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5930 Posts
Between FLAC and 320kbs MP3 I'll give you but if you know what cymbal crashes actually sound like (from live music or whatever), its quite easy to tell the difference between 128kbs mp3s and whatever. That's besides the point.
You're just throwing around a exaggeration fallacy argument. Yes audiophiles are often stupid spend thousands on HDMI cables and amplifiers. But I don't think the OP, or anyone sensible here, is really suggesting what you are saying at all.
The "sweet spot" is a separate headphone and microphone. This combo is better for a wide range of reasons:
- Easy to replace headphone/microphone. So if the headphone dies, you don't have to ditch the microphone.
- Separate headphones/microphones are typically better anyway. Sometimes even cost less.
- Most gaming headphones look like crap anyway.
That's about it anyway. The "price point" doesn't nail all things unless you absolutely cannot have separate headphones and microphones.
Like if you want bass to blow your face in you can get:
- Sony XB500 for $50
- $4 clip on Zalman microphone
This is just an example, you can replace the headphone with literally anything you prefer. If you don't want as much bass and want better stereo imaging, then there are tons of better sub-$150 headphones than those Sonys. You can't say for a minute that these products are "elitist" but they're probably closer to the "sweet spot" than those Sennheisers are, which I think have really awful bass for a headphone designed for "gaming".
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On November 03 2012 01:50 D_K_night wrote:
The one thing that I'm just a little irked by, is the over-usage of the word "junk".
"gaming" headset? junk.
mp3 files? junk.
This and that, all "junk". I need to ask...how many of us out there, listen to FLAC files for our music? how many of us have our computers in a completely silent room devoid of any other sound? Probably the most important of all - how many of us have good enough ears to pick up all that sound, never mind appreciate all the little details in the music(or even have experience in a musical course in school)? There's an elitist attitude that really doesn't need to be there. IMO some of us here are seeking the "sweet spot" - the right price point which nails all the right things.
All that said, looks like Sennheiser PC350 seems to be the good, all-around headset for our gaming needs.
Question: Which sound card to buy? If I'm not supposed to buy a "gaming" headset - then does that also apply to a soundcard? I notice that a lot of soundcards I've used in the past pick up noise from inside the case and just amplify all that stuff to the headset/speakers. You hear that "hummm" or the "pszzzzz" sound the more you crank the volume up.
Aye? No-one here is being elitist, or I hope they're not. Recommendations made here are typically in the sub $300 range which is hardly "high end" top notch stuff that really isn't good value for money.
Personally, my movie soundtracks and albums that I absolutely adore are FLAC's, whereas the more pop-oriented stuff I am perfectly happy with 320kbps.
"completely silent room devoid of any other sound" = is actually why I love headphones. At any given time, my dog is barking, my brother is watching something on youtube, the vacuum is on etc. My headphones block all of it out so I can enjoy my music.
Everyone is looking for the sweet spot. I've reached mine after three years of trying stuff out and couldn't be happier. The difficult thing is, everyone's sweet spot is different as I outlined in the original post.
Gaming soundcards? Asus Xonar's are always reliable in that regards, but I've had a creative soundblaster card from almost eight years ago that still sounds great. If you want to get rid of the noise inside the case, go for an external DAC, a fiio e10 would do you nicely (:
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On November 03 2012 21:13 Womwomwom wrote:
Between FLAC and 320kbs MP3 I'll give you but if you know what cymbal crashes actually sound like (from live music or whatever), its quite easy to tell the difference between 128kbs mp3s and whatever. That's besides the point.
On this note, if you obtain lossless files and they sound like shit, it's easier to verify whether they have been reencoded, or if the cd was mastered like shit. You then have a decent archive to convert to your preferred audio format, if you don't like lossless for mobile usage for example.
And most tracks for me are quite easy to tell the difference between cymbals at 192k even (320k is a bit of a stretch though lol, never bothered to try to isolate the difference, and probably can't). 128k is pretty much unlistenable for the more technical styles of music I enjoy.
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This week I've been researching/picking out a headset or a headphone + mic combo and decided to share my findings to hopefully help the next guy. This will be especially useful for those who are looking for quality and can afford to buy in $100-$300 range. My focus was on gaming/communication while minimizing sacrifice in other aspects, such as sound quality when listening to music etc. I am by no means an expert so take this with a grain of salt, just reflecting what I've read.
1. First decide if you want open-back or closed-back headphones to narrow your search.
TLDR: get open-back if leaking sound from headphones or outside noise isn't an issue. Open below for more info (how do you name a spoiler tag?)
+ Show Spoiler +From what I've read, open-back headphones generally sound better and have better sound-stage (great for spotting enemies in FPS) at equal price. The draw back is that they leak sound out and let sound from outside in. So as a rule of thumb, especially with gaming in mind, if you are in a quiet environment and won't disturb others, get open-back. If the outside sound is a concern to you or sound "leaking" from headphones will disturb others you will need closed headphones. If you are in an extremely loud environment you might want to focus on noise-cancelling headphones, but I haven't read much about that. Knowing right away if you are looking for open or closed headphones will help you narrow your search and save you time.
2. Addressing the "Do Not Buy Headsets", potential solutions, recommendations if you have to buy a headset:
TLDR: OP is pretty much right, but if you have the money and must have one, check out PC360 or MMX300.
+ Show Spoiler +From what I've read, the OP is pretty much right. Avoid them if you can because you will your sound quality/price ratio will suffer drastically. You are much better off buying good headphones and using a desktop mic, a clipon mic, or a modded attachable mic. If you just have to have a headset, first consider the modded mic I'll describe in point 3. If you still want a headset and have money to spend to spare, I have 2.5 recommendations that will give you great gaming experience + will still be pretty good for over tasks. I was in this category because due my gaming environment I needed a mic that is close to my face soon and the attachable mic is out of stock: #1 - Sennheiser PC360, about $200 but you an get them for $160 + shipping here: http://www.dakmart.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=pc360&osCsid=3ga825dcsb92a2jsir18pc5pe7&x=0&y=0I really, really wanted to get those until I realized that they are open-back and my wife would kill me if I bought them. Sound quality and soundstage is amazing for a headset, and they are still good for music etc. Mic is supposed to be very good. Controls are conveniently located on the headphone and mic is muted by raising it. If you have the money, open-back is ok, and want a headset, buy this pair. #2 Beyerdynamic MMX300, about $400, but sometimes drops to $300. Again good all-around very sound quality, some reviews said its better than PC360's, but it's waaay to expensive... Still, it's great for gaming, very good mic, very good soundstage for closed cans. This is what I ended up buying, BUT I bought used for $217 in hopes that they will be in good operating condition (dont care about scratches etc., just sound quality). For $400 I couldn't really recommend them unless money is no object and you absolutely totally have to have a headset, because for $400 you could buy a $30 ModMic and spend that $370 on much better sounding headphones!! Another good quality closed headphone I read a little about is PC350, if closed headset is a must, research it. I haven't read too much about it because MMX300 quality is supposedly a lot better and I didn't want to sacrifice that. Also I read a lot of negative things about gaming headsets from Razor and other gaming companies, and my understanding was that they serve their purposes ok, but you can always get a better quality headphone + mic for the same price. If you have time, stay away and do research first. If you don't wanna bother, go for it, they aren't absolutely horrible like some people say.
3. Some mic recommendations to complement headphones:
TLDR: www.modmic.com - good mic that attaches to headphones.
+ Show Spoiler +If you buy headphones (good for you), and need a mic, I found 3 options, ModMic being my favourite: #1 - ModMic. Go to http://www.modmic.com/ to see precisely how it works, but it's basically a mic that attaches to your headphone. You can take it off and swivel it up/down just like on headsets. Sound quality is supposed to be very good, 4.9 stars on amazon and I've read good things about it on forums. Shouldn't pick up too much outside sound. This is the solution I was looking for, unfortunately it is out of stock at least for a month. It's $30, but you will save a lot more by buying headphones instead of a headset. #2 - Desktop mic - simplest, options, there are a few good ones out there. The problem is most are omnidirectional and will pick up other sounds in your room. My friends for example gave me shit because they could hear the TV while I was talking. If outside noise isn't in issue this is a simple and often an inexpensive solution. There are cardioid (unidirectional) standalone mics you can buy that pick up less noise. I tried Blue SnowBall and liked a lot (around $60). It has a cardioid setting, which picked up less noise than my previous desktop mic, but it was still too much for me. #3 - Clip on mic. Another solution I've considered is clipon mic, such as this one from zalman: http://www.amazon.com/Zalman-Zm-Mic1-Sensitivity-Headphone-Microphone/dp/B00029MTMQInexpensive and according to many it does the job just fine, but some there are some complaints there; also I think I've read that it picked up too much noise as in loud environments as well. Costs like $8 though
Finally, the article I link below does a great job of reviewing and comparing a lot of gaming Dolby headphones while keeping overall sound quality in mind. And it is up to date! Must read if you are shopping for a pair. Actually this article and modmic are the main reasons I even started writing this.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/534479/mad-lust-envys-headphone-gaming-guide-updated-10-30-12-dt990-listings-merged-and-updated
Also might be good to add Mic section to the OP or to mention ModMic there. This is a perfect complement to the Do Not Buy Headsets premise, since headphone + modmic = headset. Wish I found it earlier, and came across it by accident on one of the forums; don't want others to miss it since it seems like a great solution.
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Hi, I got a question. I got a DAC/AMP and HD650 and I plug the amp into the usb in the computer. But the computer has no sound card, is that okay because I already have a headphone amplifer?
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As a total noob to headphone brands, I would love someone's advice.
I am thinking about asking for a set of headphones for christmas that I can use to play the drums to that have some decent quality compared to the cheap $80 sony's I have right now. I either play along acoustically and listen straight from my mp3 player, or use my electronic kit and hook my mp3 player up to the sound module on my set, and then use the audio-out for the set of headphones so that I get both mp3 sound and kit sound. I say this because the mp3 player has a 3.5mm jack and the module a 6.5mm, if it has an adapter, would that have an effect on the audio quality as compared to a dedicated 6.5 mm?
Since there will be a ton of outside noise, I assume noise isolating or cancelling would be preferred. Also, since I will be supplying the kick for the songs I'm playing, I'm not overly concerned with the strength of the drum bass (aside from hearing some sick bass (guitar) lines. I listen to a lot of metal, classic, and indie rock.
I'm thinking a budget of somewhere in the $200 range, max $250, possibly to be paid partly by me and partly by the gifter :D
There seem to be a lot of options, which is daunting to say the least. Also I live in Calgary if it matters.
Any input on the matter would be greatly appreciated!
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On November 05 2012 22:07 OneBaseKing wrote:
Hi, I got a question. I got a DAC/AMP and HD650 and I plug the amp into the usb in the computer. But the computer has no sound card, is that okay because I already have a headphone amplifer?
The point of having a DAC/amp is that you can bypass the computer's original audio circuitry or any other sound card or interface, so its quality (also existence) does not matter. The DAC is doing the D/A conversion... go figure.
On November 06 2012 13:13 Teddyjex wrote:+ Show Spoiler +As a total noob to headphone brands, I would love someone's advice.
I am thinking about asking for a set of headphones for christmas that I can use to play the drums to that have some decent quality compared to the cheap $80 sony's I have right now. I either play along acoustically and listen straight from my mp3 player, or use my electronic kit and hook my mp3 player up to the sound module on my set, and then use the audio-out for the set of headphones so that I get both mp3 sound and kit sound. I say this because the mp3 player has a 3.5mm jack and the module a 6.5mm, if it has an adapter, would that have an effect on the audio quality as compared to a dedicated 6.5 mm?
Since there will be a ton of outside noise, I assume noise isolating or cancelling would be preferred. Also, since I will be supplying the kick for the songs I'm playing, I'm not overly concerned with the strength of the drum bass (aside from hearing some sick bass (guitar) lines. I listen to a lot of metal, classic, and indie rock.
I'm thinking a budget of somewhere in the $200 range, max $250, possibly to be paid partly by me and partly by the gifter :D
There seem to be a lot of options, which is daunting to say the least. Also I live in Calgary if it matters.
Any input on the matter would be greatly appreciated!
Apparently a popular drummer's headphone is the Beyerdynamic DT 770 M. Beyerdynamic has several versions of the 770—the M is the monitoring version. Or if you can't find it, one of the Pro versions. All of these headphones isolate a lot, with M > Pro > Premium in terms of isolation.
Sound is a bit bass (particularly sub-bass) and treble-tilted, though good. Despite the clamping, it should be comfortable, unlike many other headphones with decent isolation. The pads are big and soft, and they go around the ears.
Audio cabling / connectors generally don't matter, except when they're broken (and a couple other exceptions). 6.35mm and 3.5mm jacks: any is fine, and adapters are fine too. The larger size is just less prone to breaking and contact issues after many insertions. It's just electrical conductors passing audio-frequency signals at relatively short distances, way way way less than a wavelength. There's not much to go wrong usually.
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Hi guys,
This is a very good thread, full of useful information.
I'm thinking of buying the Bose AE2i. It seems to fit my needs: good quality, decent passive isolation, excellent confort, and in my price range.
Does anyone have it? What is your feedback? Anyone has a reason why I should not buy it?
Thanks !
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Hello there,
sorry if this is retarded question but i was wondering if you could help me. I'm looking for some headphones/headset which will be largely used for listening to music (rock,metal,jazz,blues that sort of thing) but it would be also usable for gaming (it doesn't matter that much, but it would be nice). Noise canceling would be nice thing to have since i live in a noisy neighborhood, but my biggest problem is money. I have ~50$ (give or take 10). I know that i can't get anything good for it, but everything is an improvement from what i have now (some generic headset for 5$). Oh and one more thing, it would be great if they had microphone (not necessity, but it would help out a lot). Thank you in advance and if the question is stupid feel free to delete it, but i would be grateful if someone can give me suggestion via PM or somehow.
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There is a SICK deal on the Sennheiser HD 25-1 II at Amazon. They're typically ~$190-200. Right now, $107 and sold by Amazon so you know you're safe buying them. I'm so happy, I had JUST decided yesterday I was going to get these (I was a bit torn between these and the Beyerdynamic DT 1350, but this just seals the deal):
http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD25-1-II-Closed-Back-Headphones/dp/B000TDZOXG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1352739918&sr=8-1&keywords=hd 25-1 ii
Just as a little personal comment:
I know most people strongly prefer around-the-ear headphones instead of on-ear. That doesn't work for me. Around-the-ear stuff gives me headaches (anything pressing even very lightly on my head tends to do that). So I've always used on-ear headphones and never had comfort issues.
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hey, so can anyone help me a bit since i'm in a pickle.
I'm currently torn between 9 headphones, so your input on any of them would be greatly appreciated. Those are:
Samson SR850
Superlux HD 681
senheiser HD 202 II
Koss PortaPro
Denon AH-P372
Panasonic RP HTX7
Maxell DHP-II
MEElectronics HT-21
Panasonic RP-HTF600-S
They would primarily used for listening to music/movies and a bit of gaming (sc and dota mostly). Music i listen is mostly rock/metal/jazz/blues so if any of these excels in that department would nice to know. My soundcard is integrated if it helps.
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On November 13 2012 06:31 Kotreb wrote:
hey, so can anyone help me a bit since i'm in a pickle.
I'm currently torn between 9 headphones, so your input on any of them would be greatly appreciated. Those are:
Samson SR850
Superlux HD 681
senheiser HD 202 II
Koss PortaPro
Denon AH-P372
Panasonic RP HTX7
Maxell DHP-II
MEElectronics HT-21
Panasonic RP-HTF600-S
They would primarily used for listening to music/movies and a bit of gaming (sc and dota mostly). Music i listen is mostly rock/metal/jazz/blues so if any of these excels in that department would nice to know. My soundcard is integrated if it helps.
My brother has the Superlux HD 681, they sound good, are really cheap and impressively durable. Would totally recommend them, but don't know anything about the others.
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Anyone know if I'd need an amp for the DT770 Pro 80 Ohms? I was thinking about getting maybe a Xonar DG for my PC and something like an Astro Mixamp for Xbox 360? Would they be sufficient enough?
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On November 16 2012 06:19 Mackem wrote:
Anyone know if I'd need an amp for the DT770 Pro 80 Ohms? I was thinking about getting maybe a Xonar DG for my PC and something like an Astro Mixamp for Xbox 360? Would they be sufficient enough?
Depends on how fussy you are, is the best answer there is.
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Thinking of buying one of these two headphones:
Shure SRH940-E
AKG K 701
Anyone with any experience at all?
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On November 16 2012 21:32 xrayEU wrote:
Thinking of buying one of these two headphones:
Shure SRH940-E
AKG K 701
Anyone with any experience at all?
I got AKG 701s and really liking em, tho I doubt they'll do any good without a proper sound card or amplifier. But I can recommend Heed's CanAmp, ESI JULI@ and musical blue RCAs.
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On November 16 2012 06:30 Rollin wrote:Show nested quote +On November 16 2012 06:19 Mackem wrote:
Anyone know if I'd need an amp for the DT770 Pro 80 Ohms? I was thinking about getting maybe a Xonar DG for my PC and something like an Astro Mixamp for Xbox 360? Would they be sufficient enough? Depends on how fussy you are, is the best answer there is.
Just wanted to know if they'd be decent enough (Obviously they're not going to be audiophile level)
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Anyone has any information on these usb sound card adaptors? My stock sound card is EXTREMELY HORRIBLE, it's a very old mobo and the one that I had before this one had better sound, so I absolutely need a new sound card, but I'm wondering if these adaptors can do the job for me, since they're considerably cheaper
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