Headset recomendation

-Ad- · 14 Sep 2009 at 15:51

Phal said:
I have to wonder though... if all headsets are so inferior to regular stereo headphones from a decent manufacturer... why doesnt someone make a decent headset using decent headphones and a decent boom mic? Its not as if there isnt the demand for it!

I have always thought the same thing, but clearly there isn't a market for these more established manufacturers to get involved in. Gamers are happy to buy whatever brand is pushed by pc review sites which all claim they sound fantastic, no matter how much worse they sound compared to stereo headphones. Gamers will especially like big fact sheets, fancy tech, and millions of drivers in each earcup as it can hel their e-peen grow, just like overclocking and posting benchmarks etc

Sennheiser do have the 350 gaming headset though so they are at least in the gaming headset market, albeit without the cups full of tiny ickle wickle drivers.

Uriel · 14 Sep 2009 at 16:13

I think it says something that the purple shirted people have Sennheiser listening stations and every time I've been in only the headphones are on the station, despite the fact that they also sell Senn headsets.

Edit:

Given how rediculously cheap they are, I'm thinking about buying a set of Goldring DR50s and transplanting the drivers into my old Speedlink Medusa housing (in stereo configuration). I do find the Medusas comfy due to the lack of clamping but they sound muddy, inaccurate and unispiring.

Phal · 14 Sep 2009 at 16:30

-Ad- said:
I have always thought the same thing, but clearly there isn't a market for these more established manufacturers to get involved in. Gamers are happy to buy whatever brand is pushed by pc review sites which all claim they sound fantastic, no matter how much worse they sound compared to stereo headphones. Gamers will especially like big fact sheets, fancy tech, and millions of drivers in each earcup as it can hel their e-peen grow, just like overclocking and posting benchmarks etc

Sennheiser do have the 350 gaming headset though so they are at least in the gaming headset market, albeit without the cups full of tiny ickle wickle drivers.

But given the amount of different reviewers out there... youd think one of them would know what theyre talking about?

I mean sound is another thing which can be rated differently depending on whos listening. Everyone has their own opinion etc but how can a headset get good reviews all around and still suck? :/

-Ad- · 14 Sep 2009 at 17:47

Phal said:
But given the amount of different reviewers out there... youd think one of them would know what theyre talking about?

I mean sound is another thing which can be rated differently depending on whos listening. Everyone has their own opinion etc but how can a headset get good reviews all around and still suck? :/

The reviewers are also pc gamer geeks sent free headphones by manufacturers and will naturally review them well. Plus factor in that they probably haven't even heard a decent pair of headphones.

The website names also give it away, E.g. 1337gamerz, Ready2beat, overclockersclub, tweaknews, and my favourite: trusted reviews (yeah right

)

Uriel · 14 Sep 2009 at 17:54

To be fair, trusted reviews do cover hi-fi headphones too. Not sure if it's the same reviewers though.

markop2003 · 14 Sep 2009 at 17:58

Phal said:
I have to wonder though... if all headsets are so inferior to regular stereo headphones from a decent manufacturer... why doesnt someone make a decent headset using decent headphones and a decent boom mic? Its not as if there isnt the demand for it!

QPad has the 1339 which is a repackaged set from Beryerdynamic

Phal · 14 Sep 2009 at 20:34

-Ad- said:
The reviewers are also pc gamer geeks sent free headphones by manufacturers and will naturally review them well. Plus factor in that they probably haven't even heard a decent pair of headphones.

The website names also give it away, E.g. 1337gamerz, Ready2beat, overclockersclub, tweaknews, and my favourite: trusted reviews (yeah right )

lol cmon... get off that high horse lol

You think gamers cant have an ear for decent sounding stuff? I think youre assuming a lot here and you know what they say about assuming! ( it makes an ass out of you and a guy called ming )

Just because they get free stuff doesnt mean theyll want to review it well. Just because they work for a games company or gaming magazine doesnt mean they dont know what theyre talking about :/

-Ad- · 14 Sep 2009 at 20:54

High horse :/

These sites don't look for the best sound, they are as bad as the gamers going on about fancy tech and multiple drivers. I don't need to assume, I have heard enough of these headsets to draw my own conclusions and you can see that from what I post on here.

Stop defending them unless you have actually had a damn good listen to what's out there.

Fubsy · 15 Sep 2009 at 00:25

Headsets get good reviews because they are reviewed as just that, headsets. They usually do their job, along with all their silly "features".

If they were reviewed as a pair of headphones, by a reviewer experienced with headphones they would probably be slated.

cornyfeet · 15 Sep 2009 at 02:30

Uriel said:
Given how rediculously cheap they are, I'm thinking about buying a set of Goldring DR50s and transplanting the drivers into my old Speedlink Medusa housing (in stereo configuration). I do find the Medusas comfy due to the lack of clamping but they sound muddy, inaccurate and unispiring.

cool idea, the medusa are pretty pants but the redeeming thing about them is that they are very comfy.

if you do decide to this i'd would like to copy you. so make a tutorial please

Tefal · 15 Sep 2009 at 08:25

-Ad- said:
my favourite: trusted reviews (yeah right )

they're actually pretty good for most things.

Phal · 15 Sep 2009 at 16:03

Again Im drawn back to one of my previous thoughts... I refuse to believe that all these people who review headsets know nothing about how headphones should sound :/

It just seems ridiculous :|

If thats the case then I demand a job reviewing super cars! and high class escorts... at the same time! I dont have experience in either subjects... but I dont mind writing my opions on them!

markop2003 · 15 Sep 2009 at 16:24

Phal said:
Again Im drawn back to one of my previous thoughts... I refuse to believe that all these people who review headsets know nothing about how headphones should sound :/

Most of them are general gaming hardware reviewers not audio crtics

Phal · 15 Sep 2009 at 17:21

markop2003 said:
Most of them are general gaming hardware reviewers not audio crtics

Yeah but youve only got to look at the forums here and see how many audio critics there are

Just because you get paid to review PC hardware and peripherals doesnt mean you dont know jack about anything else :/

Out of interest, what sources would you trust for reviews on audio kit?

Uriel · 15 Sep 2009 at 17:38

Phal said:
Yeah but youve only got to look at the forums here and see how many audio critics there are Just because you get paid to review PC hardware and peripherals doesnt mean you dont know jack about anything else :/

Out of interest, what sources would you trust for reviews on audio kit?

For PC sites that do some audio stuff guru3d and xbitlabs seem to be pretty good. Guru3d seem to have backed off their more comparative reviews though and I think that's a failing. They used to make more reference to competitive products and that was pretty handy.

Thinking back, I actually think Trusted Reviews are pretty good. It's rare that I totally disagree with them. They cover a much wider range of stuff though.

Dist · 15 Sep 2009 at 20:41

If anyone cares about my original problem, I ended up ordering some gamecom 367's. May not be the most highly rated, but for just £20 they should be great for that price range. Unfortunatly its on back order and it wont be shiped to me untill the 22nd

As for the debate about reviews you have to remember the reviews are based on comparrison with previous headsets. A person who has never used a high end audio headset will never know there is better quality available and so will assume good gaming headsets do have good audio quailty. IMO the reviewers are sort of good in that way in that if i want a headset then I want reviews on how that headset compares to other headsets, I dont want it compared to high quality audio headphones because thats not what I'm after.

Phal · 16 Sep 2009 at 12:06

Dist said:
If anyone cares about my original problem, I ended up ordering some gamecom 367's. May not be the most highly rated, but for just £20 they should be great for that price range. Unfortunatly its on back order and it wont be shiped to me untill the 22nd

As for the debate about reviews you have to remember the reviews are based on comparrison with previous headsets. A person who has never used a high end audio headset will never know there is better quality available and so will assume good gaming headsets do have good audio quailty. IMO the reviewers are sort of good in that way in that if i want a headset then I want reviews on how that headset compares to other headsets, I dont want it compared to high quality audio headphones because thats not what I'm after.

My problem is... why should we have to choose between a good audio pair of headphones or a headset :/ Its not as if theyre expensive so why arent the same components in good headphones used in headsets? It seems so ridiculous thats its hard to believe tbh :/

Uriel · 16 Sep 2009 at 13:39

Phal said:
My problem is... why should we have to choose between a good audio pair of headphones or a headset :/ Its not as if theyre expensive so why arent the same components in good headphones used in headsets? It seems so ridiculous thats its hard to believe tbh :/

The thing is components are shared. Take Sennheisers. According to a formum post from a Sennheiser rep I saw, the PC350 headset uses the same drivers as the HD595.

A bit further digging (i.e. people dismantling them) shows that the HD555 also use the same driver.

I suspect that this same driver is also used in the HD380 and PXC450. So why the difference?

A lot of difference comes down to the design. That particular driver sounds pretty good in open headphones. On the PC350, a closed headset, it (reputably - I've not tried them) sounds pretty bass light. So what happens? People taken them to bits, drill holes in bits of the housing and report that bass quantity and response is improved. FWIR about the mod it still doesn't make them sound as good as the HD555 or HD595 but it's closer.

Why would Sennheiser design the PC350s like this? Well they're tailored to competitive gaming and VOIP use. A lack of bass emphasis improves sound direction perception and makes vocals clearer for most people, unless there is very clear frequency separation. This means that they have a particular 'colour' to them that most people would not find enjoyable for music. Also most headsets are closed. Use the same drivers in open and closed designs and chances are the open design will sound better (notwithstanding that some drivers are tuned to be used in closed designs)

A secondary question is why do the PC350s sound worse than the HD555 and cost 1/3 more. I can guarentee that they haven't stuck a £30 microphone in there. Marketing. Pure and simple. They can sell them at that price so they do. We could easily ask why the HD595 is so much more expensive than the HD555 when the main difference between the two is a bit of foam.

Phal · 16 Sep 2009 at 14:21

So you reckon that headsets are made specifically with games in mind and thats why they could sound crap with music?

If thats true then listening to reviews from Gaming sites might not be a bad idea if you want a headset to use for games? lol

Uriel · 16 Sep 2009 at 14:46

The 'tuning for games' should only affect the low end of the market though. Decent headphones can have decent bass and give good directional audio cues. The two aren't mutually exclusive.

That's only one example though. There is absolutely no reason why a gaming peripherals manufacturer couldn't order a decent set of headphones from an OEM like Fostex or Phitek (who make headphones for Denon and Audio Technica / Goldring / Creative respectively) with a mike on and slap their own branding on it. None at all.

It's why I refuse to condemn some gaming headsets outright without having heard them. There are some gaming headsets I write off automatically though:

Multiple driver surround headsets with drivers in the earcups - old tech bettered by 2 channel virtual surround
USB headsets with no option to connect to standard jacks - stops you using standard soundcards. No USB headset has yet been released with gaming features as good as an X-Fi (including Creative ones). Very few have been released that are as good as a Xonar (and that's arguable). Future soundcards (not to mention existing ones) and USB headsets will render them obsolete.