# Could I just buy a cheap headset and a cheap 7.1 card for good audio?



## JaredzzC (Jul 12, 2014)

Hi Guys,

I'm going away on Tuesday for 2 weeks, but I currently have a USB headset which is no good for phones and other things. It was cheap anyway, so I may as well get a new, better headset for general use (although I'd prefer not to spend a fortune on them).

I've read reviews comparing the Logitech G230 and G430 and apparently the only difference is the 7.1 soundcard it comes with.

The G230 is £35 http://www.amazon.co_uk/dp/B00CJ5FPSG/?tag=tec053-21

The G430 is £55 http://www.amazon.co_uk/dp/B00CJ5FPUE/?tag=tec053-21

and the 7.1 sound car is only £1.40 for 2: http://www.amazon.co_uk/dp/B003ZM0XIY/?tag=tec053-21

I was thinking, if there isn't much difference between the two headsets, could I just buy the cheaper one along with the sound card and save myself £20 to have 7.1 surround sound or does it not work like that?

or does anyone else have better alternatives for headsets? (wouldn't want to spend more than £60ish).

Regards,
Jared.


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## RCoon (Jul 12, 2014)

Virtual 7.1 sound cards and what not are garbage. Just don't buy virtual surround sound crap. Get yourself a proper headset with true 2.1 or 5.1 if you desperately need it. Sennheiser has some great headsets that have extremely good audio quality without the need for an ace sound card. I've got some PC 323D's which I got while they were on a half price sale and have some seriously good audio quality compared to most "gaming" headsets at a similar price. That being said, I use an Asus Xonar  D2X as a sound card, but I always disable the virtual surround stuff, pretty much ruins everything.


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## MilkyWay (Jul 12, 2014)

If you buy a headset with USB you won't need a sound card. Something cheap like a Steelseries Siberia V2 would be good but it's only stereo, a lot of good stereo sets do positional sound well.

I guess you want something like this instead though; http://www.amazon.co_uk/dp/B00275C2L6/?tag=tec053-21


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## Dent1 (Jul 12, 2014)

JaredzzC said:


> Hi Guys,
> 
> I'm going away on Tuesday for 2 weeks, but I currently have a USB headset which is no good for phones and other things. It was cheap anyway, so I may as well get a new, better headset for general use (although I'd prefer not to spend a fortune on them).
> 
> ...



The sound card is shit. You'd be better off using your existing integrated audio card.

USB headsets don't require a soundcard, it's all built in.

Edit:

As RCoon says, 7.1 headsets are mostly gimmicks, the difference compared to good pair of stereo headsets is minimal, most sound cards will have settings to apply virtual 7.1 effects anyways in its drivers.


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## FordGT90Concept (Jul 12, 2014)

I would only recommend circumaural stereo headphones.  The SteelSeries Siberia v2 headset is about the cheapest decent one available.  Just use integrated audio to drive them because, if you're not prepared to spend $100+ on a DAC, it won't beat integrated anyway.

There's virtually no point in getting 2.1/5.1/7.1 headphones because games do very good directional audio processing for stereo as is.  If it is virtual, you're anticipating the headphones directional audio is better than the game's (generally not) and if it is physical, you're sacrificing the quality of low and mid frequency sounds for directional highs (bad tradeoff).  Stereo is where it is at.


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## JaredzzC (Jul 12, 2014)

MilkyWay said:


> If you buy a headset with USB you won't need a sound card. Something cheap like a Steelseries Siberia V2 would be good but it's only stereo, a lot of good stereo sets do positional sound well.
> 
> I guess you want something like this instead though; http://www.amazon.co_uk/dp/B00275C2L6/?tag=tec053-21



Good reviews about that headset and I was actually tempted to buy it until I read that even though it had 3.5mm jacks, you needed the USB to actually power the headset. 
This is my only problem. I wanted a headset that had audio jack so I could use it for my phone, ps vita etc


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## Vario (Jul 12, 2014)

Take a look at the Sennheiser HD280 Pro.
Buy a separate mic.


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## Capitan Harlock (Jul 12, 2014)

Hi, if you wanna spend low money buy a pair of superlux hd668b buy a pair of soft earpads for it and buy a fiio e10 and you can have a very good audio experience .
I have the Corsair vengeance 1500 v2 are good but for audio quality the superlux + fiio e10 are so much better but for games in generale and chat /talking the cosair are very good and co_*mfortable *_but i regret to have spend 2 years ago 95€ on the v1500 xd.


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## Mussels (Jul 12, 2014)

Vario said:


> Take a look at the Sennheiser HD280 Pro.
> Buy a separate mic.




i've got sennheiser 518's, and ebay had a $10 cable to replace the original, with a mic built in. far better than seperate mic


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## Kursah (Jul 12, 2014)

Mussels said:


> i've got sennheiser 518's, and ebay had a $10 cable to replace the original, with a mic built in. far better than seperate mic



This. Great answer for many. 

Buy some real headphones...heck I'd rather use my cheap JVC HARX700's over 98% of gaming headsets. Attach a clip on mic, get a headphone with replaceable cable and go Mussels' route, there's a crowdfunded type of magnetic mic, get a desktop mic (blue orb), or find an old boom mic for cheap, some 3.5mm terminated cables and zip ties like I do lol!

There are a couple decent options for cheap sound cards out there still I'm sure...I wonder if the Xonar DG is still around? Onboard is a lot better than it used to be.


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## Deleted member 24505 (Jul 12, 2014)

I'm using a Turtle beach PLa usb, which was supposedly for a xbox, but works fine, and imo has pretty good quality sound.


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## Nordic (Jul 12, 2014)

You can certainly find bang for buck, but audio really is something where if you spend a lot it really matters. Cheap is cheap when it comes to audio.


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## Shambles1980 (Jul 12, 2014)

cheap may be cheap, but mid range is also cheap, and so is high mid range.. when it comes to audio you either spend a crap load. or just go cheap you cant middle of the road it and expect better quality than something cheaper.


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## Nordic (Jul 12, 2014)

Shambles1980 said:


> cheap may be cheap, but mid range is also cheap, and so is high mid range.. when it comes to audio you either spend a crap load. or just go cheap you cant middle of the road it and expect better quality than something cheaper.


I am not one privileged enough to have experienced the really expensive stuff. I started with onboard realtech. I then decided to try out what dedicated audio would be like. I purchased an asus xonar dg for $10 with a $30 jvc rx700 headphones. It was such a substantial improvement I was utterly shocked. For $40 total I thought it would be a fun experiment but it really made my audio experience better.

A few months later I got an older auzun prelude for a great price. It was a big upgrade although not as substantial as onboard to the xonar DG.

Another while later I got an aune t1 external dac for a about $130 on massdrop which was discounted from $200. This was quite a pleasant improvement once again and released me from needing a pci slot in my motherboard.

I say again, you can get more for your money which was my goal with my purchases. My pc audio equipment experiences as named above in full is limited but I can attest that going up in price brackets makes a significant difference even in the low-midlow end where I have lived.


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