Looking for THE 7.1 Headphones!

pattyp

Weaksauce
Joined
Jun 14, 2013
Messages
118
I love my games, LOVE THEM. I play a lot of tactical games so I need to know where the enemy are coming from at all times! I will pay up to $300. I have a SOUND BLASTER X-FI TITANIUM HD sound card if thats any help.
 
O boy. pattyp.. what if I told you that "gaming" and "7.1" headphones are a gimmick and a joke? And that a GOOD pair of proper stereo cans are all you need for incredible positional audio?

Actually... are we being trolled?
 
O boy. pattyp.. what if I told you that "gaming" and "7.1" headphones are a gimmick and a joke? And that a GOOD pair of proper stereo cans are all you need for incredible positional audio?

Actually... are we being trolled?


I'm listening..... :)
 
I'm partial to say SHP9500S's or DT770 Pro's for gaming but some of the Sennheiser headsets are actually quite good acoustically. I've only had personal experience with the GameOne's.
 
'Good gaming headphones' is a difficult subject to approach, irrespective of budget- and budget still has to be considered.

Open vs. closed is the big thing, then long-term comfort, then actual sound quality, user preferences in sound quality, audio pipeline...

...yeah. The Sennheiser drop I linked above would get the job done for the lowest price (and it's a daily drop, don't have to wait for it).
 
I prefer open backed headphones to get the wider sound-stage when gaming. Playing games like Bioshock with headphones on.. I had to turn around in my chair a few times when something was creeping up on me. I used to have a physical speaker setup for surround sound years back.. it works.. but I think the headphones are more immersive.

High quality stereo headphones.. but use a product like Soundblaster Z which gives you the positional audio for your games.
I use Phillips Fidelio X1..
 
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Sennheiser surrounder

Not exactly headphones but hey, who cares? Yeah 7.1 headphones are a joke.
 

These are nice from what I've heard. Essentially AT is taking their ATH-ADxxx line and slapping a mic on it.

I had the previous (closed-back) version of this headphone (ATH-AG1) and it was great for gaming, with a massive soundstage (very impressive for a closed-back).

Can't say that it was good for movies/music, but in gaming it was really good.

Also looks like they improved the mic over the short and anemic one on the AG1/ADG1 (I used to have issues in multiplayer games due to that).
The short, inadequate mic on the AG1/ADG1 was the one major failing in an otherwise excellent gaming headset (3D-Wing issues were easily solved via the headband mod/trick).
 
ROFL. I would say that is an early april fools? 1.986 bitcoin is $13,267 atm...............

I mean, a sub on your head?
 
Where is that pulling all the watts from, to run the dome woofer? Can I listen to surround tracks while i'm doing yoga with this?
 
It has an amp built in and all powered via the audio out? Seems sketchy lol
 
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The implementation is absurd, but the overall concept is actually pretty good.

I wouldn't make it head mounted, but 7 small near field drivers just over your head in a 24" circle could make for some really good positional gaming sound.
 
I just picked up a new Sennheiser GSX 1200 Pro audio amplifier and also Sennheiser game One open acoustic gaming headset and I am pretty impressed with the 7.1. never heard anything like it for 7.1 headphones. try it you will like it.
 
I just picked up a new Sennheiser GSX 1200 Pro audio amplifier and also Sennheiser game One open acoustic gaming headset and I am pretty impressed with the 7.1. never heard anything like it for 7.1 headphones. try it you will like it.

You mean, you've just heard non-shitty headphones for the first time?

That Sennheiser amp is nice but nothing special- hell, it doesn't even support high-impedance headphones.
 
I just picked up a new Sennheiser GSX 1200 Pro audio amplifier and also Sennheiser game One open acoustic gaming headset and I am pretty impressed with the 7.1. never heard anything like it for 7.1 headphones. try it you will like it.
I've been looking at getting the GSX 1000 (almost identical to yours) with the Game One headset. I'm on the brink of taking the plunge :)
 
True positional audio with headphones requires low latency head tracking, which is what you should get if you truly want the ultimate surround experience.
 
I just picked up a new Sennheiser GSX 1200 Pro audio amplifier and also Sennheiser game One open acoustic gaming headset and I am pretty impressed with the 7.1. never heard anything like it for 7.1 headphones. try it you will like it.

You mean, you've just heard non-shitty headphones for the first time?

That Sennheiser amp is nice but nothing special- hell, it doesn't even support high-impedance headphones.

It's for positional and gaming audio not audiophiles.
 
A good pair of stereo headphones bests any surround pair so far. Hell. Try a pair of $35 Samson sr850s or the $60 Phillips 9500s and see what I mean.

The Sennheiser amp is ok. Really just an external sound card. Something by schitt would perform better.
 
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Maybe so. However, a good pair of stereo headphones bests any surround pair so far. Hell. Try a pair of $35 Samson sr850s or the $60 Phillips 9500s and see what I mean.

That's a subjective opinion and the device is a headphone amp made for stereo headphones.

Here is my subjective opinion: stereo sucks for gaming.

The GSX100/1200 use a DSP and HRTF routines to render a fairly convincing surround sound experience and the reviews I read said that it was a decent amp for music listening as well.
 
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Doubletap. We all hear differently. You dig that setup and I get it. I like the sbx surround with my creative sbz. However, to date. I have never had better gaming sound than my old stax, ps audio dac setup back in the bf2 days. All that gear was bought used. A great deal that I could not sniff these days. I think I got it all for $400.
 
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That's a subjective opinion and the device is a headphone amp made for stereo headphones.

Here is my subjective opinion: stereo sucks for gaming.

The GSX100/1200 use a DSP and HRTF routines to render a fairly convincing surround sound experience and the reviews I read said that it was a decent amp for music listening as well.

Depends on the game for stereo. But the GSX1000 (and I've used it among other options) is great and you should be happy with it. It's arguably the best positional audio in gaming for the buck, with a second place going to steelseries and third going to creative.

PRO TIP: you can get more than one external DAC ;)
 
Depends on the game for stereo. But the GSX1000 (and I've used it among other options) is great and you should be happy with it. It's arguably the best positional audio in gaming for the buck, with a second place going to steelseries and third going to creative.

PRO TIP: you can get more than one external DAC ;)

My other subjective opinion is that headphones suck :)
 
Heh .Yeah I mostly use my psb bookshelves too. Just not allowed a sub bc wife.
 
The GSX100/1200 use a DSP and HRTF routines to render a fairly convincing surround sound experience and the reviews I read said that it was a decent amp for music listening as well.

DSP --> it has a chip to do what can be done effortlessly in software, by Realtek, Windows (Dolby or Sonic), Creative, or the games themselves (Battlefield series...)
HRTF --> done by everything already, stuff ain't a secret
AMP --> available better and cheaper elsewhere, given the low impedance supported by this Sennheiser
 
Zeos's latest video on the GSX1000 was interesting. Essentially he was incredibly suprised by the 7.1 mode for gaming but in 2.0 mode and as an amp, it was nothing special.
 
My other subjective opinion is that headphones suck :)

Luckily none of us are bound to just one audio option!

240hz, ethernet, all wired peripherals, no adaptive sync, 1080p for MP.

Wireless everything, 100hz, ultrawide, gsync, speakers for SP.

Use what's best for what you do!
 
DSP --> it has a chip to do what can be done effortlessly in software, by Realtek, Windows (Dolby or Sonic), Creative, or the games themselves (Battlefield series...)
HRTF --> done by everything already, stuff ain't a secret
AMP --> available better and cheaper elsewhere, given the low impedance supported by this Sennheiser

The difference is, a lot of "virtual" surround sound solutions start with 2ch audio and upmix it to sound expansive.

This one presents it's self as a 7.1 speaker system to Windows.

It's not a new invention, it's just a relatively well executed implementation of common technologies in a space that often suffers from poor product design and poor quality.

If I was going to get a headphone amp, I'd probably get it, but I only use headphones when it's absolutely necessary.

If this was an audiophile board, we'd get someone in here who would buy it if it used tubes or had a balanced input.

One thing you learn about the audio forums is that there is always someone who can't wait to tell you how everything you like is horrible, flawed and not good enough and maybe you should see an ear doctor if you like that crap.

That's why I hang out here; everyone is pretty reasonable.
 
The difference is, a lot of "virtual" surround sound solutions start with 2ch audio and upmix it to sound expansive.

This one presents it's self as a 7.1 speaker system to Windows.

I won't disagree that the poorer implementations are terrible- but they're so easy to avoid too. When you can just roll Dolby Headphone for a few bucks and use that with the DAC, amp, and cans/speakers of your choice...
 
The difference is, a lot of "virtual" surround sound solutions start with 2ch audio and upmix it to sound expansive.

This one presents it's self as a 7.1 speaker system to Windows.

It's not a new invention, it's just a relatively well executed implementation of common technologies in a space that often suffers from poor product design and poor quality.

If I was going to get a headphone amp, I'd probably get it, but I only use headphones when it's absolutely necessary.

If this was an audiophile board, we'd get someone in here who would buy it if it used tubes or had a balanced input.

One thing you learn about the audio forums is that there is always someone who can't wait to tell you how everything you like is horrible, flawed and not good enough and maybe you should see an ear doctor if you like that crap.

That's why I hang out here; everyone is pretty reasonable.

I've got the same sennheiser solution, it's great. Though if you prefer speakers I do have to ask are you using it with multi driver IEMs, IEMs, closed cans, or open back cans?

This isn't to pick nits but I also have multi channel speakers and for somethings (like FPS) I prefer the cans.
I won't disagree that the poorer implementations are terrible- but they're so easy to avoid too. When you can just roll Dolby Headphone for a few bucks and use that with the DAC, amp, and cans/speakers of your choice...


On this....

Dolby Headphone varies wildly depending on the hardware you have behind it. Just as Creatives software does. Too many people have not used a dedicated sound card recently to remember this. It's kinda sad that we are racing forward on visuals and physics but not in audio. Just as too many people use $60 gaming headset.

Alot of new stuff (sennheiser, steelseries, creative) is out to rectify this. There are plenty of places with return policies to test them. You might be shocked.
 
For me, it's about getting tired of things on my ears long before I grow tired of what I'm listening to.

I really - REALLY enjoy both my audio system and the way it doesn't hang on my ears.
 
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