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Headphone/Mic recommendation needed- Gaming.

M

Magnin

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 14, 2001
Messages
191
Looking for a good, reasonably priced CLOSED headset or Phone/mic combo for gaming (mainly WoW).

Sound Card: On board sound on a GIGABYTE GA-770TA-UD3 (Realtek ALC888)

Looking at:
Sennheiser HD-280 PRO, Sennheiser HD 202, or Beyerdynamic DT 235
Zalman Microphone Zm-Mic1


Zalman is the only clip-on mic I can find for pairing with the headphones, reasonably priced, and gets good reviews.

EDIT: Would it be worth building a CMoy amp instead of using the one built on to the mainboard? I'm electrically handy, and it looks like a fun project.
 
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If your priority is WoW, and you are sticking with onboard DAC/Amp, I would stay with a headset. I'd only jump to more difficult phone/mic combinations because you want to be using a mid-fi or high-fi headphone for superior sound.

I'll let others recommend specific models in that arena, as that is not my forte.
 
The main reason to want to switch is I'm SICK of headsets dying on me. I want something that will last or at least be able to be more easily/cheaply repaired.

I've got 2 headsets (one Microsoft, one Logitech) that have got mics that don't work consistently. The Microsoft also is starting to get a cord fray and pops/cracks when I adjust it.

At least with the lapel mic I can easily replace the mic when it dies on me.
 
Corsair HS1A. Very nice build quality, great sound and positioning for gaming. Comfortable.
 
I think the Sennheiser PC360's are considered some of the better headsets out there, but it's an open-ear set. Open headphones produce better soundstages, so unless you have a specific need for isolation (your room has noise in it), I'd consider being flexible on that.

If you want to get a headset, you might as well get it from a sound company (not Microsoft/Logitech).

The problem with justifying the purchase of a Zalman clip-on mic over a boom mic, is that boom mic's are going to be better (less noise). So if you don't want to spend more money to get into mid-fi territory for sound, stick with a boom mic headset.
 
The reason for going with Closed vs Open is that my Wife also games, and has her rig right next to mine. I don't want to deal with the sound leakage from each other's headphones.
 
Let me take a slightly different approach given your preference for closed headphones: the best closed headphones in the mid-fi/high-fi category that come to mind for me are the Denon AH-D2000's. They are very highly regarded and they happen to be closed. They are on Buy.com for $225. If using these headphones, you're going to want to upgrade your source to a card with a headphone amp, like the Asus Xonar Essence STX, or get an external desktop amp. Taking the Essence for the moment, that is another $200 or so. So ~$450 for the headphone/mic combo.

If not willing to spend that much, I'd recommend getting a headset made by Sennheiser or another audio company targeted to the PC market but a step up from the Logitech peripherels. I know I'm not being very helpful in actually recommending a specific headset beyond the PC 360, which is open, but that's because I'm trying to provide info on the headset vs. headphone debate, while letting others chime in with specific headset suggestions because I don't want to recommend something I don't have experience with.

I think another reason to go with a headset is that, like I said, a boom mic is generally going to be superior for voice chat, and since WoW doesn't have any real gameplay-enhancing positional audio cues in it, your ability to hear voice chat and transmit voice chat are probably just as important. If you were playing an FPS, obviously positional audio would be a lot more important to gaining that competitive edge.
 
Thanks for the advice. Turns out the headset isn't a Logitech, but a Plantronics GameCom Pro 1 that is almost 2 years old (dug through my Newegg order history here at work). The Microsoft headset is from the same timeframe, but purchased from BestBuy by my Wife without my input.

I've gone with a Sennheiser PC151 for the moment as it's in a good price range and has good reviews. We'll see how that works, then go from there. My wife's rig has worse onboard sound, and we've been using USB headsets for a while now: will see how the PC151 sounds on her setup and decide where to go from there.
 
I would say that the Sennheiser range of headsets should hopefully be a significant step up from a Plantronics equivalent. I had a Plantronics headset back in the day that I just used for the boom mic. The audio was horrible.

Since then, there are far more options for headsets, and some of them are even respectable for specific markets, like the PC 360.

Let us know how you like them.
 
Got them.

Overall they sound very "Clean" and have a brighter sound than any of the other headsets I've used. They are a Supra-aural headset and don't block sound as well as I'd like. They seem to work decently with my on-board audio. My wife likes them and is using them now.

The Sennheiser definitely sound better than the Plantronics or Microsoft headset (both of which were USB based) but I'm missing the sound isolation that had me looking at closed headsets to begin with.

I took apart the Plantronics GamePro 1 headset this weekend and fixed the frayed mic wire. Opened up the Microsoft LX-3000, and there is a design flaw where the mic wire gets pinched between 2 pieces of plastic when the boom is fully down. Unfortunatly, there wasn't enough wire slack to fix that one.

I've done some reading on the Corsair HS1 and they seem to have a lot of issues. I may just stick with the fixed Plantronics for now as it works and when it breaks again look for something new.
 
Yeah I would not expect supraaural headphones to isolate sound well even if closed-back. The PC350 seems like a normal circumaural closed headset by Senn, but it's much more expensive. Just depends on your budget and how much you want competitive/comfortable/isolating gaming sound.
 
I'm been using the astro a40s for 8 months. No problems so far, and I am satisfied :) Pricey, but you get exceptional quality.
 
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