My Razer Barracuda HP-1 head just recently started to fall apart on one of the ear cups. I have had these for about 1 1/2-2 years and they have been really good otherwise. I kind of want to avoid getting these again, I was think about going with some Steelseries Siberia or possibly Steelsound 5h v2. I need some suggestions for about $80 budget and some recommendations on something comparable to the my razer's in sound that is. I do have a Creative X-fi xtremeMusic sound card if that is of any concern. Thanks for any help.
Headset Woes
- Thread starter ZeusKOTG
- Start date
My current recommendation would be to get a pair of good headphones (I have the Sennheiser pmx-100, which are less "good" and more "decent but portable" as I use a laptop), and purchase a mic (not USB) separately. You'll get much better performance. Currently, you can get the 64-ohm version of the Sennheiser HD280 pro off of eBay, for about $65 shipped (eBay store Dakmart is selling a bunch of them in buy-it-now sales). This is an excellent deal on a good pair of headphones with an MSRP of $199. An alternative would be to jump on the $80 Grado SR60i's, which are widely regarded as the best headphones under $100.
A mic would cost anywhere from $5 to $20 additional, depending on where you got it from. on eBay, you can get cheapo mics from China, that consist of a gooseneck boom separating a 90-degree 3.5mm minijack and a microphone element. That combined with a paperclip and a 3.5mm m/f extension cord would get you an excellent "headset". Though, as a word of caution, the mics do take forever to ship. I ordered a few different ones, and the first to arrive took 10 days, while I still haven't received the last one (almost a month and a half and they still say, "they're coming")
As for headsets, I currently have Creative's Fatal1ty headset, and it is pretty good. The only issue I have, is that they are extremely bass heavy, but it is nothing an equalizer couldn't fix. They have excellent THD performance, meaning that you should be fine even at loud volumes using equalization. Otherwise, the mic is really good, though I would recommend not unplugging it from the headset, ever. A lot of people have had issues with the mic breaking, and they don't make replacements. Apparently, the removable mic is a badly executed gimmick from Creative.
A band-aid fix would be to jump on the $16 Plantronics .Audio 510 (USB version, thereby not utilizing your fancy soundcard) from Buy.com, and they also have the Barracuda for $65...if that changes the game at all. The 510 is a good headset. It has a very neutral sound, but it does distort kinda easily.
The SteelSeries 3h is another one I have, but is definitely a step down from the Creative offering. It's only a little cheaper than the Siberia, and while they have different drivers, I would be curious about how much the extra $15-$30 would get you.
On hearsay (pun unintended), I can tell you that the Steelseries 5h is geared towards the upper reaches of the sound-spectrum, and has very weak bass performance. I have the (now discontinued) Plantronics .Audio 370, and they embody everything negative I've heard about the 5h. The intent is that the frequencies that are pertinent to the directionality of sounds are emphasized, but you could do that with an equalizer. The only result is that music sounds flat and utterly unappealing through them. my $40 Sennheiser pmx-100 completely blows them out of the water in terms of sound quality, as do the $20 Koss KSC-75's.
A mic would cost anywhere from $5 to $20 additional, depending on where you got it from. on eBay, you can get cheapo mics from China, that consist of a gooseneck boom separating a 90-degree 3.5mm minijack and a microphone element. That combined with a paperclip and a 3.5mm m/f extension cord would get you an excellent "headset". Though, as a word of caution, the mics do take forever to ship. I ordered a few different ones, and the first to arrive took 10 days, while I still haven't received the last one (almost a month and a half and they still say, "they're coming")
As for headsets, I currently have Creative's Fatal1ty headset, and it is pretty good. The only issue I have, is that they are extremely bass heavy, but it is nothing an equalizer couldn't fix. They have excellent THD performance, meaning that you should be fine even at loud volumes using equalization. Otherwise, the mic is really good, though I would recommend not unplugging it from the headset, ever. A lot of people have had issues with the mic breaking, and they don't make replacements. Apparently, the removable mic is a badly executed gimmick from Creative.
A band-aid fix would be to jump on the $16 Plantronics .Audio 510 (USB version, thereby not utilizing your fancy soundcard) from Buy.com, and they also have the Barracuda for $65...if that changes the game at all. The 510 is a good headset. It has a very neutral sound, but it does distort kinda easily.
The SteelSeries 3h is another one I have, but is definitely a step down from the Creative offering. It's only a little cheaper than the Siberia, and while they have different drivers, I would be curious about how much the extra $15-$30 would get you.
On hearsay (pun unintended), I can tell you that the Steelseries 5h is geared towards the upper reaches of the sound-spectrum, and has very weak bass performance. I have the (now discontinued) Plantronics .Audio 370, and they embody everything negative I've heard about the 5h. The intent is that the frequencies that are pertinent to the directionality of sounds are emphasized, but you could do that with an equalizer. The only result is that music sounds flat and utterly unappealing through them. my $40 Sennheiser pmx-100 completely blows them out of the water in terms of sound quality, as do the $20 Koss KSC-75's.
It sounds like (no pun intended) you guys are exclusivly into brand name stuff, but I thought I'd chime in (pun intended) anyway.
I just looked through all the headphones' specs on the back of the packages, and they list the frequency ranges and power. I got a decent set of Pioneer headphones for about $20-$30. I was amazed at how some more expensive headphones had poorer performance.
I did the same for a stand alone mic (specs on back). Actualy I reused a mic from a different setup. All works great, and the saved $ was music to my ears (...too easy).
I just looked through all the headphones' specs on the back of the packages, and they list the frequency ranges and power. I got a decent set of Pioneer headphones for about $20-$30. I was amazed at how some more expensive headphones had poorer performance.
I did the same for a stand alone mic (specs on back). Actualy I reused a mic from a different setup. All works great, and the saved $ was music to my ears (...too easy).
Actually, the "frequency response" specs mean nothing. To illustrate, I have linked a graph from headphone.com that compares the frequency response arc of some low-end headphones. All of them claim about a 20hz-20khz response range, though the graph only measures the pertinent stuff, meaning up to 10khz. just look at the variation there. Now, headphone.com only sells the big-name stuff, so you aren't going to find your pioneer headphones there, but I would say I wouldn't want to. I don't know all of pioneer's stock, but what I have heard sucks. Also, most of the reviews I have seen are scathing, at best.
in case it isn't apparent, the marks on the bottom are the frequency of the tone generated, and the vertical measurements are the measured volume at that tone. Check out some of the links for their test methodology, and for further explanations.
http://www.headphone.com/techn...ld-a-graph.php?graphID
Basically, buying headphones based on the claimed response is like buying a video-card based on memory size. Sure, 512mb is better than 128mb, but neither matter when both are on a Geforce 7100 LE. Oh, and I only use brand-name video-cards, are you gonna yell at us for that, too?
in case it isn't apparent, the marks on the bottom are the frequency of the tone generated, and the vertical measurements are the measured volume at that tone. Check out some of the links for their test methodology, and for further explanations.
http://www.headphone.com/techn...ld-a-graph.php?graphID
Basically, buying headphones based on the claimed response is like buying a video-card based on memory size. Sure, 512mb is better than 128mb, but neither matter when both are on a Geforce 7100 LE. Oh, and I only use brand-name video-cards, are you gonna yell at us for that, too?
Ayrahvon
Senior member
- Aug 7, 2007
- 683
- 4
- 81
I've used my Sennheiser HD-580s for years and could not imagine ever replacing them (unless they finally croak).
Most of the "gaming" headsets I've seen have some pretty poor build quality. It doesn't matter what the specs of your headphones are if they break after a year of use! Frequency response is semi-important for speakers... but pretty worthless on headphones.
The drivers needed to get a good frequency response in a headset are both so small and so cheap that most any company can come up with some decent specs (though I really doubt that a lot of $30 headphones really go down to 15hz... as if it is audibly relevant).
At this point the Sennheiser HD-580s are no longer being made (guess Sennheiser wanted people to buy the more expensive HD-600 with very similar design and drivers), but if your budget is $80 and you'd be willing to pick up something that doesn't have a mic attached to it I would recommend some Grado SR-80s if you're willing to up to $90-$95 over the Grado SR-60i.
Either way these things will seriously outperform the general junk made by the large brand name guys in the same price range. Sure they look old, but just tell your friends you went with a retro look. I've heard that Grado has done some changes to their lines to make them more comfortable but I can't confirm that and I personally did not have any comfort problems when I used them.
Most of the "gaming" headsets I've seen have some pretty poor build quality. It doesn't matter what the specs of your headphones are if they break after a year of use! Frequency response is semi-important for speakers... but pretty worthless on headphones.
The drivers needed to get a good frequency response in a headset are both so small and so cheap that most any company can come up with some decent specs (though I really doubt that a lot of $30 headphones really go down to 15hz... as if it is audibly relevant).
At this point the Sennheiser HD-580s are no longer being made (guess Sennheiser wanted people to buy the more expensive HD-600 with very similar design and drivers), but if your budget is $80 and you'd be willing to pick up something that doesn't have a mic attached to it I would recommend some Grado SR-80s if you're willing to up to $90-$95 over the Grado SR-60i.
Either way these things will seriously outperform the general junk made by the large brand name guys in the same price range. Sure they look old, but just tell your friends you went with a retro look. I've heard that Grado has done some changes to their lines to make them more comfortable but I can't confirm that and I personally did not have any comfort problems when I used them.
Grados- I used to use the SR60s and ended up dumping them. Sure, the sounded good, but the build quality was crap and the cable was almost as thick as power cord. The worst thing was they leaked sound all over the place so if anyone else was in the room they'd hear everything loud and clear.
I tried some Sennheiser 205s the other day- $50, sounded better than anything by other manufacturers at that price point. The only downside was slightly small earcups and the clamping needs to be stretched out for comfort.
I tried some Sennheiser 205s the other day- $50, sounded better than anything by other manufacturers at that price point. The only downside was slightly small earcups and the clamping needs to be stretched out for comfort.
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