Don't get 5.1 headphones for CMSS-3D soundblaster cards?

[minmaster]

Hi, I just got myself the creative sb x-fi xtreme gamer card and want to get some headphones for it. i've been looking at 5.1 headphones like medusa and zalmans. i'm leaning towards zalmans for around $50, but i've read here that if your card does CMSS-3D stereo surround, you can get 5.1 listening out of regular headphones and getting a 5.1 headphone would be redundant, unnecessary. is this true? how about if you disable CMSS-3D and just use the 5.1 headphones? What is the consensus on 5.1 headphone and these soundcards? thanks in advance.

 

[potato28]

Don't buy 5.1 headphones. They aren't as good as the stereo headphones in most to all cases.

 

[minmaster]

really? howcome many sites and users give them rave reviews? oh well, i guess i'll have to see for myself. i just finished ordering the zalman 5.1 headphones.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Personally I think the sound quality of a studio quality headphone like the Sony MDR-7506 to be far superior than any other headphone. Supposed gaming headphones tend to be a little boomy or not as natural for music if you do any music listening while you're at your PC.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: minmaster
really? howcome many sites and users give them rave reviews? oh well, i guess i'll have to see for myself. i just finished ordering the zalman 5.1 headphones.

You made the thread saying you're leaning towards zalmans and 1 minute later potato28 tells you not to get them and you ordered before checking back? 😛

Why even make the thread? 😕

Anyway, I agree, go with a quality regular set of headphones and use the X-Fi's surround headphone feature instead.

 

[minmaster]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: minmaster
really? howcome many sites and users give them rave reviews? oh well, i guess i'll have to see for myself. i just finished ordering the zalman 5.1 headphones.

You made the thread saying you're leaning towards zalmans and 1 minute later potato28 tells you not to get them and you ordered before checking back? 😛

Why even make the thread? 😕

Anyway, I agree, go with a quality regular set of headphones and use the X-Fi's surround headphone feature instead.

i wasn't asking whether 5.1 sucks, i was asking if CMSS-3D makes 5.1 redundant. plus i can always cancel the order.

oh and this is exclusively for gaming. for music, i have 5.1 logitech speakers.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: minmaster

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: minmaster
really? howcome many sites and users give them rave reviews? oh well, i guess i'll have to see for myself. i just finished ordering the zalman 5.1 headphones.

You made the thread saying you're leaning towards zalmans and 1 minute later potato28 tells you not to get them and you ordered before checking back? 😛

Why even make the thread? 😕

Anyway, I agree, go with a quality regular set of headphones and use the X-Fi's surround headphone feature instead.

i wasn't asking whether 5.1 sucks, i was asking if CMSS-3D makes 5.1 redundant. plus i can always cancel the order.

oh and this is exclusively for gaming. for music, i have 5.1 logitech speakers.

In that case, yes.

CMSS-3D would be what you would use if you had a set of stereo headphones.

With a set of 5.1 headphones, you would just hook up via the three 3.5mm cables and tell the X-Fi to just give 5.1 output as if you were using 5.1 speakers.

Note that you'll have to switch all the plugs when connecting the speakers vs. the headphones.

 

[minmaster]

yeah, the switching part seems to be a hassle. i wish there was a 5.1 plug switcher for this very purpose. i guess if i get a regular stereo headphone, i can just plug it into my phonejack of the logitech speakers. however, i dont think the speaker jack is compatible with my soundcard's automatic headphone detection.

i hear ya on rather getting a nice sony studio quality headphones, but for $50 bucks, this 5.1 set seemed like a real good deal. i would have had to shell out much much more for the really nice set of headphones.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Yeah, you can spend as much as you want on headphones into thousands of dollars (or more), but at any given pricepoint I think you're better off getting a good stereo set rather than paying the same amount of money for a set that includes multiple drivers in it to do surround.

 

[Never Knows Best]

I have a medusa 5.1 pro gamer headset and it is better then any other stereo headphones or headset I have ever had. Although they redesigned the pro gamer version so you can't remove the microphone boom any more. Still the medusa 5.1 headphones that come with an amplifier are a very good choice. If a dvd player supports 5.1 and the dvd does to it sounds very good. Also games that support surround sound really make it worth the price. You can also use cmss to up mix a stereo signal to 5.1. Also with an audigy or xfi you can set the bass redirection to the sub speakers upper limit of 120hz and have the best bass you can get from headphones or a headset.

A good speaker system and a stand alone microphone will give you the best quality though.

 

[minmaster]

well i'd like to use speakers also, but i am getting too many complaints from my family members regarding gunfire noise.