Advice on Gaming Headset

V

Vader

Supreme [H]ardness
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Dec 22, 2002
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My wife can't take the speaker on the PC anymore, especially when I game, and they are needed elsewhere at this point. I need a great headset w/mic that will take advantage of my Xfi.

Any ideas?
 
Two things I find important in headphones are:
1. how they feel on your head
2. warranty when they break

I currently use the Plantronics .Audio 370. I like them because they go around your ears, I find this type of headphones to be more comfortable. Many of my friends, myself included prefer cloth because leather sometimes makes your ears sweat. Plantronics has an awesome warranty policy, I just got my pair replaced without a hassle.
 
Might want to check the audio section for advice.

I'm currently using some XFX Gaming ones that I got for I think $1.00 AR a while back =P
http://www.buy.com/prod/XFX-XGear-Multimedia-Gaming-Headset/q/loc/111/203871465.html

They were on sale + rebate + $10 Google Checkout + free shipping so just paid a bit on tax iirc

They are ok, never use the rumble feature and I wear glasses. Now, I found that I can put them on them move the part that goes behind my ear on my glasses to above my ear so it doesn't squish my ear and hurt. So they work fine with glasses as long as you move the frame out from behind your ears.

But check the audio section
 
I use a pair a Sennheiser HD-280 Pro's along with a clip on mic and it works great.
 
Also you might want to put a price point, because you can spend $5 - $200 on headphones :p
 
Budget is around $50...primary use gaming and music.
 
l3ender said:
I use a pair a Sennheiser HD-280 Pro's along with a clip on mic and it works great.
Click to expand...

another vote for the Sennheiser HD-280 Pro's. I picked up a pair at a local music shop for $100 and i've never looked back. Best set of headphones i've every owned, period. Very comfortable (good for 5hr+ gaming marathons) and superior sound quality.

one thing to consider - if you're using a sound card (X-fi, audigy, etc.) you want to avoid USB headsets. Most (if not all) use their own drivers that bypass your sound card.
 
I have some sennheisers with an attached mic, very good quality for a reasonable price.
 
20 buck logitech headset from BB...

They are very comfortable, wrap behind your head, can take a beating, my x-fi sounds awesome through them, and they are one hell of a good deal IMO :D
 
Koss SB49. (40$)

Full-size closed headset. Doesnt really work well with music, but with games is fine and the mic is awesome.
 
Steelsound V5 1/2

I picked mine up for a very reasonable price $60. They are great, I wouldn't use any other headset.
 
I'd like to use a clip-on mic for my 555's. Any clip on mic recommendations?
 
Ewottaja said:
Koss SB49. (40$)

Full-size closed headset. Doesnt really work well with music, but with games is fine and the mic is awesome.
Click to expand...
How does the sound compare with the Sennheiser pc160?

I'm currently using the senns (after my previous pair shorted out) and they've been good to me, but the headphones are supraaural instead of circumaural. I'd really prefer to have the cups surround my ear both for comfort and immersion. I wear glasses to having the sennheisers push my ears into the side of head and my glasses kind of hurts after a long while.

I've been looking for a decent circumaural headset forever now and this seems like a decent possibility, but I'd like to do a little more research. I'm not an audiophile by any means, but I'd like to know a bit more before I bite.
 
I couldnt live without my Medusa's... more expensive than your budget but so worth the price.
 
I use the turtle beach ear force HPA 5.1 headset. It works awesome with my Xfi and the surround is great for gaming. I find it's even better than with speakers because there is no outside sounds to interfere with the surround. Good if you're into FPs games where you need to here where things are coming from. It also has a removable, bendable mic. I've been using the mic for a couple of years and the bendability hasn't decreased at all. They come with all the adapters you need to keep both your speakers and the headphones plugged in at the same time, have their own volume controls for each grouping of speakers as well as bass, and a connection after the volume controls so you can disconnect the entire headset. The only thing I wish it had was a mute button for the mic. If I need to mute though I've gotten into the bad habit of taking the mic off, it's made to come off and is a standard connection so if you have a clip on mic or something else you like you can use that instead. They also needed to be "adjusted" t fit comfortable. I have a friend who had these and was afraid to bend the top to open them up more. If you don't these things squeeze your head pretty good and hurt your ears. I laughed so hard when he kept complaining and I came over and opened them up a bit for him. It's like night and day.
These are over your budget, around 75. TB has updated these and now have an HPA2, I havn't gotten to see what updates that did and these run about 99 though.
 
Thanks for recommending the Zalman mic. I'll pick one of those up.

In the past, I've used the Sennheiser PC 150's. You can get them on eBay or from various e-tailers for around $20-$30. The quality is closer to a $50 pair of Sony's. I highly recommend them to anyone who wants good sound without paying too much.
 
the Senn 150s and 160s are pretty good but they are not around the ear they are on the ear. the difference is that you get a much smaller sound stage with on the ear. the cmss 3D just does not work well with such headphones and in general you are robbed of much of the positioning sound.
 
spaceman said:
the Senn 150s and 160s are pretty good but they are not around the ear they are on the ear. the difference is that you get a much smaller sound stage with on the ear. the cmss 3D just does not work well with such headphones and in general you are robbed of much of the positioning sound.
Click to expand...
How would you say the sound quality differs between the SB45s and the PC160s? I have had both the pc150 and pc160 (which I currently use) but I want a circumaural headset. You seem knowledgeable about the SB45s which I had previously not heard of and I'd like to get as direct a comparison as possible.
 
The Koss SB40 is a great over the ear headset. It is the best built of any headset except for the new $500 beyer lol.

Sound wise it must be pretty good b/c I use it without complaint when the wife tells me stfu with the speakers lol.

For the $$ you get the best deal imo. It is just built solid. Do NOT get the model with the inline/on-cable volume control. The sound is not as good and will be prone to issues due to those controls. The mic is very nice. I am not sure how it sounds compared to the zalman yet b/c I have not been on vent very often since I got mine. However, the build quality of the mic and headset are very rugged. You could do anything short of taking a hammer to that headset without hurting it lol.
 
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