Headset or good microphone + good headphones?

[Johnbear007]

Ok heres the deal, i've looked around at different places, and I was wondering what the differeence is going to be between getting a headset, or getting a good mich like:

Text

and a good pair of headphones....?

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: Johnbear007
Ok heres the deal, i've looked around at different places, and I was wondering what the differeence is going to be between getting a headset, or getting a good mich like:

Text

and a good pair of headphones....?

Headset sound quality sux. If you are using it for positional audio games, forget about it. The idea of going with a headset and a boom mic is better if you are a serious gamer. The only problem is, you'll have problems with the mic (unless its very high quality) and speaker set-ups, as reverb will be an issue.

Dunno how XBox does it, but their mic is excellent quality and somehow suffers no reverb from a speaker set-up. You can even wear the headset along with headphones as long as you have full-enclosure headphones.

Chiz

 

[Johnbear007]

Well,


I wasnt talkign about using speakers here at all


what I was talking about is a headset OR

A good pair of headphones,

and then the plantronics noise canceling mic I linked too... would that combination of the mic + headphones work? Speakers arent even in the equation here.

 

[chizow]

I answered your question in the first line. If you care about what you're hearing, a headset isn't an option.

Chiz

 

[Johnbear007]

Originally posted by: chizow
I answered your question in the first line. If you care about what you're hearing, a headset isn't an option.

Chiz

Thats not what im really asking. I know that sound quality is going to be better with headphones over a headset. Sorry if I was unclear.

What I really want to know is:

Is there going to be anymore interefernce with a mic, if I use a pair of headphones + a standlone noise canceling mic, compared to a headset with the mic attached? All other things aside, will a headset perform ALOT better in terms of the mic performance, than wearing a set of headphones and having a good (noise canceling) mic on the desk. there wouldnt be any speakers.. the only sound would be coming from my mouth, and the headphones, so there wont be sound assailing the mic.

 

[chizow]

I've seen no difference in the various PC set-ups I've used. If anything, the headset mics perform worse b/c you get reverb from simply speaking (you know when people put their mics too close to their mouth?). Other than that it simply comes down to the quality of the mic and any noise-cancelling technology and filters they use, all of which are superior on standalone boom mics. The reason I brought up speakers was b/c of external noise, which only caused a problem on my mics when used with speakers. Speaker reverb was much worse on my headset mic than my boom mic, if that helps at all. Environmental noise like your case fans or typing won't be picked up by a good quality mic regardless.

Chiz

 

[Johnbear007]

Thanks, thats exactly what I was getting at. I noticed in one headset thread that someone said using a mic on the desktop (even noise canceling) wasnt good because you want the mic to stay at a constant distance from your mouth. What do you think about that? And what mic would you recommend? do you think the plantronics mic I linked to will work? or should I grab something else?

Alot of counter strike players seem to swear by the plantronics headsets... just HOW terrible will the sound be? I'll be using it mainly for neverwinter nights... WOuld it be ok for just when I did multiplayer with friends, and then pick up a good set of headphones for everyday use? or are the headsets ALL just 100$ worthless? Ive seen some headsets like the plantronics dsp500 that sell for 100$.. are these really crappy also?

thansk for your time

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: Johnbear007
Thanks, thats exactly what I was getting at. I noticed in one headset thread that someone said using a mic on the desktop (even noise canceling) wasnt good because you want the mic to stay at a constant distance from your mouth. What do you think about that? And what mic would you recommend? do you think the plantronics mic I linked to will work? or should I grab something else?

Alot of counter strike players seem to swear by the plantronics headsets... just HOW terrible will the sound be? I'll be using it mainly for neverwinter nights... WOuld it be ok for just when I did multiplayer with friends, and then pick up a good set of headphones for everyday use? or are the headsets ALL just 100$ worthless? Ive seen some headsets like the plantronics dsp500 that sell for 100$.. are these really crappy also?

thansk for your time

I haven't tried that specific model, but I paid like $75 for the top-of-the line Labtec Headsets and they're terrible for sound quality. Positional audio is the biggest killer; being able to hear positional gun fire and footsteps is huge in games like CS. I simply hated clan matches for SoF2 b/c we used GV, and the positional sucked. It worked fine for mechcommander 2 as it would in any game where positional audio isn't a big deal. I think NWN would probably fall into this category as well.

I've used a few boom mics and they work pretty well. The only thing is yah you won't have as much flexibility b/c the MIC won't be right up to your mouth and you'll need to keep a consistent posture relative to your mic for consistent results. The ideal blend would be to get a headpiece that is MIC only and use it in conjunction with a good pair of headsets with full enclosures. It might not feel totally natural, but it works well for me with my XBox Live headset and you get the best of both worlds.

Chiz

 

[Johnbear007]

Originally posted by: chizow

Originally posted by: Johnbear007
Thanks, thats exactly what I was getting at. I noticed in one headset thread that someone said using a mic on the desktop (even noise canceling) wasnt good because you want the mic to stay at a constant distance from your mouth. What do you think about that? And what mic would you recommend? do you think the plantronics mic I linked to will work? or should I grab something else?

Alot of counter strike players seem to swear by the plantronics headsets... just HOW terrible will the sound be? I'll be using it mainly for neverwinter nights... WOuld it be ok for just when I did multiplayer with friends, and then pick up a good set of headphones for everyday use? or are the headsets ALL just 100$ worthless? Ive seen some headsets like the plantronics dsp500 that sell for 100$.. are these really crappy also?

thansk for your time

I haven't tried that specific model, but I paid like $75 for the top-of-the line Labtec Headsets and they're terrible for sound quality. Positional audio is the biggest killer; being able to hear positional gun fire and footsteps is huge in games like CS. I simply hated clan matches for SoF2 b/c we used GV, and the positional sucked. It worked fine for mechcommander 2 as it would in any game where positional audio isn't a big deal. I think NWN would probably fall into this category as well.

I've used a few boom mics and they work pretty well. The only thing is yah you won't have as much flexibility b/c the MIC won't be right up to your mouth and you'll need to keep a consistent posture relative to your mic for consistent results. The ideal blend would be to get a headpiece that is MIC only and use it in conjunction with a good pair of headsets with full enclosures. It might not feel totally natural, but it works well for me with my XBox Live headset and you get the best of both worlds.

Chiz

I was considering that type of setup actually... sounds like it would feel wierd.... so why are all these Cs people talking about how great the plantronics are? I wish I could just try some


as far as headphones go, what would be a good choice for closed headphones for about 50$ ?