Sennheiser Game One setup questions

[skeeb23]

Hello! I recently purchased a pair of the Sennheiser Game One headsets. I had the Hyperx Cloud before. My Clouds just had too many issues with the mic that I decided to just finally spend the money for a upper tier set.

I have a SoundblasterZ sound card, so I have the amp built in to power these. So far this is what I have heard but want some help on this:

Upon plugging in the new set I immediately noticed a drop in bass from my hyperx. It also seemed like if I used SBX Bass setting then it would almost push too much bass to them and they would sound muddy. Now, these sound so much more clear than my hyperx ever did. So I know they are top quality of sound, I just found the bass odd to be so weak. I do know that good bass doesnt mean good sound.

My question revolves around setting these up properly. I am not an audiophile, but I do love my sound in games, movies and music. I have tinkered with the SBX Studio settings quite a bit but just cant figure out what is best. I have read conflicting reports about what to do with these Senny Game Ones. I read not to use Surround mode because these are top quality Stereo headphones... then I also read to put my windows to 5.1 setup and then use Surround for a great virtual surround experience.

I'm just intersted in what everyone thinks and if they have this similar setup, what do you do? I also have a set of Harmon Kardon Soundsticks II. So when not using my headset I don't want to have to switch my sound settings so drastically. That is one thing I didn't have to do with my Hyperx set.. but that is probably because they didn't product quality sound like these do.

Oh... and I know there are tons of fanboys about the Hyperx Clouds. Please don't say anything about making a mistake buying the Game One set... I still like the Clouds, just believe Sennheiser to be a better product (but you do pay for it).

 

[ssddx]

whether to use them in 2.0 stereo or virtual surround is completely preference. virtual surround DOES distort audio so purists will say 2.0 is better quality (it is). virtual surround for some people can make picking up on audio cues easier (for some it does) so some gamers will push and say it is required. the truth is that both are right and it depends on YOUR preferences and opinions not anyone elses.

the hd598 (what the game one is based on.. and be sure you mean the game one not the game zero as they are different) is not a bassy headphone but it will not be completely bass less either. the Z should be more than capable of powering them as well. sometimes not enough power will reduce bass presence on headphones but the z is not a weak soundcard and the hd598 is not hard to drive. i would use the front jack on your case to power these. if you are already then try the rear and test. try testing on multiple devices as well such as your smartphone. how does it compare?

while the hxc is a good budget headset (based on the takstar pro 80 headphones which are well received) the game one (hd598) is definitely a much better headphone (headset).