Soundcard/ Headset Suggestions

[DaftBehemoth]

I'm in the market for a new sound card as well as a new headset to go along with it. I have a pretty good idea of what I want, but I thought I should see if anyone has any input on the matter. I'm currently using a Creative  X-Fi Fatal1ty Platinum Champion edition sound card and while it was a huge step up from my crappy $30 Creative card, I'm not impressed by the drivers and software for it. I'm also under the impression that Creative cards really aren't that great overall.  I got that sound card to power my Klipsch Promedia 2.1 speakers, but I'm actually using a USB headset at the moment. Specifically, I'm using the Razer Megalodons. While the virtual 7.1 on them actually does a fairly good job for what it is, I'm far more impressed by its 2.0 mode. They have a really nice lightweight, open design with very crisp and accurate sound (easily better sound than my Streets by 50 and the Beats headphones I've had... I don't know why I keep wasting my money on overpriced rapper headphones). All that said, I'd really love a 2.0 headset with an accurate, flat response with a lightweight, open design. 

 

From what I can tell, my best options would be the Sennheiser PC 360's with an Asus Xonar Essence STX. I'd be tempted to try the Razer Tiamats considering how well my Megalodons have treated me (plus I've tried them on and they're actually comfortable as hell), but I'm pretty sure that the multi-driver design of the Tiamats would lend itself much more for gaming with positional sound rather than games AND music. 

 

So what are your guys' thoughts? Any suggestions would be very helpful :)

 

[MzCatieB]

get a Asus Xonar and Roccat Kaves

[Mr. X]

If you don't need a microphone I would suggest just get a pair of headphones instead of a headset, they will have better quality drivers. Any sennheiser, beyerdynamics or Audio Technicas will do a great job and will be even better with the xonar STX as it can drive heaphones up to 600ohms

[DaftBehemoth]

If you don't need a microphone I would suggest just get a pair of headphones instead of a headset, they will be have better quality drivers. Any sennheiser, beyerdynamics or Audio Technicas will do a great job and will be even better with the xonar STX as it can drive heaphones up to 600ohms

I do have to get one with a mic. As a competitive gamer, I'd really miss it :P

[XiaoPigs]

Most Xonar soundcards will do you just fine :) I don't really know what to recommend for headsets though. I'm using a Siberia V2 myself which is more then decent but the mic sucks a bit.

 

You could try something like a SteelSeries 7H or maybe if you're really willing to spend a pair of Astro A40s

[DaftBehemoth]

get a Asus Xonar and Roccat Kaves

I checked out some reviews of the Kaves and they actually look like they'd be a pretty good buy. They're not quite what I'm looking for though. I'd really prefer stereo over surround and an open design. Thank you anyway!

[MzCatieB]

my arguement on the Roccat Kaves are:

• not stupidly expensive
• comfortable to wear
• 5.1 surround
• light
• removable mic
• outstanding build quality 

 

i have also gone to a fare few tournaments and allot of professional players use them.

 

also as a user of them my self, i can vouch that they are well worth the buy even without a sound card

[DaftBehemoth]

my arguement on the Roccat Kaves are:

• not stupidly expensive
• comfortable to wear
• 5.1 surround
• light
• removable mic
• outstanding build quality 

 

i have also gone to a fare few tournaments and allot of professional players use them.

 

also as a user of them my self, i can vouch that they are well worth the buy even without a sound card

I can understand why you like them. The reviews say that the directional sound is great, but they're really lacking in actual audio fidelity, which is very important to me. I'm trying to find something that will amaze me in music (anything from dubstep to death metal) and also in games. It's because of this that I'm not interested in a surround sound headset. I'm also not on a very tight budget, so spending an extra $80 is fine by me. I'm willing to spend about $400 between my headset and sound card, if that gives you a better idea.

[MzCatieB]

go to a local tech shop that sells them and ask to try them... honstly if u think they are lacking u realy dont know how good they are, its not 3 tweeters in each ear cup there the same 1s used in beats solo's with a vibration cylinder to push more air through the base for a better low range... honestly they make it anoying in fps games when a gnaid goes off cause there is nothing weak about them. trust me if u want a good headset go for theme

[DaftBehemoth]

go to a local tech shop that sells them and ask to try them... honstly if u think they are lacking u realy dont know how good they are, its not 3 tweeters in each ear cup there the same 1s used in beats solo's with a vibration cylinder to push more air through the base for a better low range... honestly they make it anoying in fps games when a gnaid goes off cause there is nothing weak about them. trust me if u want a good headset go for theme

As I mentioned in my first post, I've owned Beats headphones (both the solos and the studios) and I do not like them. They offer a powerful, if not a little muddy, low-end and little to nothing else. Both the mids and highs are over-saturated by the overpowering low-end (though I will say that the solos actually provide a better experience in my opinion, because the noise-cancellation on the studios is just awful). I'm sorry if I'm coming off as totally picky here, but I've owned quite a few pairs of headphones, earbuds, and speakers over the years and I have acquired a fairly specific taste. If the lows, mids, and highs aren't represented in a balanced manner, I'm not going to like the sound.

[MzCatieB]

As I mentioned in my first post, I've owned Beats headphones (both the solos and the studios) and I do not like them. They offer a powerful, if not a little muddy, low-end and little to nothing else. Both the mids and highs are over-saturated by the overpowering low-end (though I will say that the solos actually provide a better experience in my opinion, because the noise-cancellation on the studios is just awful). I'm sorry if I'm coming off as totally picky here, but I've owned quite a few pairs of headphones, earbuds, and speakers over the years and I have acquired a fairly specific taste. If the lows, mids, and highs aren't represented in a balanced manner, I'm not going to like the sound.

like i said, go to your local store and try them out

[DaftBehemoth]

like i said, go to your local store and try them out

That's not really an option where I'm at. All we've got is a Best Buy with a terrible selection of products (with even less available on display). Unfortunately I can only go off of reading as many online reviews as I can. 

[MzCatieB]

That's not really an option where I'm at. All we've got is a Best Buy with a terrible selection of products (with even less available on display). Unfortunately I can only go off of reading as many online reviews as I can. 

damn

[DaftBehemoth]

damn

The drawbacks of living in Montana...  <_<

[MzCatieB]

The drawbacks of living in Montana...  <_<

i feel for you, its annoying having 2 bad tech shops let alone one that isn't even a legitimate one 

[DaftBehemoth]

i feel for you, its annoying having 2 bad tech shops let alone one that isn't even a legitimate one 

Yeah... we have a couple tiny computer stores, but they never keep anything that's up to date in stock. They're mostly about ripping people off for computer repairs  :rolleyes:

[josh_05]

Sennheiser with a asus sound card sounds like it would be spot on for your taste. As far as I know most sennheisers are very neutral but lack a bit in excitement, that's where the xonar will give that back to them. Every xonar sound card I've heard seems to have a very energetic quality to its sound but if you want the best SQ for music you might have to get a separate mic, I'm not sure how good the ones are that have a built in. Also the guys on head-Fi would be worth asking if your still un sure.

[Theo]

XONAR STX + Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 250 omh, i have them and its soooooo gooood!

[josh_05]

A dac might also be worth considering instead of a sound card... Or one of the asus sound cards that have the burr brown dac on them.

[DaftBehemoth]

A dac might also be worth considering instead of a sound card... Or one of the asus sound cards that have the burr brown dac on them.

I'd get an Asus Xonar Essence One, but I'm afraid that one IS out of my price range :P

 

You guys have been a great help though. At the very least, I'm feeling very confident about buying the STX thanks to you guys. I think I'll be sticking to the PC 360's as well and I'll be sure to post a follow up of my first impressions some time next week. Thanks again everybody!

[josh_05]

I'd get an Asus Xonar Essence One, but I'm afraid that one IS out of my price range :P

 

You guys have been a great help though. At the very least, I'm feeling very confident about buying the STX thanks to you guys. I think I'll be sticking to the PC 360's as well and I'll be sure to post a follow up of my first impressions some time next week. Thanks again everybody!

Good to hear! 

[T3hDud3]

I'd get an Asus Xonar Essence One, but I'm afraid that one IS out of my price range :P

 

You guys have been a great help though. At the very least, I'm feeling very confident about buying the STX thanks to you guys. I think I'll be sticking to the PC 360's as well and I'll be sure to post a follow up of my first impressions some time next week. Thanks again everybody!

If you can, you might want to go for the 363D's. Linus checked them out yesterday--they look pretty good awesome.

[OddballMV]

If you can, you might want to go for the 363D's. Linus checked them out yesterday--they look pretty good awesome.

 

He just said he is buying a soundcard, why would he want a headset with a built in soundcard?

[Lemonsquare]

He just said he is buying a soundcard, why would he want a headset with a built in soundcard?

 

They don't have a built in soundcard, they have an optional USB soundcard in addition to the headphones themselves. I would also suggest the 363Ds... after seeing Linus' unboxing yesterday, I checked out some reviews online and they seem to be among the best gaming oriented headsets out there not only with the optional use of virtual surround sound, but also audio fidelity with standard two channel. They're also, you know, Sennheiser. 

[Rollergold]

My pick would be the A40 audio system. 250 dollars buys you one of the most versatile, flexible and customizable headphone systems for the money.

 

The mixamp still makes a fool of most other DAC/Amp/Mixer combos unless you buy a very pricey one and it allows you to stream both the Dolby 5.1 and the chat over one cable, no more jerry rigging a solution to stream skype, vent or other chat programs and the virtual Dolby 5.1 with the Mixamp is very convincing without losing the overall fidelity you have to do with a muti speaker 5.1 headphone and you can flip the Dolby Processing off with 1 button for when its music listening time and the Mixamp works with ANY headphone that uses a 3.5mm jack and if you pick up a PC headset to 4-pole adaptor it will work with any pc headset

 

The A40's have a fully detachable cable system that uses a standard 3.5mm 4-pole design, mic ports on both ear cups, open back design, customizability with the speaker tags and it isn't lacking for sound quality either.

 

Is the A40's sound PC360/PC363D good? Most likely not, but is PC360/363D worth the extra 50 to 100 dollars for a little bit of extra sound quality at the expense of versatility, and flexibility? Thats up for you to decide but for me its not. Besides if you were looking for sound quality first a headset is never the way to go anyway.

 

 I play the Battlefield's, Far Cry's and TF2's on my PC like most others around here do, but I also play with a group that plays more on consoles because most of them can't afford PC's that can play core games well or the games we play together are games only on Nintendo's system. So the extra bit of sound quality at the expense of not being able to use the PC360/363D's on the Wii-U and Xbox 360 easily is a deal breaker for me, sure I could just plug the 360/363D's into the headphone jack on my TV but that doesn't do the 360/363D's justice.