Headset - Difference betweeen 3.5mm jack or USB?

[nib95]

I am currently using a X-Fi Sound card, and am looking to buy one of these two headsets.

SpeedLink Medusa SL-8790 5.1 Surround Headset - £30.49 (3.5mm jack)

SpeedLink Medusa SL-8794 5.1 Surround Headset - £35.19 (USB Connection)


Bearing in mind I hardly have a USB slot free, due to so many peripherals, but if USB is better quality I'd rather go with that.

Any help is appreciated guys.
Thanks.

 

[Tu13erhead]

I could be wrong, but I don't think there will be any quality difference between the two. That said, I'd go with 3.5mm so it won't tie up any of your USB bus.

 

[mcmikemc]

The USB version comes with a USB donlge that is a USB sound card. The biggest pro with that version is that no matter what PC you hook it up to it will sound the same. This is great for peopel that go to LANs a lot. The con is that it does not sound as good as a really nice Xi-Fi. But since you will be using the Medusa's you will not be able to tell the difference because they don't have the best sound quality (I own them and use them every day for gaming).

If you will be using this at one spot all the time, or using them some place else once a year, go for the non-USB version. If you take your headphones to different places to play games all the time get the USB version.

 

[nib95]

What are the best sounding headsets for under £100?

 

[Odeen]

Keep in mind that, if you set up the USB headset, you will have essentially TWO soundcards in your computer - your onboard audio or PCI soundcard, plus the USB audio device. You may need to configure Windows to route audio to the USB headset, but you won't need to unplug your speakers. The performance of a typical USB headset is FAR worse than a dedicated gaming-oriented soundcard (Such as the Live!, Audigy, or X-Fi) because your CPU will be doing the 3d audio computation instead of the soundcard itself. It's not likely to be worse than onboard audio, though.

On the other hand, an analog headset simply plugs into the line out and mic in ports in your soundcard. No configuration necessary, most speakers with headphone jacks simply mute themselves when headphones are inserted. The downside is that most speakers don't have a mic passthrough, so you will need to connect the mic plug to the back of your computer.

However, if you have functional front audio jacks, problem solved. Keep the speakers plugged in the back, headphones/mic in front, and enjoy.

 

[nib95]

Thanks for all the replies guys, I ended up going with a Sennheiser HD 555.
Quite a way up in sound quality from either of my above choices, more like an audiophiles choice really

http://www.headphone.com/productphotos/large/0020080555_150.jpg

 

[mikeford]

We have headphones all over, from $1 sets from a swapmeet to my Sennheiser HD 600, and for computer use my vote is COMFORT is much more important than quality (above a pretty low theshold). Earbuds can be great for comfort, but it just depends on what you like, and what fits in/on/over your ears.

A 6 ft extension cord is also real handy, leave it plugged in the back and handy for the headsets out front.