Good 5.1 Gaming Headset - for xbox too?

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Mangonz

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Do these exist?

My Zalman theatre 6 headphones (non USB version) have died after 2 years so I have dropped back to a pair of cheap HD201 Sennheiser stereo headphones but they are not great for PC games. After using 5.1 headphones for so long the software positional effect that kicks in when you select stereo in games like LFD2 sounds tinny so I am after a new pair of surround headphones.

I am tempted to get another pair of Zalmans but it would be nice to get 5.1 out of my xbox 360 for headphones - something I currently can't do. My guess is they would need a built in or separate headphone amp that can accept 5.1 digital and output it to 3 x 3.5mm jacks. Anyone know of a good set that does this? I thought a new sound card like an X-Fi might be able to do this but from what I can gather from Google they can only decode stereo digital signals.

If this cannot be done the local store down the road also has a Razor HP-1 Gaming Headset - I'm wondering if anyone has used these and if they compare favourably to the Zalmans?
 
You poor misinformed nub, 5.1 headphones are a gimmick. Get yourself a pair of AD700's and experience the wonders of a what a wide sound stage will do for you when gaming.
 
I prefer 2.1, but there is 1 good option.

The beyer dynamic MMX 300 MANUFACTUR is a very good headset. It will cost you, but it isn't breaking anytime soon either. The internal parts are replacable so over time it's very easy on the wallet.

It's 320 bucks, but oh so worth it if you want 5.1 in a headphone

http://shop.beyerdynamic-usa.com/gaming-multimedia-products/mmx-300-manufaktur.html

Otherwise, get a good headphone. 2.1 or 2.0 with great staging like the audio technicas.
 
tisb0b said:
You poor misinformed nub, 5.1 headphones are a gimmick. Get yourself a pair of AD700's and experience the wonders of a what a wide sound stage will do for you when gaming.
Click to expand...

I would have tried to put it more delicately, but this is good info.

Good 5.1 headphones? Good luck, they don't exist. The only ones that aren't pushing towards "complete trash" are the ones that are really normal headphones with a DSP module - which is a sloppy way to go about audio source spatialization anyway.
 
Since he wants a gaming headset that is Xbox compatible (meaning, an actual hookup to the xbox controller, most likely), and with a trouble-free microphone his best choice is a headphone/Dolby module from Astro A40, Tritton AX series, or a turtlebeach set. He gets decent stereo sound, and a module for mixing microphone input / dolby surround "simulated" 5.1, which does actually work decently. And they're designed to be used on consoles. He doesn't need an audiophile can setup for that (and he still needs a good mic).

Mixers to adjust game/voice balance are VERY useful...nothing worse than someone trying to talk to you while you're hearing gunshots .....

Has anyone done a review here of that $350 headset? You can't even get any information from their site, and the colored thumbnail picture doesn't even expand...
 
Falkentyne said:
an actual hookup to the xbox controller
Click to expand...

There are adapters for that. I don't understand the idea of making a wireless controller then turning around and plugging wires into it, but people like strange things.
 
Thanks for the info.

I liked the way I could get positional audio from the Zalmans without certain effects or 'zones' (like sound from behind) being fiddled with by the game to emulate positional audio in stereo. For example in a game like Left for Dead an explosion in front or behind me sounds natural and the same in 5.1 but I could still tell what direction it was coming from. With stereo headphones sound from the front or close by is good but if the sound originates from behind me it is are much weaker and lacks depth (although you can still tell where it is coming from) and I found this disruptive to the immersion. Perhaps this is overdone processing by PC games as it does not seem to be as bad in xbox games like Halo 3.

I have to agree for things like music I could tell the 5.1 phones were not ideal and to be honest I have never really used a truly good set of stereo headphones so I might borrow a pair before I commit to anything. It would definitely make connecting to the xbox easier =)
 
You have two ears, not six. Everything involves fiddling to give your brain enough queues to reconstitute where something is in relation to you.

Headphones with "hardware 5.1" i.e. lots of extra drivers are massive fail because they end up cramming a lot of small drivers into the space, meaning that they end up with shitty underpowered drivers instead of solid ones, and it's basically impossible to keep them from interfering with each other.

Software 5.1 i.e. something where you set your game to 5.1 and then it does some magic and then outputs it on "normal" headphones with one driver per ear will sometimes help - if the 2.0 implementation for the game was done badly. The problem here is that you're condensing arbitrary angles theta and phi and arbitrary radius down to amplitudes on six channels, which are then condensed down to two channels. You lose information compared to if you only make one reduction directly to two channels.

"Normal" 2.0 headphones can have great spatialization, and usually does - IF you're using headphones which have adequate detail / control, IF they're not squashing the tar out of the original dynamic range. Unless the game's programmers made epic fail when they were working with the audio, something like Beyer DT770s should give you better placement in three dimensions than something like Logitech Z-5500 5.1 speakers. Maybe not better than a good 5.1 setup, but even then I doubt the Beyers would be beaten soundly.

5.1 headphones are a gimmick. Companies sell them because people will buy them.
 
I think my problem seems to be that my games all seem to be worse at implementing 2.0 in comparison the drawbacks of multidriver 5.1 headphones. I think the stereo headphones above are much better quality its just the source they are reproducing is not up to the task and I don't seem to see away around this drawback. Perhaps I have funny ears (or a thick skull) or maybe simulated positional stereo technology just isn't there yet. I breifly had the Logitech z-5500 but they were worse than the 5.1 headphones in quality (lol) but I now have a good 5.1 setup with tower speakers I can reference against.

Have done a bit more serching and come across these:

TRITTON AX Pro Dolby Digital 5.1
http://www.trittontechnologies.com/index.php/products/gaming_audio_technology/ax-pro/

Does anyone know of any show stoppers with these? They seem to fit my main requirements of unsimulated positional and can take the 5.1 digital output of the xbox 360...

**Edit - just reread ashmedai's post and locating some 3rd partysoftware to emulate 5.1, see if I can work around the games...
 
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Personally I cant stand anything other than a good stereo setup. I've tried out all of my friends $200 turtle beach setups and I cant really tell the difference. I would suggest getting a nice sound card such as any of the non-crippled x-fi setups with a nice pair of Sennheisers or compatible headphones.
---Edit---
For xbox or any other system you can buy a rca to 3.5mm adapter and get the same fantastic stereo experience. I got my adapter off ebay for 2.99 including shipping.
 
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Just played through a level of Left for Dead 2 using CMSS on the Audigy 2 ZS and with a bit a tweaking (turned EAX off, enable enhance 3D for headphones again) and there is a huge improvement. Now to borrow some good stereo headphones again and try them... lol

I should have called this thread "Whats wrong with my 2.0" :D
 
Yeah, imagine it with better headphones.

Beyer DT770s would be awesome if you can track some down. I would not pay full retail price though, I got mine for about $100 used off Head-Fi FS/FT. Along with a ridiculous amount of other headphones and misc. audio gear - that place is not good for your wallet. But of the ones I've tried, those are my go-to phones for gaming. And music with a good bass track. And movies. There are cheaper options, but even at retail cost these are a great option and well worth saving for if you spend a lot of time gaming with headphones on.

There are some really good "cheaper options" in the $50-100 range, if it comes to that.
 
Didn't you say you want a headset? Sennheiser PC 350 together with a decently cheap amp should do the work.
 
Oh, yeah, now that we licked the "surround headphones" marketing?

Headsets are usually a bad idea. Most of them can be categorized as one of:

low grade crap sold to gamers that don't know better
decent stuff sold to gamers for $$$$
stuff sold for commercial/professional applications for $$$$

One particularly common problem is that, even if the headphones component is decent, the microphone tends to suck. Fortunately, the $10-15 Zalman clip-on microphone works great and can turn any model of headphones you care to buy into a "headset".
 
ashmedai said:
Fortunately, the $10-15 Zalman clip-on microphone works great and can turn any model of headphones you care to buy into a "headset".
Click to expand...

+1 I sleeved the two cables with the same stuff people use inside their case, and it looks really nice.
 
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