crasx October 1, 2012 Share crasx GC Alumni October 1, 2012 Is it worth it? I thinking of getting a 7.1 soundsystem setup for my computer but I am not sure which route I should take. I have a stereo 2.1 system setup with a killer bass and could upgrade to a 5.1 if I get an audio card, but it would be hard to fit it all in my small room. So how are these surround sound headsets? I currently use some pretty nice in-ear beats by dre (love my bass) but I also use them on my commute to school, so it would be nice to not have to switch them out constantly. Anyone have any reviews or recommendations? Budget is a negotiable $150 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clueless October 1, 2012 Share Clueless GC Alumni October 1, 2012 I don't know if it's my setup or not, to be fair, I haven't played with it much to try and improve it, but I have a surround headset and I don't really feel that I have good directional awareness with it....sounds great, but it sounds like they are coming from everywhere in BF3. I have the Logitech G930. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggs October 1, 2012 Share Biggs GC Alumni October 1, 2012 I have a logitech G930 wireless headset, I like it. The battery lasts about 8 hrs, and it takes about 3 hrs to recharge. Sound quality is good in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crasx October 1, 2012 Author Share crasx GC Alumni October 1, 2012 hows the bass? and how well do they work with l4d2? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggs October 1, 2012 Share Biggs GC Alumni October 1, 2012 I have not owned any other higher end headsets, but the bass sounds vastly better on this headset than on my 2.1 tabletop speakers. They work fine for l4d2, in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeroDamage October 1, 2012 Share ZeroDamage Member October 1, 2012 I posted a couple of years ago about this. I've come to the conclusion that the sound quality of the surround sound headsets is crap. You really do not get the surround sound in the headsets and they tend to be gimicy with poor audio output. You are better off grabbing a high quality set of headphones such as some studio quality type and you will never want to go back to 7.1 headphones again. Trust me on that. I did this when Modern Warfare 2 was still the game to play and I could hear everything, even things you were not supposed to hear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crasx October 1, 2012 Author Share crasx GC Alumni October 1, 2012 Yea I have a pair of iBeats by dre and I do get pretty decent sound precision. But they aren't 7.1 which is interesting. If your post was a couple years ago maybe the quality has changed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeroDamage October 1, 2012 Share ZeroDamage Member October 1, 2012 Yea I have a pair of iBeats by dre and I do get pretty decent sound precision. But they aren't 7.1 which is interesting. If your post was a couple years ago maybe the quality has changed? There are always improvements but I do not think things have changed so much in a year and a half that the quality of the 7.1 has improved beyond that of a good set of audiophile studio headphones. The 5.1 and more so with the 7.1 headsets is that they have to cram a great number of mini speakers in the earpieces which in turn have to give the impression of surround sound with that limited space. The quality of the speakers suffers a great deal and rarely if ever did I get the sense of surround sound with my surround sound headsets when I had them. I've owned 3 sets previous to now. The companies in turn charge a high premium for the 7.1 surround sound and can market around that while providing average audio at best. I am sure there may be some amazing sounding surround sound headsets out there but none of them will ever match up to the sound quality of the average audiophile studio headphones. The switch from 5.1 top of the line Turtlebeach to a mid level Sennheiser was like night and day. Most games also output directional audio in the software and it sounds a lot better to me than the surround sound headsets ever did. BUT to each their own and you may find that the 7.1 is what you want and it sounds great to you. I was listening a bit to some Dubstep when I made the switch and I nearly crapped myself with how great it sounded on my new headphones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crasx October 1, 2012 Author Share crasx GC Alumni October 1, 2012 sold at dubstep.. the jump from normal headphones to iBeats changed my life dat bass maybe I can test some somehow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggs October 1, 2012 Share Biggs GC Alumni October 1, 2012 Yes I've heard Sennheiser is a very quality brand. I may have to look at those for the next pair I get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clueless October 1, 2012 Share Clueless GC Alumni October 1, 2012 My last headset was Sennheiser, and they sounded pretty awesome....about as good as anything at the time. I guess it's really just more about preference than anything else, it's kinda like ZD said....you hear alot of stuff, and most of it with amazing clarity, but it's not really the stuff that's important to hear in gaming. My biggest issue is directional awareness....I can hear footsteps a mile away, lots of them, problem is knowing which way they are coming at me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peckles October 2, 2012 Share Peckles Member October 2, 2012 Go to a music store and try out headphones. Depending on the store, of course, they'll generally have better quality. I've always felt that headphones and surround sound were almost opposite ideas. If you want surround sound, why the heck would you constrict that sound to a radius of an inch from your ear? Makes no sense to me. I've been using M-Audio Q40 headphones for several years (they're almost unwearable at this point due to such heavy use). I've found them to be more than adequate for all my gaming, as well as music and work. There are certainly better headphones out there, and I'll be doing some research/testing as soon as I can justify the cost of new phones/my current ones completely fall apart. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VooDooPC October 2, 2012 Share VooDooPC Member October 2, 2012 (edited) I've had a pair of Sennheiser HD 555s for many many years and they have been amazing. Before I bought them I was using headsets so I could use a microphone. For a while I had a separate headset with the microphone sitting around my neck, now I just have a desktop mic. I think I've had them for about, jeez, over 6 years now. I'm thinking about putting down some cash and upgrading. For your money's worth I highly recommend against a 7.1 headset and find high quality stereo ones. Edited October 2, 2012 by VooDooPC 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amertrash October 2, 2012 Share amertrash Member October 2, 2012 If you're gonna do the quality headphones road I'd suggest you look at Grado headphones as well as Sennheiser. Grado's look like they're from 1940 still but they're some of the most highly regarded headphones around, I have a 8 year old SR80 and they still sound amazing for $100. Only downfall of the Grados is they're low(32 ohm) impedance, and you probably won't get much volume with intergrated/onboard sound - some add-on sound cards will drive them just fine tho. Or just buy/make a $20 headphone amp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crasx October 3, 2012 Author Share crasx GC Alumni October 3, 2012 picked up a g930, should be in by friday... I'll be sure to post my thoughts. thanks everyone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VooDooPC October 5, 2012 Share VooDooPC Member October 5, 2012 I bought these: http://www.amazon.com/Technica-ATHM50-Studio-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B000ULAP4U So far so good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeroDamage October 8, 2012 Share ZeroDamage Member October 8, 2012 (edited) Just throwing this out there for future reference. http://lifehacker.com/5949489/ Edited October 8, 2012 by ZeroDamage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amertrash October 8, 2012 Share amertrash Member October 8, 2012 Heh, my Grados are at the top Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samurai nightling October 9, 2012 Share samurai nightling Member October 9, 2012 So can any of those come with a microphone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggs October 9, 2012 Share Biggs GC Alumni October 9, 2012 None of those have a mic. My impression is that no one really makes a headset (headphones/mic combo) at that level of quality... there's just no point to it for gaming. That's a big reason why I went for the logitech g930, because it does have the mic included... which I like. There are plenty of reasons to have them separate though; if one breaks, you only pay to replace one, you probably get better overall quality buying them separate... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amertrash October 9, 2012 Share amertrash Member October 9, 2012 Yea, I use my Grado's when listening to music, if I'm gaming I have a el-cheapo logitech pair I use - probably both moot as I'm half deaf anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VooDooPC October 10, 2012 Share VooDooPC Member October 10, 2012 I use a desk mic with fancy headphones. I don't really talk to people in games anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samurai nightling October 10, 2012 Share samurai nightling Member October 10, 2012 Ah see a headset is a must for me. I talk a lot in games, especially CS:GO. And I'm almost always in vent when im playing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sky October 16, 2012 Share Sky Member October 16, 2012 (edited) I own the turtle beach z6a 5.1 headset, and I also own the razer tiamat 7.1 headset, which is a ridiculously amazing headset. Anyone who tries to tell you a 7.1 or 5.1 headset doesn't provide accurate surround and multi-channel is lying to you. I have a full entertainment center with 7.1 and the headset, and though there are small discrepancies, they'll boost your ability to determine locations and directions, big time. the z6a is, what, 79.99 now, and I think the tiamat is 159.99 Also, this is the sound card with the optional I/O panel that I use (I use the I/O panel, too) http://ncix.com/products/?sku=70178&vpn=70SB135400000&manufacture=Creative%20Labs It's rated as one of the top, if not the top sound card for 5.1 and 7.1 systems. Edited October 16, 2012 by Sky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VooDooPC October 17, 2012 Share VooDooPC Member October 17, 2012 (edited) I'm not denying they will give you accurate surround sound, but the quality is not going to be on the same level of stereo speakers for the same price. I watch movies, listen to music and play games. Games do a good job of letting you know if an enemy is in front of you or behind you with stereo with headphones. If for some reason I do want 5.1 I have speakers for that. Edited October 17, 2012 by VooDooPC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.