~7 year old G35 vs newer options

GoBwah

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May 5, 2012
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I have this Logitech G35 headset I've been using for the past 7 years. It functions flawlessly, but I'm beginning to wonder if it's time for a replacement, and as I am now an old man with a job I can afford it.

So my question is, will I be able to feel (hear/transmit) a difference compared to the newer generation headsets? I'm looking at stuff like the SteelSeries Siberia 350/650 and HyperX Cloud series. Has the quality improved significantly? I got these for about 500£ back in the days, and now they retail for well over 1000£, so that makes me wonder how they stand up to the newer version.
Obviously the designs for all headsets have improved a lot. Even though my old G35 got more comfortable after a recent ear pad replacement, they can still be a little head crushing for longer sessions.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
 
the logitech g35 does not go for 1000 gbp.. its on amazon for 63 gbp.

headphones in general do not change much over the years. sure, there may be some slight innovations or new models introduced but the technology itself is generally very similar.

with headsets there may be an improvement with virtual surround technologies but otherwise the market has been fairly stagnant.

this is not to say that there are not better products out there.. there are. i would suggest moving into hifi headphones + separate mic (or boom mic like modmic) if you want to get into something better than headsets.
 

GoBwah

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May 5, 2012
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I got my conversions messed up I see, yea 1000£ was waaaay wrong. Meant to type 50/100, but I can see that some sales still have it for around 50£.

What kind of Hifi headphones and mic would you suggest then? I have the Sennheiser HD280 Pro studio headphones, but with my on-board soundcard I don't think they're any better for gaming. Also might get a pair of Bose QuietComfort 25 for office use in the near future.

Would ideally prefer something with surround sound and USB connection.

Also, I can currently get the Siberia Elite Prism for half the price of the new 650. Since the improvements as far as I can tell are minor, would this be a good choice?
 
you will not find any hifi headphones with usb or native support for 5.1. that is a gimmick for headsets as they have soundcards in them.

now, that is not to say you can not have virtual surround on hifi headphones. you can. if you pair them with either razers free virtual surround or an internal/external soundcard to give you the option.

for internals, the xonar dg, xonar dx, creative z are all good choices. for externals the creative omni is good. if you have fairly easy to power headphones the creative go or xonar u3 are usb and will sort of act like a usb connection for a headset. if you used virtual surround software (razer) you could use an external dac+amp unit like the fiio e10k or if you wanted you could even pair up a soundcard with an external amp. there are many options.

some quick suggestions?

if you want a bass-light sound mostly focused on treble/mids (for fps gaming advantage) the ad500x or ad700x from audiotechnica are good. great wide soundstage, great cups but not everyone likes the headband design. a500x/a700x are the closed version. you could pair them up with the xonar dg, dx, creative z or one of the external options above.

if you want something middle of the road and neutral the hd518, hd558 or hd598 from sennheiser also are good. a more mellow laid back sound for easy listening for hours. any of the above soundcards would work.

if you wanted a bassier or more aggressive/fun sounding headphone the beyerdyanmics dt990, dt880 or dt770 are all good choices. you will want to use an external amplifier with them but they may be well worth it in the end for the sound signature.

as for external mic, modmic, moovmic or similar are good. or a good desk mic.

if you absolutely wanted a headset then the ath-adg1 (ad700x based), ath-ag1 (a700x based), game one (hd598 based) are all good and you can pair them up with a soundcard for virtual as they already include a mic but not an internal soundcard.
 

GoBwah

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May 5, 2012
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The dedicated headhpones plus mic and soundcard is a tempting option. I'm a audio newbie, but I can see the advantages.

I like the ATH-AD700x, though there seems to be little competition due to few sellers, so the prices are bit high (looking at European stores only). If I do take the audiophile option, I would like the headphones to be versatile. For home use I would ideally prefer an open design, but this is not really an option for office or any form of public use. Will I have to settle for closed headphones, or is there any way to get the best of both worlds?

How does the ModMic compare to the MoovMic at three times the price? I previously tried out a 25£ table mic but had to return it, as my voice came out extremely low and muffled. Might be better if I had a dedicated soundcard that is able to supply sufficient power? The Xonar DX looks good.

As for the headset option, I have a friend with the Game One, and although the mic sounds good (when its working), it seems like there's a lot of problems with it every time we talk - like crackling, picking up noises, not picking up his voice properly. But maybe it's due to poor setup.
Oh, and how can Audio Technica justify the 100£ price increase for adding a mic to their headphones - is it really that good and costly?
 
if you're in europe prices can be a little high. i cant do anything about that. beyerdynamic however are fairly cheap in europe.

with most closed cans you lose soundstage so they arent as ideal for gaming. open cans have more soundstage so are generally more ideal. not always the case just a generalization.

good closed cans? akg q701 (tends to be picky about amps) or the beyer dt770 (they are a bit bassy but definitely good). you could certainly game on either (and people do) despite them being closed. perhaps not as ideal as open but if you want a general use product you need to make some concessions.

modmic is the standard recommended equpiment for adding a mic to headphones. sure, its not as good as some desk mics but its certainly good enough. here is a mic test of the modmic (ignore the fact that the guy speaking sounds like a retard and rambles on) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJvjeiHkwZU heres the moovmic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZZWs6qRjKo i'm not sure about the volume level if its just the one guys video and poor settings, his lack of soundcard or what. needless to say you get what you pay for and a cheapo mic is not going to be as good as a more expensive one in most cases but depending on your needs it may be good enough. cheap mics like the neewer nw800 and similar are actually suprisingly good as well for being cheap. there are certainly diamonds in the rough if you know where to look but again, they arent going to be quite as nice as your better and more expensive products.

a better soundcard can sometimes help. the dx is a nice choice because it has a nice dac (same as on the $200+ stx) but it does not have very powerful amplification for headphones. this means for things like the beyer cans or akg cans you will want an external amplifier (which you could use with your phone or portable devices) if you used it. of course its not the only option, just clarifying.

hd598 is $129-151 right now here, game one is $150-167. prices in usa are very fair though i remember they used to be much much different (which is why it was at one time cheaper to get hd598, a mic and a cheap soundcard for lower than price of headset). this price has long since been addressed here but perhaps not in europe. sorry, nothing i can do about the generally crazy prices they charge for headset versions (which is why i used to suggest headphone option).

crackling might be due to his setup - hard to say without testing. picking up all sounds around might be due to high ambient noise levels or gain settings. from what i've heard the mic is adequate and even quite decent sounding though not stellar and does have a few minor issues. i havent used it myself though.
 

GoBwah

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May 5, 2012
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Thank you for the comprehensive guidance, appreciate it. I now have some choices to make!



Wish you could though ;)