Is it worth upgrading to 7.1 gaming headset?

PCgaming098

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Mar 6, 2014
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So I currently have the Razer Kraken Pro and they are alright. I was wondering if it was worth upgrading to a headset that supports 7.1 surround.
Here are the ones I have been looking at, feel free to add any other suggestions.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013P0K8OE/ref=twister_B016XNFNRM?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/Razer-Wireless-Surround-Compatible-Playstation/dp/B01KYP98T4?th=1
https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Gaming-VOID-Wireless-Headset/dp/B013GMXA2I?th=1
https://www.amazon.com/Creative-BlasterX-Professional-Gaming-Headset/dp/B017LV5XY8/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1474689040&sr=1-1&keywords=sound+blaster+h7
Don't care if they are wireless the priority is 7.1 surround and my budget it 150, Help will be aprecciated
 
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Out of the three, I'd go with the Logitech, cloth ear cushions... As far as quality go, they're most likely close enough to not notice a difference. That being said, they're probably not going to be astoundingly better quality than your Kraken, though the 7.1 should add some coolness. On the $ side, I paid around 50$ each for my G930 (7.1) and my Kraken USB (7.1), I paid 90$ for my Astro A50, all from Newegg, all refurbished, just with the refurb, the day you get it test it thoroughly in case it's not perfect. The regular price on the Astro A50 refurb is 150$ at the egg. If that's within your budget, that's what I'd recommend.

Nintendork

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Dec 22, 2008
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Headets are stereo, period. Any other things are artificial junk.

Want proper surround? get speakers.


For $150 you get an overpriced "gaming" headset that sounds like sh*t destroyed even more audio quality-wise by a gimmicky "surround" on a headset that is meant to be stereo for physical reasons.
 

jossrik

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Sep 26, 2002
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I have the Razor 7.1 USB headset, the Logitech G930 Wireless, and now the Astro A50 wireless headset, and ya, the 7.1 is nice. For the guy saying you need speakers all around you for true surround sound, count your ears. That's right, 2. You only need two speakers for surround, but you do need something to decode the sound, so the correct ear hears the right sound at the right time. I put the Razor and the Logitech are each about the same sound wise. What the headsets are to a standard TVs sound with subwoofer is what the Astros are to the Razor and Logitech. If your game is encoded for full 7.1, it will sound awesome. If it's encoded for stereo, it will still sound good, just you won't get positional audio like you will with the headsets. Oh ya, the Razors I found to be uncomfortable, but the Logitech are all right and the Astro just above and beyond.

Also to the guy who says you need a ton of speakers, I'm a studio bassist, I work with sound engineers *all* the time. Don't talk if you don't know what you're talking about.
 

Gam3r01

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Jan 12, 2013
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^ I agree with this, I work for my college's tech company so I deal with audio on a nearly daily basis.
While physical 7.1 may seem "better" it dosent matter so long as the virtual 7.1 is done well. You as a human only have two audio inputs. So if the virtual surround is done properly it will not make a difference.
 
currently virtual surround is not equal to physical surround. some solutions are not bad but it really depends on the software used, the game audio coding and the capabilities of your headphones/headset.

generally cmss3d/sbx (creative) or dolby headphone (asus) rank as better than razer virtual surround in terms of being a bit more enjoyable. to figure out which you like best i would suggest using your headphones or headset in 2.0 stereo mode and listening to some comparison videos of virtual surround options on youtube and picking which you like the best (which may involve using a soundcard to get it)

instead of solely looking at headsets you may want to give thought to using headphones as well. products like the ad500x or hd518 are certainly within budget even if you need a cheap soundcard or microphone to pair with.
 

PCgaming098

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Mar 6, 2014
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So which one's would you go for? Don't know if dolby makes a difference. So like the SOUND BLASTERX H7 have 7.1 surround but Dolby is not there in the advertisements. Now the Logitech G633 does.
http://gaming.logitech.com/en-us/product/g633-7-1-surround-sound-gaming-headset
http://us.creative.com/p/gaming-headsets/sound-blasterx-h7
http://www.hyperxgaming.com/us/headsets/cloud/hscp
Out of the three which ones are recommended?
 

jossrik

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Sep 26, 2002
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Out of the three, I'd go with the Logitech, cloth ear cushions... As far as quality go, they're most likely close enough to not notice a difference. That being said, they're probably not going to be astoundingly better quality than your Kraken, though the 7.1 should add some coolness. On the $ side, I paid around 50$ each for my G930 (7.1) and my Kraken USB (7.1), I paid 90$ for my Astro A50, all from Newegg, all refurbished, just with the refurb, the day you get it test it thoroughly in case it's not perfect. The regular price on the Astro A50 refurb is 150$ at the egg. If that's within your budget, that's what I'd recommend.
 
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