X-FI Xtreme Gamer optical & 5.1 headphone questions

[Hacka]

OK first of all im trying to buy some nice 5.1 headphones with a mic.

Theres alot to choose from and im not sure which ones to get. This one seems nice and has a very long cord and an extra audio box to plug the different channels into. It also has 8 speakers ( 4 in each ear )

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16826235001

1) I have an x-fi xtreme gamer card and im not sure whats going on. it says its optical out but the plug is a regular headphone size plug. optical speakers wont plug into that.

2) what headset should i get? i wanna be able to play games at the highest quality and also watch movies on my bed (about 10 feet away)

 

[ViRGE]

1) IIRC it's Mini-TOS. You're probably going to need an adapter.

2) Get a good set of Sennheiser cans, the HD-500 series has some very nice entries. 5.1 headphones are a gimmick, you can achieve 3D-audio from a good set of normal headphones since the X-Fi uses some excellent HRTF algorithms for headphones (best out of any consumer sound card, IMHO) for 3D-audio.

 

[Hacka]

so u think the link i posted above isnt a good headset?

 

[ViRGE]

Correct.

 

[Hacka]

better than the hd555 ?

 

[Narse]

5.1 headphones are a gimmick, get a good set of quality headphones. Best sound will come from a seperate mic and a good set of headphones like the HD-500. But if you are like me and must have a headset get these SENNHEISER PC 166

 

[Hacka]

but would those be perfect and comfortable to lay down and watch movies with? are they very clear and hig quality? sturdy? break easily?

 

[ViRGE]

I've never met a pair of Senns that weren't sturdy. As for comfort, it's going to depend a lot on the model, they use at least 3 different types of "fits" among most of their consumer/prosumer lines, so other than trying them on you're just going to have to read the reviews. You also don't have to go with the PC 166s in particular, I use 497s with a clip-on Zalman mic and this would work with any set of headphones (the trade off is that the clip-on mic is omnidirectional, so it'll pick up a bit of background noise).