best surround sound headphones/headset

right now I'm using a $30 stereo USB headset from Radio Shack and I'm looking to upgrade

what does everyone recommend?

preferably with a microphone, surround sound capability, and less than $200 but I'm flexible

Im using these and I really like them

http://www.turtlebeach.com/products/efhpa2/home.aspx

They are true hardware 5.1 as there is a separate plug for each channel so if your using a creative xfi sound card there is a corresponding female plug in directly on the card, I think this works better than a usb that uses software to replicate the surround effect. I know senisier or how ever you spell it also are good but the microphone leaves a little to be desired.
The thing I like best about these is they are extremely comfortable for extended use, and the sound positioning is very good once you spend the time to dial in the adjustments on the dials that come with the phones and your sound card. Been using them for a year now with no problems.

Audio-Technica makes a 500 dollar set of earbuds!?!?!
They are probably very nice. Maybe you could get the Phoenix Aimbot software for free with the purchase!

Sennheiser is the... well, not to be crass, the SHIITE!

They are very nice for around a Hun.

I use a seperate mic and headphones because it always seemed that the mic on my headset would stop working. I have a pair or Audio-technica AD700 headphones and rocketfish digital mic. So far they both seem to work great.

Whatever headphones/set you get I highly recommend you get ones that fit over your entire ear so that they dont make your ears feel sore. On some days I play for hours with my headphones on and the ears used to get very very sore after a while and were very uncomfortable. These headphones are very light and comfy to wear for long periods of time.

what kind of soundcard do you have?

recently i have been looking at these
http://www.medusa-usa.com/medusa-51-pro ... e225f21b85
but i'm still reading reviews. I'll let ya know

half-past wrote:what kind of soundcard do you have?

recently i have been looking at these
http://www.medusa-usa.com/medusa-51-pro ... e225f21b85
but i'm still reading reviews. I'll let ya know

I have the SpeedLink ones, and though nice I can't say they really give me a sensation of true surround sound. I use them in combination with my Creative SB Audigy 2 ZS.

Bass isn't too great, but I can live with that for gaming since bass tends to mask other sounds anyway.

My kids dropped them on the floor and the plastic broke. I still can use them, but mended with Duct tape...

When I tested them in a Creative sound checking application, it ended up claiming that the phase was incorrectly wired on two of the left ear speakers. This could explain my less than fantastic sourround experience. They are, however, a great improvement over simple stereo earphones. Even my wife, who's lost hearing on her left ear, could hear when someone was approaching from behind since the sound has a different quality in those cases

Microphone is really great and you can adjust it easily and it actually stays where you want it to.

So, for the price they're not too bad.

Just buy a Sennheiser one (e.g. PC151) and be happy !

I say stay away from those junk 5.1 head phones basically you pay a premium for a bunch of crap speakers in them and for it to be called a gaming head set. You only have 2 ears so you really only need 2 sources of sound if it is properly calculated by the sound card. The nice thing is they come with a mic almost always which is really hard to find on a decent pair of headphones. Go ahead and shoot the whole $200 at the headphones if you are not a violent gamer like seagull you won't break it and you will enjoy the quality of sound for years to come in everything from gaming to music. Do not buy Sennheiser PC150 or 160 head phones. they are decent and reasonably priced and have a good mic but they are supra aureal and will hurt your ears. They also do little to block out ambient noise. Make sure the head phones you buy have a low impedance so you can plug them into the computer and have them work. A nice set with a high impedance will require an amp to get the most out of them.

If I was going to drop about 200$ right now I would look around for someone who can get me the Audio Technica ATH-A900, this is closed back head phone which will isolate noise well and deliver high end performance without an amp.

Around 100$ you got the Audio Technica ATH-A500 closed back ( I believe fatality used these before he was bought out by creative), Sennheisser HD555 open back,
75$ Sennheisser HD-280pro closed back.

One thing I like about Audio Technica is they are not too tight, and they have a nice thick cord 10 foot long and covered in cloth so it wont get destroyed by the wheels on your chair. Sennheisser makes good head phones but sometimes the cord they give you is like a thread.

There are other options too those are just a few. Grado, Beyer Dynamics,

Yea thats one thing about the Audio Technica, they arent very tight on your head so you wont get a headache from them but dont try moshing with them, you will fling them off your head.

anybody know of some with a bungee cord thickness
It's the only thing about headphones I can seem to break it usually happens either at the base connector or at the line at the bottom of the headphones themselves

gets me frustrated more than anything currently im using a logitech set that are working off and on outta both ears but mainly only 1 side

Neolinkster wrote:anybody know of some with a bungee cord thickness
It's the only thing about headphones I can seem to break it usually happens either at the base connector or at the line at the bottom of the headphones themselves

gets me frustrated more than anything currently im using a logitech set that are working off and on outta both ears but mainly only 1 side

Sounds like maybe you back away from the computer too fast and it pulls on the cord. I suppose the long 10ft cord and thick coating and rubber boots on the Audio Technicas might help.

an amp isn't really that big of a deal. you can get a good cmoy on ebay for $30, and you can really tell the difference.

@ Paradox I've got a couple of questions for you about the Audio Technica headphones. I've been able to find the closed back version (ATH-A500) for $119, but worry about my ears getting too warm durring the summer time. Does the open air model that you have let air into the headphone cups to ventilate your ears? I just found the pair you have for $169, its says the frame is made of magnesium, is it the whole frame of the headphones, or only parts? Does the chord have any type of braided covering on it? Do your ATH-AD700s get hot after prolonged use? How is the positional audio on these considering they are built more for a home users substitute for a studio monitor? As I'm writing this I'm leaning towards biting the bullet and buying the 700's, since I'm a sound freak and I'll eventually be making music on my comp. But im still just not sure, $170 is a lot for headphones...

Hmmm an amp for the comp, an interesting idea, but I never find myself turning my volume up and needing more...

open headphones mean that people can hear whats coming from your headphones and you can hear other stuff aswell, i find closed annoying cause you can't hear yourself talk on a mic. I don't know about open ones ventilating your ears though. unless you're referring to something else.

These are closed back. I prefer closed back because you dont get as much background noise interferance that I had with the open ones. I havent had an issue with them getting too hot in the summer. My computer room is in a basement and while it does get warm down there its not as bad as upstairs with not A/C. Most of it is the metal, but the two thin bands at the top above the over the head band are plastic (think they are the cord). The ear cups themselves are cloth instead of plastic so that cuts down on the sweating where it touches your skin.
No the cord does not have any braid on it but it is a pretty hefty cord with a thick covering. I have been able to pick up directionality of sounds in game so I have been pretty happy there. Where did you see that price? Seems high. I dont think I paid that much for them. $110-115 seems to come to mind. Hmmmm....cant remember where I got them. I will see if I can figure that out.

Funny they are open air. They dont look like it.

Some links: Much cheaper.

https://usm.channelonline.com/maglobal/ ... M004211517

http://www.binaryplaza.com/products.asp ... M004211517

http://www.google.com/products?hl=en&re ... t-restrict

Greatest quality ever ever ever - Worth every penny.

http://www.shure.com/index.htm

Wow thanks for those links Paradox, was a HUGE help. I can't believe I've never used the google shopping tab, thats so handy! I wan't finding anything with the normal web search. I am definitely gonna get myself a pair of the 700s now that I can get a pair for $100! I used the shopping tab and was able to find the Razer sound card for under $60 also! I guess they were taken out of comps used for a CPL event, and the seller offers testing before they ship the card so I am siked. Thats less than half the price that its listed on Newegg. This is turning out to be a far cheaper upgrade than i thoguht it would be!

I will kill for these headphones
http://stuff.tv/News/Gadget-of-the-Day- ... er-PC-350/
http://campaigns.senncom.com/g4me/

don't think anyone has them pretty pricey

SND wrote:I will kill for these headphones
http://stuff.tv/News/Gadget-of-the-Day- ... er-PC-350/
http://campaigns.senncom.com/g4me/

don't think anyone has them pretty pricey

i have the sennheiser 555s

Youre Welcome Epoch, Glad I could help

half-past wrote:

SND wrote:I will kill for these headphones
http://stuff.tv/News/Gadget-of-the-Day- ... er-PC-350/
http://campaigns.senncom.com/g4me/

don't think anyone has them pretty pricey

i have the sennheiser 555s

LoL all i use is my headphones that i bought with my old Mp3 (http://www.iheadphones.co.uk/headphones ... EX71SL.htm) player theres not point of me getting any new cans because i don't have a sound card in my laptop so i can't take advantage of surround sound that would be perfect for cans. All can do is turn up my volume to near bleeding level.

http://www.trittontechnologies.com/prod ... IAI712.htm

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6826235003

THIS Pair of 5.1 surround sound headphones are by far the best I have used over the years. The bass rumble feature is surprisingly loud and clear. I can easily differenciate all the different channels in the game so tracking people is easy. At only 65 bucks you can't afford not to get these and give them a shot. I Highly reccomend them

SND wrote:

half-past wrote:

SND wrote:I will kill for these headphones
http://stuff.tv/News/Gadget-of-the-Day- ... er-PC-350/
http://campaigns.senncom.com/g4me/

don't think anyone has them pretty pricey

i have the sennheiser 555s

LoL all i use is my headphones that i bought with my old Mp3 (http://www.iheadphones.co.uk/headphones ... EX71SL.htm) player theres not point of me getting any new cans because i don't have a sound card in my laptop so i can't take advantage of surround sound that would be perfect for cans. All can do is turn up my volume to near bleeding level.

You could allways get this soundcard for your laptop
http://us.creative.com/products/product ... duct=16642

seanpyl wrote:http://www.trittontechnologies.com/prod ... IAI712.htm

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6826235003

THIS Pair of 5.1 surround sound headphones are by far the best I have used over the years. The bass rumble feature is surprisingly loud and clear. I can easily differenciate all the different channels in the game so tracking people is easy. At only 65 bucks you can't afford not to get these and give them a shot. I Highly reccomend them

That's actually just a renamed pair of Speedlink Medusa.

Cynips wrote:

seanpyl wrote:http://www.trittontechnologies.com/prod ... IAI712.htm

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6826235003

THIS Pair of 5.1 surround sound headphones are by far the best I have used over the years. The bass rumble feature is surprisingly loud and clear. I can easily differenciate all the different channels in the game so tracking people is easy. At only 65 bucks you can't afford not to get these and give them a shot. I Highly reccomend them

That's actually just a renamed pair of Speedlink Medusa.

Okay? Was there a point to you revelation?

ohh tks sean did not know this lets hope that my laptop is compatible.

SND wrote:ohh tks sean did not know this lets hope that my laptop is compatible.

Well as long as you have a PCMIA card slot you should be good to go.

Well, I'm torn between the two models of Audio Technica ATH-700 headphones. The "AD" model is open air which apparently sacrifices a very small amount of audio quality for improved comfort, I think mostly in regards to pressure and not ventilation. The "A" is a clsoed ear cup design and has slightly better specifications but also has double the impudence. I don't know very much about impedance and its effect on volume, at least I'm assuming it relates to volume(signal strength?) because some one mentioned the use of an amp with high impedance headphones/speakers. The "AD" model has 32ohm impedance and the "A" model has 64ohm impedance, is 64ohm considered a high impedance? This is the only thing im hung up on, I want to get the "A" model but don't want to buy an amp.

"AD" Open air model: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6826402014
"A" Closed cup model: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6826402012

The frequency responce and sensitivity on the "A" model are marginally better. The "A" models sensitivity is equal to that of Audio Technicas $700 pair of studio monitors which are also closed ear cups so thats enticing. I think im gonna do with the "A" model, but just for the heck of it if anyone knows anything about impedance and its effects please post what you know.

Fearsome would be able to answer the question about the specific level of impedence. All I know is lower=better.

wow you guys forgot the other site plug? http://www.wikipedia.org to LEARN DAMN NEAR ANYTHING!

ok after looking up the technical stuff i know some1 going to school studying this exact thing so I'll get him to say something really flashy about it but dumb it down enough for us to understand

Yeah an expert opinion would be nice. I know I can't believe I'vew forgotten about the all mighty wikipedia, I used to visit that site at least daily. The wiki pages about acoustic impedance go WAY over my head lol.

seanpyl wrote:Okay? Was there a point to you revelation?

Oh, I thought you had read and remembered that I told of my experiences with them on the first page of this topic. They're ok for that price, but not fantastic if you ask me.

Well as I was doing some research to try and make sense of what I found in wikipedia, I found this webpage which had all the answers I was looking for. http://www.practical-home-theater-guide ... hones.html Give a great list of things to consider about buying headphones in laymans terms for noobs like me.

Cynips wrote:

seanpyl wrote:Okay? Was there a point to you revelation?

Oh, I thought you had read and remembered that I told of my experiences with them on the first page of this topic. They're ok for that price, but not fantastic if you ask me.

Ohhhhhhhhhhh. No I hadnt read that sorry. Well they were a VAST imptovement over the Original ones

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6826235001 These.

In either case I'm very happy with them. But only as happy as somone buying a model rocket when he COULD by a SATURN V rocket

64 is not to high a decent sound card can probably drive it. I would say that something with 300 ohms would be high and you should get an amp or avoid those. Under 100 will probably be fine.
Open back head phones are actually considered better for sound quality but if you are in an environment with higher back ground noise that may not be of any use to you. Closed back probably produce better bass in most cases. And it blocks out the ambient noises if you have any.

seanpyl wrote:

Cynips wrote:

seanpyl wrote:Okay? Was there a point to you revelation?

Oh, I thought you had read and remembered that I told of my experiences with them on the first page of this topic. They're ok for that price, but not fantastic if you ask me.

Ohhhhhhhhhhh. No I hadnt read that sorry. Well they were a VAST imptovement over the Original ones

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6826235001 These.

In either case I'm very happy with them. But only as happy as somone buying a model rocket when he COULD by a SATURN V rocket

Ok, didn't know there were different versions. Can't say which one I have my experience of.

Hmmm. How long ago did you use them?

Bought them about mid-last year. Still using them. These are the SpeedLink Medusa 5.1 ProGamer. At least the outer design is strikingly similar, if not identical.

Cynips wrote:Bought them about mid-last year. Still using them. These are the SpeedLink Medusa 5.1 ProGamer. At least the outer design is strikingly similar, if not identical.

Yeah they do look similiar...

Cool thanks for the post Fearsome. Yeah I've been readin gup on various opinions regarding open vs. closed back headphones, and there are people on both sides of the fence. I'm a stickler for well recreated sound, and can't stand weak bass so I'll be going with the closed back model. I listen to a lot of trance/dance/ambient/goa psy so good lows are equaly important as stellar highs and mid range. I'm a little disapointed the closed back ones don't seem to have a magnesium frame like the open back, but I baby my $30 pair of headphones so they won't get damaged. Thanks for all the input everyone, this thread has greatly influenced my decision on what headphones to buy. I was oging to buy a pair of steelseries siberia headphones...now I am goning to buy the far superior ath-a700, I think its obvoius that im happy to have found this thread lol.

I used to keep my old ones on top of my computer case when I wasnt wearing them and they would often fall off. I think this may have contributed to the short life they had.

So when I bought the Audio-technica, I made this holder with a scrap peice of wood and a dowel and put it on the wall next to my computer desk.

If they arent on my head they are on the holder.

http://www.khaosclan.net/misc/headphones.htm

Wow those sons-a-bitches are REALLY purple lol! They looked somewhat purple on the retail sites, but that is like BAM purple. Yeah thats a really good idea, I think I'll make one of those for the side of my computer desk. Dropping headphones is really THE worst thing you can do to them, magnets aren't the best thing to be dropping

Actually its more of a maroon red, it just kind looks purple with the flash and flourescent lighting down here.

Paradox wrote:http://www.khaosclan.net/misc/headphones.htm

That's really neat! Kinda overkill with 3648x2736 for an illustration though

Meh either way the blue of the closed ear design is way more, "me." lol I'm really excited for a new sound card and headphones. I have a feeling its really going to help my game a lot. I have always really relied on sound in games as being a large part of my game. And with onboard sound and crappy headphones I can tell I am missing A LOT of sounds in game, not to mention that the positional audio is rather crappy. I have a feeling my 1v1ing will improve as a direct result of this upgrade lol. "Where did that shotty reload sound come from...hmmmmm." 1 second later, xbow bolt hits me from behind and I get double shottied. "ahha it was coming from BEHIND me, doh." story of my 1v1 career so far lol.

Cynips wrote:

Paradox wrote:http://www.khaosclan.net/misc/headphones.htm

That's really neat! Kinda overkill with 3648x2736 for an illustration though

???

I reduced the pic to 580 x 480 pix before uploading.

Its a 10 megapix camera maybe thats why?

Also Im on a monitor with a very high res.

what kind of soundcard are you getting?

my audio setup =

Sennheiser HD 555s
CMoy Headphone Amp
Zalman ZM-Mic
X-FI XtremeGamer Soundcard

'tis awesome

I am getting the Razer Barracuda sound card. I found it for sale online for under $60 so theres no question, I'm buying it. The cards were taken out of CPL machines that this company build for an event. They test the cards and give you 30 days to return if there are any malfunctions. Once I recieve and email confirming the contents of the package, I'ma make my final decision. But I'm most likely getting it.

I would have gone with the XFI but it has gotten some very shotty reviews and I REALLY don't like the different media modes that they have, gaming, music, movie or whatever it is. Thats just retarded, I want a card that I can set and forget, and not have to keep switching between modes to get "optimal sound," depending on the media im currently experiencing, I was really flabergasted when Sound Blaster included this feature.

If I hadn't found the Razer card for such a deal I would probably buy a card that is gear more towards music production. Those cards provide stellar audio are compatabile with many industry peripherals, which would have benefited me in the future.

try icemat for headphones i'd recommend them, audio seems to come through nice n clear to others-even with my scottish accent

http://www.steelseries.com/teaser_heave ... ria-full_w

Iam thinkin' aboot buying this one :



It's like $80 and iam loving the design. Any good ?


Specs :
* Inline control with volume and mute.
* Laptop connectivity via dual 3.5 mm plugs.
* Lightweight and portable, easy to stow with carry case.
* Airline in-flight entertainment dual 3.5 mm mono adapter.
* Cable management option.
* Frequency Response: 20Hz - 10KHz
* Plug: Gold
* Cord Length: 4 feet
* Driver Unit Size: 8 mm
* Ear Cushions: 1 Set Memory Foam, 3 Sizes Ear Tabs, 3 Sizes Ear Buds

Ouch that frequency response is a pretty small range.

The frequency response defines the range of sounds you hear, low through high. So if your frequency response range is larger your headphones are capable of accurately expressing a larger range of sounds.

The headphones I bought (Audio Technica ATH-A700) have a frequency response of 5Hz-35,000KHs, but they don't have a mic so I had to buy a stand alone mic to go with them. Which is actually kind of nice because its a digital microphone and seems to be noticabely clearer than the one on my previous logitech headset.

Those would be far more portable than the pair I have but you sacrifice a lot of quality with them being so small.
I am not really a fan of in ear headphones for gaming because they tend to hurt my ears after only 2-3 hours of use if they are a really good pair. I am liable to be on the computer for 4-6 hours at a time between all the things I do, so I prefer a circumaural design which surrounds the ear. But I am also a freak about good, accurate sound so I don't mind paying over $120 dollars including shipping for a pair of headphones. Coupled with the Razer Barracuda AC-1 sound card I am getting an extremly pleasing ausio experence in both music and games. I am satisfied with my purchase to say the least, I would highly recommend this combo to anyone willing to foot the bill.

Plantronics GameCom Pro. I use those and they are excellent in my opinion. You also want to have a sound card that is just as excellent.

SND wrote:I will kill for these headphones
http://stuff.tv/News/Gadget-of-the-Day- ... er-PC-350/
http://campaigns.senncom.com/g4me/

don't think anyone has them pretty pricey

This is interestin had the PC150s and they just were not good enough but I did like the attached mic, now it looks like they are bringing gamers possibly something better with a mic. I have to get a head set anyway so I might just pick one up and see how they go.

I got to mess around with a pair of Sennheiser's while at a music clinic in down in Columbus (I live in Ohio). Even though they were not Sennheiser's gaming line, the sound quality was absolutely pristine. I think that pair cost somewhere around $500.

My point is that Sennheiser makes really good shit.

So I bought the PC350s I tried them for a bit and was not impressed by the sound for 160$ they were not worth it. Maybe for 70$, anyhow I will let them burn in for a couple days and see if the sound quality improves. Other then that they had a good setup a thicker cord then usuall and they collapsed well and looked nice. They have inline volume an mic mute.

Fearsome, from what I have read into your previous comments you are pretty picky when it comes to sound. Is the sound on the PC350 not impressive listening to music or in game? Also can you notice anything better with the sound positioning from your last set of cans ( believe you said they were Audio Technica) Since the big advertisement from Senni claims "special shaping of the frequency response improves gamers ability to detect where a sound comes from." Do you feel that is noticeable?
Please keep us posted on your further thoughts with these.

My audio technicas got these beat for quality and positioning imo. I find these to be no better. They must have done something cause they definitely sound weird but to me it sounded like a cheap pair of headphones. Hopefully they will get better after the burn in or its my woman will be sporting the most expensive VOIP head set there is.

so i was reading through this topic, i recently upgraded my pc, and it seems like a waste to use this $10 circuit city headset when i have a nice sound card, so i was looking for a headset in the $50-$70 range

maybe i missed something, but pretty much the only ones i saw in that range in this topic was this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6826235003

can anyone else vouch for this set or recommend another set within the 50-70 dollar range? thanks

I just bought a set of those to go along with the comp I just built. They're a bit on the heavy side compared to what I've been using, but sound quality isn't bad, and they do a good job of drowning out room noise. Surround sound works well, but I'm having a hard time getting used to it after so much time just using stereo headphones. They are powered headphones which I wasn't aware of when I bought 'em. You have to plug an adapter into an outlet and connect it before you get any sound. The controls are nice, has volume, mute, and you can adjust front, center, sub and surround channels independently. I like the mic, lots of flexibility to move it to the right spot. Had 'em about a week or so now and so far I like 'em.

Thought id mention, i had a pair of Zalmann 5.1 phones for a time, cost $59.95 iirc... terrible sound overall, tinny with absolutely no bass, and positioning was only slightly better than stereo phones, which didnt make up for the amount of low/ambient sounds they missed due to being so low quality and distortion-prone. They were also heavy and uncomfortable.

Anyhow i eventually destroyed them in disgust after a match; gf now has their 8 magnets holding notes on the fridge, and at least they dont fail at that. Ive been using a set of $24.95 earbuds since, and the positioning is much the same, while sadly the overall sound is actually quite a bit better.

Havent decided on what to get for my upcoming new rig, so keep the opinions / reviews coming!

Does anyone use the 2 speaker setting ingame when using headphones? I always used the headphones setting, until last night i accidentally set it to 2 speakers somehow and it seemed to have much better positioning...thoughts?

I've had that happen too with opposite effects, it was worse.

In the 50 - 70 range I would try to grab the Sennheisser HD280pro it can be found often for 70 - 75$

I also recently found these and they would probably make a good head set. Sennheiser-HMD280-XQ unfortunately they seem to be an extra 120$ just for the mic.

i have a pair of SteelSound 5h

They're luvly