Usb or jack and sound card for gaming?

Vidar

Vidar

Vidar

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I need a new headset for gaming, with black Friday coming up and various family members not knowing what to get me for Christmas etc I want to get something good for gaming and think I'd have about £150 to spend.

I want them for games like Player Unknown Battlegrounds and Dreadnought etc but I also listen to to music and watch movies through the pc.

Don't know what to go for, a sound card and a jack or another usb headset?
 
Soundcard and Jack headset. You can't beat a dedicated sound cad, those USB ones are pants. I'm using a Creative X Sound Corsair with a Corsair VOID Pro gaming headset. Paying Overwatch and Siege is more enjoyable thanks to the precision sound and overall quality of it.

The supplied Dolby USB "sound card" with the headset isn't as good, sound is flatter and the positional audio is "wavey"
 
elrasho said:
Soundcard and Jack headset. You can't beat a dedicated sound cad, those USB ones are pants. I'm using a Creative X Sound Corsair with a Corsair VOID Pro gaming headset. Paying Overwatch and Siege is more enjoyable thanks to the precision sound and overall quality of it.

The supplied Dolby USB "sound card" with the headset isn't as good, sound is flatter and the positional audio is "wavey"
Click to expand...

Not strictly true, it depends on the product. Sennheiser USB headsets work incredibly well and are a good option if a user has other audio devices. Some of the cheaper ones I expect are not so good, but same goes for anything really.

A Dragonfly USB DAC which is tiny, is superior to most soundcards for music.
 
Who knew picking a new headset could be such a minefield lol

Could you guys recommend some setups for me to look at?
 
For £150 I would get a good USB headset. Sennheiser 373D if you can find it cheap enough is a great option.

Plug in and play, good software, great headset, great mic.

There is a cheaper one, I think the GSP 350 but it is not as good.

Your alternative is a £70 soundcard and a £80 headset, but you would need to buy some rebranded junk headset rather than something from a proper headphone company and in my mind, it is not worth it.
 
Vidar said:
Who knew picking a new headset could be such a minefield lol

Could you guys recommend some setups for me to look at?
Click to expand...
You've only started to scratch the surface.


First of all do you have noisy or quiet environment?
Closed headphone design isolates external noise in louder environment...
But it compromises sound stage compared to open headphones, besides having harder time in balancing overall sound.
(also causing more easily sweating because insulating also heat)

Do you need microphone or is it just the headphone you're after?

Are you aiming for absolutely highest level of competitiveness in picking up foot steps and such details?
Or maybe something balancing between good detailed sound and some strength in bass?
(or are you one of those who think the more there is bass the better the sound?)
Because you can't get everything.
Having enough bass to give it some feeling means you can't get the highest level of competitiveness...
Which needs very neutral/weak bass, at the expense of pretty much killing "fun factor".
(and closed designs have really lot harder time in trying to balance)




PapaLazaru said:
Your alternative is a £70 soundcard and a £80 headset
Click to expand...
Actually some £30-40 Audigy Fx would likely do D/A-conversion with enough accuracy for human hearing.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/high-end-pc-audio,3733-19.html
 
Arrrrgggghhhh!

My main aim is using these for gaming on the likes of pub, cs:go etc so being able to hear foot steps and the like would be awesome.

A mic is a must for this, but I'm coming from a Creative Fatal1ty usb gaming headset that's steadily getting worse.

I do sometimes listen to music and watch movies etc but my main concern is gaming.
 
Vidar said:
A mic is a must for this, but I'm coming from a Creative Fatal1ty usb gaming headset that's steadily getting worse.
Click to expand...
Wouldn't expect gaming bling bling to have never been that good in the first place...
Though there's one good thing in those Creative headsets, detachable microphone:
https://imgur.com/gallery/bKU4H
Beyerdynamic's not the most fashionable design has its advantages...

Though that DT770 as fun sounding closed headphone wouldn't be good for competitiveness.
While apparently one of the better closed ones for its price in soundstage it would be still lot behind good open ones and strong "fun" bass of closed design is also too much.

But open design DT990 would be really well balanced between enough bass for fun factor/immersion (so that grenade going off nearby sounds like grenade) while having big soundstage and accurate enough sound for good level of competitiveness.
Headphones with best/highest level of competitiveness have simply "shy" or even non-existent bass leaving that part of gaming rather "empty".
Everything is simply always compromise.
While not absolutely best in competitiveness DT990 works well when combined with binaural simulation and definitely doubt that any gaming brand stuff comes even close:
https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/posts/30974164/

If you don't mind coiled cable DT990 Pro could be gotten for little over £100 if you look around.
Though only little more expensive DT990 Pro Black Limited Edition would have normal straigth 3m cable.

So with you already having usable mic for £150 you could also add Audigy Fx for Creative's well balanced binaural-simulation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1_20T8x_OI


But obviously if environment is noisy that limits choises.
 
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