headphones for gaming

[wazzam]

hi everyone my current headset broke and looking for help picking out a new solution. im looking for a pair of headphones and mic both wired something comfortable and durable because I will be wearing them alot. I'll mainly be playing games listening to some music and watching the occasional Video/movie.  something in the range of $150USD. ill probably use my on board sound unless advised otherwise.

 

other thoughts

virtual surround sound is a plus if it works. nice to have in a big blockbuster FPS to hear the guy trying to kill you from behind to smaller free to play game like Alien Swarm any advantage to do better I'll take. also don't know what's needed for this will any pair of headphones and the game being set to headphones work? or do i need software and any pair of headphones or just one of those USB gaming headset?

[Goldilock]

my friend might probably recommend Razer something like Blackshark or Kraken, but that is just their opinion not mine.

 

I am retired gamer BTW.

[Sors]

A little over your price range:  http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-360-Headset-Pro-Gaming/dp/B003DA4D2U

 

Or you could get a separated headphone and Mic.

[EmoRarity]

I highly recommend HD518 and a Blur Snowflake.

[wazzam]

thank you all for the suggestions Sennheiser PC 360 are nice but not quite what i'm looking for. which means I'm leaning towards HD518 and the Snowflake also i'll mainly be using this on a desktop so i'm not sure if the snowflake is the right choice?

if anyone else has a suggestion to allocate the funds in a different way I'm open ears 

[Cedstick]

Wouldn't a stand-alone mic pick-up his keyboard (assuming he had a mechanical)? I know Blue mics are pretty good for voice quality and isolating farther ambience, but when it's (likely) parked farther from you than your keyboard is, it could be troublesome.

[EmoRarity]

There is a chance it could pick up you keyboard bit there is a God tier fix called push to talk.

[Cedstick]

Push-to-talk can be annoying when playing more intense, action-oriented games such as Starcraft/DotA. Guess it depends on OP.

[wazzam]

if it picks up my keyboard that could be annoying, but it's a risk i'll have to take to try this setup

[EmoRarity]

if it picks up my keyboard that could be annoying, but it's a risk i'll have to take to try this setup

Also depends on you (How loud you personal vocalize) and your keyboard. 

For me, its an issue because I am soft spoken and type loud as shit. 

[wazzam]

good to know

[BrightCandle]

I never had a problem with the PC360's picking up keyboard noise although at the time I had a membrane keyboard not a mechanical. However I found the sound stage quite poor on the PC360's and found the surround sound effect wasn't very good at all. I moved to a pair of Sennheiser HD 598's and its been dramatically better once I paired it with a Soundblaster Z. Didn't have much luck with the Dolby Headphone on the Xonar cards nor with the PC360's and the combination was really bad for me. No idea if you'll have similar issues however. The PC360 mic was excellent, directional and altogether a great gaming mic. My HD 598 is combined with a modmic and it picks up a sneeze in another room, about as bad as it can be for room noise, and the combination is above your budget.

 

According to the Head-fi guys the Beyerdynamic 770 is also pretty good alongside the HD 598 for gamers and surround sound positioning. I am also hearing that in ear headphones may be especially good although I haven't tried it yet.

[ShearMe]

I found the sound stage quite poor on the PC360's and found the surround sound effect wasn't very good at all. I moved to a pair of Sennheiser HD 598's and its been dramatically better once I paired it with a Soundblaster Z. Didn't have much luck with the Dolby Headphone on the Xonar cards nor with the PC360's and the combination was really bad for me.

Do you even scientific method, bro?

What I mean is, woulda been good to try the PC 360s with the soundblaster's VSS before trashing it, as it's pretty darn similar to the 598.

[BrightCandle]

Do you even scientific method, bro?

What I mean is, woulda been good to try the PC 360s with the soundblaster's VSS before trashing it, as it's pretty darn similar to the 598.

 

I have tried it all ways, on the Xonar and the SBZ for both headphones. In both cases the HD 598's are quite a bit better, but they really seem to do much better on the SBZ than the Xonar for me. The PC360's positioning is about the same regardless of which card its on, which personally I found quite strange. I just don't get on with them, but then I don't get on with most modern surround sound as I rejected the realtek on my motherboard almost immediately as well because it was equally awful. Never tried it with the HD 598's admittedly but it was basically just stereo for me.

 

Years ago I tested some real binaural sound in the cockpit of an aircraft and I can tell you that todays sound cards are terrible in comparison. I am forever going to be disappointed until I get that level of quality in positioning information that I saw 15 years ago in aircraft systems.

[wazzam]

thank you both for the information.but I'm more than likely going to get the HD518