gaming headphones, 5.1?

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bradyapba

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Nov 30, 2004
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Well i recently had to move my computer, and now its much closer to our bedroom, and the wife is complaining about the noise. So i was wondering do they make good gaming headphones? Where would you buy one?

Any ideas and reccomendations would be great!
 
get an x-fi and a set of stereo cans. you'll get a much better surround experience than with 5.1 headphones.
 
What are Stereo Cans? Will they be quieter than my surround sound system now?

Why would I have to switch to a x-fi from my augity 2? Not sure how thats going to quiet my gaming experience.

Thanks for clarifying!
 
The beyerdynamic DT770pro 80ohm is a great gaming headphone plus it works great with movies. Add to the fact that it's very sturdy and comfy, and I would recommend it.
Can be had for 150$us.

Oh, it's also closed, so much less sound leaks out as opposed to open headphones...... which seems to be what your wife wants. :D

~Hope this helps
 
bradyapba said:
What are Stereo Cans?
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Headphones with one driver per ear cup. Almost all headphones are stereo headphones.
Will they be quieter than my surround sound system now?
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Oh yes, much quiter, especially if you get closed headphones.
Get a good headphone, and you may not even want to go back to your speakers.
 
Thanks i was a little confused... when i read "cans" besides giggling... i thought it meant "desk speaker" and not "headphone"... that makes sense.


I only game on my computer when it comes to sound. I dont use it for any other audio use.... ie music, movies, etc... thats what my home theather is for.

So i have a few more questions.

Would x-fi increase my gaming experience? Im not sure how.

Also since I play a lot of 1st person shooters... relative sound positioning is of the utmost importance... would a 5.1 headphones give me that over just stereo headphones?

Also still need to keep the speakers, becuase sometimes when im co-op gaming, i am playing with 4 or 5 friends and we are all on the phone at the same time, conference calling, so i need the speakers because im wearing a headset from my phone!

Thanks again for all your guys help an input!
 
Would x-fi increase my gaming experience? Im not sure how.
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Yes, It is a little better for gaming with headphones then the Audigy2 zs. ;)

Also since I play a lot of 1st person shooters... relative sound positioning is of the utmost importance... would a 5.1 headphones give me that over just stereo headphones?
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No.

What is your budget for these headphones?
 
Well since this is a wife approved purchase :)... i dont really have a budget...pretty much whatever fits my needs...

I mean no since buying a a $300 headset, if a $75 fits my needs....

But probably looking at a $75-$200 budget would probably be what im looking to spend, depending I guess..

A mic would be nice too, to go along as I use teamspeak,etc at times when I game as well..doesn't have to have a mic, but it would be a nice feature.
 
I was thinking along the lines of the Sennheiser PX200s.
They are very light, reasonably efficient, affordable and they sound pretty damn good if you can get a good seal. If not the bass kinda sucks.
Add a Zalman clip on mic and you are good to go for a $75 entry level combo. :)
 
as far as positioning, the effect that the X-Fi has on 3D positioning over standard stereo headphones is far superior to what i've experienced over 5.1 headphones. i dont know how they do it, but they've done one helluva job virtualizing the rear and front speakers.
 
ok, so excuse this newbie question (its been a couple of years since i looked into audio stuff for the pc)

when you are refering to X-fi, your talking about the sound card right? And not the headphones? There isn't such a thing as X-fi head phones?

So what your saying is X-fi sound card and stereo headphones are better than

5.1 sound card and 5.1 headphones?

Just trying to make sense of it!

Thanks!
 
Full surround off a stereo source has been around for a while and getting better. The theory is that the human hears and pin points direction based on a stero setup (two ears) so there is no reason why you can't do similar with 2 audio sources. It's about how you manipulate the sound to fool the human brain into thinking that something came from a certain direction. Even before X-Fi, the Miles Positional 2D Audio did/does a very good job.
 
I managed a pair of new Sennheiser HD-555's for about $100 from Amazon.com. Worth every penny.
 
Could get a used pair of sennheiser hd590's for about 100 or a refurb pair for about 170. They are great headphones and I use them personally for gaming. I use them every day over my sony 5.1 surround system.

Check out www.head-fi.com for headphone reviews and info and good deals in the FS section.
 
Ok,

thanks guys, im getting a lot of useful info here. I have never even heard of sennheiser until i made this post.

Ok so then, it looks like I have to make this decision.

Whether or not to get the X-fi sound card. At this point i would prefer not too, having to open my system, wipe driver,s instal drivers, etc...

I was hoping just to find find a good pair of gaming head phones to go with my audigy 2.

So am i correct in saying I should get a good set of stereo headphones and use the miles 2d/3d option in games, rather than a pair of 5.1 headphones? Or should I use the 5.1 option in games with a stereo set of headphones?

Can i get a good set of headphones with my current sound card that will give me very good sound positioning in games?

What audio option do most choose in games with headphones? 5.1 or the miles 2d/3d option?

thanks!
 
not every game uses miles though. that's the other problem. there's OpenAL, FMod and DirectSound that are all used by different games. and not all of them give you an option. some do auto detection and give you the best option possible. others open it up to you.
 
While not as good as the X-Fi, the Audigy 2 does an okay job with 3D positioning. Just get a decent pair of normal stereo headphones, a clip on mic and see what you think. You could always get an X-Fi later.

Just make sure your Audigy is in headphone mode and that CMSS3D (the bit that does the 3D positioning) is turned on and away you go.
 
I have an audigy2zs with my Sennheiser HD485 and with CMSS3D-2 (the one with simulated room acoustics) and games set to 5.1 the directional sound is pretty good; I can tell if things are above me, below me, behind me, ahead of me, etc.
 
look in the yellow page and find ur local guitar shop. They usually carry the beyerdynamic and sennheiser.

or

you can go to ebay.com and get it there. its usually MUCH MUCH cheaper there.
 
bradyapba said:
Can i get a good set of headphones with my current sound card that will give me very good sound positioning in games?
Click to expand...

Allow me to reiterate again:

towert7 said:
The beyerdynamic DT770pro 80ohm is a great gaming headphone plus ....
...it's also closed, so much less sound leaks out as opposed to open headphones.
Click to expand...
Can be had on ebay for 150$us or lower (reports of it going for as low as 125$us).

;)
 
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