Looking for Gaming Headset and Soundcard (FPS titles)

[Pandm3miic]

I'm moving onto PC soon and want to get the best I can out of my gaming experience. At current I play a variety of fps games on my PS3 such as Battlefield 3, DUST 514 beta, Bad Company 2, MAG, some COD occassionally and as much as I love my Turtlebeach PX21's they don't really give me the positional audio i'm looking out for to help me step up my game and the sound quality is mediocre at best.

Say if i'm playing battlefield on siene crossing and I find a camper in a building who needs to "gtfo" I would benefit from being able to hear his footsteps. I'm kind of hoping that the surround sound ability of the headset, should help me pinpoint the floor which the camper is on and the corner he is hiding in. Maybe this is a little too much to ask, but i'm willing to invest towards something of this nature. What i'm trying to say is positional audio and clarity is important to me.

I've read reviews about Razer's new Tiamat 7.1 gaming headset, and the general opinion I've found is that whilst the positional audio of the individual speakers is great it is compromised in sound quality. Now for something worth £155 ish (here in the UK) i'd be expecting sound quality to substantially better than what reviewers have suggested. This then brings me to think whether 7.1 surround is truly the way forward or whether I can get a better experience with stereo or 5.1 surround sound headsets.

More recently i've researched Sennheiser's PC 360. The reviews seem to indiciate that this headset has phenomenal audio quality, which is something to be expected of the £145 price tag. The reviews also go on to say that the sound scape is immersive and rich in detail. I know that inorder to get the best out of a high quality headset such as this it needs to be paired with a soundcard, but i'm still concerned about not getting the positional audio i'm looking for after paying in excess of £200.

Further Information:

• Budget limit within reason, but if paying the extra dollar or so is worth it i'd be willing to save that little bit extra I'm looking for around £200 price tag ideally (soundcard+headset);
• Blu-ray movies need to sound immersive;
• I do amateur music production also, so therefore the quality needs to be sufficient to effective edit audio (metal style things);

What I need:

• A headset with great positional audio to give me the best chance in FPS titles (Competitive gameplay);
• Sound clarity for blu-ray and music production;
• Clear enough mic to communicate with team mates effectively;
• A suitable soundcard to pair with the desired headset;

Edit: I like the look of the Sennheiser PC 360 headset after reading several positive reviews. Any advise for a soundcard for positional audio?

 

[Ben90]

My vote personally goes to stereo headphones.

I've owned Mesusa 5.1 headphones in the past. These were one of the first 5.1 headsets and I definitely have mixed opinions. The positional audio was great and the subs gave lots of vibrations. Often times when the bass of a song hit, I would involuntarily shake my head because they tickled my ears that much (awesome). They definitely were loud when off (and on) my head. I've actually used them in a pinch as speakers. I didn't like the bulk, but it didn't bother me too much.

Then I got a pair of Samson SR850s. Holy crap. Sound quality was insanely better. It really blew me away. I've owned them for over a year now. Still, to this day, every time I move the volume slider more to the right I think to myself: these headphones are awesome. While they don't rattle my brain with bass waves, I can actually hear sub 50Hz notes. It's very hard to describe, less bass, but oh so much more. The sound is just so much more crisp as well. Its really a quality over quantity thing. 2 high quality speakers vs 8 that have to spread the cost amongst themselves.

That said, I do think the positional audio was nice. Notice that I didn't say I missed it. While I consider myself a competitive gamer and played CS:S religiously before the Source2007 engine update, it really didn't help at all. When you heard something out of the right ear, you just knew where they were based on how the game was played so far. I rely very heavily on sound, and see no advantages to surround sound in CS:S.

More open games such as Battlefield with more dynamic encounters, positional audio might help slightly. You won't be able to tell which floor they are on as mentioned just from positional audio alone since the soundscape is 2D. Keep in mind that your brain does an excellent job at determining position when you are moving your mouse since the sounds change slightly between angles. I've never felt this a limiting factor, although my G9x (mouse which gets praised all over the place is) is, it just doesn't track fast enough for ultra low sensitivity.

The above was mostly a comparison and contrast of two specific headphones. Understand the Medusa 5.1s were among the first 5.1 sets, and I'm sure technology has surely progressed since. I feel my complaints are still valid as everytime these threads come up, other people share the same story.

I would be wearing of dropping that amount of money on a Razer product. I do like their mice, but on a whole that company just reeks of cost cutting measures. It took them years to equip their highend keyboards with $1 worth of diodes for NKRO. If you do decide to go 5.1, I would search around for reviews.

 

[Pandm3miic]

I spent a few hours this afternoon researching various headsets and products. Looks like the 5.1/7.1 thing won't be necessary for positional audio, and that the soundscape is enhanced with a decent soundcard.

I'm going to avoid the Tiamats for the time being. I'm pretty sure the Sennheiser's will be sufficient for my needs I'm kind of hoping that the open can design won't be too much of a problem, we'll see how that goes.

As for the soundcard, i'm a little reluctant to spend +£100 therefore i'll probably stick to a Xonar D2X or DX (which ever is the best value). I've got to read more first.

Thank you for you response Ben90. I found it very informative