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Good Headphones for Gaming Needed!!!!

D

Darkone

Member
Hello

I know that i am not the only one with this problem when playing late at night and you want to hear those Bullets flying in full volume, but becuase other residents in the house or other reasons you can`t.
I am looking for a good Headphones for gaming. i prefer them to be TRUE 5.1 since i own a xbox360 and will have a PS3 in the future, any suggestions?
 
twofold said:
I don't think it'll be possible to top these suggestions, unless you up the price bracket that is.

Might be worth checking Head-Fi. Lots of information available there.
Click to expand...

The clearer answer is buy whatever sennheiser in in your price range, yeah. Ultimate ears are solid earbuds, though buds sound like shit unless you pay 500 dollars for shures that are painful as hell.

Go with the sennheisers.
 
Saint Francis said:
Hey
I just ordered these online, go to this page to check them out.
http://www.turtlebeach.com/products/efx1/home.aspx

I play late @ night too, these are supposed to let you get full stereo and chat.
I'll let you know when they arrive how they work.
Click to expand...

For some reason I just started laughing when I saw this picture (probably because it's 2am and I'm delirious):

x1boyio8.jpg


It's just so...exciting...

Back on subject, I too have recently been looking for a good pair of quality headphones. The ones QVT quoted seemed to be what I'm looking for.
 
I use http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826159421
Sennheiser EH 350. I love the sound quality of those babies.

The HD 555 ones are likely super awesome too if you want to spend the extra cash. The best thing about those 2 headphones is they have replacable cables if you are like me and snag them a lot. Rather than buying a whole new set of phones hwen the cable breaks you just buy another cable from sennheiser.
 
Darkone said:
i looked in sennheiser web site, and i did not see any 5.1 Dolby digital headphones.
Click to expand...
The price you pay for crappy "5.1" headphones would really be better spent on a good set of stereo phones. And despite the Sony hate amongst the golden-eared head-fi weenies the v6s are one of the best values going at ~$75 on Amazon.
 
QVT said:
The clearer answer is buy whatever sennheiser in in your price range, yeah. Ultimate ears are solid earbuds, though buds sound like shit unless you pay 500 dollars for shures that are painful as hell.

Go with the sennheisers.
Click to expand...

The $500 (actually around $350-$400) Shure's are not painful, especially with the foam tips. You get a full fit kit with them, including a variety of different flanges and sleeves, although for pure sound isolation and bass response, the foam tips are best.

Actually, I would not buy Senn's for this application. If he wants 5.1, then the wireless 5.1 Pios would be the best recommendation. If he isn't going for 5.1, and has a decently powered amplifier to plug into, I would recommend the AKG K701.
 
tetsuoxb said:
The $500 (actually around $350-$400) Shure's are not painful, especially with the foam tips. You get a full fit kit with them, including a variety of different flanges and sleeves, although for pure sound isolation and bass response, the foam tips are best.

Actually, I would not buy Senn's for this application. If he wants 5.1, then the wireless 5.1 Pios would be the best recommendation. If he isn't going for 5.1, and has a decently powered amplifier to plug into, I would recommend the AKG K701.
Click to expand...

Just painful for my ears, I'm sorry. Got small ear canals.

I've never heard 5.1 sound through headphones, I thought it was just an avertising slogan since the idea of 5.1 is having that setup (5 monitors and a sub)
 
As is my understanding there isn't such a thing as true 5.1 headphones, just a virtualized approximation. I could be wrong though. I can whole-heartedly endorse Sennheisers though. Every pair I've owned has been universally great.

My main pair of phones for music and games are Grado SR-80s (stereo). I really like mine, but some people prefer Sennheiser over Grado because they push the treble a bit, whereas Sennheisers are generally more laid-back and balanced.

I just got a pair of Ultimate Ears yesterday for portable gaming, and like them pretty well (but like the poster above stated, earbuds are never as good as a comparable pair of open or closed-ear phones.)
 
QVT said:
Just painful for my ears, I'm sorry. Got small ear canals.

I've never heard 5.1 sound through headphones, I thought it was just an avertising slogan since the idea of 5.1 is having that setup (5 monitors and a sub)
Click to expand...

I guess it depends on what tip you were using since the UI triple flange is included in the Shure kit. You also have to wrap the cable over your ear, which most people do not do.

The Pio 5.1 is obviously not going to give you the sound quality of the AKG. To best honest, I think the best recommendation for darkone is the AKG. It takes about 200 hours to break them in, but the sound is amazing. If you have a dolby headphone supporting amp, once you give them their 200 hours of love and attention, you will get much better sound-staging from these than any cheaper/forced 5.1 solution.

Most sound is incredibly layered, and sounds entirely different on the mixing stage monitors than it does on TV/cheaper earphones because of the quality of speaker involved. As opposed to going for a 5.1 earphone set up, I recommend focusing on more accurate sound reproduction from your game systems. You may find you enjoy the sound more this way. I know I do.
 
tetsuoxb said:
The $500 (actually around $350-$400) Shure's are not painful, especially with the foam tips. You get a full fit kit with them, including a variety of different flanges and sleeves, although for pure sound isolation and bass response, the foam tips are best.
Click to expand...

Westone Complys Tips are amazing, if you haven't tried them. I use them with my E500s, and they're definately better than the regular Shure foams. So comfortable, and sound amazing.

Can't wait to try out the new black foam Shure's though. Folks on head-fi are raving about them.

(I wouldn't recommend IEMs for full time listening at home though. I use my Sennheiser HD650s for that.)
 
twofold said:
Westone Complys Tips are amazing, if you haven't tried them. I use them with my E500s, and they're definately better than the regular Shure foams. So comfortable, and sound amazing.

Can't wait to try out the new black foam Shure's though. Folks on head-fi are raving about them.

(I wouldn't recommend IEMs for full time listening at home though. I use my Sennheiser HD650s for that.)
Click to expand...

It takes a bit for those to filter here to Japan, but I might have to order a set and have them shipped to me by family. They have definitely peaked my interest.

I'm also quite curious about the Westone 3s. Reviews should be hitting soon.
 
tetsuoxb said:
It takes a bit for those to filter here to Japan, but I might have to order a set and have them shipped to me by family. They have definitely peaked my interest.

I'm also quite curious about the Westone 3s. Reviews should be hitting soon.
Click to expand...

Personally, I'm purposely avoiding any and all reviews that I can. I'm really happy with my E500s, and I don't want the temptation of a new pair that might be slightly better lingering over me. :lol

Which were you interested in by the way? The Shure's seem to be really expensive to get from the States (it'd cost me nearly $38 to get a set of 5 to be delivered to the UK -- incredibly outrageous), but the Complys can be had for a good price on eBay. I hope Mike gets the Shure's in soon -- probably the best eBay seller I've dealt with.
 
I've got the Creative HQ2300D you linked. You can plug in any stereo headphones you like, so buy some Sennheisers or whatever as well if you wish. The headphones you get with seem alright to me, depends how fussy you are.

The box is what you're really interested in and I think it works very well, a lot better than just stereo. The only problem is it runs on batteries and has no power socket, I think I get about 6-8hrs with my 2300 rechargables.

The Pioneer and Sony options are a lot more expensive, probably have better headphones but I'd say you could buy some nice Sennheisers to go with the Creative for less. Wireless would be nice but I was rather put off by reading a lot of complaints about interference.

You can also get headphones with 4 speakers in each ear. By reviews I read, it sounded like they don't actually work as well as the Dolby Headphone type solutions and they're less flexible.
 
tetsuoxb said:
I guess it depends on what tip you were using since the UI triple flange is included in the Shure kit. You also have to wrap the cable over your ear, which most people do not do.

The Pio 5.1 is obviously not going to give you the sound quality of the AKG. To best honest, I think the best recommendation for darkone is the AKG. It takes about 200 hours to break them in, but the sound is amazing. If you have a dolby headphone supporting amp, once you give them their 200 hours of love and attention, you will get much better sound-staging from these than any cheaper/forced 5.1 solution.

Most sound is incredibly layered, and sounds entirely different on the mixing stage monitors than it does on TV/cheaper earphones because of the quality of speaker involved. As opposed to going for a 5.1 earphone set up, I recommend focusing on more accurate sound reproduction from your game systems. You may find you enjoy the sound more this way. I know I do.
Click to expand...

What do you mean by: It takes about 200 hours to break them in?
 
twofold said:
Personally, I'm purposely avoiding any and all reviews that I can. I'm really happy with my E500s, and I don't want the temptation of a new pair that might be slightly better lingering over me. :lol

Which were you interested in by the way? The Shure's seem to be really expensive to get from the States (it'd cost me nearly $38 to get a set of 5 to be delivered to the UK -- incredibly outrageous), but the Complys can be had for a good price on eBay. I hope Mike gets the Shure's in soon -- probably the best eBay seller I've dealt with.
Click to expand...

Both. I'm known to waste money. :)

What do you mean by: It takes about 200 hours to break them in?
Click to expand...

Earphones don't sound the same the first time you plug them in versus when they have had their drivers "broken-in". The AKGs sound significantly better after 200 or so hours of break-in then they do directly out of the box.
 
Darkone said:
i looked in sennheiser web site, and i did not see any 5.1 Dolby digital headphones.
Click to expand...

Probably because there is no such thing as a 5.1 headphone, although people will be happy to sell you one, and I'm sure you can find stuff labeled as such on the 'net.

What they're really selling you is an outboard decoder that will do the work the headphones can't. The kicker, though, is that almost every one of these is bundled with a very crappy set of cans.

I use a PC soundcard to do this, but that isn't an option for everybody.

...and yes, I use a great big set of Sennheiser cans. The most comfortable headphones I've ever used are full-sized senns, they completely surround your ear... but don't rest on your ear so your ears don't get sore even if you play all day long.
 
Well since this thread is about gaming headphones I guess it's a relevant questions... especially since nobody answered in the HD thread. :p

I'm looking into buying headphones and while doing research at gaf someone said that you don't really need good ones for games/movies and should just buy 30 dollar headphones. That was in response to a thread started by dark10x I think.

Can anybody tell me any reason for that? o_O
 
Chrono said:
Well since this thread is about gaming headphones I guess it's a relevant questions... especially since nobody answered in the HD thread. :p

I'm looking into buying headphones and while doing research at gaf someone said that you don't really need good ones for games/movies and should just buy 30 dollar headphones. That was in response to a thread started by dark10x I think.

Can anybody tell me any reason for that? o_O
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's bullshit. :P

You definately do get what you pay for.

Some people are lucky enough to not notice the difference though, so, a cheap pair of headphones is more than good enough. The unfortunate ones among us spend exorbitant amounts of money looking for that perfect sound, breaking down into tears after taking a look at the bank account.
 
I use these:
http://www.pricejapan.com/front/e_good_info.php?code=163&category=10

basically they are a step up from the pioneer SE-DIR800C


Awesome sound, excellent bass, and the soundstage really does seem to come from all around you. Everything sounds "outside of your head" which probably sounds insane until you actually try it and see what I mean.

The headphones themselves fit a little loosely on my head, but its not a problem for me.

Its wireless, and has a base station that does all the signal processing. Its also only sold in japan AFAIK, but if you can import it, its worth it :)

Edit: Oh and it does support DD 5.1 in case you were wondering.
 
My tip is;
1) Think how much you want to spend on headphones.
2) Buy the Seinhasser that match that price.
You won't regret it.
 
https://edimensional.com/product_in...id=30&osCsid=8db6fd2e9b31a929cb19111e12a28e2b

AudioFX Force Feedback Gaming Headset

The latest E-D innovation! Feel the action with a built-in subwoofer!
Same high quality audio performance, tons more features, amazingly low price!
Crystal clear stereo sound and so much more! The E-D Audio FX headset is a high quality full-ear unit with a microphone certified for superior voice recognition and noise cancellation. That's just the beginning. Bass-boosting force feedback built right into the headset gives you the complete immersive experience.

Increased situational awareness with directional sound.
The Audio FX reproduces sound effects to give a sense of three-dimensional space, actually improving your game play! Literally feel your enemy's footsteps approaching and intensifying or the rumble of engines and explosions with powerful amplified bass vibrations. A special feature of the AudioFX utilizes positional audio, meaning explosions to your right will feel amplified to your right side compared to your left side. Situational awareness is dramatically improved, just read what Techworthy.com/PC Upgrade Magazine had to say:
"For less than $50, the AudioFX Force Feedback offers an innate ability to generate a full environment of peripheral sounds, generating situational awareness as well as crisp, direct sound. That can be an invaluable tool in any game, particularly if some flunkie/zombie/unicorn/linebacker is ready to jump you from behind; you’ll hear him coming thanks to the AudioFX."

HLFallout.net says, "One of the first things I noticed after joining a Counter-Strike: Source game was my newfound ability to track people through walls and objects by legitimate means." Keep in mind that although you may acquire these new skills, using the AudioFX is not cheating.

The human ear cannot hear anything below 20-25Hz but other frequencies can be "felt" as vibrations. If you've ever watched movies on a powerful home theater system then you know that bass is often times more a "feeling" than a "hearing" sensation. The Audio FX's bass amplifier interprets frequencies below 20Hz and transforms them into vibrations that we can feel through the headphone earpiece. Advanced transducers located in the earpieces convert these low frequencies into real vibrations to be felt for the most realistic and immersive sound experience ever.

Get the home theater experience without waking up the neighborhood.
Enjoy PC gaming, music and movies with home theater quality sound and bass, all in your own private listening environment! The AudioFX vibrations do not cause any discomfort or shake your head in any way. You have to experience it for yourself. Once you try the AudioFX, it will be your favorite gaming headset, we guarantee it! The plush cushioning ensures ultimate comfort for hours at a time.
Click to expand...
 
glimmerman said:
I use these:
http://www.pricejapan.com/front/e_good_info.php?code=163&category=10

basically they are a step up from the pioneer SE-DIR800C


Awesome sound, excellent bass, and the soundstage really does seem to come from all around you. Everything sounds "outside of your head" which probably sounds insane until you actually try it and see what I mean.

The headphones themselves fit a little loosely on my head, but its not a problem for me.

Its wireless, and has a base station that does all the signal processing. Its also only sold in japan AFAIK, but if you can import it, its worth it :)

Edit: Oh and it does support DD 5.1 in case you were wondering.
Click to expand...

Have you had the chance to try the Pioneer SE-DIR800C? I've been eyeing those for a while. :)
 
Sennheiser, Beyerdynamics or Audio-Technica for gaming - generally. Sony used to have this "5.1" wireless headset which I presume was two angled drivers with a matching DTS/DD decoder, but I doubt its the kind of experience you're after. Many of the lowish end Senn and Beyer range are kinda crap for what you pay for, so don't just buy on brand alone. Look around for information at headfi when you spot something you like :)
 
Ceb said:
Have you had the chance to try the Pioneer SE-DIR800C? I've been eyeing those for a while. :)
Click to expand...

These are one of the cans I own, and it's what I used for late night gaming/movies when I didn't want to disturb the gf (well ex now), but they are great, nothing but a glowing recommendation from me.

pio1.jpg

pio3.jpg

pio2.jpg

pio4.jpg
 
twofold said:
I don't think it'll be possible to top these suggestions, unless you up the price bracket that is.
Click to expand...
Yes it will.
These babys (the first ones on the page) http://www.alessandro-products.com/headphones.html
are far better than anything else @ $100 and a significant price bracket over that (especially if you count tardphones such as Bose and Sonys "high end" models).

If you aren't willing to spend that much there is also the classic Koss Portapros, that sound a lot like the PX 100s only with a bit more kick in the bass. Also they've been produced the same way for the last 20 years. If that doesn't bode for quality I don't know what.
Again best phone at the price.

Senns are fine too, but there are equal or better alternatives if you search a bit.

With headphones there are two main construction principles. Open and closed.
Open has hands down the best sound quality and is the only real choice for a critical listening. They have the "problem" of letting almost all sound in and your surroundings are going to be able to hear the characteristic headphone whisper at higher volumes.

Closed headphones are for people who want to keep sound out and in. Such as DJs, public transportation, studio engineers etc.
But they are very hard to make with a quality that comes near to open headphones and for them to be effective at all as a sound blocker they have to be surrounding the ear completely, which 1. compromises bass quality since the drives doesn't get so close to the ears as with on-ear phones and 2. can get very hot at normal room temperature and unbearable in the summer.

The main reason for listening to headphones shouldn't be for privacy, it should be because headphones has the most pure, detailed sound you can get at any price.

And surround sound? You only have two ears. If the software is made right you will be able to get far far better surround effect than with any speaker setup.
 
Alessandros and Grado's typically have the effect of having a tight soundstage though, which makes it kinda hard to recommend for someone that's looking for "surround headphones"....

KSC-75's sound as good as the Porta pro's to me (not suprising since they have the same drivers) and are a lot cheaper.
 
spoon! said:
Alessandros and Grado's typically have the effect of having a tight soundstage though, which makes it kinda hard to recommend for someone that's looking for "surround headphones"....
Click to expand...
The same goes for any other on-ear headphone, because they are so close to the ears they accentuate the "problem" all headphones has with soundstage. But the "problem" is only there because most recordings are made with mic setups that are completely biased towards speakers. The "better" soundstage you get with circumaural headphones is really a fake soundstage, that is produced by the sound bouncing around in the cups of the earpiece. The same principle Ultrasone has honed and enhanced in their "natural surround" headphones.

KSC-75's sound as good as the Porta pro's to me (not suprising since they have the same drivers) and are a lot cheaper.
Click to expand...
KSC-75 doesn't get pressed to hard against the ears as the Portapros and therefor has poorer bass response. They are after all just hanging there by the hooks around the ears. With Portapros you can adjust the pressure on the ears with the temple pads.
And the capsules also affect the soundquality in a negative direction.
Portapros can be had for very little money in online stores. So price shouldn't really be the deciding factor.
 
Squeak said:
Yes it will.
These babys (the first ones on the page) http://www.alessandro-products.com/headphones.html
are far better than anything else @ $100 and a significant price bracket over that (especially if you count tardphones such as Bose and Sonys "high end" models).
Click to expand...

It was more that the guy is looking at cheap/poor '5.1' headphone setup, so, chances are, he hasn't heard anything "good". The Sennheisers are always a good starting point for people who don't quite know what sound it is they're looking for. There are obviously other headphones that excel at doing other things compared to the Sennheisers, but, you have to admit, they're great all rounders that provide a great experiance for gaming/watching movies.

Obviously, if you're talking to someone who knows the sort of sound they want and has some experiance using a variety of different headphones, the answer would be different.

Your post did pique my curiousity though. Really wish there was a store in the uk where I could go check out some different headphones and headphone amps and compare them against my current setup. There's so many unknown manufacturers out there that sell so many different types of headphones. I'd love to give them a listen.
 
Aren't there some new Fatal1ty-branded headphones?

edit: oh there they are:

prod15196_hdr_1_6_1.jpg


Go buy'em because they look so good.
 
Squeak said:
.
Portapros can be had for very little money in online stores. So price shouldn't really be the deciding factor.
Click to expand...

Fair enough. Depends on where you live I guess. I get absolutely reamed if I want to buy porta pros here :/

As for soundstage, I realise why headphones have the soundstages they have, but for someone that initially sought out of surround headphones and has little idea of what good headphones have to offer in the first place, it wouldn't be bad to cater towards the surround "effect", no?

edit: I guess I should mention it at this point, but the MS-1 is my favourite in my admittedly small collection. Damn thing makes guitars sound alive~
 
Bufbaf said:
Aren't there some new Fatal1ty-branded headphones?

edit: oh there they are:

prod15196_hdr_1_6_1.jpg


Go buy'em because they look so good.
Click to expand...


I've gone right off fatal1ty since his rather thinly-veiled self-promotion piece in Time on miyamoto.
 
Ceb said:
Have you had the chance to try the Pioneer SE-DIR800C? I've been eyeing those for a while. :)
Click to expand...


I haven't tried them myself, but from what I understand, the se-dir2000 is an incremental step up from the 800c, and since I really like the 2k I assume the 800c is awesome as well :)
 
glimmerman said:
I've gone right off fatal1ty since his rather thinly-veiled self-promotion piece in Time on miyamoto.
Click to expand...
What happened there? I'm not really into esports and stuff.

edit: thx and omg :) Now thats self-obsession.
 
5.1 headphones are not worth it. I have a pair of Speelink Medusa's, each can has three separate speakers. You cannot determine where a sound is coming from at such close proximity, and with only one ear in the can. All surround headphones are the same, don't waste your money, get a quality pair of stereo phones.
 
Lyon said:
5.1 headphones are not worth it. I have a pair of Speelink Medusa's, each can has three separate speakers. You cannot determine where a sound is coming from at such close proximity, and with only one ear in the can. All surround headphones are the same, don't waste your money, get a quality pair of stereo phones.
Click to expand...


You may be confusing surround headphones with headphones that have a few extra drivers in them. Dolby Headphone tech is quite advanced, and really makes a huge difference is the spatial soundstage that you're listening too. You don't need headphones with multiple drivers. You just need good software/hardware to process the sound so it sounds like surround, and a good speaker per cup.

http://www.dolby.com/consumer/technology/headphone.html
is a short summary of the tech, and there's a link on that page that simulates dolby headphone processing.

High end headphones come with base stations that do the DH processing for you, its really pretty awesome.
 
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