Well I've been looking for a while and decided to buy the 5hV2 but these things are completely awful so I need to pick a new headset quick I'm going between the ad700/sennheiser hd555 like most people and leaning towards the HT Omega Striker card. I love to listen to music but I also need a headset that is great for gaming, an example of the music I need bass for is YouTube - David Guetta feat Kid Cudi - Memories (Official videoclip) but I also listen to a lot of different genres which is why I can't decide. The 555's look like a good fit but I don't know how good they are for gameing, anyone have some advice for me?

i just bought HD555 and theyre great for gaming...can't go wrong with the price/performance in all areas of sound with this headset.

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are you using a soundcard with them or just onboard?

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I also just bought the HD555 and my friend has had them for about a year now. They are excellent for gaming in my opinion, and yes I use a sound card (HT Omega Striker 7.1). I run digital coaxial out of the sound card to my surround sound receiver and then plug my 555's into the headphone jack on it. Two reasons I have it set up this way, the hd555's sound even better due to the receiver's higher power output (basically like an amp would) and also I watch blurays off of my computer on my HDTV and surround sound. The HD555's will sound better, but are still excellent straight from the sound card itself. Idk your budget, but HT Omega makes a soundcard with a built in headphone amp output on the card itself. I think it is one of the Claro cards. Yeah. . .here it is.


Here it is at Newegg

Also, check out their website at HT Omega - The Next Generation in Audio.

I highly recommend both the HD555 and any HT Omega sound card. Both companies make EXCELLENT products IMO. Hope this helps a little.

*edit*

Btw, I have had the HT Omega Striker for years now, since they first started selling them on Newegg (which I am guessing is basically since the card came out). I don't know if anyone around here talks about them b/c I have not looked it up on here, lol.

do you mind giving me an idea of a good price for the 550's in canada or even us so I know I'm not getting ripped since the only place in the city has them for 199.99$ CAD and to me that seems insanely overpriced

I didn't buy a single can here, all from the states or other places. Can prices in Canada are as you correctly said exorbitant and add 13% tax on non-Alberta provinces, you're in for some out of the world treats. I suggest you do a search on the topic as you're not the 1st person to ask the very same question at hand. Personally I buy from authorized ebay sellers, jr.com and other places. There's also mail forwarding service you can look into as an alternative.

Do you have a budget in mind for the rig?

trying to keep under 300 a tiny bit over is ok
and if i can use the headset on an ipod/tv I'll love you even more.
i'm also up for suggestions on headsets/sound cards but must be good for music with quite a bit of bass and league gaming

Well for the budget unless you need a $200 gaming soundcard you could go with a desktop amp/DAC and a better phone. My current rig costs $300 and sounds better (IMO) than my previous $1400 setup.

I listen to about 70% electronica, David Guetta and the likes and love Ultrasone for it... nothing comes close. Having said that some people don't like Ultrasone period, they have a different approach which at first may turn people away while others, myself included will be Ultrasone for life!

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Is there any ultrasone's and amp you recommend? and sorry to ask the same question but for gameing how well did they perform?

I use Ultrasone HFI-780 with a ZERO DAC-Amp and bought them both used for around $300. It's a terrific amp which allows you to alternate opamps for the desired sound, kinda like tubes on a tube amp.

Brilliant soundstage for gaming, I play modern warfare 2 amongst others and often give friends a listen... the difference between a decent 5.1 speaker setup and these headphones is unreal, very intense, like you're really in the middle of the action. The new games that are coming out now, bad Company 2 etc have started to make use of Dolby... this in my opinion is where they really start to shine. In fact I now use Dolby Headphone for all my music listening; follow the link in my sig if you're interested in that.

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I can't seem to find a good deal on the amp while keeping under my budget so do you think I should get the Ultrasone hfi-780 and the ht omega striker? that brings it to about 315ish CAD and gives me all my music + gaming needs but don't know if an amp would be more suited for this kind of headset

also sorry about all these questions but being 16 this is quite a bit of money for me so im trying to get the best i can for my money

It's no problem. I don't know much about the soundcard, I would however think that a desktop amp would give you a better price-performance ratio; one because it's not limited by smaller components and two it has it's own power supply. I think people who stick around here end up with an amp/DAC even with a decent soundcard, so if you can afford that route upfront I say go for it.

Check ebay for a used Zero, they pop up now and again here in the FS section. Maybe you could try a Beresford TC-7520 ($280) or Tube Magic DAC1 ($200).

My setup goes like this, and it's super convenient.

Desktop->AUNE Amp&Dac -> RCA out -> Logitech Z-5500s
Desktop->AUNE Amp&Dac -> Headphone out -> Grado SR-225is

I say you ditch the sound card & get an external DAC--thats what it is anyway. I listen to a lot of club music myself, and I doubt anyone else would recommend Grados for bass music, but David Guetta & Kid Cudi sounded effin good!

Steve Aoki 's Kid Cudi - Pursuit of Happiness remix

K since I don't know anything about amps I thought that I'd go with the
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=33841&...ure=HT%20Omega
and either the 555s new for 199 or the hfi 780s for 220 from ebay that are supposedly new