Should I buy an expensive headset?

[Irish_PXzyan]

Howdy lads,

I'm looking into buying myself a nice expensive pair of headphones but I'm not entirely sure if that's a good idea or worth bothering!

I would use the headset for gaming and music. But it's really for gaming and online play.

I'm considering buying the Razer Tiamat 7.1 headset off ebay for 210 euro.
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Razer-Tiamat...0735947182?pt=UK_Headsets&hash=item58a5a181ae

Seems good and a true 7.1 headset. But would it be worth buying this??

I'm also looking at the Beyerdynamic MMX 300 for nearly double the price of the Razer :O
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/715565-Beyer...ther_Computing_Networking&hash=item5d41dfafa0

Now would that be worth bothering with???

Would I need an External sound card to power these instead of my laptop?

Any advice would be welcome!

 

[Vario]

Get some audiophile 2 channel headphones and a separate mic.

 

[Guitar]

I have a Logitech G930, and I love it besides the weight. However, I find the 7.1 to be mainly a gimmick and I do not use it. The headset sounds great otherwise, and it really does make a difference in gaming for me when using it. The price was worth it to me and I've gotten good use out of it and the wireless is nice. The mic sounds good as well, only real problem is the software sucks IMO and interferes with Razer software which is a big old PITA.

I hate a clip on/boom mic. I don't want that crap on my desk or person.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008O515CK/?tag=tec06d-20

 

[Capitan Harlock]

the beyer are audiophile and another one is the headset from audio technica but i think that a headphone like the dt 770 80ohm or the dt 990 or every headphone and the modmic http://www.modmic.com/ are a good combination .
You can buy even a pair of v moda m100 or m80 + the cord with the boom mic and you have a headset.

 

[Irish_PXzyan]

I'm not sure about getting a 2 channel headset though, I really enjoy surround sound and while gaming I find it so important to be able to hear things behind me! 2 channel simply doesn't give me the emersion that I crave.

I also have the Logitech G930 7.1 headset and creative Rage3D 7.1 headset and the logitech is certainly better than the Creative headset. Decend virtual surround that works compared to the creative one, pretty bad I must say! but is better for music and movies.

I have to say though, I love sennheiser headsets " currently own 3 of them " But I never spent a lot of money for them... perhaps I should buy a pricey one. I will look into that Sennheiser 363D.
Is this the same one??
http://www.komplett.ie/product/zkb-...r-pc-363d-met-assassins-creed-iv/details.aspx

would that actually sound better than the Razer headset that actually has 10 speakers instead of virtual surround??

Those Beyerdynamic headsets seem very good, good technical specs and actually a good price too. I will look into them more and consider them! They look very comfortable too.
Would a 250ohm be a bad idea?? would my laptop be able to power it?

 

[Kursah]

7.1 headsets use software emulation...the ones that use speakers SUCK. I know I owned several...and I thought they were good at the time...until I listened to a pair of cheap JVC HARX700's that blew them away in stereo and 5.1 emulation via X-Fi CMMS-3D. I prefer good stereo over any emulation now. I went through several pairs of Turtle Beach HPA2's back in the day with "true" 5.1 speakers...and honestly, once you understand acoustics and how none of those speakers have any real room to breath or expand their audio waves, you end up with a mess that never really sounds good or great. Take that money, get a good pair of heapdhones, an amp if needed, use software emulation like Dolby or Creative or whatever if you must have surround.

To each their own, but you might be surprised if you can get into a good pair of larger closed cans or even better, some open cans. My HE-400's have been pretty damn amazing for gaming, but then so were my Denon D2000's (haven't been made in years).

 

[Capitan Harlock]

like kursah said if you buy a very good pair of headphone you can have a very good experience if the headphone have a good soundstage so you hear like you are in the middle of the situation without software and simulation .
I have a pair of corsair vengeance 1500 v2 they are good for comfort and have a good mic but about sound quality and sound stage and immersion my Superlux hd668b and fiio e10 xd are another world .

 

[Vario]

I like these
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000065BPB/?tag=tec06d-20
(Sennheiser HD 280 Pro)

I had a set of Sennheiser HD 570s for a couple years but actually preferred a friends 280 Pros.

I think Closed Ear is the way to go. Better sound details.

 

[Kursah]

I thought the same way Vario until I heard a good pair of open headphones. What you think sounds good might sound crappy to someone else.

I prefer closed-back for two reasons: Bass Impact/Presence and isolation.

My HE-400's have great bass, but lack the impact my D2000's have...yet they are so open it's like being at a concert...the sounds have space to seperate, expand, sound more natural. Now when I wear my closed phones things sound clausterphobic and fake. But that's to my ears with my equipment. There are soooooo many variables to this, it's not necessarily clean cut for everyone, it takes some experiementing. As Head-Fi would say, sorry about your wallet.

 

[Irish_PXzyan]

Okay it's quite obvious that I'll buy a good pair of stereo cans over the simulated headsets out there!
Thing is.. can I just download creatives control panel to allow CMMS-3D? or a Dolby one with any headset I get?

I must ask some questions about the Hifiman HE 400 and the Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro.

Firstly, the Hifiman frequency is rated at 20-35000 hz compared to Beyerdynamics 5-35000hz. That seems pretty obvious that they will provide richer bass?? am I correct??

Also the Hifiman is 35ohm compared to 250ohm, Would that mean that it'll provide a better audio experience at the cost of drawing more power and requiring an external sound card or amp to take advantage of it?

I guess it's not as simple as that as the price for the Hifiman is twice as expensive compared to the Beyerdynamics!

What about the Sennheiser 363D? Can that headset compare to these two? It would cost me 250 euro to buy it though so the price tag isn't very attractive.. but it does have its own sound card via USB, but can't use it for the PS4 or MP3 player or my phone!

ugh!! The pleasures of so much choice ^^

 

[fusionblu]

Of the two headsets you mentioned from the start it is better to go with the Beyerdynamic MMX 300 Gaming Headset than the other as long term benefit is almost certainly better in sound quality, build and the ergonomics design which would be how well the headset would be seated on your head.

When I brought my Plantronics Gamecom Commander headset the other choice was the Beyerdynamic MMX 300, but I preferred the Plantronics design overall instead and sound specifications were very similar as expected of closely priced headsets.
I would not say the one I went with was better since many others had many negatives to say, especially those with sensitive ears which are no good for breaking in leather , but in relation to the design of the Beyerdynamic MMX 300 should be a bit better as its design (unlike my own) shouldn't have issues with those with sensitive ears given the use of materials.

As others have said if you are looking to listen to music you need another headset as this one is intended for gaming as are many (if not all) 7.1 headsets.

There are many audiophile headsets, but I really don't know much about them as I am more focused on gaming than music and can sacrifice sound quality when listening to music on my headset.

I do, however, have a nice pair of Gale Speakers and a Cambridge Amplifier when really listening to music (not looking to be specific with model of speakers or amplifier as this is a headset discussion).

 

[AsRock]

Get some audiophile 2 channel headphones and a separate mic.

+!, think the same here, Razer suck anyways. I will go and recommend Logitech's webcam C920 as it has realy nice mic on it that you can place away from you on top of your monitor\tv a few feet away.

just get that rig setup with your current Home theater

 

[MxPhenom 216]

I am running the new Kingston Cloud Pro headset which is a Qpad QH 90 rebrand and it is great. Destroys my Razer headset I had in sound quality and MIC. I like that I can disconnect the MIC and use it as a normal headset whenever I want. Got it for $99 on launch day.

 

[Capitan Harlock]

I am running the new Kingston Cloud Pro headset which is a Qpad QH 90 rebrand and it is great. Destroys my Razer headset I had in sound quality and MIC. I like that I can disconnect the MIC and use it as a normal headset whenever I want. Got it for $99 on launch day.

that headset is a good one xd same design as the beyer and sound very good but is not neutral so depends on what you like PXzyan but if something broke you can change it in evey peaces xd.
The beyerd dt990 with a good amp/dac like my fiio e10 or nuforce udac 2 or 3 dont cost too much and can run 250ohm headphone .
If you want to spend low money you can buy the superlux that now have versions with mic or the standard without mic but change earpads xd.

 

[m4gicfour]

For when you decide on a good pair of cans...

http://www.modmic.com/

 

[remixedcat]

@BumbleBee would buzz in here saying:

"Don't buy a gaming headset!"

 

[Jetster]

 

[remixedcat]

in the ghetoooooo!!!

 

[AhokZYashA]

i mainly use my HD600s for gaming,
and because the open nature and wide soundstage of the headphone, it has no problem with reproducing a good surround effect.

or if your budget is a bit tight, a Sennheiser HD558/598 is also pretty got for gaming

for headphones, specs are not the one that you look for, 20-35000 vs 5-50000 is not an issue and should not become the main point in deciding a pair of headphones

the one that you should look is the comfort and the sound signature of the headphones itself,
is it suited for your games, is it comfortable, or is it has a good built quality, etc.

 

[Capitan Harlock]

yes but if you dont have a good frequency response in some games if the bass is laking because the headphone dont go so down i think is good to look at that too but depends on the personal preference too.
I like a neutral sound signature but if i want some base the 3db switch on the fiio e10 are ok for me xd.

 

[AhokZYashA]

well, human can only listen from 20-20000Hz,
so frequencies below that are completely irrelevant,

lacking in bass frequency is not mainly because of frequency response,
the main cause of lacking bass is the amplitude of that certain frequency (in this case is bass which is 20-200Hz)

 

[AsRock]

well, human can only listen from 20-20000Hz,
so frequencies below that are completely irrelevant,

lacking in bass frequency is not mainly because of frequency response,
the main cause of lacking bass is the amplitude of that certain frequency (in this case is bass which is 20-200Hz)

You're so incorrect and their is more to sound than hearing, speakers from the 80-90s could do a hell load more than what common speaker could do. And there is more than one reason why speakers got smaller which personally think they suck for the full ultimate experience

 

[AhokZYashA]

gimme one example then which thing that 80-90s speaker can do that speakers nowadays cant do?

imaging?
soundstage?
instrument separation?
bass impact?

i listened to the Adam F5 bookshelf speakers which is quite small, and i can have the experience that the song can give to me.

and im pretty sure that the experience youre talking about is just the bass impact which can be remedied with a normal boxed 8" subwoofer.

 

[AsRock]

TONNOY Murcury's the ones which made around 81-83, which which would do all that and then some as there is nothing like controlled base than moves around the room. There is only so much a smaller speaker can do.

Which is part of my point you did not need a sub back in the day.

 

[Jetster]

I don't think quality has gone down over the years. Its just that prices have gone up

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/buyers_guides/17/