*TPU's Gaming Headphone/Headset Thread*

[MT Alex]

Do USB input headsets bypass the sound card?

 

[Bo$$]

Do USB input headsets bypass the sound card?

yes they do, they use their inbuild one hope that helps you

 

[AhokZYashA]

anybody here uses the K701 for gaming?

 

[MT Alex]

The K701s look nice, but out of my price range.

I'm torn bwtween the JVC RX700s and the Audio Technica ATH-AD700s. The $50 price difference isn't an issue, I have about $140 I want to spend on some cans. They are only for gaming, and I'm looking at getting a cheap X-Fi XtremeGamer from E-Bay. I just wanted positoning, and am sure this should be better than onboard. Unless someone has a X-Fi Forte they want to unload

 

[The Witcher]

Hi guys, I want to ask you what is the best headphones/headsets in this price range ($100 to $150)

Currently I've a Razer 5.1 headset, which has a decent sound quality but the positioning is just messed up because of compatibility issue in my motherboard.

First I was thinking about getting the PC 350 when it used to be $125, but now that they have released the PC 360 ($270) the prices of the 350 raised to almost $170.

I've seen many people here recommending the AD700, do you think that it's better than the Sennheiser PC300s ?

By the way, I'm looking for:

1. Best Sound quality possible.

2. Good sound staging.

3. A good bass (optional).

Thanks in advance.

 

[The Witcher]

ok, I've done a short research about the AD700, many people says that it has a very light bass, the question is, how light ?

I'm not a heavy music listener but I like to hear music when I do my projects

I hope that any AD700 could give me his feedback about the bass.

Sorry for asking too much questions

Thanks again

 

[Kursah]

The AD700's are highly recommended for gaming, they are open back so they leak sound in and out, but have a larger sound stage than many closed back headphones. They are also bass light and for that many will recommend them for gaming and not music as much...though with a good sound card and/or headphone amp you could EQ and push some more bass through them. Beyond that there are the A700's which are the same but closed back, so they will have more bass. Though I don't see them recommended nearly as much for gaming, being closed back their soundstage will be less open...which for some is a bunk deal.

I prefer closed headphones or semi-closed for the fact I need some sound isolation, I like good bass, and can't afford a monster open heapdhone that can produce good bass (again with the right driving setup). I recommend the JVC HARX 700's a lot because for the price and for someone going from headsets to headphones the change is generally very impressive, they are a great starter and at the price they have been at (around $33-40) they an amazing value.

What a lot of people at places like head-fi seem to end up is having an open gaming headphone and then something else tuned more for their musical preferences. I prefer a better all-in-one solution which means my headphones are the perfect gaming or music phones, but are capable of both at least decently to my ears. If you can, you may try to get to a guitar shop or similar to see if they have headphones on display, try different types to see what sound fits ya.

I am personally thinking of selling my Denon D2000's and going with a set of buyer DT990's or similar in the future...but I love the D2000's...It'll just be tough to spend so much on headphones again, when to my ears and after a couple quick and easy mods to the HARX700's...the D2000's really only beat them out in comfort and a little more open-ness in soundstage, a little more bass and a little more treble...none of which is worth $200+ when the JVC's are $35+. You may also check into the HARX 900, supposed to have even more bass capability and a more open soundstage though still being closed back.

I hear a ton of good about the AD700's for gaming, but that's about it...I'd rather not have 2-3 headphones to listen to games, movies and music. So that should definitely be some food for thought...I'm sure more suggestions will come this way, but also do check out head-fi.org for a lot more info on heapdhones.

 

[MT Alex]

Thanks for the comprehensive response. I did check out Head-fi, and was happy to see a few of your posts there.

The HARX700s look tough to beat, I wish they looked more comfortable. I have an enoromous mongloidal head that my pea size brain rattles around in, and after suffering over a year in these Platronic bags of crap, I was looking to pamper aforementioned mellon in comfort.

The biggest drawback for me with the reportedly comfy a700s would be the open back. I usually game after the family has hit the rack, so a closed can would be much quiter, albeit hotter with a chance of sweat. I'm not a bass thumper, so a diminished low end would be fine.

 

[Soylent Joe]

What do guys think of the Corsair HS1 headset? It looks pretty nice.

 

[Ra97oR]

anybody here uses the K701 for gaming?

I did that a while ago. Not too bad actually, still prefer my AD1000PRM so I sold it onwards.

 

[MT Alex]

What do guys think of the Corsair HS1 headset? It looks pretty nice.

They spurred my question in post #301. I decided to take the good advice offered in this thread and get a $50 sound card and a 50ish dollar set of headphones, which I'm confident will give a much better result for the same price.

The HS2s do look nice, though. The video cannot be fully trusted, as no one will design and build something and then tell you it's mediocre.

 

[Ra97oR]

EssenceST + HA5000 + AD1000PRM is so awesome... I wonder should I try a higher-end source.

Tried using the DAC on my iBasso D2+, EssenceST sounds better hands down.

 

[Soylent Joe]

They spurred my question in post #301. I decided to take the good advice offered in this thread and get a $50 sound card and a 50ish dollar set of headphones, which I'm confident will give a much better result for the same price.

The HS2s do look nice, though. The video cannot be fully trusted, as no one will design and build something and then tell you it's mediocre.

Truth. I believe Corsair does know what they're doing in the sound dept., but it would probably be smart to wait for a future model. Buying a company's first model puts you in the position of a guinea pig.

 

[The Witcher]

Man, I really don't know, I'm afraid of buying the AD700 and ending up with no bass....

Maybe I should save money and get the AD900....

 

[The Witcher]

OK, I've limited the options to the AD700 and the ATH-M50.

ATH-AD700: Price: $87

Pros:

1. Supposed to have an excellent sound stage.

2. It's an Open-air design which is more comfortable for me.

Cons:

1. Many complain about the bass, some say that it has very light bass, and some say that it doesn't any bass at all.



The ATH-M50: Price: $115

Pros:

1. Supposed to have a very good sound quality which some people claim that it even beats the Dr.Dre Beats headphones which are like x4 more expensive.

2. An excellent bass.

Cons:

1.It has closed-in-ear design (leather) which isn't comfortable for me.

2. I don't know about it's sound stage capability.

So guys, any suggestions ?

 

[MT Alex]

My ATH-AD700s will be here Wednesday. I'll let you know. I wouldn't worry, like Kursah said, bass can be dealt with in the EQ. I bought them strictly for gaming, however, so I'm not concerned. There are heaps of good info on almost all cans at Head-fi. I was totally confident in the recommendations about how good the JVCs are, I just had the extra cash.

I also bought a refurbished X-fi Xtreme Gamer. Not the best, I know, but will suffice for my needs. I was just after positioning. Besides that, my mATX doesn't have an extra PCI-E for something nice, so I had to rule out a Forte.

 

[casual swift]

Perfect I was looking for a thread on headphones. I wanted to talk about the Turtle Beach x41's. I invested in these last year. As you know they are optimized for xbox 360 but recently I started using them with my pc.

I really feel you get what you pay for with this set. Extremely light, excellent 5.1 sound quality. For determing locations based on sound alone these are the best headphones I have ever used. Battery life leaves something to be desired but I can lice with that as long as I'm stocked on rechargeable batteries. Overall, 5/5.

I don't know if anybody else has these, but the only problem if using them with a pc is that the mic connection uses what I BELIEVE is a 2.5mm jack. (the smaller connection used on the xbox controllers). There's some figuring you need to do to get the mic to work properly with your sound card but I will investigate this further and get back to you.

 

[Hayder_Master]

i have turtle beach HPA-2 with real 5.1, well it have great sound but seems my bad luck give me a piece with bad amplifier it's have problems when i put it in creative x-fi titanium so i should put it in built in realtek sound to make it work, i lose some quality but still work nice

 

[Frederik S]

Perfect I was looking for a thread on headphones. I wanted to talk about the Turtle Beach x41's. I invested in these last year. As you know they are optimized for xbox 360 but recently I started using them with my pc.

I really feel you get what you pay for with this set. Extremely light, excellent 5.1 sound quality. For determing locations based on sound alone these are the best headphones I have ever used. Battery life leaves something to be desired but I can lice with that as long as I'm stocked on rechargeable batteries. Overall, 5/5.

I don't know if anybody else has these, but the only problem if using them with a pc is that the mic connection uses what I BELIEVE is a 2.5mm jack. (the smaller connection used on the xbox controllers). There's some figuring you need to do to get the mic to work properly with your sound card but I will investigate this further and get back to you.

You can buy micro-jack to mini-jack converters online.

 

[SabreWulf69]

Has anyone tried a ASUS Xonar Essence STX + Shure SRH840 Combo? If so what was/is it like price to performance wise?

 

[CJCerny]

OK, I've limited the options to the AD700 and the ATH-M50.

ATH-AD700: Price: $87

Pros:

1. Supposed to have an excellent sound stage.

2. It's an Open-air design which is more comfortable for me.

Cons:

1. Many complain about the bass, some say that it has very light bass, and some say that it doesn't any bass at all.



The ATH-M50: Price: $115

Pros:

1. Supposed to have a very good sound quality which some people claim that it even beats the Dr.Dre Beats headphones which are like x4 more expensive.

2. An excellent bass.

Cons:

1.It has closed-in-ear design (leather) which isn't comfortable for me.

2. I don't know about it's sound stage capability.

So guys, any suggestions ?

All closed headphones, including the M50, do not have much of a soundstage. What they do have is bass. That is the nature of a closed headphone.

 

[WhiteLotus]

Why have only just discovered this thread?!?!? Keep it up guys!

 

[Fourstaff]

Why have only just discovered this thread?!?!? Keep it up guys!

This thread starts and stops whenever it likes, and people head over to Head-fi for better news, reviews and stuff.

 

[majestic12]

This thread starts and stops whenever it likes, and people head over to Head-fi for better news, reviews and stuff.

You read my mind with that. Head-fi has as much about headphones and accessories as TPU has about computers.

 

[MT Alex]

If it wasn't for this thread, I wouldn't have known about Head-fi