Professional grade audio equipment vs "gaming" audio equipment.

[Young_Man_Matt]

This is just a bit of an experiment for me to see why people go for "gaming" audio equipment and not the similarly priced professional gear. Personally I use a set of Audio Technica ATH-M50s a my go to headphone for everything and they have much better sound then most if not all of the gaming headsets that i have tried at a similar price point. Just want to know what people think.

[Guest]

I personally use pro gear: SM58, Soundcraft board, Sennheiser and Dennon headphones, QSC speakers ect - I think it's got a lot to do with general marketing as well as ease of use. You always see the pro gamers use x headset ect and a huge proportion of people are sheep so they will follow choices set by others. You also have to take into account that gaming audio equipment is normally a complete headset whereas profesional audio equipment is separated to mic and headphones, not a combination of both at once.

[Young_Man_Matt]

Those are valid points that I had not though of. I also think that the vast majority of people don't know that there is pro gear an an affordable price point.

[Guest]

Those are valid points that I had not though of. I also think that the vast majority of people don't know that there is pro gear an an affordable price point.

It probably also has something to do with the stereotypical view of what pro audio is: http://www.msrstudiosny.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/StudioB_960x540.jpg

[Young_Man_Matt]

Those are valid points that I had not though of. I also think that the vast majority of people don't know that there is pro gear an an affordable price point.

It probably also has something to do with the stereotypical view of what pro audio is: http://www.msrstudiosny.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/StudioB_960x540.jpg

That may be true as well.

[Aphexx]

I use both, I have 2 audio technica headphones as well as a corsair wireless headset. the headset is just for convenience

example during a raid I die in a boss encounter I can just sit there and wait for a battle rez or I can take this opportunity to run to the bathroom or pour myself a coffee the whole time I can listen for battle Rezzing Aphexx in 3, 2, and I can be back at my computer in time for the rez and my raid lead would not know I was absent at all. also the corsair is bass heavy which my audio technica headphones can't compete with which suit me for when I want to listen to something with a focus on bass.

wired headsets kind of boggle me though, I derive so much enjoyment from my headphones to be able to toss it on and plug it into my phone and go for a walk let alone being able to hear the music I've listened to for so many years in a new light. to give that up for a mediocre unitasking headset that only sits next to the computer doesn't appeal to me.

if you choose headset go for wireless. if you're wired go for headphone

[Young_Man_Matt]

I use both, I have 2 audio technica headphones as well as a corsair wireless headset. the headset is just for convenience

example during a raid I die in a boss encounter I can just sit there and wait for a battle rez or I can take this opportunity to run to the bathroom or pour myself a coffee the whole time I can listen for battle Rezzing Aphexx in 3, 2, and I can be back at my computer in time for the rez and my raid lead would not know I was absent at all. also the corsair is bass heavy which my audio technica headphones can't compete with which suit me for when I want to listen to something with a focus on bass.

wired headsets kind of boggle me though, I derive so much enjoyment from my headphones to be able to toss it on and plug it into my phone and go for a walk let alone being able to hear the music I've listened to for so many years in a new light. to give that up for a mediocre unitasking headset that only sits next to the computer doesn't appeal to me.

if you choose headset go for wireless. if you're wired go for headphone

I tend to stay away from wireless because I have had some bad experiences with them in the past. But I do like the looks of some of the solutions that were revealed at CES. Who knows I may go back to it.

[Blade of Grass]

I personally use pro gear: SM58, Soundcraft board, Sennheiser and Dennon headphones, QSC speakers ect - I think it's got a lot to do with general marketing as well as ease of use. You always see the pro gamers use x headset ect and a huge proportion of people are sheep so they will follow choices set by others. You also have to take into account that gaming audio equipment is normally a complete headset whereas profesional audio equipment is separated to mic and headphones, not a combination of both at once.

You use a legit microphone for gaming? That`s awesome!

[Guest]

I personally use pro gear: SM58, Soundcraft board, Sennheiser and Dennon headphones, QSC speakers ect - I think it's got a lot to do with general marketing as well as ease of use. You always see the pro gamers use x headset ect and a huge proportion of people are sheep so they will follow choices set by others. You also have to take into account that gaming audio equipment is normally a complete headset whereas profesional audio equipment is separated to mic and headphones, not a combination of both at once.

Used to use a Shure KSM series mic but didn't like the pickup pattern of it for my environment

[Makaseo]

Pro audio personally, but that's just because I dabble in production anyway.

I do think pro audio products generally have better sound for the same money, though it looks like that's becoming less true recently. The difference with gaming is the feature set, as far as I can tell. Gamers have pretty distinct needs, as windspeed mentioned with "ease of use." It's easier to sacrifice a bit of sound quality for the benefit of an attached mic or the option to have wireless or surround sound.