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Looking for a 5.1 headset-

M

Mustkunstn1k

n00b
Joined
Jul 6, 2009
Messages
47
What i'm looking is a good 5.1 headset (with mic) for watching movies and playing video games for my PC.

I would use this for quite a long time so i don't really want them to broke soon. I also wouldn't really listen music to it, but i would still like that the audio would good - and also the microphone.

Two main things i would like are big earcups which would fully cover the year (i don't want those small ones like Fatal1ty). I also would like if it had softening so it would be comfortable for long sessions. I haven't tried those, but Speedlink Medusa and Razer Barracuda seem to have the soft thingy.

I'm also running Windows 7 and i've heard that Speedlink Medusa doesn't work with it - so maybe the Barracuda is the right choice? The price for that is a little steep but i guess it is worth it.

I wanted a good headset for a long time, but they never would sell things in my country or the price would be twice as big. But now Amazon.co.uk for example sends things in my country so i can order from there maybe.

So hopefully you guys can recommend some. Thanks.

Btw: How much do i need the a new soundcard? This is my setup:

# CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550

# Mobo: Asus P5Q PRO

# GPU: ATI ASUTEK 4870 1GB

# RAM x4: A-DATA 1GB DDRII 800

# HDD: SEAGATE ST3250820AS 250GB (XP)

# HDD 2: Hitachi 320GB (Win7)

# HDD 3 & 4: WD Caviar Black (WD1001FALS

# PSU: Corsair TX750W

# Cooling: Silent Cooling Fan 80mm
 
Plantronics gamecon 777 or Logitech G35 or AD700's + zalman clip on mic. I wouldn't get hung up on getting a headset that claims to be 5.1 as its just marketing at its finest, 5.1 is unnecessary in headphones.
 
We'll i want to watch movies and experience the ones which have 5.1. Or you know the video games that support 5.1 - i also want to exactly hear enemes behind the walls and so on.

Plantronics GameCom 777 has this open-ear design or whatever which is exactly what i don't want. I want my headset to be immersive and i don't want to hear the backround noises. The square designs are a little weird too.
 
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tritton axpro for real 5.1
astro a40's are also really good but their expensive 250$ they might be worth the extra 100$ over the axpros to you
 
We'll i want to watch movies and experience the ones which have 5.1. Or you know the video games that support 5.1 - i also want to exactly hear enemes behind the walls and so on.
Click to expand...

Then what you need is some method of mounting 5 speakers around your head - I'm thinking similar to Doc Brown 1955 in BTTF when he was trying to read Marty's brain.

5.1 Headsets virtualize this. Most don't have anything besides a number of speakers within each ear cup with some magic to pretend to sound like its positional.
http://www.cybersnipa.com/us/gaming-audio/sonar5.1-headset.php

Some go buck wild with this:

http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/06/psyko-audios-5-1-surround-sound-headphones-actually-look-psycho/

None are nearly as good as 6 actual properly positioned speakers though. YMMV and you might like it. I personally can't stand anything but plain-jane stereo headphones.
 
honestly to the OP:
5.1 headsets are usually marketing crap, instead of two cheap drivers you get six, and it isn't the only way to "hear behind" or enjoy 5.1 movies, the reality is that a stereo solution is the ideal match for your ears, as you only have two of them (when will people get off the whole "ZOMFG 5.1" and "ZOMFG HD" kick?) (also, holy batman spelling/grammar, and if you're gonna say "english isn't my first language", that isn't a valid excuse under any circumstances, its a cop-out, because its basically saying that you can't be assed to learn something the right way and that somehow being lazy makes you special)

seriously if you're gonna ignore advice given, don't waste people's time

to actual advice:
open headphones have varrying degrees of isolation, some are fairly good, some are fairly open, but not even the most "isolated" open headphones will compare to closed headphones, so if you're using them to block bg noise (like fans, HVAC equipment, dogs, etc) then go ahead and get a closed pair of headphones, I would suggest something like the Sennheiser HD-280 Pro's or M-Audio Studiophile Q40's, which will offer a decent amount of ambient noise isolation, and still work quite well for gaming and music/movies

as far as a new soundcard, currently you're probably using the onboard sound on that Asus board, right? that isn't terrible, but if it doesn't support something like Dolby Headphone you might want something like an Asus Xonar card (you seem to like Asus, heh) which will have more effects/etc processing features (like for stereo processing (Dolby Headphone) or 5.1 (like even if you got 5.1 speakers or something, theres an advantage here))
 
Get some Audio Technica AD700's with the zalman clip mic as someone suggested. The soundstage on these is incredible and having used Zalman's 5.1 headset in the past, this is much much better. Mic works perfectly. I can pick out footsteps and pinpoint direction really well.
 
I agree with obobski.

Real 5.1 headphones aren't always better. Virtual surround sound like Creatives CMSS-3D or Dobly works great for regular stereo headphones. A decent sound card will have similar headphone 3D technology.

I have Astro's and I like them, but don't really think the headphones sound great. The Astro Mixamp + A40's is a fair deal for $250, but really only makes sense for console users. They are just stereo headphones with Dolby virtual surround sound.

Tritton AX Pro's are the true 5.1 headphones with 4 speakers in each ear. You also might want to check out the Turtle Beach HPx for sub $100. They also have 4 speakers in each ear. I think the HPx are more comfortable personally then the Trittons.
 
The Sennheiser HD555s are some of the best stereo headphones for surround sound effect.

They have a unique shape inside and a deflector that makes it so you get VERY directional sound in combination with proper headphone surround sound profiles. They are also very good headphones that will kick the crap out of any of that "gamer" marketed crap.

They are open cans, but again they have very good sound.
 
just get a good pair of headphones , zalman clip mic and a soundcard that does 3d effects.Those 5.1 headphones suck.
 
+1 to a good set of headphones and Zalman clip on mic. Software simulation will get you what you want just as well as "5.1" headphones will.

I own the JVC HA-RX700's and find them to be very good for their price. And although I haven't heard a lot of high end headphones, the few in the $100+ price range that I have listened to have left me very satisfied with my JVC's.
 
I disagree that 5.1 phones are marketing crap. I have used both stereo and many others. For movies I agree that good stereo work just as good. But for Games that use 5.1 for positional audio 2.0 does not ever come close. Now I do agree there are some really crappy 5.1 like the Zalman which I too once tested/owned. But phones like Triton Ax Pro with 8 drivers (good drivers) actually allows you to know where that guy behind your just outside of the door to the left is walking. In my Dolby Stereo I know there is someone near by which I can hear and I know he is some where to my left. That leaves alot of guessing. Now I can turn my body around to better pinpoint with the stereo but then I too am making noise and they will know where I am. So that said marketing crap is more for those that are interested in pure sound for music... but for the gamers its an advantage.

another thing to look at is the Psyko 5.1 which were featured in Pop-sci they have managed to reproduce 3D sound to exactly what you would get in a room with true positional audio. Even my tritons with all the speakers in the ear have flaws I do admit. But for what I have read and heard these new 5.1 are going to be the next huge design in 3d audio.
 
obobski said:
honestly to the OP:
(also, holy batman spelling/grammar, and if you're gonna say "english isn't my first language", that isn't a valid excuse under any circumstances, its a cop-out, because its basically saying that you can't be assed to learn something the right way and that somehow being lazy makes you special)
Click to expand...

Pretty harsh when you aren't even using proper capitalization and punctuation throughout your entire post. I understand your point, but without knowing how long the OP has been studying English (if it is his second language) it is silly to say he isn't learning something the right way or lazy.

Following this thread as I am also looking for 5.1 headphones and skeptical of their actual performance.
 
Darcschnider said:
I disagree that 5.1 phones are marketing crap. I have used both stereo and many others. For movies I agree that good stereo work just as good. But for Games that use 5.1 for positional audio 2.0 does not ever come close. Now I do agree there are some really crappy 5.1 like the Zalman which I too once tested/owned. But phones like Triton Ax Pro with 8 drivers (good drivers) actually allows you to know where that guy behind your just outside of the door to the left is walking. In my Dolby Stereo I know there is someone near by which I can hear and I know he is some where to my left. That leaves alot of guessing. Now I can turn my body around to better pinpoint with the stereo but then I too am making noise and they will know where I am. So that said marketing crap is more for those that are interested in pure sound for music... but for the gamers its an advantage.
Click to expand...

The problem with your reasoning is that the speakers (assuming there are actually multiple speakers inside the headphone cup) are all located within an inch or so of each other - so how is that presenting any different sound to your single ear hole? 5.1 works for speakers becuase they are physically seperated and so can provide actual discretely positioned sounds, but headphones can't do that.
 
Well they sorta work because the sounds emanate via different speakers/drivers and are positioned to simulate the relative position if you were to draw a line from your head to where the speaker would be. No, this does not work as well as well-placed speakers as someone mentioned but some people either don't have the space to do that or they just can't make that much noise while playing games. If I'm trying to play a game at a moderately loud volume then there is no place in the house where my wife can avoid the noise so I usually have headphones on. The separate speakers being within an inch of your ears makes the sound position somewhat less discreet than external speakers do.

The 555s do work pretty well and you'd probably be just about as happy with a good pair of stereo phones but I think the approach Tritton takes works fairly well for what it was designed to do.
 
Forceman said:
The problem with your reasoning is that the speakers (assuming there are actually multiple speakers inside the headphone cup) are all located within an inch or so of each other - so how is that presenting any different sound to your single ear hole? 5.1 works for speakers becuase they are physically seperated and so can provide actual discretely positioned sounds, but headphones can't do that.
Click to expand...

No matter if you are using 5.1 speakers or 5.1 headphones you still only have 2 ear holes, so if you can get the sound to go in them same way, whats the difference?
 
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Grentz said:
The Sennheiser HD555s are some of the best stereo headphones for surround sound effect.

They have a unique shape inside and a deflector that makes it so you get VERY directional sound in combination with proper headphone surround sound profiles. They are also very good headphones that will kick the crap out of any of that "gamer" marketed crap.

They are open cans, but again they have very good sound.
Click to expand...

I completely agree. I own a pair of HD555s as well as Turtle Beach HPX's. I enjoy them both very much. I use the HD555s on my console that I just plug into an headphone amp (use an old mic that plugs into my controller) while I game on my PC with the HPXs. They both provide excellent sound quality for the price in my opinion. I like how I can get the most out of my sound card with the HPXs being 5.1 and I can also use the microphone that comes with them that is exceptionally well made.
 
Kulith said:
No matter if you are using 5.1 speakers or 5.1 headphones you still only have 2 ear holes, so if you can get the sound to go in them same way, whats the difference?
Click to expand...

I agree with this. You only have 2 ears, why have 5.1 speakers in a headphone? If the game properly mixes the sound into 2 channels for a headphone, then stereo will be as good as a 5.1 headphone system.

When it comes to speakers opposed to headphones, 5.1 matters because you are trying to fill a whole room with sound to emulate the environment in the movie/game. In headphones, the sound is directly into your ear, of which you only have 2, thus 2 speakers will work assuming the source is set up correctly.
 
Tudz said:
I agree with this. You only have 2 ears, why have 5.1 speakers in a headphone? If the game properly mixes the sound into 2 channels for a headphone, then stereo will be as good as a 5.1 headphone system.

When it comes to speakers opposed to headphones, 5.1 matters because you are trying to fill a whole room with sound to emulate the environment in the movie/game. In headphones, the sound is directly into your ear, of which you only have 2, thus 2 speakers will work assuming the source is set up correctly.
Click to expand...

Thanks, that was the point I was trying to make also.
 
Forceman said:
The problem with your reasoning is that the speakers (assuming there are actually multiple speakers inside the headphone cup) are all located within an inch or so of each other - so how is that presenting any different sound to your single ear hole? 5.1 works for speakers becuase they are physically seperated and so can provide actual discretely positioned sounds, but headphones can't do that.
Click to expand...

That is why Psyko 5.1 head phones will rule them all. It actually recreats true surround like that of a 5.1 system in a room. Hence why Pop-Sci was so interested in the new design. Even though the speakers are only a small distance apart they still allow positional audio where Stereo only gives your left and right. As to the comment on only 2 holes why would 5.1 make a diffrence. Perherps you should show some smarts and learn abit more on sound feilds. when you ar out side you can hear sounds from all aroudn you. The distance sound travels form all directions creates 3d Feild. If you use stereo you are only recreating 2 channels of mixed audio which will not give the 3D Depth. If you ever played a game like BF BC2 with stereo head phones you would hear the guy off to the right or left but you would not know if he was in front or behind and how far away because all of that informaiton is mixed into the 2 channels. having 5.1 even with the small distance on old headphones they project sound form the front , the sides and from behind. That with proper use of timing will give you a 3d listening enviroment which you can pinpoint a location based on how our brains put it all together. The new psyko setup takes it 1 step further by doing it naturally like real surround thus not having to use the computer to simulate. You should also look up on goolge how we hear and what role the shape of the ear plays in surround then you may have the slightest understanding on how its possible. It would be like saying the earth is flat lol.

Edit: check this out it will give you a better understanding http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychoacoustics , and on surround http://www.audiosignal.co.uk/Resources/Surround_sound_psychoacoustics_A4.pdf
As well if you think sound is only 2D then perhaps you should read about this where they actaully push sound directly to a person through the air in that nobody else can hear it but that person. This shows that we can even control the direction of sound completely ;) http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/2827/hypersonic_sound_hss_technology_reinventing_sound/index.html
 
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Darcschnider said:
That is why Psyko 5.1 head phones will rule them all. It actually recreats true surround like that of a 5.1 system in a room. Hence why Pop-Sci was so interested in the new design. Even though the speakers are only a small distance apart they still allow positional audio where Stereo only gives your left and right. As to the comment on only 2 holes why would 5.1 make a diffrence. Perherps you should show some smarts and learn abit more on sound feilds. when you ar out side you can hear sounds from all aroudn you. The distance sound travels form all directions creates 3d Feild. If you use stereo you are only recreating 2 channels of mixed audio which will not give the 3D Depth. If you ever played a game like BF BC2 with stereo head phones you would hear the guy off to the right or left but you would not know if he was in front or behind and how far away because all of that informaiton is mixed into the 2 channels. having 5.1 even with the small distance on old headphones they project sound form the front , the sides and from behind. That with proper use of timing will give you a 3d listening enviroment which you can pinpoint a location based on how our brains put it all together. The new psyko setup takes it 1 step further by doing it naturally like real surround thus not having to use the computer to simulate. You should also look up on goolge how we hear and what role the shape of the ear plays in surround then you may have the slightest understanding on how its possible. It would be like saying the earth is flat lol.

Edit: check this out it will give you a better understanding http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychoacoustics , and on surround http://www.audiosignal.co.uk/Resources/Surround_sound_psychoacoustics_A4.pdf
As well if you think sound is only 2D then perhaps you should read about this where they actaully push sound directly to a person through the air in that nobody else can hear it but that person. This shows that we can even control the direction of sound completely ;) http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/2827/hypersonic_sound_hss_technology_reinventing_sound/index.html
Click to expand...

And YOU need to read the following pages before you run your mouth off like an expert and belittle people's intelligence in this thread:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head-related_transfer_function
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_audio_effect
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_surround

Also, the point that people were probably making about 5.1 headphones with more-than-two drivers (Psyko excluded, it's different and hopefully good) being unable to reliably create positional sound is due to the fact that there is no space in the tiny listening environment they create for sound to flow over your ears and head to create the 3D positional effects like it would with a 5.1 speaker system. Especially considering that the sound going to each ear is isolated to only that ear by the cups of the headphones. You even talked about the whole "shape of the ear" thing, and probably read about your two ears working together based on the delay of sound from one to the other to determine direction right? Too bad you didn't even try to put two and two together; the best they can do is try to simulate those and stereo headphones happen to work just fine for that. Also, if you're going to preach at people to "show some smarts," you really need to learn to type.

To the OP: Avoid all Razer products unless you like boxing them up and shipping them off to be replaced every 3 months until the warranty expires. The Barracuda is a piece of trash. If you like the look of the AD700 people have been recommending but need a closed back headphone, look for the "A700" model, which is the same thing with a closed back. I would also look at the G35 headset which is supposed to be decent as well, though I haven't heard how it sounds.(I would probably avoid anything fancier than these until you get a decent soundcard.) I generally try to avoid any headphone that uses 3-4 drivers in each headphone "cup" as they tend to be phenomenally low quality.

Also, the Zalman clip on mic is available here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00029MTMQ

...though it doesn't look like it's on amazon.co.uk. If you were interested in a clip on though, it does come up with some other results at similar-ish pricing. Don't know anything about them though.
 
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Darcschnider said:
That is why Psyko 5.1 head phones will rule them all. It actually recreats true surround like that of a 5.1 system in a room. Hence why Pop-Sci was so interested in the new design. Even though the speakers are only a small distance apart they still allow positional audio where Stereo only gives your left and right. As to the comment on only 2 holes why would 5.1 make a diffrence. Perherps you should show some smarts and learn abit more on sound feilds. when you ar out side you can hear sounds from all aroudn you. The distance sound travels form all directions creates 3d Feild. If you use stereo you are only recreating 2 channels of mixed audio which will not give the 3D Depth. If you ever played a game like BF BC2 with stereo head phones you would hear the guy off to the right or left but you would not know if he was in front or behind and how far away because all of that informaiton is mixed into the 2 channels. having 5.1 even with the small distance on old headphones they project sound form the front , the sides and from behind. That with proper use of timing will give you a 3d listening enviroment which you can pinpoint a location based on how our brains put it all together. The new psyko setup takes it 1 step further by doing it naturally like real surround thus not having to use the computer to simulate. You should also look up on goolge how we hear and what role the shape of the ear plays in surround then you may have the slightest understanding on how its possible. It would be like saying the earth is flat lol.

Edit: check this out it will give you a better understanding http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychoacoustics , and on surround http://www.audiosignal.co.uk/Resources/Surround_sound_psychoacoustics_A4.pdf
As well if you think sound is only 2D then perhaps you should read about this where they actaully push sound directly to a person through the air in that nobody else can hear it but that person. This shows that we can even control the direction of sound completely ;) http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/2827/hypersonic_sound_hss_technology_reinventing_sound/index.html
Click to expand...

I'd answer this, but I don't want to reward poor spelling and Kett has pretty much taken care of covering the ways in which you are wrong.
 
Hi Mustkunstn1k,

If gaming is very important to you, then, get a good set of medusa speedlink 5.1 headphones and an auzentech soundcard. What people are saying here is true, that the sound quality of the headphones isn't as good as the stereo headphones, but, for gaming they are amazing. they aren't too bad for movies, but, music isn't the best.

If movies and music are more important then the JVC- HA-RX700's mentioned earlier in this thread are very good. I have the RX900's and they are amazing for music and movies. The surround sound is good in games too, just not quite up to the medusa's.

I used the medusa's and the RX900's side by side for a while, but, it was just too messy switching over and back betweeen them, so I sold the medusa's. I was gaming a lot at the time as well, just nothing serious, now I am back playing competively online, I really miss the 5.1 medusa's and am going to purchase a set again.

Again, the advice here is correct, I followed it and when I bought the RX900's I was amazed and how good they sounded. I still am amazed. But saying all that, the advice was wrong too, because, nothing has come close to been as good for 5.1 postioning as the medusa headphones. Yes good stereo headphones with dolby headphone or cmss3d can do pretty amazing surround sound, it's just not as good as the 5.1 headphones. Sure gunshots and grendaees and everything sounds much better on the RX900's but, for example, in counterstrike source, I used to get accused of wall hacking quite a lot when I used to wear the medusa's, not once I have I ever been accused of wall hacking with any stereo headphone I tried.

And I have tried a few different stereo headphones, HD555's ATH-900's and more. Also have tried dolby headphone and also CMSS3D.

So If you aren't an avid gamer then the stero headphones are realy good. But if your KDR means a lot to you, then you can't beat a good 5.1 headphones.

Good luck in your search!
 
I did infact read the articles. They do talk about "Virtual Surround" Which requires a 3D processor. Most standard Stereo phones will not work in surrond on a DVD player/Blue-Ray etc. The computer may have a audio processor that may break things up for the Stereo phones, but it is no where near the same as 5.1 headphones for directional audio. I have probably done alot more testing then you. I have over 15 sets of headphones (Stereo) and 5.1. I have also tested both vitural and real 5.1 driven phones. Stereo for What the gentelman was asking is not what he should be looking at. As to the whole "Spelling" If thats the best argument you can come up with in responce to prove your case that good stereo phones are just as good then so be it.

As to the other related articles dealing with stereo phones and 3D effects. is not the same as discrete 5.1 As you woret above I did say that the G35 were very good even though they are vritual 3D. however I also stated that the Triton beat them in surround. The diffrence is very noticable. I do agree for music and some movies a good stereo set may have better ranges, but we are talking about 5.1 as noted in the subject for movies and gaming. On another note to the person that was looking for 5.1 Get the Psyko 5.1 if you can afford they are the best. I have recieved mine and they are very unbelieveable I will never look at another 5.1 set again.
 
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people really need to get off this you have 2 ears crap :p you only have 2 eyes, but you can discern differnce of depth and distance with them, it's the same with your ears, ears are setup in a way to help discern the direction the sound is coming from, and distance too. the Pskyo 5.0 system seems to be probably the best designed to recreate real directional sound, but who knows, it's entirely possible that the drivers are too close to ear to give a proper position with regular 5.0 headphones.

so 5 sound sources from different directions are useful to our lonely 2 ears

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_...n_plane_.28front.2C_above.2C_back.2C_below.29

what pisses me off is this 5.1, what the hell, where is the .1, I don't see a sub anywhere on those headphones :D

here is TechReports review conclusion of the Psyko 5.1s
Summary: the sound quality sucks, but the positional system is great

Discounting the Psykos completely would sell short a notable achievement, though. The sounds produced may be of questionable quality, but they're coming from the right directions. Psyko's novel approach to surround sound really does deliver the most convincing positional audio I've experienced with a set of headphones. To my ears, the 5.1-channel headphones are nearly as immersive as a proper speaker setup. They offer noticably more accurate positional audio than the virtualized surround sound provided by Creative's X-Fi sound cards, too.

So, who might be willing to sacrifice a great deal of fidelity in the name of improved positional accuracy? Hardcore gamers with deep pockets, perhaps. A few hours with Counter-Strike really sold me on the appeal of these headphones for competitive multiplayer gaming. The game doesn't have any music or much in the way of ambient effects, leaving me free to hone in on footsteps, gunfire, bouncing grenades, and other audible cues. In that kind of environment, the Psyko headphones offer a distinct competitive advantage over the speaker virtualization schemes I've used. A true 5.1-channel speaker is even better, but that's not a practical solution for some rooms, nor is it portable enough for LAN parties and tournament play.
Click to expand...
 
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Digital Viper-X- said:
people really need to get off this you have 2 ears crap :p you only have 2 eyes, but you can discern differnce of depth and distance with them, it's the same with your ears, ears are setup in a way to help discern the direction the sound is coming from, and distance too. the Pskyo 5.0 system seems to be probably the best designed to recreate real directional sound, but who knows, it's entirely possible that the drivers are too close to ear to give a proper position with regular 5.0 headphones.

so 5 sound sources from different directions are useful to our lonely 2 ears

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_...n_plane_.28front.2C_above.2C_back.2C_below.29

what pisses me off is this 5.1, what the hell, where is the .1, I don't see a sub anywhere on those headphones :D

here is TechReports review conclusion of the Psyko 5.1s
Summary: the sound quality sucks, but the positional system is great
Click to expand...

That was my point. Psyko actaully has 2 subs in the ear cups. so it sould be 5.2 perhap. Like that review said people who use the 5.1 like my self can tell the diffrence and pinpoint a sound which improves everything in games and even in some movies that utilize 5.1

As to the sound qualtiy the set I receieved is not a pre-production set which had many things changed by the looks of it vs the CES sets. The audio is not as vibrant as my Trriton but the surround is pretty crazy compared. My view on these or the Tritton vs. room speakers is that for FPS headphones are the way to go. You get better visuallization in your head based on the sound and can hear every little detail. Speakers are nice if you like to play loud and love the low bass feel form the sub and want to share the experience with others, but thats just my thoughts.
 
Darcschnider have you compared the Pskyo headset to any of the medusa speedlink headsets? For positional audio in games nothing I have tried has come even close. I would seriously consider purchasing the psyko headset if they are better. They are fairly expensive though, so they really would have to be a lot better!!
 
I spent alot of last night testing and testing. here are my thoughts. If you are looking for the best surround Psyko will beat every 5.1 headphones I have ever had the pleasure of owning. The soudns quality is not all that bad but not nearly as full as it could be. Now the Con to the psyko set is that the sound is not contained to the ear cups which means that everyone in the room can hear what you hear. This is because the speakers which are located int he head rest are not sound proof or contained in such away to stop sound room leaking out. This for me would be great if I had my desk in my own office, however I share my enviroment with another lady which she did not like all the explosions and gunfire, as well the people I play on Vent screaming like little school girls and cussing up a storm when the swear there is no way that guy... If you are looking for something slightly cheaper I would recommend the Tritton AX Pro. Although if you are happy with your medusa then you may want to just stay with them and wait until the next release from Psyko.
 
It all depends on your use. I have 2 sets of headphones on ym desk in front of my right now. One is a set Turtle Beach Earforce HPA2s(5.1) and a set of Razer Carcharias, which I just picked up sunday and will be returning first chance I get. The Razer is no $150 headset and I will never spend that much. The HPA2s blow the Carcharias, plantronics, and every other stereo headset I have ever used out of the water hands down. You can't even compare the 2 for gaming. While the stereo headsets sound great for music I won't ever use them again for gaming.
 
Digital Viper-X- said:
people really need to get off this you have 2 ears crap :p you only have 2 eyes, but you can discern differnce of depth and distance with them
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And if you put 2 separate 2D images in front of your eyes you could trick yourself into thinking they had depth as well ;) Each eye can only resolve a 2D image, its the eyes working together that lets you discern depth.

Likewise, its your ears working together and your brains ability to process different tones that allows them to determine space. The only thing the ear hears is the waves that goes into them, if 2 speakers are driven by an intelligent enough source in order to recreate the waves of a source diffracting and reflecting into your ear, it will create a sense is space the same way placing two 2D images infront of each eye can create a sense of depth. Listen to some good binaural recordings with stereo headphones.

I actually think people when playing games like to have exaggerated directional sound to give them the edge. Like if a you heard a car crash in real life its difficult to pick up exactly where its coming from, you might know its behind you, but it wont be until you swing your head around and get the visual cue you know exactly.
 
Tudz said:
And if you put 2 separate 2D images in front of your eyes you could trick yourself into thinking they had depth as well ;) Each eye can only resolve a 2D image, its the eyes working together that lets you discern depth.

Likewise, its your ears working together and your brains ability to process different tones that allows them to determine space. The only thing the ear hears is the waves that goes into them, if 2 speakers are driven by an intelligent enough source in order to recreate the waves of a source diffracting and reflecting into your ear, it will create a sense is space the same way placing two 2D images infront of each eye can create a sense of depth. Listen to some good binaural recordings with stereo headphones.
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And to think, I had become disgusted with the whole issue and given up on anyone else understanding this concept. <3
 
Tudz said:
And if you put 2 separate 2D images in front of your eyes you could trick yourself into thinking they had depth as well ;) Each eye can only resolve a 2D image, its the eyes working together that lets you discern depth.

Likewise, its your ears working together and your brains ability to process different tones that allows them to determine space. The only thing the ear hears is the waves that goes into them, if 2 speakers are driven by an intelligent enough source in order to recreate the waves of a source diffracting and reflecting into your ear, it will create a sense is space the same way placing two 2D images infront of each eye can create a sense of depth. Listen to some good binaural recordings with stereo headphones.

I actually think people when playing games like to have exaggerated directional sound to give them the edge. Like if a you heard a car crash in real life its difficult to pick up exactly where its coming from, you might know its behind you, but it wont be until you swing your head around and get the visual cue you know exactly.
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I was just pointing out that humans have the ability to "hear" sounds coming from more then just left or right. and sure if you have an intelligent enough source you probably could reproduce positional audio with 2 speakers / drivers in headphones. but you're talking about an incredibly complex thing to do, you're trying to reverse engineer the way the human brain and hearing system, interpolate sound waves and create a 3D audio image.
 
I heard xbox360 version is coming as well you can buy a new amp box with optical. I guess its a wait and see.
 
Those psyko 5.1's are probably the best "real" 5.1 solution available, but again, the sound quality suffers due to multiple drivers, even though from feedback, the positioning works very well. But when you're gaming competitively, the ability to make out sounds that are barely audible can make the difference between winning or losing. Sound quality *is* important when gaming competitively; you don't want to use a headset that will be unable to catch and reproduce an obscure distant sound event, because of the drivers. Imagine dying because a psyko missed a slight "thump" of someone's misstep, while an audio-technica would have picked it up...Something like a higher end beyerdynamic or Audio technica or Sennisher set of cans, combined with dolby headphone (or CMSS 3D) will be able to pick out some very distant sounds that the Psyko's would never pick up--again because of driver quality, just like big money electrostatic headphones can pick out sounds that even the high quality "traditional" headphones like the AD's, beyers and Senn's would fail to pick up (but that's to be expected; if you're going to spend $1500+ on electrostatics, they had better wash your dishes and clean your floor, too).

You simply can't break the laws of physics...
 
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