I am looking for a nice Headset for the fall season. My current headset is currently ducktaped on both sides and is due for a replacement. I am willing to spend around $70-120 for a good quality one, and am wondering if anyone has one that they highly recommend. The basics that it needs: - Padded : I spend tons of time with my headset on - Excellent sound quality + movable mic : I don't want a static mic in my way - USB : A given I have been looking over Razor stuff but I am open to anything.
There are no good sound quality USB headsets. It would cost over $500 to get such a thing because a proper DAC, power regulation, and amplification stage would cost to much to put in a headset. It would also be quite large. USB also has a lot of jitter compared to other digital transports, and the circuitry required to help aliviate that problem would also cost more money and take up more space. At best you will get above average sound quality, and in that department you would be looking at some of the Logitech's, Razer's, a couple very specific Tritton's, or Turtle Beach. These are some of the ones I would look at: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104281 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104399 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826153051 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826816008 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826158155 Also remember that none of those are surround sound headphones, despite what they advertise. The effect is pretty good though. Dolby does some impressive work EDIT: Well I suppose that isnt exactly accurate. I would bet someone could use an external decoding box that the USB goes to and get away with some marginally good quality for $150 doing it that way. And my standard of quality audio is far above most peoples, having worked professionally in the audio industry in the past.
Having looked over the specs of each model I posted a link to in depth, I would rank them as such: Creative is the worst of the bunch. The mic doesnt look that great, its removable so that means you will have problems with in a couple years, and the frequency response sucks. Also since the cans have lights that will screw with your audio because of the power draw. The 50mm drivers will reproduce lower end sounds better than some of the other models but probably have issues with the higher frequency sounds. Corsair looks better than the Creative's. Mic is much better on this model, design looks better, and the battery is supposed to be a little better. These also look like they will fit over ears better. Sound will probably be similar characteristics but better than the Creative's. Logitech G930 sounds to me like it has the best speaker drivers for a headset of the bunch. As for the mic, I cant be sure. I know for a fact that there is a typo in the specs because only a ribbon mic will ever be able to capture 75kHz accurately. My guess is that it was meant to be 7.5 or 7kHz. Which kinda sucks but it is hard to find anything even decent in a consumer headset for the microphone. The 3 programmable keys could be handy, but like most logitech things I bet their software has lots of bloat to it. These buttons also mean it will siphon off the already too little power provided by the USB bus so that will bring down the sound quality. The few reviews I read also lead me to believe that the DAC is pretty sucky in this so that will also bring down the quality even though the speakers seem almost good. Probably best to pass on these. Logitech G35 looks pretty much the same as the G930 only wired. Not much real hardware spec info available on the Razer Megalodon's, however the mic does seem the best of the bunch by far. My one gripe about the mic is that it is omnidirectional, meaning noises in the room will also be picked up to a greater extent than other headsets. The frequency response is far better than others though. The headset also uses 40mm drivers like the Logitech's, meaning less bass response than the Creative or Crucial headsets but hopefully better high frequency response. From the pics, these also look like some of the more comfortable headsets to wear. This headset looks like it might require a lot of tweaking and fine tuning on your part in order to sound good and get everything working properly. If your not good at that, this is probably the worst headset for you. If you can learn all the stuff and take the time to do it all properly then I would bet these would sound the best of the bunch. My one concern is if the headset can be powered well enough since the USB needs to power the speakers and the external sound card that these come with. In typical Razer fashion, these have glowing LED lights in them too that also take power. Whichever model you get, be sure and look into the higher quality ASIO drivers and see if they will work with whatever you get.
Razer Tiamat 7.1 or Sennheiser pc 360 or Steelseries syberia I would stay away from logitech headsets unless your already bold. I have somewhere my logitech g35 and its heavy. For long gaming i couldn't stand them. Syberia is nice and light. very comfy. Had them for a year but wanted more quality =] (bought Sennheiser pc 360) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826249035 I currently have sennheiser pc 360 and love em. I can sit in them for 8h+ without any issues. Razer tiamat looks very nice.
The Sennheiser PC360 would be my #1 choice as well for a headset, but it doesnt use a USB connection. IMO The PC360 is tied for the top spot on sound quality (once broken in) in a consumer grade headset (just headset category, not headphones). Only reason its tied for top place is because the other best IMO is also equally as good, just a different style of sound. The other headset is the Beyerdynamic MMX300, which you can get fully customized on coloring and your name (or whatever) put on it through their website. Custom built to your order: http://north-america.beyerdynamic.c...ing/gaming-manufaktur/mmx-300-manufaktur.html Also thie MMX300 does come with a USB adapter, but I still recommend plugging in to a real sound card via 3.5mm Why do you have to have USB anyway? Come on, they are way out of your price range but dont these headphone look amazing? Compared to the choices listed above, these have the best frequency response, the best look, best build quality, lowest distortion levels, best microphone, and could come with a USB plug and your name engraved on them, in the coloring and materials of your choice.
My Logitechs that I bought 3-4 months ago finally shit out on me. Windows stated they encountered a malfunction with them and the chip had been damaged (USB). Did a lot to try to make them work again, reinstalling audio drivers, etc. OT, will be following this thread. I was looking at the Razed Chicamas or w/w (on phone currently) cause its the cheapest price range I can afford while still having a mic.
Sennheiser came out with new gaming headset pc 310. Might want to check them out aswell. http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-PC-310-Gaming-Headset/dp/B007UIX1QU Also Sennheiser just released PC 323D Gaming Headset for 160$ I highly recommend PersonalRiot you check them out http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-PC...e=UTF8&qid=1344956975&sr=1-2&keywords=pc-323d
That Sennheiser PC323D looks like it would be one of the better ones in its price range, but still a bit out of the OP's budget. If at all possible Riot, I would try and stretch your budget to afford them. Those 323D's have the best frequency response, THD%, and SPL levels of any headset under $175 that I have seen yet. And the mid looks good on it too. I still dont advocate USB headsets with virtual surround sound, but at least these ones are made by a trusted company in the audio world and have the best specs. Great find on those Doxy here is a review on them: http://www.hardwareheaven.com/revie...pc-323d-g4me-headset-review-introduction.html
I have and use the G930. My main reason for this headset was because it was wireless and I keep running over my cords and killing them. I will say right away that the drivers are crap but when everything works it works well. The Sound is good the mic is ok. The 7.1 while playing DayZ works unexpectedly well but for PS2 it is just ok but better than just 2.1. The battery life is about 7-9 hours of continues use no problem and can be charged while being used. The G keys on it by default are very restricted in uses but there are some plugins out there that let you map it to whatever you need. I know Doxy reviewed the g35 as heavy and the g930 is more but I don't personally it notice much. It does have its quirks but with my wireless requirement it was my best overall option.
oh god.... i fucking want..... so bad..... I have the siberia V2's, i really like them and a few other xoobies also swear by them, USB, good price point for what you get. Not going to knock anyones socks off but i would put them in the above average category for sound quality, not by much though. very comfy, definitely cant tell if people are behind you when you play FPS though. not saying that any headphone is great at doing this though, but some are better than others. to be honest, in the past maybe 5-7 years ive easily spent 300+ on head phones of all types just for PC gaming alone. had those been on the market then and I had the foresight to just pony up the cash for phones with a 5 year warranty, i would have gotten the beyers.
From the looks of things, the cable can actually be replaced fairly easy on those Beyerdynamic's too. Which would be a help to those people who run over the cable a lot with the chair.