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Gaming Headphones

R

rootdaemon

Member
I have recently moved and in my new house I have houses that are attached to each side (seaside layout) and the neighbors are pretty sensitive to sound. Plus after reading so many thread about how great the small sound effects are in games, I feel like I'm missing out.

I'd like to get a nice pair of headphones for a good price. I don't mind paying for quality but I'd like to keep the price down as much as possible. I know a previous thread was posted that addressed the issue of hooking Sennheiser HD-555's directly to a TV w/o a receiver and how the sound was downgraded by doing so. I'm not ruling out buying a receiver but do to previously stated budget constraints and not sure if I have space for one, I'd like to see if there are any headsets that hook directly into the TV that offer great sound.
 
Turtle Beach isn't to shabby. They have a wired and wireless version for the 360. The wired sold for approx. $60 while the wireless one was around $125. They're advertised as having 5.1 surround and are the only 5.1 headsets w/ a mic. I think it came with a reciever too.
 
I got these

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Cost me $40 Canadian including shipping. You can only hook them up to the receiver it comes with, and it allows digital or optical input and comes with the cords for that and a carrying case. The receiver can be plugged into a wall or use a rechargeable battery that it also comes with. If your friend buys a pair you can hook up to two sets of head phones in to it. The head phones themselves have 6 speakers (3 for each ear) that include front, back and bass.

As for my experience with it... I've only played the Bioshockm, Katamari, and Stuntman demos on the 360. While it definitely sounds a hell of a lot better than the stereo sound coming out of my TV something seems a bit off. It's easy to tell if somethings to the left or right of you and even what angle behind or ahead of you it is. However as soon as something is directly in front or behind you it sounds as if it's exactly between your ears and you can no longer distinguish if this thing is directly in front of you or directly behind you. This was a real downer for me.

I guess you get what you pay for. I mean for $40 (including shipping) the quality destroys what I was using before and allows me to play games in my new place (same problem as you), however I think if you really want a quality surround sound experience you should break the $100 dollar mark.
 
I use Shure E4's with the PSP. At home, I use them or my Grado SR-60s. The Grado's aren't great "gaming headphones" though.
 
I have the koss UR40 :
7sankao-20070815-005812.jpg

bought it for 54€.
I'm pretty satisfied, played Bioshock with it and the sound was very good, although I have the feeling that the spatialization could be better (sounds too much like the source is inside your head).
 
bune duggy said:
are there any surround headphones that accept a 5.1 input (6 RCA cables)?
Click to expand...

Until a legitimate headphone company makes 5.1 cans, you should avoid them.

You'll have a much better experience with a set that has really good soundstage. I'd recommend the Beyerdynamic BT 990.
 
How convenient. I'm also looking for headphones. I'm not sure the 10 feet of cable you usually get will be enough though. So either I get an extension cable or I go wireless. Any decent wireless headphones out there? Around the same price and quality as HD-555's? Also I need me some surround. Unless that's overrated in headphones I dunno.

These any good?
SE90786.jpg

Philips SHC8585/00
 
If you don't feel like investing in a stereo reciever, you might want to look into buying a headphone amp (basically a reciever that is used specifically to power headphones, without the need for a stereo). I don't keep up on these, so I can't offer any suggestions for a decent one.

For a good quality, less than $100 pair of headphones, you might want to check out the Sennheiser HD 485. I own a pair, and I love them. Extremely comfortable, and excellent sound (especially for the price). Works great with games. You can get them for $70 at B&H. Also, if you want to read some reviews, Newegg.com has a bunch of user reviews for this pair of headphones.
 
Add another voice in praise of Sennheiser. I don't know if they've fallen off a cliff in quality, but I bought a pair years ago that I still use, and they still sound fantastic. I use them for my DS, for my PC when I want to really sink into a game.
 
How do you guys stand wearing those for extended periods of time? Those headphones are quite cumbersome. I just use a behind-the-neck headphone with in-line volume control.
 
Grados are easy to drive, so if you're not wanting to get an amplifier, the SR-80s or Alessandro MS-1s should be a good choice.
 
YYZ said:
How do you guys stand wearing those for extended periods of time? Those headphones are quite cumbersome. I just use a behind-the-neck headphone with in-line volume control.
Click to expand...

they are much more comfy than you would think, you barely know they are on.
 
YYZ said:
How do you guys stand wearing those for extended periods of time? Those headphones are quite cumbersome. I just use a behind-the-neck headphone with in-line volume control.
Click to expand...

Good headphones go around the ears, they don't press on them, and they're both light and padded
 
+1 for Audio Technicas. I've got the A700's and love them to death, great for everything, not just gaming. Plus, they are extremely comfortable. Oh and they sound great without an amp, which some headphones pretty much require.

Picture050.jpg

<3
 
YYZ said:
How do you guys stand wearing those for extended periods of time? Those headphones are quite cumbersome. I just use a behind-the-neck headphone with in-line volume control.
Click to expand...

How do you use those behind the neck ones for any extended period of time? Those kill my ears after a while.
 
JavaMava said:
How do you use those behind the neck ones for any extended period of time? Those kill my ears after a while.
Click to expand...
I don't know, they are quite light. Altec Lansing makes a good pair, Logitech makes an average pair. I've worn a bad pair with barely any foam and I returned it ASAP. I need the volume control, it's very convenient. Sound quality isn't the best I guess. I would buy a high-quality pair but I haven't seen them around.
 
these amps you people speak of, do you use them with your mp3 players as well? Can someone post a pic or something of what they look like?

I've been looking into getting HD 555 Sennheisers. Do they isolate at all?
 
andrewfee said:
Grados are easy to drive, so if you're not wanting to get an amplifier, the SR-80s or Alessandro MS-1s should be a good choice.
Click to expand...
Grados makes awesome sounding headphone, but the build quality on the headphones is crap. I've had to "rebuild" parts of my SR125s multiple times.
 
aznpxdd said:
+1 for Audio Technicas. I've got the A700's and love them to death, great for everything, not just gaming. Plus, they are extremely comfortable. Oh and they sound great without an amp, which some headphones pretty much require.
Click to expand...

Seconded. They're great headphones.
 
Brobzoid said:
these amps you people speak of, do you use them with your mp3 players as well? Can someone post a pic or something of what they look like?

I've been looking into getting HD 555 Sennheisers. Do they isolate at all?
Click to expand...

I second this. What type of amps are preferred and which ones are garbage?
 
tak said:
Grados makes awesome sounding headphone, but the build quality on the headphones is crap. I've had to "rebuild" parts of my SR125s multiple times.
Click to expand...
That's surprising, I've had a pair of SR-80s for a number of years now with no problems at all.

I must say that for the price, I was a little disappointed with the build quality of my GS-1000s though.
 
andrewfee said:
That's surprising, I've had a pair of SR-80s for a number of years now with no problems at all.

I must say that for the price, I was a little disappointed with the build quality of my GS-1000s though.
Click to expand...
I purchased my 125s a long time ago, so it is possible they have changed the design and improved the build quality. However, I had two major problems. One, I had problems with the plastic casing they used for the wires. It is very thick, and does not bend well. As a result, over time it started to twist the wires and cause damage. Two, the solder job and wires connecting to the diaphragm sucked. The person that stripped the wires cut into the wires, so roughly only half of the wirer was connected to the diaphragm. Over time this connection eventually broke. In addition, the person that solder my headphones had leaked some of the solder onto the diaphragm.

I had a few other minor problems too.
 
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