In need of good quality Gaming headset

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JJ650

Golden Member
Apr 16, 2000
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I currently have the Turtle Beach DPx21. While comfortable to wear and decent sound quality, the build quality leaves a lot to be desired.
I have 2 pairs of the headphones break apart while I was wearing them. The ear piece literally breaks off in the middle of gaming.

For the price paid for the DPX21 and then the subsequent headphone replacement, I would have expected better quality from Turtle Beach. The plastic used is highly inadequate and not up to the rigors of my "normal" gaming (a couple hours a night) and this bothers me greatly.

I could understand if I tossed them around like I didn't care, but I was extra careful with them the 2nd time around and they STILL broke.

What are some good quality headsets???

TL/DR:

Mine broke. Again. Looking for replacement

What I want in a headset:
MUST be comfortable
Good sound
USB preferred (nice to just hook them up to a laptop and go)
Not that crazy about 5.1 or 7.1 - it's not a deal breaker
Good quality mic
 
nubki11a

nubki11a

Member
Nov 1, 2011
163
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71
Would look into a Logitech G35, i use it and Im quite happy with it :) It is a bit heavy though and it can become a little bit uncomfortable after a couple of hours. Amazing build quality, feels really solid, software is so-so. Some nice features though! It also is quite heavy... 7.1 Virtual surround. If you're an audiophile this (most-probably) isn't for you. It sounds fine, pretty good actually, but for listening to music, you might want to take a look at the Sennheiser PC-350s.
 
J

JJ650

Golden Member
Apr 16, 2000
1,959
0
76
I would want them to pull double duty for gaming AND listening to music.

Sound quality is a high priority and part of the reason I want a better product. The T.Beach sounds great in games, but not so much when listening to music.

I find it hard to believe that there are so few headsets that can do both well.
 
D

dmoney1980

Platinum Member
Jan 17, 2008
2,471
38
91
I have a Creative Labs Tactics Alpha headset and I'm happy with it. Play mostly BF3 but I have liistened to music and I would rate it an 8 out of 10. Great deal if you can catch in on sale for $40
 
K

klopas

Junior Member
Sep 10, 2007
18
0
0
I have a Sennheiser PC360 G4ME (I use strictly for games) that I use for my xbox 360/PC/Asus ROG laptop and it's great. It does use 3.5mm plugs for headphones/mic (not USB), but I'm sure your laptop does as well. I've used it with onboard sound, sound cards, and DAP, and it sounds and feels good - open headset, nice cushions, firm on my noggin. I think it's a bit pricey, but I've seen them for as cheap as $160. They retail for $250.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sennheiser-...921?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c20af5989

I bought mine from that guy for $160 a year ago. He every so often puts them up for sale for much cheaper than that auction he's running now.
 
vbuggy

vbuggy

Golden Member
Nov 13, 2005
1,610
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71
Comfort is highly subjective. Having said that, the G35 isn't uncomfortable to me - they don't give me any specific aches. They're certainly no Audio-Technica AD-series phones in terms of wear comfort, but they are closed and actually isolates a tad (unike e.g. even the Audio-Technica closed phones, which just takes a very slight edge off ambient noise).

They also seem to tick the other boxes. While the sound isn't amazing - it won't beat a DT770 for example, it does get pretty close to / beat out some of the better closed headphones available for about the same price - and of course, the sound can be fully EQ-tailored from the easy-access software (and that processing done in the codec of the headset as well AFAIK).

7.1 is actually pretty effective as well, and the .1 does actually work in terms of the sub emulation. Definitely gives you a deeper sense of depth to the sound, and does rear and sides pretty well - front is, as ever, a limitation of virtually any non-customised surround solutions but it is slightly less in your head than just stereo.

Mic is lacking a little in the bottom end, but no worse than e.g. the PC350 and it's perfectly intelligible, and much better than solutions like the Zalman MIC1.
 
BrightCandle

BrightCandle

Diamond Member
Mar 15, 2007
4,762
0
76
I have a set of Sennheiser PC 360's and they are OK. After using a set of 585's for so long the sound quality on the PC 360's isn't what I would call good, but its not bad for a headset.
 
S

SilthDraeth

Platinum Member
Oct 28, 2003
2,635
0
71
JJ650 said:
I currently have the Turtle Beach DPx21. While comfortable to wear and decent sound quality, the build quality leaves a lot to be desired.
I have 2 pairs of the headphones break apart while I was wearing them. The ear piece literally breaks off in the middle of gaming.

For the price paid for the DPX21 and then the subsequent headphone replacement, I would have expected better quality from Turtle Beach. The plastic used is highly inadequate and not up to the rigors of my "normal" gaming (a couple hours a night) and this bothers me greatly.

I could understand if I tossed them around like I didn't care, but I was extra careful with them the 2nd time around and they STILL broke.

What are some good quality headsets???

TL/DR:

Mine broke. Again. Looking for replacement

What I want in a headset:
MUST be comfortable
Good sound
USB preferred (nice to just hook them up to a laptop and go)
Not that crazy about 5.1 or 7.1 - it's not a deal breaker
Good quality mic
Click to expand...

Hey, I saw this, and thought I would chime in. If you are ok with the Turtle Beach sound quality, have you thought of doing a mod?

My brother had some expensive DJ headphones break. And he read a mod that he bought a pair of shooting ear muffs. That had sound insulation, over the ear, had steel spring, and they collapsed down really small. $20, bought small roll of speaker wire $5. Cheapo solder gun $15. And a dremel...

If you got solder gun, and dremel, and or speaker wire, then its even cheaper.

We removed the speaker drivers, took the hearing protection apart, threaded the speaker wire, soldered it back to drivers, and now he has passive sound cancelling headphones that also include drivers from his $200+ dj headphones.

We did it too... That instead of wireing directly into the cord, we kept a female end on headphones and used double male cord...

Worked out great, if you are ok with this sort of thing.

Good luck.
 
J

JJ650

Golden Member
Apr 16, 2000
1,959
0
76
SilthDraeth said:
Hey, I saw this, and thought I would chime in. If you are ok with the Turtle Beach sound quality, have you thought of doing a mod?

My brother had some expensive DJ headphones break. And he read a mod that he bought a pair of shooting ear muffs. That had sound insulation, over the ear, had steel spring, and they collapsed down really small. $20, bought small roll of speaker wire $5. Cheapo solder gun $15. And a dremel...

If you got solder gun, and dremel, and or speaker wire, then its even cheaper.

We removed the speaker drivers, took the hearing protection apart, threaded the speaker wire, soldered it back to drivers, and now he has passive sound cancelling headphones that also include drivers from his $200+ dj headphones.

We did it too... That instead of wireing directly into the cord, we kept a female end on headphones and used double male cord...

Worked out great, if you are ok with this sort of thing.

Good luck.
Click to expand...


HAHA! Not a bad idea really. Got any pics?


I still have the DSS audio processor that came with the DPX and can use it on any headset. A friend brought over his Astro a30 headset and the sound difference was very surprising when used the dolby box vs a standard jack. The USB requirement on my part was so that I could use the breakout box and not have to worry plugging in the 3.5 jacks into 2 separate locations. I like the one plug for all solutions =).

I did look into the a40’s with their mix amp. Pricey but rave reviews everywhere.
 
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SilthDraeth

Platinum Member
Oct 28, 2003
2,635
0
71
JJ650 said:
HAHA! Not a bad idea really. Got any pics?


I still have the DSS audio processor that came with the DPX and can use it on any headset. A friend brought over his Astro a30 headset and the sound difference was very surprising when used the dolby box vs a standard jack. The USB requirement on my part was so that I could use the breakout box and not have to worry plugging in the 3.5 jacks into 2 separate locations. I like the one plug for all solutions =).

I did look into the a40’s with their mix amp. Pricey but rave reviews everywhere.
Click to expand...

I can probably get some. Don't have any handy atm.

I did just read that the OP is looking for USB, which does complicate wiring it yourself. But if your just using standard audio jacks, then wiring in the Mic wouldn't be that much harder, though mounting the mic to the unit would take a little more ingenuity.

Below is a basic link, with a pic of the ear muffs we modified his drivers into. We just made a few changes, like the female plug in the headset, so it didn't have a cord dangling.

I don't think it is the instructions we used though, since we threaded the speaker wire through the head band, and through a drilled hole at the top of each cup... and did some soldering, as I mentioned.

http://davidvielmetter.com/tricks/diy-noise-cancelling-headphones/
 
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H

HerbalKiller

Member
Jun 8, 2002
57
0
0
what is the point of diminishing returns for computer gaming audio?

Is there really enough of a difference in spending $400.. $250 for the Stennheiser PC360s and a $150 sound card,

vs. $150 for a $50 soundcard and a $100 set of Logitech headphones?

For BF3 and soon SWTOR.
 
S

SilthDraeth

Platinum Member
Oct 28, 2003
2,635
0
71
HerbalKiller said:
what is the point of diminishing returns for computer gaming audio?

Is there really enough of a difference in spending $400.. $250 for the Stennheiser PC360s and a $150 sound card,

vs. $150 for a $50 soundcard and a $100 set of Logitech headphones?

For BF3 and soon SWTOR.
Click to expand...

For myself, I am tone deaf so no point. For some people that like headphones for music, as well as gaming, having one headset for everything makes the most sense.

If all you do is game, then why even buy a soundcard? just use the built into motherboard sound (like I do) and get a pair of headphones like you suggested.

I have the x51s, and I cracked plastic on them, but they are still fairly comfortable. When the plastic finishes breaking, I am throwing them out, then buying something new... (because it takes a usb power, plus audio jacks, and going with probably a decent set of drivers, I might salvage the mic from the x51, and then doing the shooting headphones mod, and not have to worry about my head breaking plastic headphones anymore.
 
Fayd

Fayd

Diamond Member
Jun 28, 2001
7,970
2
76
www.manwhoring.com
HerbalKiller said:
what is the point of diminishing returns for computer gaming audio?

Is there really enough of a difference in spending $400.. $250 for the Stennheiser PC360s and a $150 sound card,

vs. $150 for a $50 soundcard and a $100 set of Logitech headphones?

For BF3 and soon SWTOR.
Click to expand...

stay away from logitech headphones. i've had them, they fail quick.
 
S

SilthDraeth

Platinum Member
Oct 28, 2003
2,635
0
71
Here are the pics, of what we did. These went to Japan, and back, been over a year since we made the mod, and was our first time.

24cd1t5.jpg

mw5y8k.jpg

rwujdj.jpg
 
S

SilthDraeth

Platinum Member
Oct 28, 2003
2,635
0
71
Well, I am guessing the OP does want a mic, so any new purchase recommendations should include a mic, aka gaming headset, not just headphones.

Which is why I stated the mod I posted, you would have to think of an additional way of incorporating the mic into it.
 
H

HerbalKiller

Member
Jun 8, 2002
57
0
0
If a set of headphones connects via USB, I guess there isn't even a point in getting a soundcard? As it probably uses the onboard audio anyway?

So if I wanted a simple setup, I could use onboard audio and a decent set of USB headphones and spend around 100.. just for gaming.

But if I wanted high end gaming as well as a starter kit for High End audio on a PC, re-ripping all my CDs in FLAC format this weekend, then I should get a good sound card and higher end headsphones? like Razers or Sennheisers? something NOT USB so it plugs analog into the soundcard.

I would like them for mostly gaming but definitely some great music listening as well.
 
Fayd

Fayd

Diamond Member
Jun 28, 2001
7,970
2
76
www.manwhoring.com
Remobz said:
My Sennheiser 595 left ear went dead after roughly 4 months of use. Its an expensive paper weight now.
Click to expand...

i haven't had sennheiser's so i'm not sure on the matter, but you could probably open it up and do something similar to the mod already posted.

i had to do that to my icemat siberias, and they worked for a long time... i kept breaking em and fixing em. >_<
 
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