Help with gaming headphones/amps - mid range solution?

[Trajan]

I've spent the last hour and a half poking around trying to pick a good mid- or middle-high range gaming headset, and I've ended up better educated -- but more confused -- than when I started.

I am looking for a headset that will both give me a competitive edge in FPS and make the game sound better; I'm willing to spend up to $200, maybe $250 for something that will be high quality, comfortable, and last a long time.. (this is sort of an early birthday present to myself). It would be great if I could use these with my Ipod, too, when traveling, but music quality is not the priority and I'm not an audiophile.

For over 10 years I've been using the same Sony supra-aural (?)/DJ-style phones, very comfortable, but not the highest quality though. After reading a lot of reviews, I was impressed with the Sennheiser PC350 reviews, but that's where I got confused..

From what I gather, the higher end headsets require amplification to really shine, otherwise you're better off getting a budget pair. So now I'm trying to sort out whether I need to pick out a headset AND a soundcard/amplifier, or not!

I'd be grateful for any suggestions.. right now I'm using onboard audio. I can't really say whether I like onboard or not; I feel like my headphones are really the limiting factor right now and I have nothing to compare onboard to.

* Are there are any really excellent headphones (for gaming) that will work with onboard?
* If I get a high end headset that requires amplification, can anyone recommend reasonably priced but effective amplifier, just for this purpose?
* Or should I get a soundcard that amplifies, and if so, any suggestions (headset + card being $250 or less?)

Many many thanks for any help -- I've gone through a lot of old threads here but haven't seen this particular set of problems tackled before!

 

[0roo0roo]

high end headphones require amps. i'm pretty sure high end ones like the senns are made with pc's in mind and don't need them

 

[busydude]

As far as I know there are 2 kinds of headsets,

1) Don't have any built in sound cards/ amps. Like the sennheiser PC 350. For this kind you need a mid-high end sound card for optimal performance

2) Which have built in soundcard like steel series siberia v2.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16826249035

I prefer the 2nd kind as they perform well and are hassle free.

 

[schenley101]

almost all headphone can benefit from amps, but they are only necessary for high impedance headphones(which most high end ones are). I haven't used any gaming oriented headphones. For gaming, i usually just use my grado sr-125's but since they are open air, they don't block any outside noise.

 

[konakona]

yeah I don't think you would really need something that deserves dedicated amp just for gaming. Most of these 'high-quality' phones are meant for music as you would have guessed, and more often than not differences between them is more about personal preference than absolute quality.

btw, you mean headsets as in an all-in-one solution that has a pair of headphones + mic? Never heard of a 'quality' headsets that need amps. I am sure there might be one out there, nothing that gets widely publicized though.

Is there a reason why you would get a headset over regular headphones? Either way I doubt you would benefit from getting an amp just for gaming.

 

[0roo0roo]

err there are plenty of quality headphones that require amps, they are audiophile grade which is why you dont see them sold at target but plenty exist. but those are hundreds more. go to headfi.org or whatever for more info on em.

pc headsets aren't in that price category though. so no amps. headsets are better because integrated mic is far superior than some desk or shirt clip solution. nothing quite as annoying as having a mic boom sitting on your desk, its not natural. for games/voice a headset is just better.

the new wow headsets are pretty decent apparently. but its hard to go wrong with the sennheiser gaming headsets. they do quality, and even more importantly, replacement parts at reasonable prices. i don't see creative selling any replacement bits for their headsets which is an issue for more expensive sets. being able to buy new pads and cords is always a good thing.

 

[konakona]

err I think you totally misread my message my friend

hey, I am pretty sure I have better headphones and amp than 80% of people at AT; in fact I have too many atm (HD580, HD650, K701, AD2000, D7000, MS1, T20RP, some IEMs and probably more in the future, several amps and dacs to go with, etc) I am more of a lurker at head-fi, but already have 1000+ posts there so

we are basically in agreement as what I was stating earlier was that for his clearly stated purposes (no emphasis on music, not an audiophile), those hi-fi to hi-end headphones are most likely overkill, not to mention amps which cost more than phones (then the source of course, which probably isn't gaming friendly anyway)

I am not so certain about mic boom. Few years back in undergrad, I was taking some online courses for japanese and they required headsets / mics for every lecture. Back then I was using a logitech USB mic, and lectures recorded for archiving didn't seem to have any booming when I spoke. Just my 2cents from what limited experience I have with mics.

Ooops, yeah I see where you are coming from, I meant to say "quality headsets". Sure there are quality headphones out there, I wouldn't mind getting a pair of R10s

 

[Trajan]

Thanks to everyone for the feedback above, I really appreciate it! I feel like I understand the issues a lot better. This of course has just led to new questions

I am definitely looking to get headphones with an integrated mic. I have a separate mic right now and it drives me nuts. Researching high end headsets netted a handful of recommendations. On of the sets that was most recommended was the Sennheiser PC350s.

Unfortunately the Sennheisers (and a few of the other high end recommendations) have very high impendence (the PC350s are at 150 ohms) so I will need an amp. Moreover, the audiophiles out there swear I will get much better sound if I ditch onboard for a dedicated sound card.

So.. I'm now looking at soundcards, specifically, sound cards that have built in headphone amps. I think it makes sense to start that up in a separate thread, so I'm going to do that now, but I wanted to say thanks, again, for the help here!

 

[0roo0roo]

err I think you totally misread my message my friend

hey, I am pretty sure I have better headphones and amp than 80% of people at AT; in fact I have too many atm (HD580, HD650, K701, AD2000, D7000, MS1, T20RP, some IEMs and probably more in the future, several amps and dacs to go with, etc) I am more of a lurker at head-fi, but already have 1000+ posts there so

we are basically in agreement as what I was stating earlier was that for his clearly stated purposes (no emphasis on music, not an audiophile), those hi-fi to hi-end headphones are most likely overkill, not to mention amps which cost more than phones (then the source of course, which probably isn't gaming friendly anyway)

I am not so certain about mic boom. Few years back in undergrad, I was taking some online courses for japanese and they required headsets / mics for every lecture. Back then I was using a logitech USB mic, and lectures recorded for archiving didn't seem to have any booming when I spoke. Just my 2cents from what limited experience I have with mics.

Ooops, yeah I see where you are coming from, I meant to say "quality headsets". Sure there are quality headphones out there, I wouldn't mind getting a pair of R10s

Well in gaming its a little different that lecture or other voice recording, its better that your mind be free from worry about mic placement whereas with lecture recording and such dedicated activities thats more like radio studio work where it doesn't matter. the last thing you want to worry about in a firefight is whether you mouth is close enough to the mic and whether your team mates heard what you said, and shouty compensation is just not that cool.

as for sound cards, no need to over complicate things with integrated amps, get things separately.

 

[konakona]

I guess you have a point; a separate mic is just not long enough to be near your mouth and probably does distract a person when he tries to talk while gaming. As for me, I am no big fan of voicechats so I never really used a headset. It's good to see things from another perspective, thanks for pointing that out.

 

[NesuD]

Plantronics GameCom 777

 

[murphyslabrat]

Make it simple, and go for a Logitech G35. The Plantronic offering is pretty well respected for gaming, too.

er, you likely won't notice the difference between one of Plantronics or Logitech's upper-tier offerings and much better sets of headphones, unless you listen to a lot of music. Even then, there are a bajillion bottlenecks to be killed before those headphones will be what's holding you back sound-wise. And, for gaming it doesn't really matter, anyway.