New Headset; Waiting for Siberia V2's, but considering alternatives

[gingertree]

So my headset broke after 1-2 years. They were "Creative HS-1100 Sound Blaster Arena USB Gaming Headset" (long names = better product of course). I paid around £60 for them back then, and you can now get a Fatal1ty branded version for around £45. They served me well so I'd be tempted to play it safe and just purchase the same set. However I felt like a change and went with Steelseries Siberia V2's, after hearing a lot of good word about comfort and quality. I have a big head/big ears and I also wear glasses while using my PC, so I do like comfort, though I can live with some pain/marks on my ears with no complaints too.

So right now I'm stuck with these awful TurtleBeach P21's which are made for the PS3, and are quite frankly awful in my opinion compared to anything I've used even at £20 grade, as they have this constant hissing. Tinitus is already bad enough. Basically I need a new headset ASAP before I die from torture.

Most of my headset usage will be for watching TV shows/Anime/Games/Music. That said I honestly do not give a rat's ass about 'bass', I just love sound clarity and most of my music would be pop'ish/orchestrated. Still, I do want to have some quality of sound, while not knowing being a knowledgeable audiophile - that's where this thread help comes in. I'm tempted to lean towards buying USB useable headsets simply because I'm using on board sound, and that's the only reason I haven't went and bought a 'Sennheiser PC 360' for example, as they rely on the standard jacks and I might not be able to get the best out of them. My motherboard is a "MSI P67A-GD65 Intel P67" which has the usual tripe that motherboards do, mine being having "THX TruStudio PRO", if that's any use.

I'm rambling a bit here so I'll try....

TLDR
I ordered SteelSeries Siberia V2's
I see a lot of the talk about these being from console users using some form of amp.
I do not have a sound card, it's either onboard with jacks or USB
I normally keep all audio enhancements off and leave equaliser etc at neutral at all times
Willing to pay up to £150 I guess if it will go that much further in improvement
Want sound clarity for music & TV shows etc/don't care about bass much (that's not a contradiction I hope)
Looking at various others including SteelSeries 7H/Sennheiser 3DDD/Sennheiser PC 360/Logitech G35/Logitech G930

The one I'm most leaning towards as replacements are the Sennheiser 3DDD's or the Logitech G35's because they're USB powered, and due to my conceptions about not getting moneys worth out of any high priced jack using headsets. Maybe even G35's for the big earcups, and possibly the G930's if I want them wireless (they seem to be pretty identical apart from that fact).

This is how I'm looking at my options; http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=702&catid=1058&sortby=priceDesc&rows=0

I could go on and on all day, and this is why I cringe everytime I have to order a new headset. I hope you can see where I'm going with this and I'll try to answer any questions.

Any help is very much appreciated.
Thank you for reading if you got this far with all my rambling.

 

[Razor-BladE]

Do they need to be a headset? Or is getting a separate mic and headphones fine?

Also, are you looking for open or closed headphones?

Closed headphones don't leak as much sound so people around you won't hear as much as open headphones, and also you won't hear as much outside sound.
Open headphones are the opposite of this, but because of it allows for a wider soundstage.

Check out the Beyerdyanmics DT770 80 Ohm (closed), DT990 80 Ohm (open), ATH-AD700 (open), ATH-A700 (closed), Sennheiser HD595 (open).

 

[gingertree]

Do they need to be a headset? Or is getting a separate mic and headphones fine?

Also, are you looking for open or closed headphones?

Closed headphones don't leak as much sound so people around you won't hear as much as open headphones, and also you won't hear as much outside sound.
Open headphones are the opposite of this, but because of it allows for a wider soundstage.

Check out the Beyerdyanmics DT770 80 Ohm (closed), DT990 80 Ohm (open), ATH-AD700 (open), ATH-A700 (closed), Sennheiser HD595 (open).

I don't need a mic at all quite frankly. I never use any sort of voice communications.

I've never considered choosing between 'closed'/'open' headphones before because I didn't realise the difference. I will only be using them at home and it's very quiet here apart from the PC fans quietly whizzing next to me. So I'm guessing 'open' might be more ideal. The fans can get slightly noise during game, but this wouldn't bother me too much.

To comment on your suggestions I'm quite surprised as I haven't heard of any of these, and none of them are designed for 'gaming', which I'm guessing is a bit of a con to get people to buy them. Personally I don't care about the quality of sound in games or picking people off. As long as my TV shows sound good, and I can enjoy some instrumental/pop goodness then I'm a happy chappy.

I'm looking at the prices on a certain website and get;
Beyerdynamic DT770 PRO @ £175
- DT990 80 Ohm (open) @ Can't find? (only 250ohm)
Audio-Technica ATH AD700 @ £93
- Import Series ATH-A700 @ £130
Sennheiser HD 598 @ £180

If these are going to be a big improvement and a good quality set of headphones then I'd be quite happy to pay whatever price. If you have a 'best' place for buying could you pm me the link perhaps?

My only concerns are; PC compatibility, although I see the Sennheiser comes with a 3.5mm converter, so I'm guessing it's as straightforward as getting one of those as necessary. Will they be worth the money without a dedicated soundcard or would I have to buy something extra? My last concern;- I'm used to the USB headset dealing with 5.1 audio content on rare occasions, so I'm wondering if these headphones could deal with the difference if it ever arose. NOT A BIG LOSS if they can't, I'm not an audio expert and don't understand how it would be handled by typical stereo headphones that don't do virtual surround or whatever, but I guess I could buy something cheapy as an extra to take care of the problem if necessary, like some USB soundcard or something.

Many thanks for your help.

 

[Razor-BladE]

snip

To comment on your suggestions I'm quite surprised as I haven't heard of any of these, and none of them are designed for 'gaming', which I'm guessing is a bit of a con to get people to buy them.

'Gaming' headphones is just a marketing technique. Stick a 'gaming' badge on it and it seems really good and draws people in to buy it at a higher price, than for something cheaper but same quality or better (generally).

I'm looking at the prices on a certain website and get;
Beyerdynamic DT770 PRO @ £175
- DT990 80 Ohm (open) @ Can't find? (only 250ohm)
Audio-Technica ATH AD700 @ £93
- Import Series ATH-A700 @ £130
Sennheiser HD 598 @ £180

The price of the Beyers vary a lot from time to time, but you can get them for £130 (I bought my 250ohm for £127 on that website).

I thought there was a 80ohm version of the DT990, but I could be wrong then.

Senns HD595 I'm not sure on 'normal' prices but online are about £130, HD598 are the more expensive ones at about £170.

If these are going to be a big improvement and a good quality set of headphones then I'd be quite happy to pay whatever price. If you have a 'best' place for buying could you pm me the link perhaps?

If you have any kind of audiovisual store near you, you could see if they have them and can demo them. As you're not too bothered about much bass and looking at open headphones, I'd skip the DT770s. As you're not using an amp I'd miss the DT990 250hms as well.
I'd probably go for the AD700 or HD595. Haven't heard too much about the HD595, but the AD700 gets good reviews.

My only concerns are; PC compatibility, although I see the Sennheiser comes with a 3.5mm converter, so I'm guessing it's as straightforward as getting one of those as necessary. Will they be worth the money without a dedicated soundcard or would I have to buy something extra?

All headphones (that aren't USB) will be using 3.5mm (as far as I know)(and might come with 6.3mm adaptor) so no problems using it with a PC.

Because sound is a very subjective thing, it's impossible to say yes or no to whether you'll be able to HEAR a difference. But technically yes it'll sound better with a dedicated card, but that's not to say it won't sound good without one.

Whichever headphones you do decide on, buy them first without worrying about a dedicated card or anything. If you think the sound is great, then you don't really need to get anything else.
If you do feel like buying a card in the future to see if you do notice a difference, the Xonar DG is a very good budget card to buy.

My last concern;- I'm used to the USB headset dealing with 5.1 audio content..snip

I don't really have any knowledge in surround sound, nor have I ever used 5.1 headphones so I can't comment on them.
But some people say that a decent pair of stereo headphones will sound much better than any surround headphones because in surround headphones they are fitting many more speakers in, meaning you're paying 'more' for the speakers, and the drivers aren't as big so cannot produce as good sound as just one speaker in each cup.


There are far more people on here/other forums that have a lot more knowledge than me, so if it's not urgent hopefully others can comment on other good headphones or answer your surround sound question.

 

[gingertree]

***

I'd probably go for the AD700 or HD595. Haven't heard too much about the HD595, but the AD700 gets good reviews.

***

I don't really have any knowledge in surround sound, nor have I ever used 5.1 headphones so I can't comment on them.
But some people say that a decent pair of stereo headphones will sound much better than any surround headphones because in surround headphones they are fitting many more speakers in, meaning you're paying 'more' for the speakers, and the drivers aren't as big so cannot produce as good sound as just one speaker in each cup.

Well I think I would be quite happy with either one of those two. Problem is that the HD598's have replaced the HD595's, thus you can't get them anymore and as such there's a massive price bump. So I have either the AD700 @ £93 or the HD598's @ £180. I find it odd that I did see quite a few threads on forums where people were having a discussion between only these two headphones considering the massive price difference.

I can live without the 5.1 to be honest, and I'll deal with it if it ever comes to it.

I'll have to sleep on it/do some more research. I'll probably order something tomorrow afternoon at the latest.

 

[gingertree]

Well I've went ahead and purchased the AD700 over the HD598.

Reasons;
£93 vs £167
I don't use sound enhancements/prefer clean unaltered sound
Not overly bass'y taste in music
Good rep for a few years now

I ran my broken USB headset with all the audio effects turned off that it would automatically every time it was plugged in again, and basically that's the kind of sound I'm looking for. I've really noticed the difference in more bass'y tracks even on this awful TurtleBeach P21 headset, and my broken headset would be more preferable, though I can see how you might lose out for certain music types/media genres - MOST of the time, it's just not for me.

Thanks for your help. I hope it's a good purchase when they arrive - they'll take extra delivery time because of stock.

That said I would consider the HD598's for a future purchase if I ever have the time, if not just to try them out and return them if they're not worth it.

EDIT: Sorry for double post. *facepalm*