Spend my money please

[Gary*]

Evening all

I'm in the market for some new headphones, after reading around that headphones are generally better quality than an expensive headset, such as the PC333D etc. I'm currently using the Phillips SHM7110 headset and feel it lacks some quality but what can you expect for £30?

I'm happy to buy a clip on microphone and pay some wonga for some nice new headphones.

Ideally, I'd like some closed back headphones with 5.1 surround sound for gaming. I've looked at getting the Sennheiser HD 448's after reading some decent reviews, although they're not 5.1

I'd opt for another headset and with commuting to work for an hour and a half each way on public transport ideally I don't want a giant microphone coming from them .

Budget wise, I'm not too sure at this point. What're your thoughts guys?

Thanks

 

[danza]

Everyone and their dog will say to avoid 5.1 headphones, especially concerning their use for music.

If you can stretch to 40-50 notes, then Goldring NS1000s seem to be an extremely popular choice for closed-back headphones (which I doubt you will beat for the price).

/kicks self for recommending a pair of headphones that I was moaning about everyone recommending only 2 days ago

 

[Marsman]

/kicks self for recommending a pair of headphones that I was moaning about everyone recommending only 2 days ago

Lol.

Still, can't go recommending other headphones that are going to cost more for the same quality. Does get a tad boring though. Goldring this, Goldring that. They will love us, we are acting as unpaid product promoters here at OcUK.

A sound card would be a good investment too, if you have enough spare cash. If you don't, you can get one at a later date. You don't have to spend a lot on one, a Xonar DG would do. A D1/DX would offer a step up again in audio quality, but it depends how much you are willing to spend. Dolby Headphone featured on most Xonar's is used to provide virtual surround sound, via stereo headphones. Goldring headphones are a great pairing with DH.

The Sennheiser 333D's you mention, are basically stereo headphones that have their own audio processor, which use DH to provide surround sound. Quite a few surround sound gaming headsets use stereo headphones and their own sound device to provide DH, so they are very similar to buying headphones and a sound card. The biggest difference is, by getting a sound card and headphones, Goldring NS1000's + Xonar DG for eg, they cost less. Not only does that combination cost less, but due to the quality of the NS1000's, you will get better sound quality.

Sennheiser PC163D look very good, and are highly rated by Rroff, a member here. They work in the same way to the bigger 333D's, but the headset can be detached from the USB sound device and used as a standard analogue headset, whereas the 333D's are USB only I believe. The PC163D's might be good, but there are some factors which make the Goldring's and a sound card more appealing. 1, it's a cheaper combination. 2, I'd be very surprised indeed if the PC163D's headset can match the NS1000's for sound quality. 3, the NS1000's are designed for use on the move. They are noise cancelling, so would be great if commuting on a train etc, blocking out most noise, and letting very little out. 4, you wont have a large mic hanging off them, making you look rather silly on the train/bus.

 

[Mr Krugga]

I already sold Goldring NS1000s to two other people, a few are also considering them after having a try You can't go wrong with NS1000, not for the price.

 

[Telltale Boy]

The NS1000's are obviously pretty good as everyone is recommending them.

Personally I got the JVC HA-RX700s which are about £15 cheaper and i'm very happy with them. They're a massive step-up from my old gaming headset & their super-comfy.
Also they're massive and badass which is one reason I got them over the NS1000s.

 

[Uriel]

I have both RX700s and NS1000s. The former are decent but the latter are significantly superior.

 

[Rroff]

I believe the 333Ds are the same as the 163D in regard to the DH unit and USB (the 2nd image on OcUK shows the same DH "soundcard") so can be used with 3.5mm stereo jacks too.

Unfortunatly I've not so far been in a position to test the Goldrings side by side with the 163Ds. I do however highly reccomend the 163Ds and hope the 333Ds are a similiar story but so far I've not been able to test them.

EDIT: Tho the 163s are absolutely NO use for commuting - you'd probably get arrested due to the level of sound leakage but for gaming I firmly believe nothing else comes close and the audio quality will not dissapoint someone coming from a high end set of headphones.

 

[yashiro]

The earcups on the 16x series are quite small. They rest right on your ears and can take a few weeks to settle in. They will last but I find there are a few small issues.

The earpads get grubby and are hard to clean.
The mic is average at best.
The audio quality isn't great.

They're ok for gaming but I think the current RRP is too high. The Goldrings wouldn't be popular if people were buying them for the standard RRP. At £50, however, they're pretty much unbeatable for sound quality in that bracket. If you're taking them on a commute the noise cancelling feature is a huge bonus too.

 

[Rroff]

The 163Ds aren't like any 16x series I've tried in the past - the mic is crystal clear, audio quality is very good, earpads haven't got grubby yet but I can imagine they would be hard to clean but best of all they are really light and comfortable to wear.

 

[Hutchy]

What clip on mic or stand alone mic would you recommend to use with the ns1000s for gaming?

 

[Telltale Boy]

I use the Speedlink SPES clip-on microphone and it's great. Awesome build quality (metal) and you can clip it on pretty much anywhere, i've tried it on a shirt, on a tie and on my headphone cable and all work fine. It's very sensitive which is good apart from it occasionally picks up sound from my keyboard (but this is rarely a problem).

You should be able to find it for around £7 by searching around...

 

[Hutchy]

Found and purchased. Thanks for the tip!