Add sidetone to Sennheiser Game One?

[LukeSc]

I got a Sennheiser Game One headset. I compared them to the Game Zero in store, and I preferred the Game One for comfort. Because of the open can design I can hear myself speak for the most part. The only issue is during loud moments of gunfire, explosions, etc.

I also looked at the Sennheiser GSP 350, which has a USB interface with built-in Sidetone. As far as I know these are closed design, similar to the Game Zero's. Not really sure what the difference is between the Zero's and GSP 350's are besides that.

My PC is built on an ASUS Impact VIII motherboard (ITX) which has a built-in "SupremeFX" sound-card. Not really sure how good/bad that is. I don't have a spare PCIe slot.

What I'm looking for is an external sound-card (or amp?) that can drive the Game One's and has live monitoring. I've been looking at Creative's options, but I can't find much on live monitoring, although some posts suggests creative does offer this on some of their cards.

Comfort and preference aside, would I be better off with the GSP 350's over the Game One's, or would an external sound-card/amp be a better option with the Game One's?

EDIT: I missed seeing the PC 373D's, which looks identical to the Game One's, but have the USB features from the GSP 350's. Should I switch to those, or get an external sound-card/amp?

 

[ssddx]

game one = hd518/hd558 based
game zero is similar to the pc350se / pc363d / hd555 / hd595

if i understand you correctly your issue is that you fail to hear your voice while recording, correct? not that your microphone is picking up explosions, etc?

if you're fine with stereo sound, perhaps an audio interface?

 

[LukeSc]

game one = hd518/hd558 based
game zero is similar to the pc350se / pc363d / hd555 / hd595

if i understand you correctly your issue is that you fail to hear your voice while recording, correct? not that your microphone is picking up explosions, etc?

if you're fine with stereo sound, perhaps an audio interface?

Correct. I just want to hear myself in the headset. Looks like PC 373D's have this feature and are identical to the Game One's. But with an $80 price difference, I might as well consider something like a Sound BlasterX G1 or something higher end (G5? something else?). I confirmed Creative's cards have monitoring.

I also found a reference to a Microphone slider under playback on Windows 10 that is apparently Mic monitoring, for sound cards that support it. It's different from "Listen to this device" that has a delay. Not in-front of my computer right now, so I don't know if my computer supports that or not.

I'm assuming the only thing special about the PC 373D's is the inline dongle, which could be substituted for something else.

 

[ssddx]

no, they are not identical. if anything i would think the 373d is like the 363d as its touted as its successor. the original was bass light compared with the fairly neutral with slight edge in bass signature of the 518/558.

yes, they included a soundcard though honestly its not a very good one. fair, but you can get better.

i've heard a few bad things about the g- series external cards from creative. i read about one and the other i heard about on steam. i believe it was in reference to the virtual surround and quality if i recall correctly. i cant say for sure though if its worthwhile so i'd do more research on it if you wanted to go that route.

correct, listen to this device has delay. you would want hardware support for monitoring. as i said before, an audio interface should give you much control over this although if you find a soundcard that supports it you might be able to get this feature as well as virtual surround if you wanted that as well.

the 373d should be more similar to a game zero with cheap usb dongle soundcard.

 

[LukeSc]

no, they are not identical. if anything i would think the 373d is like the 363d as its touted as its successor. the original was bass light compared with the fairly neutral with slight edge in bass signature of the 518/558.

yes, they included a soundcard though honestly its not a very good one. fair, but you can get better.

i've heard a few bad things about the g- series external cards from creative. i read about one and the other i heard about on steam. i believe it was in reference to the virtual surround and quality if i recall correctly. i cant say for sure though if its worthwhile so i'd do more research on it if you wanted to go that route.

correct, listen to this device has delay. you would want hardware support for monitoring. as i said before, an audio interface should give you much control over this although if you find a soundcard that supports it you might be able to get this feature as well as virtual surround if you wanted that as well.

the 373d should be more similar to a game zero with cheap usb dongle soundcard.

I was able to get sidetone working on my motherboard, but I had very audible static. I couldn't get the static to go away while being able to hear myself. I read this is typical with on-board sound cards.

I decided to try the SoundBlasterX G1. It made a huge difference. I'm able to get 4x the volume out of it compared to my motherboard's sound card. And no static. I haven't even installed the software yet. It works that well out of the box.

I also tried the 373d. Yep, the inline sound card it has is not very good. It's on par with my motherboard volume wise. When I plug the 373d and Game One into the G1 at the same volume, they sound exactly the same to me. And they feel / look the same, other then a red rim around the Game One's cans.

I was going to get the G5, but all of the boxes were opened. Most were returned. Red flag?

So it looks like Game One + something else external is the way to go. The G1 seems to be working out well so far.

I heard virtual surround sound is bad in general. I'm playing Overwatch right now, and so far Dolby Atmos works well. My biggest issue was volume. I couldn't get my headset loud enough >_<.

 

[ssddx]

now that i look at some images, the g5 is the one that looks like what my steam acquaintance bought and complained about. i would say lots of returns is a red flag certainly.

virtual surround isnt bad per se but it does distort audio a bit. honestly its one of those things that you either like or do not.