PC Headset recommendations

gunsmoke on 20/4/2010 at 02:27

Quote Posted by Mingan

1) I don't know. Probably open
2) Right now, onboard sound
3) No
4) I'd go with soundstage and imaging
5) Maybe 100-150$

Could someone be so kind as to recommend me a set of cans for me with the above requirements and cut the price point to ~$50 please. Oh, no mic. Thanks!

Brian The Dog on 21/4/2010 at 13:20

For that price, you're a bit limited for choice. The only ones I could find were (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/193222) these and (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/148256) these (prices are in pounds, so multiply by 1.5 for dollars), but no idea whether they're any good.

I tried to find some headphones that had dependent 5.1 (i.e. used the PC soundcard and plugged into each of the audio sockets) since they might be cheaper, but couldn't find any.

Mingan on 21/4/2010 at 22:55

As an alternate scenario: what if I bought a sound card and headphones? What would be a good combo? I expect that to be more expensive (obv.) but maybe it's for the best hearing experience.

In other news, I found that I still have my totally ancient Aureal3D sound card.

Brian The Dog on 22/4/2010 at 12:25

(http://www.amazon.com/Zalman-ZM-RS6F-surround-sound-headphones/dp/B0001OYMFO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1271937762&sr=1-3) Zalman do some surround-sound headphones, but their reviews on Amazon are a bit mixed. The (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002DPQPEU/ref=s9_simh_gw_p23_i1?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=06G9VW4NY5S7APWC3ATG&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=467198433&pf_rd_i=468294) Medusa 5.1 is more expensive, but is generally a good buy.

For sound cards, I will defer to Biker, but I'd recommend either the X-Fi cards or Asus' Xonar ones (although if you want EAX I don't know how their emulation works). The X-Fi Xtreme Audio card is, despite the name, the bottom of the X-Fi range and (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-fi#Criticism) performs its processing via software rather than hardware, so I'd avoid that one.

Ostriig on 23/4/2010 at 18:28

Quote Posted by gunsmoke

Could someone be so kind as to recommend me a set of cans for me with the above requirements and cut the price point to ~$50 please. Oh, no mic. Thanks!

Guns, if all you want is stereo and you're willing to give up on the open design, see if you've got a chance at trying on a pair of those Sennheisers lost_soul and I linked to above.

Quote Posted by Brian The Dog

Good call, I never twigged this but they must be 7 surround-sound with no sub-woofer (this has no sound when the Windows test is performed). Pretty stupid of me, I know :( That's probably what messes up the surround in various games.

Wait, so the frequency range that's normally covered by your sub doesn't ever get heard over the headphones? Wouldn't it make sense to map that range to both sides on the headphones and be done with it?

Sulphur on 23/4/2010 at 18:32

What about the Grado SR60is? I've heard great things about them, and while they're not quite $50, people seem to think that, at the $80 or so you'd find them for, they're more than worth it.

Mingan on 24/4/2010 at 13:40

The reviews make the Grado really interesting, it's very annoying that I can't order them anywhere

Sulphur on 25/4/2010 at 14:44

If I get a set, I can let you know how they are. They seem readily available at Amazon, at least.

Mingan on 25/4/2010 at 23:03

Yes, but they won't ship them to Canada. Seems Grado have an exclusive dealer out here.

Sulphur on 28/4/2010 at 17:49

Well, I just got my SR60is today, shipped via a seller on eBay. And yeah, I'm sorry, it looks like Grado have an exclusive distribution deal that curtails shipping to Canada.

It's a shame, though. If you can find them, I can recommend them with a couple caveats. They sound lovely: warm, rich and detailed. Mostly great mids and highs (though somewhat exaggerated in certain situations), and clean, tight bass. It's been a pleasure rediscovering all my old tracks with these 'phones.

I've heard complaints of them not being too comfortable for extended periods of time, but I've been wearing them a couple hours now and it doesn't seem to be an issue, for now at least.

One thing to note, though, is that they're open-ear and open backed, so sound leakage is a fact. They don't cancel incoming noise much either, so that might be something to consider if sound isolation is something you want.