i currently have the sennheiser hd595 headphones but im wondering if im missing out? i know these are excellent headphones but im just curious to know if surround sound is better for games, as i will be using speakers for music.

cheers
Click to expand...

You're missing out on nothing if you get a decent soundcard. The soundcard can provide the 'surround' effect and the HD595s are very good gaming headphones.
 
ok just to be clear, ive got cmss 3d turned on in the creative control panel, so am I now getting the same effect a surround sound headset would provide? thanks
 
Gundog48 said:
I will pay more if the headset is worth it. I will definatly think about the Fatal1ty, I will see if I can find anyone who owned one and try it out!
Click to expand...
i upgraded from them to my sennheisers, cant fault them except the earcups dont go over your ears so much as sit on them, which is fatiguing after long sessions.
 
Eames said:
ok just to be clear, ive got cmss 3d turned on in the creative control panel, so am I now getting the same effect a surround sound headset would provide? thanks
Click to expand...
Potentially yes. Depends which soundcard and whether you've got it set upcorrectly.
 
Hi been reading all of these threads and also interested in the G35. I am in a unique situation I used to use a plantronics headset just for voice comms. Ie the voice input and output just came in via headset and the game music and sfx came from the 5.1 speakers.

My sister stole my headset for her learning courses so i need a new one.

I guess a G35 is overkill as i wont be using it for music/games ?
 
Gundog48 said:
The other day I decided to play some Modern Warfare 2 on a pair of earphones that came with my MP3 player, it was then I realised that stereo headphones have great positional audio!
Click to expand...
In real world human brain builds 3D sound stage from only two channels by tracking down minute changes in sounds which are left to them by human body (especially upper torso and head) when sound is on its way to inner ear and which brain has learned to recognize.
With headphones sounds are fed directly to ears as entirely separate channels without any change for those minute detail changes to happen so in reality "5.1" or "7.1" headphones are plain scam and can never work even half decently.
And with lot of very cheap elements sound quality of those is very bad which just keeps distorting sounds compared to just two elements at same price.

Again if sounds carried on two channels are processed properly to contain those changes which would happen in real world then feeding those two separate channels directly to ears can give good illusion of real environment.
(in principle very near perfect illusion if your upper torso and head structure are similar to that used as model for processing algorithms and hence fit well to recognizing "settings" of your brain)
 
EsaT said:
In real world human brain builds 3D sound stage from only two channels by tracking down minute changes in sounds which are left to them by human body (especially upper torso and head) when sound is on its way to inner ear and which brain has learned to recognize.
With headphones sounds are fed directly to ears as entirely separate channels without any change for those minute detail changes to happen so in reality "5.1" or "7.1" headphones are plain scam and can never work even half decently.
And with lot of very cheap elements sound quality of those is very bad which just keeps distorting sounds compared to just two elements at same price.

Again if sounds carried on two channels are processed properly to contain those changes which would happen in real world then feeding those two separate channels directly to ears can give good illusion of real environment.
(in principle very near perfect illusion if your upper torso and head structure are similar to that used as model for processing algorithms and hence fit well to recognizing "settings" of your brain)
Click to expand...

Wow! That really opened my eyes! So stuff like theRazer Megalodon and the G35 are just a rip off really! So reallyIshould be looking for quality more than anything. So something from Senheiser probably.

What are your views on Razer audio? I like the look of the Razer Carcharias, it seems the right sort of thing.

Also, is it worth an upgrade from onboard sound? If so, how much should I be looking at! I'm new to audio, so it's great to be learning so much! I love learning about technology. I'm 14, and went from knowing next to nothing about computers to building my own in 2 months!

Cheers!
 
Razer Carcharias are probably the best headset you can get that can double as phones for music. Majority of the time headsets are pretty lame for music. It can be done, Razer has shown this, but I guess the majority are not made for music listening.

It depends what motherboard you have, or rather what onboard sound it has. Older boards have just plain 7.1 sound for the most part. Which is fine to an extent, but for gaming it's severly lacking in features. Newer boards like i7, have feautres like Dolby Headphone, which will improve gaming positional sound. Not all new boards have these features. A sound card will improve the quality of the sound aswell as having audio features are benefitial for gaming, depending on the sound card.

Cheapest card you want to look at from a gaming perspective is the Asus Xonar DX/D1, at about £55. The Xonar DS is not worth considering for gaming with headset/phones, as it does not have Dolby Headphone like the DX/D1. The Creative X-Fi Xtreme Audio is also not worth considering for gaming, as it is a watered down card. The X-Fi Xtreme Gamer is much better choice. Compared to the Xonar DX/D1 it is the better card solely for gaming, the Xonar has better overall audio quality, so depends on the main use really. OCUK has a good offer on the X-Fi Xtreme Gamer, about £60 for this week only. Normally the X-fi Xtreme Gamer is £75, which imo, is a little pricey. Both the Xonar DX/D1 or X-Fi Xtreme Gamer would serve you well for gaming.
 
I have a set of Roccat Kave surrround sound headset, work perfect, liitle pricey but i think they work very very well in game surround sounds, and they have real 5.1

Link
 
Well, I have 'Realtek ALC662 6-Channel HD Audio' which I'm assuming isn't good! I will get some opinion on the Razer headset, it is proably my favourite choice! how whould it compare to a similar sennheiser or logitech headset? Cheers!
 
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