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Headphone help

F

flooberjobby

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 4, 2008
Messages
268
Ok, I'm in the market for headphones, because I have a room mate that I live with. We rent a house together.

But anywhos... I have a $50 gift certificate thing for Razer's store.

I've been looking at all the headset options for the best ones I can get for gaming, and music, that are surround sound.

I found several, and probly not all the best ones yet.

So my delima is to either get one of these headphones: Astro A40/30, Sennheiser RS 170, Megalodon from razer, Logitech G35.

Those are all I've found for headphones, or at least the most talked about.

So do I get the Razer headset, or one of these or one not on the list, or do I put my $50 towards getting the Mamba?

Either way I plan on getting the Mamba. Just not sure about the Headset. Getting it at the razer store with the 50 makes it the cheapest place to get it, same with the Mamba.

So... what do I do?
 
I have to decide what I'm doing before June because that's when my $50 for the Razer store is no longer valid....

So... anybody have any suggestions or insight?
 
get the mouse. ive heard bad things about the razer headphones.. i.e. they fall apart early.
also i couldnt be happier with my razer mouse.. deathadder

what is your budget for the headphones?
i got the JVC HA-RX700 and they are good for gaming. cover entire ear. only issue if you care is your ears can get hot after about an hour
i got these with a zalman clip on mic for about 50 total. (i think i underestimated there)

but if your looking more around the 200 dollar range id steer clear of those particular Sennheiser. i like sennheiser in general as a brand but wireless headphones will never produce sound to equal wired phones.
ive hear good things about these but not sure about how well the mic works
http://www.headphonewarehouse.com/product170.html
also take a look at these
http://www.google.com/products/cata...ixDp3GigTWqr2GAQ&sa=title&ved=0CDcQ8wIwCDgA#p

however if your heart is set on wireless those Sennheiser would be good to get. i dont want to sound like im dissing all wireless headphones. i just prefer wired ones.

o btw, ive found people dont like to tell you what they think on this forum ;o or at least the people who do arent on much lol
 
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Well my budget is about 300 hundred-ish... can go a higher can go lower... Just as long as they are worth the value and have surround sound. Doesn't matter if they have a Mic attached, i can always get that later if need be.

I'm going for the Mamba. :D I know it has the mouse wheel issue but thats an easy fix, and for what the mouse is that's such a small minor problem with it. From what I heard there aren't any other issues with it.

I'm not set on the wireless, it just seemed like a great set. Because it's wireless and has surround sound, and from the reviews was just as good as the Sennheiser HD 595s. Which are pretty reveared from my search. But I just want the best surround sound headphones I can afford, you know? Best bang for my buck.

I will be traveling with them quite a lot like I do with all my computer gear. Even the desktops. :)

I use to have all my gear down to a 5 minutes shut down packed up and in the car ready to go. back when I was doing tournaments and lan partys all the time.... Ah.. now those were the days.
Now it's I got all my combat gear down to a minute on and rolling out to where ever... Lol. So... not much has changed except for the gear and where I'm going. Lol.
 
do not ever get razer headphones. like ppl say, they are made out of cardboard.
 
i bet someone on this forum could argue that all headphones are "surround sound" because of hte way stereo works and the way they fit on your ear. when you dont have two cups on your ear having speakers behind oyu helps the surround effect, but when your entire ear is encompassed, you will feel that you are in a surround sound environment.
Virtual hair cut

check this out. it will blow your mind lol
 
surround sound is multiple drivers, positioned correctly, being fed from individual sources. NO headphones use surround sound. plenty of headphones have great sound stage which is more than likely what you're looking for. good sound stage is what makes the virtual hair cut clip sound realistic.
 
demografik said:
surround sound is multiple drivers, positioned correctly, being fed from individual sources. NO headphones use surround sound. plenty of headphones have great sound stage which is more than likely what you're looking for. good sound stage is what makes the virtual hair cut clip sound realistic.
Click to expand...

There are surround sound headphones, such as the one made by Zalman which feature multiple drivers, however the sound quality is not the best.

OP: I'd consider the DT770, HD595, and HD580/600/650 if I were you.
 
Skip the "Surround sound" and go with a real pair of headphones.

I have never found a 5.1/7.1 headphone that sounded good or had a believable surround effect ever.

You would likely be better off getting any of the headphones suggested above and skipping the "gamer" stuff.

To add to the suggestions above:
Audiotechnica ATH-A700/ATH-AD700 can be had for $100 +/- $20

If you want lightweight sound isolation with amazing sound, you can't go wrong with Ultimate Ears Triple.fi10 pros. You can get them off ebay/forums (new) for massively less than the $400 msrp.

Those DT770's you will see thrown around as a frequent suggestion will have the most bass you will have ever heard in a headphone.
 
Kett said:
Skip the "Surround sound" and go with a real pair of headphones.

I have never found a 5.1/7.1 headphone that sounded good or had a believable surround effect ever.

You would likely be better off getting any of the headphones suggested above and skipping the "gamer" stuff.

To add to the suggestions above:
Audiotechnica ATH-A700/ATH-AD700 can be had for $100 +/- $20

If you want lightweight sound isolation with amazing sound, you can't go wrong with Ultimate Ears Triple.fi10 pros. You can get them off ebay/forums (new) for massively less than the $400 msrp.

Those DT770's you will see thrown around as a frequent suggestion will have the most bass you will have ever heard in a headphone.
Click to expand...

The main reason for getting the headphones is for gaming. So I don't wake anyone up when I blow $4i1 up.

I have a 5.1 surround sound speaker setup and I love being able to tell from which dirrection some one is coming, watching movies with it, and having my music come at me from all directions like I'm standing in the middle of the band or Orchestra. I can hear each instrament in different places, like you would at a real concert, or Orchestra.

Thats the point of me getting a Surround sound Headphones. I know you can have them simulate Surround sound, or have actual speakers for it. I was just asking which of all the ones out that can provide either of these features has the best sound quality for music and gaming. Mainly for gaming.

And for the suggestions of the HD595... if I were to get that I minace well get the RS 170 because they are the same quality except wireless.

Now if I could get an amp or station or somthing that aloud me to have surround sound with any headphones, I would so get it and get the best headphones I could afford.

So... are all the headphones mentioned the best options then? If so thank you for all the help. I'll let you all know what I get for headphones.
 
The intent of surround sound headphones is, as you say, to replicate the experience of having a full speaker system around you like you would with 5.1 speakers.

Hilariously enough, the kind of headphone that is the WORST at trying to do this, are the ones that pack multiple speakers inside each ear cup of the headphone. (Like the Razer Barracuda HP-1)

If you end up getting a surround sound headphone, your best bet is a virtual one. I've personally found that the best virtual surround set up is gained by getting a nice set of stereo headphones like those mentioned in this thread, and then using a soundcard function to turn on a Virtual Surround effect; X-Fi cards usually have this ability. There are some headsets out now that internalize this same effect, such as the G35 headset which says it's a 7.1 headset, but only has 2 speakers, one in each cup.

Also, the HD595s sound a lot better than those RS 170s, they are not the same quality. If you were going to go wireless, you may be interested in the WoW headset review stickied at the top of this forum. Those would save you some money, but wouldn't match the 595s in sound quality either.

For an external device that allows you to have surround sound with any pair of headphones, there are a few options. One of them is the Astro A40 Mixamp. This produces the 5.1 Virtual surround effect for stereo headphones. It's designed to work with their A40 headset, but works with all standard headphones. I'm not an expert on it, so I would research it some before running out to buy it. It's external, so if you don't have a soundcard that can produce the virtual effect or can't get one, this would be a good solution. Also, don't use it with "true" 5.1/7.1 headphones that have all the extra speakers in them; only use it with stereo headphones (One speaker in each headphone cup) or it won't drive all the speakers. I also would not be tempted by the A40 headset itself; it's fairly mediocre and has atrocious internal wiring. As for which headphones to use w/ virtual, word is that closed headphones work better with the virtual effect than open style headphones. I can't attest personally to that, since all my headphones are closed. DT770s are supposed to do well w/ Virtual.
 
Hmm... thank you Kett, and everyone else. Much appreciated. So... if I could get a set of Sennheiser HD650s for 275 used... would that be a bad deal? Or should I look more into the DT770's, 595s, Ultimate Ears Triple.fi10 pros, and Audiotechnica ATH-A700/ATH-AD700?

Anyone know of virtual surround sound software I can just download, thats pretty much compatible with all sound cards thats free or pretty cheap?

Just found the DT-990, and according to this site is the best bang for the buck. http://www.headphoneinfo.com/content/Beyerdynamic-DT-990-PRO-Headphones-Review-715.htm

Yet this site http://www.testfreaks.com/headphones-headsets/beyerdynamic-dt-990-pro/
Rates the HD 650 the best.

So... What do all suggest to be the best choice of the lot?
 
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I've never heard of any independent, hardware-agnostic virtual surround software; I doubt anything like that exists.

As far what headphone specifically to get; If this is your first pair of this kind of headphone, I definitely would not start with something as pricey as the HD650. I would say you should try to keep it under $200, especially if you don't yet have a better-than-onboard soundcard.

Also, the type of sound profile you prefer is very important too. If you like a lot of bass for instance, you may find yourself disappointed with some headphones. For a first pair, I would stick with something like a used/new DT770 in the $100-150 range or you could grab one of the ATH-AD/A700. I haven't personally tried the Sennheisers, but the HD555 and 595 seem to be the most popular choices for gaming. As a bonus, all the above should be easy to resell at little to no loss if for whatever reason you determine that you aren't a fan and want a different kind of headphone, especially if you buy them used. Once one of these becomes "used" they don't really lose value anymore upon further resale.

With the ATH-A700 vs AD700, the A is a closed headphone and the AD is open. This means sound will leak into and out of the AD. The second thing about the AD is that due to the open design Bass will be accurately reproduced, but lack any sort of punch. Bass on the closed A version will be increased somewhat. The AD remains the more popular choice for gaming however, due to it's wider "sound stage" and increased clarity due to the open design. The A700 is still very good for it though.

The DT770 is another closed design, with a focus on Bass. It's very nearly like having a subwoofer between your ears.

Consider everything you want to use the headphones for, including your gaming environment (loud, next to sleeping people, relatively quiet, etc etc), what kind of music you listen to (rock, electronica, rap, etc), whether you have a soundcard or not, all that kind of stuff is important to the one you choose; all of them will still be good for games.

If you want more in-depth information you can peruse the headphone forum @ head-fi.org. You should get a wider range of responses there from more people with experience in other headphones you may be interested in. Make sure to search the forum before posting the same question again. :)
 
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