Headset/phones for Asus Xonar D2X PCI-E

AeoNGriM

AeoNGriM

AeoNGriM

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Currently using Speedlink Medusa NX 5.1 Gaming Headset and have never been happy with them. The sound quality is fine, but I can never seem to achieve full 5.1 surround sound without one or more speakers either cutting out completely, or sounding tinny, or far off. All the speakers work, just not together :/ So, time for a change. I'm looking for some advice on a new set to compliment the Xonar. Gaming is the number one priority for me (including voice comms like TS, Mumble etc so a noise cancelling mic is a must), with music being a close second. I have a budget of up to about £150, hoping to get the best sound quality for gaming that I can. From reading several of the posts on the forum, it seems that 5.1 Gaming headsets are generally inferior to a decent set of proper headphones with a seperate mic. Can someone please help me to understand why this is and possibly spec me a replacement for my Medusa's?

Thank you for your time!
 
options are
1 -sennheiser PC 360 the best headset that you can buy. same sound quality as sennheiser hd 558 comfort of the 595 and 598 series best in class and buget with noise cancelling mic. and open ear design ideal for ventrillo and skype and extremly long gaming sessions valour pads super comfy while having same audio properties as hd 555 558 and 595 598 excellent for mmorpg addicts and fps gamers. These are are up on ocuk around 130ish mark basically you are getting senheiser 558 with built in noise cancelling mic and audio controls on ear for 150 quid. utter bargain. my current gaming and movie watching phones. highly recomended

2 - audio technica ath ad-700 headphones exceptional headphones very comfortable headband. If you get these buy a logitech usb micraphone with noise cancelling. you will a need converter for 3.5 mm jack from the headphones to work on your computer.

3- senheiser hd 555 or 558 with logitech usb micraphone basically same as audio technicka sound quality. you will need a converter for 3.5mm jack some come with adapters in box.

4- budget senheiser 515 or 518 with same logitech usb micraphone the sound quality is still far above that of most headsets however the price point is affordabe the comfort suffers a bit as these use cloth pads not valour like the ones listed above. they get a bit itchy after about 3 hours use.

normal headsets and headphones use 32 ohm impedance audiophile headphones use 50 ohm or upwards this allows them to use more powerful magnets which in turn produce a better frequency range.

to help understand why 5.1 headsets are inferior to audiophile headphones its as simple as this audiophile headphones above will do frequencys from 5- 32000 khz at 50 ohm. They usally require a headphone amp due to the higher 50ohm impedance. Some reference grade ones have even higher 150 or 300 ohm these are harder to drive without a headphone amp. Your human ears will fail to detect the sound long before the headphones run out of frequency. They also use higher quality components and more powerful magnets in the headphones driver units over even high end gamig headsets.
take the the creative soundblaster warcraft series or razer megalodon both around the 150 mark the creatives have a frequency response of 20 - 20000 khz where the razers have a 50- 16000 khz frequency range. They sound tinny compared to real headphones. The positional surround on them also is not balanced correctly in most cases.

Dolby headphone creates a balanced surround enviroment for your ears simulating balanced audio from all directions on high end headphones there is a feeling of space. remember no matter how many sources u have 7.1 5.1 you only have 2 ears and dolby headphone is the best sorround experiance you can have bar none. The xonar card you have supports this and is in my opinion the best feature of the card. Maybe that was not as simple as I had hoped but hopefully it helps none the less. to sum up 5.1 and 7.1 headsets are a sham buy a set of audiophile headphones for same price or cheaper. If its a all in one solution then only headset that will do a true job is the sennheiser pc 360 which is basically a audiophile headset designed for hardcore gamers.
 
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Hi Farooq, thanks a million for your advice on a set of headphones and your clear and concise breakdown of why audiophile sets win out over gaming/surround sets. I've been looking over the suggestions you provided, and I'm definitely going to go for the Sennheiser PC 360's you so highly recommended. Found a set for £139 incl delivery on the web since OCuK are out of stock. Cheers!
 
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i haven't used any of the headphones Farooq mentioned, so can't compare to my Goldring NS1000. But I am extremely happy with my NS1000s, excellent sound quality and dolby works extremely well. The surround effect is far better than the Medusa's (I had the same problems you describe)

The Goldrings are also great value, they RRP is £100 or £150 as far as I know, but Play are currently doing them for £50, which is stupidly good value.
 
goldrings ns 1000 are good headphones sound quality wise if used with a n amp or battery but not for gaming use especially if u use voice coms they are closed back and as a result make you hear your own voice sound distorted. because they dont let all the sound in. if u do go for goldrings get the dr 150 they r open backed and dont require a separate amp. and are more suitable for voice comms. decent headphones if u get them as a reasonable price. sound quality is good on goldrings just not build quality on lower end headsets. ns 1000 and above have good build quality tho.
 
I have DR150s and NS1000s. The NS1000s are better for positional sound in game with Dolby Headphone on the Xonar (I used to own a D2 and tried with both headphones). Best synergy with Dolby Headphone on Xonar I've heard with any headphones bar none (including several pairs at more than double the price).

For multiplayer gaming, the NS1000s noise cancelling (and to a lesser extent just being closed backed) does make it difficult to hear your own voice well. This can make me get a bit shouty. If you can control yourself it will be fine.
 
Update: Got my 360's today. My initial impressions are great. The sound quality is pretty impressive, much better than my old Medusa's, and the 3D sound problems I was having are gone. Been fiddling about with my sound card trying to get the sound settings right, but not sure I'm getting the most out of it. I've got my Xonar set to 2 Audio Channels, 192Khz Sample Rate, Headphone Analog Out and I'm using the DH-1 preset on Dolby Headphone. Everything else except the GX DSP Mode setting is off, does this sound like I've set everything up as it should be or am I missing something?

Thanks again for everyone's advice on choosing a new headset :cool:
 
I use dolby headphone with 6 channals preset 1 as u already have n everything else off i also have mine hooked up to a fiio headphone amp sound is great hope that helps i find 6 channels work best for gaming n movies n im glad u like ur pc 360s
 
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