best 5.1 headphones for gaming

[tornadog]

I have been getting lot of complaints from my neighbor about too much sound when I am gaming. So is there a good pair of headphones that supports 5.1 and is comfortable to wear for hours on end?? My budget is under $100

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

If you can get a good pair of stereo headphones and then a soundcard that has a surround headphone mode, that is probably a better bet.

Do you already have a decent set of headphones? If you get an X-Fi you should get very good results from just a pair of regular headphones.

 

[tornadog]

I have the logitech pair that came free when I got the logitech Quickcam 5000 pro. My sound card is a first generation Audigy.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Try searching for some more threads on surround headphones. I know the search function sucks, but there are at least 20+ in here somewhere.

The concensus from people that have tried both a surround pair and a set of stereo headphones + surround processing have been that most have liked the stereo + surround processing better.

You get a set much better suited for music / sound quality and you can really get a great surround simulation at the same time.

Headfi.com in another great headphone resource, but I'm not sure if they have much info on this sort of issue. I'm more of a speaker guy than a headphone guy.

 

[tornadog]

ok I need another help. I have one of those cheapass 5.1 speaker setup, the Altec Lansing 251. I got those in 2002 and so far they have been pretty good. Of late though there is a nasty buzz coming of one of the satellites at low volumes. Only way it is bearable is if I turn the volum to about 50%. But the n the bass kicks in and my sensitive neighbor gets all worked up. So is this a speaker issue? Will getting a new 5.1 speaker setup improve the situation, I am looking at the X-530. Or is my sound card dying, its also been in the case for 4 years now. I had to actually take it out plug into a different PCI slot because I wasnt getting a good sound off it.

 

[sanitydc]

how about a usb based headset, plenty of options, dsp-500's were really popular in the CS Scene, I personally use the logitech premium usb headset. theres alot of options though.

 

[tornadog]

nice suggestion. I am looking at the PLANTRONICS GAMECOMPRO1 USB set right now. Might go for it!

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

You can try to figure out your speakers problem by testing some different inputs/outputs.

Does it make the buzz if you don't connect the speakers to anything?

What if you hook up the input that's having problems to a CD player or something else?

If you plug in your headphones to that output on your soundcard, do you get buzzing?

 

[Fayd]

USB headsets put sound processing on the main CPU, as opposed to using the sound processor on the sound card. i'd advise against USB, if you want to save your fps while gaming.