7.1, 5.1 Surround headsets vs Samson SR850, Audio Technica AD700

spacemonkeyj

Honorable
Jul 16, 2012
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Hi

I have looked around in a lot of forums to see what is recommended for a gaming headset for FPS games mainly. I am looking for good positional audio specifically for Battlefield 4 and other games.

Initially I though of buying the Corsair Vengeance 2000 wireless surround sound device. It utilizes a usb sound card, and would enable me to keep my surround sound speakers plugged in but disabled while I am using the headset. I also thought it might be nice not to have a cable. After lots of research it seems like wireless tend to give quite a bit of problems, and that the charging could also become an issue. So then I also read that surround sound headphones mostly all use virtualization to get the surround sound effect. Apparently the little speakers are too close to the ear to properly get a sense of direction, and as such it is quite gimmicky.

So it seems like the best way get proper positional audio is to buy either the Audio Technica ATH-AD700, or the Samson SR850.
I've also read good things about the Roccat Kave, and the Coolermaster Sirius seems to be similar. The Corsairs are not true surround but I'm not sure how good they stack up against the rest. I have read about Sennheiser pc 360 being good as well, but they are very expensive, and I do not wish to spend so much.

I am in South Africa, I have to choose between these then:

The AD700. Difficult to get and costs R1800.00 (171 Dollars). Also presumably need a sound card.

The SR850. Easier to get costs R700.00 (79 Dollars). Also need a sound card.

The Roccat Kave which is supposed to be true surround costs R1200.00 (118 Dollars).
Coolermaster Sirius also true surround R1100 (109 Dollars)

The Corsair Vengeance 2000 wireless costs R1400 (138 Dollars), or Corsair 1500 wired costs R970 (95 Dollars)

So currently I have an Asus P7P55D-LE board with the VIA VT1828S sound chip on it.

I am currently leaning towards getting the Samson SR850, which seems like a bargain, and then one of these sound cards (not sure which one to get):

Asus Xonar DGX 5.1 pci express (R424 (41 Dollars))

Asus Xonar DSX 7.1 pci express (R606 (59 Dollars))

Asus Xonar DX 7.1 pci express (R863 (85 Dollars))

Can anybody please give me any advice regarding which setup to get for the best possible positional sound setup out of these choices? Is my current choice of the SR850 with the DGX 5.1 the right choice?

Thank you very much for any help or thoughts.
 
Solution
i found this thread after googling 'sr850 usb sound card' :D

i have a plantronics gamecom 777 (simulated 7.1) usb headset and a samson sr850. comparing both with the sr850 plugged to on board audio of asus p8z77-i deluxe, the 777 with the usb sound card sounds better. now if i plug the samson to the plantronics 777's dolby usb sound card, the comparison is a bit more difficult..imo the sr850 sounds a little better (i'm no audiophile, i probably have bad ears).

based on this little info..the sr850 + xonar dg should sound better than any of those headsets

ninong

Distinguished
Jul 17, 2008
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18,520
i found this thread after googling 'sr850 usb sound card' :D

i have a plantronics gamecom 777 (simulated 7.1) usb headset and a samson sr850. comparing both with the sr850 plugged to on board audio of asus p8z77-i deluxe, the 777 with the usb sound card sounds better. now if i plug the samson to the plantronics 777's dolby usb sound card, the comparison is a bit more difficult..imo the sr850 sounds a little better (i'm no audiophile, i probably have bad ears).

based on this little info..the sr850 + xonar dg should sound better than any of those headsets
 
Solution