Gaming headset worthwhile?

[stealth80]

Hey,

       I'm currently have some Bose AE2i which I got for a good price a few years ago which are used with my SoundBlaster Z. I know quite a lot about Hifi and AV sound systems, seperates etc, but I am clueless about PC gaming headsets. Would there be any value in replacing my Bose headset with a dedicated gaming headset? Would it make use of my SoundBlaster Z? Id like some surround sound gaming for when I'm sat at my desk and I don't think the bose + virtual is any good at all  

[Tog]

Do you have any issue with your current sound setup. In other words are there any things that you want it to be able to do but it doesn't. If not I see no reason for you to buy a gaming head set. That being said gaming head sets are designed for gaming and have very high quality surround sound.

[TheNuzziNuzz]

Logitech G933. Their awesome, 200 dolla headphones. Awesome for wireless surround gaming. They have LOADS of range, and are well built.

[Guest Kloaked]

If anything a gaming headset would be a downgrade for what you have.

 

You don't need a gaming branded setup to play games either. You can go with headphones that you like and just get a mic (if you need one) to go with it.

[Dzzope]

Sound quality on most (the VAST majority) of gaming headsets are terrible with a few exceptions.. Personally I wouldn't invest unless I was sure it was of sufficient sound / comfort / mic quality that you want too.

 

Best way to find out is to try them if your near any large mall / best buy or whatever that would have a range on display.

[stealth80]

6 minutes ago, Tog said:

Do you have any issue with your current sound setup. In other words are there any things that you want it to be able to do but it doesn't. If not I see no reason for you to buy a gaming head set. That being said gaming head sets are designed for gaming and have very high quality surround sound.

I'm wanting the surround sound. Problem is I like my surround stuff to be good. My AV system is 7.1 using a Denon X3100W and Monitor Audio BX5 7.1 and an Arcam A85 driving the fronts so everything sounds great for movies. When I play through the TV none of that is used (hdmi decoding from the GPU) but surround placement is still decent (I'm aware my av system has no affect, just my speakers).

 

But when I'm playing at my desk with my headphones I don't feel like there is any surround placement what so ever, again, maybe my expectations are too high

[Guest Kloaked]

Just now, stealth80 said:

I'm wanting the surround sound. Problem is I'm quite a surround snob. My AV system is 7.1 using a Denon X3100W and Monitor Audio BX5 7.1 and an Arcam A85 driving the fronts so everything sounds great for movies. When I play through the TV none of that is used (hdmi decoding from the GPU) but surround placement is still decent (I'm aware my av system has no affect, just my speakers).

 

But when I'm playing at my desk with my headphones I don't feel like there is any surround placement what so ever, again, maybe my expectations are too high

You just need a pair of open back headphones. When using headphones, surround sound is nothing more than a gimmick, and it takes away from the sound quality in my opinion. Open backs give you a larger soundstage, which is better than surround sound in headphones.

 

Look through this list on this thread for the open back headphones.

 

If you don't wanna spend too much, Superlux has a pair of semi-open back that I enjoy, personally. There's more on that list here, though.

 

 

[sobe]

1 hour ago, stealth80 said:

Hey,

       I'm currently have some Bose AE2i which I got for a good price a few years ago which are used with my SoundBlaster Z. I know quite a lot about Hifi and AV sound systems, seperates etc, but I am clueless about PC gaming headsets. Would there be any value in replacing my Bose headset with a dedicated gaming headset? Would it make use of my SoundBlaster Z? Id like some surround sound gaming for when I'm sat at my desk and I don't think the bose + virtual is any good at all  

If you want surround sound for gaming, use a 7.1 speaker setup, it's the only way. There is no real 7.1 for headphones, no matter what marketing you may see labeled on gaming brands.

 

That said, depending on your budget, if under $100 I would grab the HyperX Cloud or Cloud Core, if $100+ I would grab the Sennheiser G4ME One for $150 (this is what I would personally call the pinnacle of headsets on the market).

 

1 hour ago, TheNuzziNuzz said:

Logitech G933. Their awesome, 200 dolla headphones. Awesome for wireless surround gaming. They have LOADS of range, and are well built.

 

No.... Not worth $200 at all. Their ONLY selling point is wireless, that is the ONLY selling point really, they are simply too overpriced and cannot even compete with the $150 Sennheiser G4ME One much less the $70 HyperX Cloud Core. Then you of course get into the cheap plastic used for the body, just.... no. Unless wireless was the sole thing you were looking for, not worth the price for the audio quality you get.

[stealth80]

33 minutes ago, sobe said:

If you want surround sound for gaming, use a 7.1 speaker setup, it's the only way. There is no real 7.1 for headphones, no matter what marketing you may see labeled on gaming brands.

 

That said, depending on your budget, if under $100 I would grab the HyperX Cloud or Cloud Core, if $100+ I would grab the Sennheiser G4ME One for $150 (this is what I would personally call the pinnacle of headsets on the market).

 

 

No.... Not worth $200 at all. Their ONLY selling point is wireless, that is the ONLY selling point really, they are simply too overpriced and cannot even compete with the $150 Sennheiser G4ME One much less the $70 HyperX Cloud Core. Then you of course get into the cheap plastic used for the body, just.... no. Unless wireless was the sole thing you were looking for, not worth the price for the audio quality you get.

Hi thanks, if you scroll up a little further I explain about my usual 7.1 which is connected to my 4k tv for movies, this was purely for when I'm relegated to my desk lol

[Darkseth]

Audio Freak here, who's very active in many Audio Forums, and has some experience myself:

 

Gaming Headset = Piece of Crap.

This Term "Gaming" is missused for "overpriced low quality product". This is no joke, or exxagaration.

 

Kingston HyperX Cloud (or open Cans: Qpad QH85) are some exceptions.

But anything else from Logitech, Razer, etc etc, is pretty Crapshit,

 

Lets make a good example, the very popular Logitech G35 (90-100€), or Logitech G930 (Wireless version of that, 130-140€ back then at its time).

You might thing its a good call? Hell no.

Comfort is pretty bad, the pads are far from ergonomic, and way too stiff.

Quality of the materials is bad, causing it to break very easily. I've seen COUNTLESS of threads where it broke after 6 months, up to 2-3 years.

USB-soundcard with logitech drivers. Countless problems, from "no sound on one side", up to "some strange sounds". On many, noone knew how to fix it. Not even Logitech support (also, countless Threads in multiple Forums).

 

Lets come down to Audio quality.  Slightly Worse than that, of a 19,90€  Superluxx 681 (All Prices here from germany), an OEM China Headphone.

Microphone quality: Bad. Very dull, it blocks some noise, but the pure "Record quality" of your Voice, is actually WORSE than a 5€ Zalman Mic1 clip mic.

 

These price differences are similar to many more Gaming Headsets. Razer kraken for 80€? The worst piece or Trash i've ever let my ears hear. The soundquality is the most terrible Thing i' ve ever heard. Honestly. My 20 bucks Superlux headphone... A Complete other World of soundquality.

Even my 28€ Creative Fatal1ty - which is also very bad... - was slightly better than the Kraken.

 

 

As for the Logitech g933: It is said to be a bit better, than the horrible G35/G930. But its still far from beeing good for the Money.

 

As soon you can spend 150€ or more: Beyerdynamic Headphone + Clip mic.

beyerdynamic headphones will last easy for 20+ Years. And they have better Quality (Material quality, soundquality, anything) than ANY "Gaming Headset" you can find on the Market, and that will ever be Thrown into the Market.

 

--> A 25 year old Beyerdynamic headphone, that some people bought in the late 80s, is still better than ANY "Gaming" product that was ever made by Logitech/etc. Think about it.

 

Or better, in YOUR Case, i give you 3 Options:

- Buy a 5€~ Clip mic. Boom, headset.

- Buy a 60€ Modmic. Boom, headset (just more headset-like lol)

- Buy a studio USB Microphone for 30-50€, like a Samson Go Mic, Samson Meteor, etc, put that on your desk, and fill your friends Ears with Honey - Instead with 70% Distortion from 69 Cent Microphones, that are used in most Gaming-Headsets.

[sobe]

5 minutes ago, stealth80 said:

Hi thanks, if you scroll up a little further I explain about my usual 7.1 which is connected to my 4k tv for movies, this was purely for when I'm relegated to my desk lol

I assumed you meant for a living room area

[TheNuzziNuzz]

 

They also have awesome surround speaker separation when using Dolby Digital audio mode.

17 hours ago, sobe said:

If you want surround sound for gaming, use a 7.1 speaker setup, it's the only way. There is no real 7.1 for headphones, no matter what marketing you may see labeled on gaming brands.

 

That said, depending on your budget, if under $100 I would grab the HyperX Cloud or Cloud Core, if $100+ I would grab the Sennheiser G4ME One for $150 (this is what I would personally call the pinnacle of headsets on the market).

 

No.... Not worth $200 at all. Their ONLY selling point is wireless, that is the ONLY selling point really, they are simply too overpriced and cannot even compete with the $150 Sennheiser G4ME One much less the $70 HyperX Cloud Core. Then you of course get into the cheap plastic used for the body, just.... no. Unless wireless was the sole thing you were looking for, not worth the price for the audio quality you get.

 

17 hours ago, Darkseth said:

Audio Freak here, who's very active in many Audio Forums, and has some experience myself:

 

Gaming Headset = Piece of Crap.

This Term "Gaming" is missused for "overpriced low quality product". This is no joke, or exxagaration.

 

Kingston HyperX Cloud (or open Cans: Qpad QH85) are some exceptions.

But anything else from Logitech, Razer, etc etc, is pretty Crapshit,

 

Lets make a good example, the very popular Logitech G35 (90-100€), or Logitech G930 (Wireless version of that, 130-140€ back then at its time).

You might thing its a good call? Hell no.

Comfort is pretty bad, the pads are far from ergonomic, and way too stiff.

Quality of the materials is bad, causing it to break very easily. I've seen COUNTLESS of threads where it broke after 6 months, up to 2-3 years.

USB-soundcard with logitech drivers. Countless problems, from "no sound on one side", up to "some strange sounds". On many, noone knew how to fix it. Not even Logitech support (also, countless Threads in multiple Forums).

 

Lets come down to Audio quality.  Slightly Worse than that, of a 19,90€  Superluxx 681 (All Prices here from germany), an OEM China Headphone.

Microphone quality: Bad. Very dull, it blocks some noise, but the pure "Record quality" of your Voice, is actually WORSE than a 5€ Zalman Mic1 clip mic.

 

These price differences are similar to many more Gaming Headsets. Razer kraken for 80€? The worst piece or Trash i've ever let my ears hear. The soundquality is the most terrible Thing i' ve ever heard. Honestly. My 20 bucks Superlux headphone... A Complete other World of soundquality.

Even my 28€ Creative Fatal1ty - which is also very bad... - was slightly better than the Kraken.

 

 

As for the Logitech g933: It is said to be a bit better, than the horrible G35/G930. But its still far from beeing good for the Money.

 

As soon you can spend 150€ or more: Beyerdynamic Headphone + Clip mic.

beyerdynamic headphones will last easy for 20+ Years. And they have better Quality (Material quality, soundquality, anything) than ANY "Gaming Headset" you can find on the Market, and that will ever be Thrown into the Market.

 

--> A 25 year old Beyerdynamic headphone, that some people bought in the late 80s, is still better than ANY "Gaming" product that was ever made by Logitech/etc. Think about it.

 

Or better, in YOUR Case, i give you 3 Options:

- Buy a 5€~ Clip mic. Boom, headset.

- Buy a 60€ Modmic. Boom, headset (just more headset-like lol)

- Buy a studio USB Microphone for 30-50€, like a Samson Go Mic, Samson Meteor, etc, put that on your desk, and fill your friends Ears with Honey - Instead with 70% Distortion from 69 Cent Microphones, that are used in most Gaming-Headsets.

Also, the G933 have great quality, don't distort from what I can hear, have bold bass, the wireless works perfectly. The surround as i stated before is awesome, I find them comfortable. I only have to complains. The microphone picks up loads of background noise, and the headphones are so big that they look really weird while you are wearing them.

[ShuriBear]

They slap "Gaming" in front of a lot of things to sell crappy products to gamers.
It would be a major downgrade with the headset you've got now.
I recommend to get a Sennheiser headset and (if you game on pc) a USB Mic like a blue snowball. With this you've got much better quality for your ears and the ears of your friends.

[TheNuzziNuzz]

4 minutes ago, ShuriBear said:

They slap "Gaming" in front of a lot of things to sell crappy products to gamers.
It would be a major downgrade with the headset you've got now.
I recommend to get a Sennheiser headset and (if you game on pc) a USB Mic like a blue snowball. With this you've got much better quality for your ears and the ears of your friends.

I bet none of you have actually tried using the logitech g933. I have been trying to sell the g933 by pointing out its good features, while you guys insult it - Yet you haven't even tried it. They are a good piece of hardware. They will do what you want. I am a fan of all logitech products. I think that "gaming" in this case really doesn't mean what you think it means.  They are awesome, in my opinion. And for no reason would I switch.

[sobe]

3 hours ago, TheNuzziNuzz said:

I bet none of you have actually tried using the logitech g933. I have been trying to sell the g933 by pointing out its good features, while you guys insult it - Yet you haven't even tried it. They are a good piece of hardware. They will do what you want. I am a fan of all logitech products. I think that "gaming" in this case really doesn't mean what you think it means.  They are awesome, in my opinion. And for no reason would I switch.

 

I personally have, and no, no they are not awesome or amazing. They are mediocre at best, their ONLY selling point is wireless, and for all that it offers, it's price point NEEDS to be $100-$150 (at the absolute most due to wireless alone). Simply due to wireless and the DECENT audio quality the G933 has, it's worth a purchase due to wireless if you are strictly after wireless, but it's overpriced to hell and back when the $70 HyperX Cloud has far better audio quality. The only thing where the G933 would beat the Cloud is with the mic, the G933's mic is the better of the 2, but then you have the Sennheiser G4ME One which is superior in ALL ways for $50 less, and is renowned for it's more common HD558 headphone sibling, of which it is an essential headset clone of.

 

I'm not saying you can't like the 933, it's good that you enjoy it, but there ARE far FAR better options out there with far better audio quality and for less than half the cost. The issue is that YOU haven't tried the other available options. And btw, when I say try, I don't mean put them on your head at a store and say you tried them. Just to put into perspective, I have personally owned thousands of dollars worth of headphones alone, I am talking $300-$600 headphones, and for the MOST part, I have personally had and used ALMOST all current gaming headsets on the market ranging from Logitech to Astro.

 

 

Now, if I didn't have higher end quality headphones along with various length cords to run across entire rooms for home theater use, or if I wanted to be cordless due to a dog or some other reason, I'd probably look at the G933 as a possible option, but outside of that, simply not worth it.

[TheNuzziNuzz]

On 2/8/2016 at 0:20 PM, sobe said:

 

I personally have, and no, no they are not awesome or amazing. They are mediocre at best, their ONLY selling point is wireless, and for all that it offers, it's price point NEEDS to be $100-$150 (at the absolute most due to wireless alone). Simply due to wireless and the DECENT audio quality the G933 has, it's worth a purchase due to wireless if you are strictly after wireless, but it's overpriced to hell and back when the $70 HyperX Cloud has far better audio quality. The only thing where the G933 would beat the Cloud is with the mic, the G933's mic is the better of the 2, but then you have the Sennheiser G4ME One which is superior in ALL ways for $50 less, and is renowned for it's more common HD558 headphone sibling, of which it is an essential headset clone of.

 

I'm not saying you can't like the 933, it's good that you enjoy it, but there ARE far FAR better options out there with far better audio quality and for less than half the cost. The issue is that YOU haven't tried the other available options. And btw, when I say try, I don't mean put them on your head at a store and say you tried them. Just to put into perspective, I have personally owned thousands of dollars worth of headphones alone, I am talking $300-$600 headphones, and for the MOST part, I have personally had and used ALMOST all current gaming headsets on the market ranging from Logitech to Astro.

 

 

Now, if I didn't have higher end quality headphones along with various length cords to run across entire rooms for home theater use, or if I wanted to be cordless due to a dog or some other reason, I'd probably look at the G933 as a possible option, but outside of that, simply not worth it.

You just needed to prove me wrong, instead of advertising your product, you insult mine! Very Humble....

 

Alright, I will back off and let you finish this topic.

[sobe]

34 minutes ago, TheNuzziNuzz said:

You just needed to prove me wrong, instead of advertising your product, you insult mine! Very Humble....

 

Alright, I will back off and let you finish this topic.

 

It's not about insulting, it's about comparing the very real quality differences between products. If OP wanted something wireless you'd probably see me recommending the G933 as an option, but it really just is not a viable solution against cheaper wired alternatives.

 

So long as YOU like the product, at the end of the day that's what matters and I won't insult you for what you enjoy

[SuicideAnomaly]

45 minutes ago, TheNuzziNuzz said:

You just needed to prove me wrong, instead of advertising your product, you insult mine! Very Humble....

 

Alright, I will back off and let you finish this topic.

I didn't realize @sobe worked for Sennheiser! I would've been kissing his ass, hard-core. I do need a pair of the spiffy new HD800s', after all.

[sobe]

3 hours ago, SuicideAnomaly said:

I didn't realize @sobe worked for Sennheiser! I would've been kissing his ass, hard-core. I do need a pair of the spiffy new HD800s', after all.

 

Sigh, you found me out, you found the easter egg, which is me.... Just give me your address to ship your shiny new Orpheus.

[Pomfinator]

3 hours ago, sobe said:

 

Sigh, you found me out, you found the easter egg, which is me.... Just give me your address to ship your shiny new Orpheus.

Can we also get some HD8XX's made? Just make em in China with matte black plastic and sell em to us for like 600 a pair

[stealth80]

wow that escalated quickly !

[Cantaloupeman]

Sorry i dug up an old thread, but will surround or stereo headphones be better for gaming. Should i buy a pair of siberia elites or will an ad700 give me better positional audio for fps games. Thanks

[sobe]

14 hours ago, Cantaloupeman said:

Sorry i dug up an old thread, but will surround or stereo headphones be better for gaming. Should i buy a pair of siberia elites or will an ad700 give me better positional audio for fps games. Thanks

 

All I will say due to the disturbed interest of individuals here who blindly buy "gaming" audio product and blindly recommend it to others, is that between the 2 I would wholeheartedly recommend the AD700 over the Siberias any day of the week for ANYTHING.

 

As far as the fake, simulated surround sound via software such as Razer Surround, Dolby, and so on vs sticking to stereo... Honestly you will have to be the judge of that. So after you get the headphones, install Razer Surround and see if you like your games with it, turn it off, and see if you prefer it off.