Gaming headset - suggestions?

[merk]

Just wondering if anyone could suggest a gaming headset? Mainly for sound, don't care too much about it having a microphone. Main things i want - comfortable to wear, and the sound is good especially when it comes to which direction the sound is coming from.

and i'd prefer to keep the price under $75

Thanks

 

[OCNewbie]

Just wondering if anyone could suggest a gaming headset? Mainly for sound, don't care too much about it having a microphone. Main things i want - comfortable to wear, and the sound is good especially when it comes to which direction the sound is coming from.

and i'd prefer to keep the price under $75

Thanks

Newegg has the Logitech Wireless 7.1 headset right now for $90. If you sign up for a new account on an e-mail address which you haven't used to purchase something on Newegg, you can use "NEWCUSTOMER10" for an addition $10 off, making the total $80 shipped.

I found the deal over at slickdeals - Link

 

[merk]

I was wondering - how much of a difference will it make if i get a headset that supports 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound versus a stereo headset? Will it make a difference as far as being able to tell where a sound is coming from when gaming? Does it matter what sound board i have in the pc? Because right now i've been using the onboard audio which is a Realtek ALC883. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131189

I was in bestbuy and picked up a demo unit - the turtle beach x11 and the directionality of the sound seemed really good, but it also had a dss adapter connected to it: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16874502008

so i'm not sure how good those headsets would be without that the adapter. Or if my onboard audio is capable of supporting all this.

Thanks for any help

 

[Tristicus]

The Logitech G930 is amazing, I'm wearing it right now. Any headset after a while can give me a headache, and this is no exception, and it is a bit heavy. Other than that, I love it. Great for games, great for music as well.

 

[uhohs]

if you don't need a mic, just get a pair of nice headphones.

 

[KaOTiK]

I'm no audiophile but I've had the Sennheiser HD280 Pro for like 4-5 years and think they are great.

 

[shurato]

Is the G930 anything like the G35 7.1 headset? I own the G35. If so, it's bulky as hell and kind of uncomfortable to wear for a long duration. It also screws your hair up major...I guess they think gamers don't care about their looks.

 

[SantiClaws]

Get a good headphone for music if you don't need a mic. "Gaming" headphones are virtually always inferior in quality to a good quality headphone designed for music and the 5.1, 7.1 designations for headphones are complete marketing BS.

 

[merk]

well then any particular music headphone i should look at?

And there's no noticable difference between headphones that claim to support 5.1/7.1 versus a regular stereo headset?

Thanks

 

[OCNewbie]

Get a good headphone for music if you don't need a mic. "Gaming" headphones are virtually always inferior in quality to a good quality headphone designed for music and the 5.1, 7.1 designations for headphones are complete marketing BS.

Which 5.1 or 7.1 headphones have you actually given extensive play time with? I'm just curious. I haven't tried any of them out, but I have heard many people who have that claim they make a big, noticeable difference.

 

[zerocool84]

I have the Creative Sound Blaster Arena gaming headset and the surround definitely works very well and makes a difference in fps games. I also have the Tritton AX-720 headset that I use for consoles but works with PC as well and it works very well too. Sound quality isn't as good as the Creative headset but surround works just as well.

 

[modestninja]

From trying some of them out, the only worthwhile headset I've seen is the Sennheiser PC-360 ($180). Pretty much any other cheap one I've tried has been much worse at letting me hear where people are than my Audio-Technica AD700 ($89 on Amazon). I did a little mod to clip a mic on them and they are as good a headset as you can get without a $500+ setup.

 

[merk]

if i were to get a 5.1/7.1 headset, does it matter what sound card i have in my pc? As i mentioned in an earlier post, i'm just using the onboard audio from the mobo. I dont have a dedicated sound card.

thanks

 

[Tristicus]

if i were to get a 5.1/7.1 headset, does it matter what sound card i have in my pc? As i mentioned in an earlier post, i'm just using the onboard audio from the mobo. I dont have a dedicated sound card.

thanks

They are USB so no, and as long as your PC isn't from 1995, you don't have to worry about the sound card. Onboard audio is fine.

 

[merk]

good, one less thing i have to buy then thanks

 

[greenhawk]

Personally use some SteelSeries 4H. Large ear covers so it rests against my head and not pressing my ears flatter to the head. That gets painful from long use. It also has a mic, but retractable so out of the way. Originally got them when released, now seeing them for 1/2 the price or about $40US. Starting to be replaced by newer (but not better) units.

Though from when I last looked around Audio-Technica AD700 get a lot of thumbs up as a stand alone unit.

 

[Craig234]

I seem to collect them more than use them. I use 'Game Com Pro 1' which are perfectly nice, not audiophile at all. I got World of Warcraft (list $120) which were underwhelming. I recently found I'd bought a Creative premium headset I haven't even opened. I'd consider checking reviews for recommendations.

I did the same thing with speakers (Audiophile brand now out of business, Klipsch 5.1, and Audioengine A5 not yet opened when they were stolen) and even monitors (NEC XP21 was $2200 working great for years until I turned the power off for the first time in years on a whim and that blew the power supply), a Sony FW-900 (wore it out), now using a Spectre 27" and bought an iz3d I haven't taken out of the box yet.

 

[modestninja]

To expand on the AD700s. They are great for one thing, multiplayer FPS gaming. They have a large soundstage (which helps you position things better since there is a large "sound area" to work with), are light on bass (so explosions and other loud sounds don't drown out those footstep or other key sounds that let you know where someone is and what they're doing) and have great positional accuracy.

They are super comfortable and are circumaural (they don't sit on your ears) and can be driven by anything (they don't an amp to drive them, they'll work well straight out of a sound card).

The downside to these headphones is in single player gaming where you want to be immersed. Like I said before, they're light on bass so those explosions don't have the visceral impact that they would with a more bass heavy headphone.

That being said, I've never found a headphone that's good for both competitive FPS gaming and single player gaming so I have two different pairs depending on what I'm playing.

 

[Chiropteran]

From trying some of them out, the only worthwhile headset I've seen is the Sennheiser PC-360 ($180). Pretty much any other cheap one I've tried has been much worse at letting me hear where people are than my Audio-Technica AD700 ($89 on Amazon). I did a little mod to clip a mic on them and they are as good a headset as you can get without a $500+ setup.

I must second the recommendation for sennheiser. I am not sure if that is the exact headset I have, but it was similar price range and it's been the best headset I have ever owned. Most other headsets work great for a few months before mysteriously failing.

 

[Homer Simpson]

for regular stereo headphones, razer carcharias are really nice. i recently "upgraded" to the creative WoW wireless headset and wasnt happy with either the sound quality or the comfort. i now have the corsair hs1 which is "7.1" via dolby headphone. its actually pretty nice for gaming. sounds way better than the creative set. has great range too (sound range that is, these are wired). also, the hs1 is extremely comfy on the head. corsair makes a stereo non-usb version too if thats your thing, the hs1a.

 

[HumblePie]

Is the G930 anything like the G35 7.1 headset? I own the G35. If so, it's bulky as hell and kind of uncomfortable to wear for a long duration. It also screws your hair up major...I guess they think gamers don't care about their looks.

I own both the G35 and the G930.

The G930 is a quarter of the weight of the G35. So it is much lighter to say the least. I do not find the G930 heavy at all as I have several sets of "can" style headsets including those two along with the Plantronics and Razer series. Personally the G930 is the best of the bunch for gaming and computer use for me.

 

[vbuggy]

Is the G930 anything like the G35 7.1 headset? I own the G35. If so, it's bulky as hell and kind of uncomfortable to wear for a long duration. It also screws your hair up major...I guess they think gamers don't care about their looks.

It's bulky, but I don't find it uncomfortable - I can tolerate it easily for about the same time as I can my Beyer MMX300's. Have you tried the alternative cushions? One did give me a bit of a headache.

 

[chelhxi]

I own the Corsair HS1A set, they're pretty nice when paired with Asus Xonar DG sound card. The sound card has Dolby surround and a headphone amp, so it's pretty crystal clear where sounds are coming from. I've seen the Corsair's as low as 40 bucks on NCIX, and the Xonar DG as low as 10 bucks.....

 

[merk]

i went with the logitech g35. They sound pretty good, although i haven't had a chance yet to try them in a game that supports surround sound - just tested them with some music and using the windows sound set up.

So far the only complaint i have is they make my head hot. The ear muffs fit very snugly and since they are made out of that leather like material, they don't breathe very much. Plus the head cushion is made out of the same thing. Guess it'll be a benefit come winter time

 

[videogames101]

5.1/7.1 is pointless. Get a quality stereo headset and it will serve you better then any of the gimmicky "surround" headsets. For instance, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16826106158 will sound better then anything mentioned so far near your price range.

1. Stereo headsets are fully capable of reproducing a 3D soundfield. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJwUVCXH-gM
2. If your paying for 7.1 drivers (surround headset) at the same price as 2 drivers (stereo headset), which do you think will use higher quality drivers?
3. In my opinion, stick with companies known for quality headphones (sennheiser, audio-technica, denon, grado etc...) and you'll get a quality headset.


4. You'd be better off buying a good pair of headphones and a clip-on mic for the same price, because the headphones will be of even higher quality.