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Why "gaming" headphones?

post #1 of 45
5/27/07 at 3:01am
Thread Starter 
Something I've always wondered... Why to PC gamers need "gaming" headphones? Whats the attraction to having a mic-boom extend off the earcup? Can't you just use a DT770 (for example) and run Shure SM57/58 on a desktop stand, through a mic preamp, and send the line out into the Mic input on your PC soundcard???

please excuse me.... I'm not into gaming.

????
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post #2 of 45
5/27/07 at 3:08am
convenience. Looks cooler summore.
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post #3 of 45
5/27/07 at 3:11am
I remember arguing about this with my brother a few months back. Basically, he told me that most people that look for "gaming" headphones aren't aware that headphones like the DT770s exist (they aren't aware of Head-fi and high-end headphones), so they're perfectly fine with headphones with built-in mics. He also mentioned that they are much more convenient in that it's already professionally attached for you as opposed to the ghetto attachment that would be done with DT770 + external mic. "Gaming" headphones also look much cooler, and these "gamers" aren't looking for the same high quality sound that we look for (except maybe soundstage).
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post #4 of 45
5/27/07 at 3:22am
it looks cooler and it's more convenient
a single unit with with sound in and output with only one cable
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post #5 of 45
5/27/07 at 3:45am
The real gamers know what to use, real cans with a stand alone mic. Most to all stand alone mics sound much better than the mics inside the headset anyway.

This is my first post, and I intend on becoming more fluent in computer audio. I want to grab a pair of nice headphones ( I have no idea what a headphone amp is) for my computer for gaming and listening to classical music. I am a musician and thats pretty much my life.

But yeah, to answer your question, its because they dont know about the better headphones, they think the best headphones they can grab are HD555's.
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post #6 of 45
5/27/07 at 4:13am
The closer the mic is to your mouth, the easier it is to hear your voice and the less background noise is knocked out. Try going to a lan with a desktop mic, it picks up entirety toooo much noise. With a boomstick, you still only hear the user's voice.

Alot of pro's don't use desktop mics, rather they use gaming headsets around their neck for the mic and a nice pair of headphones on their ears.
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post #7 of 45
5/27/07 at 4:53am
If it were me I would probably just order a pair of DT770 aviator style.
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post #8 of 45
5/27/07 at 5:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Redo View Post
...rather they use gaming headsets around their neck for the mic and a nice pair of headphones on their ears.
Yep, once I found out about the world of hi-fi, that's the way I did it as well. A900s on my head with a plantronics headset around my neck.

I also agree that the desktop mics are cumbersome and not as good at isolating as a boom mic would be
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post #9 of 45
5/27/07 at 7:29am
yesh.
all true.

but i think we are forgetting 1 major thing. object placement.
knowing that footsteps are coming from behind you has saved my bacon more than a few times.

what i want is for there to be a nice solution to for a boom mic to be attatched to me full sized cans
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post #10 of 45
5/27/07 at 8:50am

Ahem

Clip on mics? (ie, clip on your shirt, never tried it but sounds like something that works, or you could even clip it to the headphone cable!.

As far as gaming headphones go, 5.1 surround sound headphones seem to be popular, never heard from one, but i have a hard time imagining how that sounds, crappy but you could probably tell where a gunshot comes from. Quite frankly i cant justify spending 200 dollars on a desktop mic setup - mic pre-out, versus getting something that "just works" for a gamer.

you might as well just buy the HD280-MIC ^^ (expensive..)

Gamers are on a budget.
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post #11 of 45
5/27/07 at 9:00am
Quote:
Alot of pro's don't use desktop mics, rather they use gaming headsets around their neck for the mic and a nice pair of headphones on their ears.
Yep. I've seen that alot, seen senn pc150 + senn hd580s/600s/650s.

As for the OP's question, I believe marketing has some play in this as-well. Most pro teams are sponsored by SteelSeries (icemat / steelpad companies), Razer, or Sennheiser (of which they have their own headset lineup specifically to promote) and gamers who keep up with what the pro's use are more likely to buy the same gear.
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post #12 of 45
5/27/07 at 9:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by LostOne.TR View Post
Yep. I've seen that alot, seen senn pc150 + senn hd580s/600s/650s.
That's correct! I have a set of pc150's I use around my neck with my DT880's or SR225's. Well, most of the time I use my desktop mic, but when it gets loud here or when I go to my next lan, it's headset around neck time!
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post #13 of 45
5/27/07 at 9:51am
I would say that this is one of the best gaming headphones out there. It just doesn't say "gaming headphone" on the box.
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post #14 of 45
5/27/07 at 10:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by EnOYiN View Post
I would say that this is one of the best gaming headphones out there. It just doesn't say "gaming headphone" on the box.
HM!

If that mic could be acquired separately, an HD25-1 could conceivably be converted into a reasonable gaming headset. If the HD25-1 had a bigger soundstage it would be killer.

Speaking of which I think modular headphones would be awesome for gaming.
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post #15 of 45
5/27/07 at 10:20am
Well, when gamers ask for a gaming headphone, I assume its mostly because they don't know of any other alternatives, otherwise I'd see alot more DT-770's at LAN parties.

And off topic, but I've always been curious as to why gaming companies don't record their sound binaurally, if they assume that the average player is going to be using a set of headphones for the majority of the time. There's absolutely no comparison between binaural sound and simulated 5.1 surround sound, or any other sound for that matter; the soundstage is absolutely huge, with easily identifiable object placement.
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