Best Gaming Headset?

[razercultmember1]

What is the best gaming headset I can get? anything below $200

This is my sound card:

http/www.creative.com/oem/resources/SoundCards/SB077x.pdf

http/www.creative.com/oem/products/soundcards/sb077x.asp

Requirements: surrounds the ear, not rests on top of them

Is that sound card better or worse than the Razer Megalodon control module USB one?

Is there a headset that will utilize all 5 ports on my card?

Does it matter if a headset only uses the green stereo port as my card has CMSS-3d?

Suggestions? Advice appreciated!

 

[MEgamer]

well there never is a true surround sound headset, one will always uses some form of SW technology to utilize some form of surround sound.

in my opinion i think its dolby headphone> CMSS-3d.
careful when comparing a USB headest, and a analogue, with a sound card. best way is probably to test them out, but thats quite unlikely, depending on which shop sells.

 

[razercultmember1]

out of these?...

Rezer Carcharias
Razer Megalodon
Sennheiser PC 350
Logitech G35

any other suggestions?

 

[MEgamer]

if your have a good soundcard, then it be much better in getting, in yout case, sennheiser and razer carcharias, and if theres the option, you could enable dolby headphone if your soundcard has the effect, for surround sound.

if you dont have a good soundcard, then i think id go for logitech g35, for the price it offers, plus, some people have said, razer megalodon sounds weak, and anyway, dolby headphone is a great surround sound effect.

 

[MEgamer]

oh by the way, if your investing a headset, whether its the sennheiser, or razer carcharias, id really advise you to get a headphone amplifier, as 150ohms, is pretty high.

 

[razercultmember1]

what does a headphone amp do ?_? im not an audiophile lol i mean my speakers are dell 2.1 lol

 

[razercultmember1]

well an easier question is to ask lol

"What headsets do you all use?"

 

[MEgamer]

well again tahts very subjective, it all really depends on what u do...

seeing your usename, im gonna assume ure a gamer, now since headphones arent truly surround sound, you can buy headphones that already has a DSP that allows the surround osund effect, or use your sound card to do the processing b4 it goes to your cans.

now headphone amps is a kind of audio amplifier designed particularly to drive headphones instead of loudspeakers

The headphone amplifier improves the sound quality by increasing the amount of power available to move the transducer, increasing the control that the source has over just where the transducer is in space.

(taken from wiki, since i CBA to write it all out)

 

[drandersoninc]

Having had this same question recently, I read on a number of forums and made the following choice. I use my headset for gaming, primarily FPS. For me positional audio (being able to hear all around me, for footsteps and the like) was critical.

After reading all the reviews I went with a moderately priced set of cans that surround the ear, have positional audio, and provide very good sound. They were the ATH-AD700's from audio technica. When plugged into my front port (I have a MOBO with HDAudio onboard) I can test and hear separately the front L/R, center, and rear L/R. So that works as expected.

The downside, and you may experience this as well, is that with high end headphones you'll pick up a lot more sound than you did before. And for PC users, this often means the electical disturbances within the PC case (like fans, HDD spinning, etc). In my case I found the way around this was to plug into the rear panel audio jack and given that's a straight connection to the MOBO (vs the cable connection to the front panel) it elminates the hissing / feddback / noise. But, also in my case, it presented another issue that the rear panel splits my 5.1 into 3 separate ports vs the single one in the front. But enough of that here, I just created a separate thread with the details if you're interested, just be aware.

So in short, I (and many others) have recommended AD700's for the positional sound - and at under $100 you can't go too wrong. The issue with the noise, etc you will encounter with a number of high end cans that have a wider audio range than the standard Plantronics (or even my previous Razr) headsets, so just be aware.

Hope that helps

 

[MEgamer]

can a proper soundard, and the hissing is sorted. simple.

 

[drandersoninc]

Thanks. In my original thread http/www.tomshardware.com/forum/55408-6-issue-background-noise-config-headphones I lay that out as a potential option but one I would do as a last resort. The MOBO has good HD Audio (one of the reasons I bought it) and the idea of buying another peripheral (sound card) just to kill the hissing rubs me the wrong way. It's an option, but a last resort. Thanks for the reply.

 

[razercultmember1]

i posted my sound card above but i need a headset as i will need to talk on it aswell

or should i buy a separate mic and headphones?

thus far i have not had any hissing with my speakers plugged directly into the sound card (one channel)

i dont think i will need a headphone amp...im not a super audiophile

i really do however, want my headphones to take advantage of all 4 ports
which do the following

green-front left, right
grey-side left, right
orange-front center, subwoofer
black-rear left, right

so suggestions on headsets that are excellent for both gaming and listening to music? does not have to have 5 individual drivers id actually prefer just 2 40mm drivers or higher

im kinda leaning towards the razer carcharias...thoughts?

 

[keabler]

So, I recently got back into gaming (took 4 years of :S, and now I play cod4 mostly).

Any ways I would consider myself an audiophile. I've owned a sennheiser hd280 pro, 3 pair of etymotic er6is, a pair of ultimate ears tripple fi 10 pro, a pair of Nixon 10 mm wires (not a good choice), a pair of Nixon nomadic headphones (got both pair of Nixons for free via snowboarding), and a pair of ultimate ears super fi 5.

To put things in perspective my cheapest pair of ear buds (they are all ear buds except the sennheiser 280's and the nixon nomadic headphones) was the nixons for $60, and I don't really count them because they aren't high end headphones they just look nice. So my cheapest pair of ear buds that I've bought in the past 4 years are worth $120 and were the etymotic er6i's. Which also happen to be my favorite headphones. They are basically earplugs (block out 32db of sound which is on par with higher end ear plugs) with high quality drivers in them. They sound better than my sennheiser hd 280 pros and my ultimate ears tripple fi 10 pros (cost 300 and had 2 driers in them). You can hear every thing super clear and accurately.

For gaming I use my etymotic er6is and a sennheiser headphone mixamp (I got my mixamp from some sennheiser headset that obviously had a forgetull sound quality). In my experience it is very easy to tell where people are, and being able to hear those extra foot steps clearly among gunfire is always welcome. Now I've used this mixamp setup with my sennheiser hd 280 pros and I've also used an ltb 5.1 surround sound headset and neither come close to the accuracy at which I can locate enemies with my er6is.

SO I have one question why doesn't any one game with ear buds? I've had the best experience with ear buds, and don't try to tell me that full size cans have better sound or bass or something like that. Oh and if you want to throw the argument out that ear buds don't allow your ear to filter the sound, Etymotic includes filters in all of their ear buds that filter the sound the way your ear would normally filter it.

As I mentioned before my er6i's are 32 db noise isolating. Let me put this in perspective for you, I can have my ipod touch at less than half (maybe 1/3) volume and not hear people talking to me, or vacuums, or cars driving by outside. Point being, having a high degree of noise isolation will not only get you more into the game but also allow you to more accurately hear subtle footsteps which is a definite bonus.

p.s. not having sweaty ears after an hour of playing is a nice benefit for ear bud users.

So I guess you can get some er6i's for $72 now
http/www.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research-Isolator-Earphones-White/dp/B0007WTHLO

 

[MEgamer]

mmm.. they do a loot a bit ugly... other then that i dont have really much to add. but as always i do prefer headphones, full size of course, im pretty sure the OP does too.
razer carcharias isnt a bad option, if u do want surround sound, then make sure ur sonudcard has dolby headphone.

 

[MEgamer]

oh by the way, dont buy barracuda headset, put simply its sh*te.

 

[keabler]

mmm.. they do a loot a bit ugly... other then that i dont have really much to add. but as always i do prefer headphones, full size of course, im pretty sure the OP does too.
razer carcharias isnt a bad option, if u do want surround sound, then make sure ur sonudcard has dolby headphone.

Yes, but most audiophile headphones tend to be ugly.
here are the ones I actually have (black and gray)
http/www.ecrater.com/product.php?pid=4898706
not much better but better

Ok so I have another question, has any one tried gaming on high quality ear buds? I think most people overlook them. I'm just asking because back in the day I got sucked into "gaming headsets" (I purchased the sennheiser hd 280 pros, the ltb 5.1 headset and a smaller not full size sennheiser "gaming" headset and nothing comes close to the noise isolation and accuracy of my etymotic ear buds. I actually have one of the lower models, I bet their more expensive ear buds are even better.

I guess I should comment on how they actually sound. The highs and mids are so distinct my ears actually got tired of listening so carefully the first few days I had them (I had been listening to my nixons). The bass is there and distinct. but not over powering like most consumer audio phones (all gaming and bose and skullcandy phones are considered consumer audio not pro audio). These headphones sound like the studio speakers sound engineers use to engineer tracks with. So you are hearing the song the way the sound engineer intended people to hear it.

 

[MEgamer]

the only earphones, i have right now is the sennheiser cx400ii. its very good, but aths only because i havent bothered to listen any 'phones, that are higher, nor i can find them unless i spend a large amount.

but anyway, ye, the sounds are very good too. maybe there not better, but you can really appreciate the quality, the bass is there nice and full, a lot of improvement to the cx300, plus the treble sounds sweeter and clearner. stronger midrange and bass extends very well to 20-30, making teh sound very punchy.

 

[MEgamer]

Yes, but most audiophile headphones tend to be ugly.
here are the ones I actually have (black and gray)
http/www.ecrater.com/product.php?pid=4898706
not much better but better

Ok so I have another question, has any one tried gaming on high quality ear buds? I think most people overlook them. I'm just asking because back in the day I got sucked into "gaming headsets" (I purchased the sennheiser hd 280 pros, the ltb 5.1 headset and a smaller not full size sennheiser "gaming" headset and nothing comes close to the noise isolation and accuracy of my etymotic ear buds. I actually have one of the lower models, I bet their more expensive ear buds are even better.

I guess I should comment on how they actually sound. The highs and mids are so distinct my ears actually got tired of listening so carefully the first few days I had them (I had been listening to my nixons). The bass is there and distinct. but not over powering like most consumer audio phones (all gaming and bose and skullcandy phones are considered consumer audio not pro audio). These headphones sound like the studio speakers sound engineers use to engineer tracks with. So you are hearing the song the way the sound engineer intended people to hear it.

for the sennheisers, pls tell me you were using a headphone amp. 64 ohms, is not gonna sound gd, without an amp.

 

[keabler]

for the sennheisers, pls tell me you were using a headphone amp. 64 ohms, is not gonna sound gd, without an amp.

yep, headphone amp, also used a mixer, power amp setup (for recording guitar tracks) that was 64 ohms, and have used them with my guitar amp can also run in 64 ohms. Never was impressed with the sound quality.

 

[razercultmember1]

hmm well my sound card has CMSS-3d.

this supposedly upmixes the audio to 5.1 or 7.1?

from this link http/www.creative.com/oem/resources/SoundCards/SB077x.pdf

is that more or less the same as dolby headphone someone mentioned earlier?