As part of building a new system soon, I'm looking to get some new headphones primarily for gaming so they need to have excellent surround positioning. I currently have Grado SR80s and think they're great for music, and just about any type of "normal" usage, but ever since 5.1 headphones started showing up on the market I can't help but think they'd be better for gaming.
The most press has been given to the Zalman 5.1s but from reviews I've read, I don't think they'll live up to my expectations for sound quality or positioning. The next "most popular" surround headphones seem to be the Ezonics Esound 5.1s but here again, from the reviews I've read I don't think this is the right product for the same reasons as I stated for the Zalmans.
The most impressive pair of 5.1 headphones I've found so far are the Medusa 5.1 headphones from Speedlink. They seem to be higher quality compared to the other two products I've already mentioned and include some unique and highly desirable features such as a headphone amp, and a built-in mic which would be perfect for multiplayer gaming obviously. The only downside to these headphones is that they aren't sold anywhere in North America as far as I can tell. Speedlink is a German company, and every distributor I've found for these headphones is based somewhere in Europe so the shipping to get these headphones is rather high. I've found a UK site that sells them for 60 pounds, or about 110 dollars, but the shipping is about 40 dollars I believe.
Here's the link if you want to check them out:
http://www.firebox.com/index.html?dir=firebox&action=product&pid=691&showAllImages=0
The reviews I've read seem to indicate that these are about the best 5.1 headphones on the market right now, but before I go out and spend probably close to $150 once everything is all said and done on these things, I thought I'd see if anyone else knew of some surround sound headphones that could give the Medusa a run for its money. So, anyone know of a challenger or should I just put my money down on these? Thanks.
The most press has been given to the Zalman 5.1s but from reviews I've read, I don't think they'll live up to my expectations for sound quality or positioning. The next "most popular" surround headphones seem to be the Ezonics Esound 5.1s but here again, from the reviews I've read I don't think this is the right product for the same reasons as I stated for the Zalmans.
The most impressive pair of 5.1 headphones I've found so far are the Medusa 5.1 headphones from Speedlink. They seem to be higher quality compared to the other two products I've already mentioned and include some unique and highly desirable features such as a headphone amp, and a built-in mic which would be perfect for multiplayer gaming obviously. The only downside to these headphones is that they aren't sold anywhere in North America as far as I can tell. Speedlink is a German company, and every distributor I've found for these headphones is based somewhere in Europe so the shipping to get these headphones is rather high. I've found a UK site that sells them for 60 pounds, or about 110 dollars, but the shipping is about 40 dollars I believe.
Here's the link if you want to check them out:
http://www.firebox.com/index.html?dir=firebox&action=product&pid=691&showAllImages=0
The reviews I've read seem to indicate that these are about the best 5.1 headphones on the market right now, but before I go out and spend probably close to $150 once everything is all said and done on these things, I thought I'd see if anyone else knew of some surround sound headphones that could give the Medusa a run for its money. So, anyone know of a challenger or should I just put my money down on these? Thanks.