I have really been kickin' ass with my XBA-H3s. Who says there isn't an IEM with a wide enough soundstage for competitive gaming?
 

Lol at the sneaky edit. 

napalmhardcore said:

  Lol at the sneaky edit. 

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Yea, I said ass in two straight sentences... 

Was looking at IEMs a few days ago. I've got to stop looking at everything people mention because I don't have the money.

napalmhardcore said:

  Was looking at IEMs a few days ago. I've got to stop looking at everything people mention because I don't have the money.

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One day I'll win the lottery, but until that day I am a danger to my self and should be restrained.
 
(Tried to find a picture to accompany that, but pickings were surprisingly slim for decent straitjacket pics.)

Hi everybody - I come seeking wisdom.
 
I've read MLE's guide (thanks for putting the time in dude; it's awesome for 'audio newbs' like me) quite a few times and have used it as a reference over the last few months during my own research. The trouble is, I'm still stuck, so I decided to finally register and put forward my predicaments and some questions in order to get some better insight.
 
SO. I'm looking for a new headset for online gaming both on my PC and Xbox 360, with the possibility of wanting to use it for the Xbox One / PS4 in the future. This gaming is varied (League of Legends, CS:GO, Halo etc.) and I use Mumble, Teamspeak, Skype etc. for chat so voice is important.
 
Nothing too unusual so far, but here's the interesting bit: currently I have my relatively new PC (just over a year old now, bless her), sporting the Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H motherboard and no sound card. This PC is connected to my Panasonic HDTV (quite a few years old now) via HDMI to my nvidia graphics card and uses the sound drivers that come with it (which all works well and great so no problems here; I listen to my music, watch videos, game single player etc. this way without headphones and it's bliss, so I don't want to change that). When I wish to play online with friends, I plug my Sennheiser PC350s in via USB and it all works pretty swell. However, these are really getting old now (5-10 years) and they're wearing out cosmetically and a little functionally (I swear the mic and a bit of the audio is degrading a little over time now) and they've never been 100% comfortable - they pinch my ears after around 3-4 hours each session. Plus I can't use them on my 360 as they are, so I'm looking to upgrade.
 
With regards to the upgade, I've been doing a lot of reading and watching youtube etc. and have been floating around the following possibilities:
 
1. Philips X1 Fidelio + Mic + some sort of amp/amp+dac combo - this may be rather expensive, and can't grab new pads. Not sure if easy to swap setup considering my situation above.
2. Sennheiser Game One + amp or use current USB sound card which came with PC350s. Not sure how comfy it'll be considering 350's fit hurts my ears.
3. Astro A40/50 + mixamp - seems the best all-rounder to me but lacking slightly in audio quality; the A40 is probably better than the A50 audio wise.
4. Steelseries Siberia Elite - Similar to the Astro with regard to setup, but a major problem is that nobody has reviewed and compared them to the above - this is a major problem and hassle for people like me looking upgrade yet are unable to get both for testing xD   I have found however, that the mic quality isn't as good as the above options - but I'm still unsure of the audio quality.
 
...and that's about it. I do like having the convenience of simply plugging a USB card in and everything working and sounding well, but I also want comfort and the best sound I can get for my price range (let's say, £300 or so tops for everything, but I may stretch it) as well as able to use it on all platforms. Any guidance would be extremely welcome - and apologies for the long read but detail is everything.

@Sentinus, Hi.
 
You seem to be reasonably well informed of your choices. I've not heard mention of anyone here using the Siberia Elites in my time here, but if someone has I'm sure they'll offer an opinion.
 
One thing you've not really covered is how important virtual surround is to you. If it is important, I'd suggest checking out the videos at the beginning of the guide as well as some of the ones on Youtube which compare some of the technologies available.
 
Ultimately, it is up to you to make the decision as to what you buy. The people here will be willing to help you, but you have to ask the right questions, such as what kind of sound signature are you looking for? How important is the trade-off between bass and pure positional accuracy etc?
 
Welcome to Head-fi  

If you want one solution that you can easily swap back and forth with your current PC setup, get a recon3d USB. Its the only surround processor I know that you can use on PC with no sound card or on console.

After that, any headphone and mic combo will work fine. X1 and boonpro is a solid choice as are many others (gameone etc).

@Sentinus
There's a reason why no one mentions the Siberia Elite, because at $200... no one cares.
 
Had a brief listen to it and a Superlux Evo 681 is still a better all around heapdhone than the Elite and it's only a quarter of the price. Considering it is a closed headset, the bass is shy. There very little impact to it, when it does it feels slow and hollow. I do not like how the mids are so artifically forward, almost as if it was purposely EQ'd that way and the treble lacks energy, despite being smooth.
 
The biggest problem? The comfort. The earpads are memory foam IINM, but they just aren't supple enough. My jaws started hurting after 15 minutes, I wouldn't wanna know how numb my jaw would be after an hour. The pleather looks to be of low quality too and something that would tear within a year of usage, though this is a personal assumption.
 
Nice that the Elite comes with Dolby Headphone, but a Xonar U3 costs $35 so whatever. I did not test the mic, but there are plenty of youtube recordings with the mic and needless to say, they're barely passable.
 
So there you go, you want a Siberia, then just stick with the v2 and buy a Xonar U3.

I found the Audio Technica ATH-AG1 and ADG1 as I was scouring the web and was wondering if anyone has any experience with them. Not sure how well they'd perform in surround. Since they are from a good company already and not just a gaming company, I would have no clue how well they stack up against the gaming headsets out there or my Astro A40s.

Edit: Also found the Beyerdynamic MMX300 and not sure about those either.

Originally Posted by Napalmhardcore /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
One thing you've not really covered is how important virtual surround is to you. If it is important, I'd suggest checking out the videos at the beginning of the guide as well as some of the ones on Youtube which compare some of the technologies available.
 
Ultimately, it is up to you to make the decision as to what you buy. The people here will be willing to help you, but you have to ask the right questions, such as what kind of sound signature are you looking for? How important is the trade-off between bass and pure positional accuracy etc?
 
Welcome to Head-fi 

 

Click to expand...

Thanks man!
 
I hear what you're saying, but as I said; I'm an audio newbie...I'm just after something with great sound and works with the setup I described above. Virtual surround is fine as long as it sounds up to par, as for bass and positional accuracy - I'd say a middle ground, but positional accuracy would be a little more important considering their use.
 

stillhart said:

If you want one solution that you can easily swap back and forth with your current PC setup, get a recon3d USB. Its the only surround processor I know that you can use on PC with no sound card or on console.

After that, any headphone and mic combo will work fine. X1 and boonpro is a solid choice as are many others (gameone etc).

Click to expand...

 
Oh wow that's interesting - I hadn't seen the Recon3D USB before. I'll keep it in mind as it doesn't say anything about the Xbox One, but includes the others.
 

benbenkr said:

  @Sentinus
There's a reason why no one mentions the Siberia Elite, because at $200... no one cares.
 
Had a brief listen to it and a Superlux Evo 681 is still a better all around heapdhone than the Elite and it's only a quarter of the price. Considering it is a closed headset, the bass is shy. There very little impact to it, when it does it feels slow and hollow. I do not like how the mids are so artifically forward, almost as if it was purposely EQ'd that way and the treble lacks energy, despite being smooth.
 
The biggest problem? The comfort. The earpads are memory foam IINM, but they just aren't supple enough. My jaws started hurting after 15 minutes, I wouldn't wanna know how numb my jaw would be after an hour. The pleather looks to be of low quality too and something that would tear within a year of usage, though this is a personal assumption.
 
Nice that the Elite comes with Dolby Headphone, but a Xonar U3 costs $35 so whatever. I did not test the mic, but there are plenty of youtube recordings with the mic and needless to say, they're barely passable.
 
So there you go, you want a Siberia, then just stick with the v2 and buy a Xonar U3.

Click to expand...

 
I see! This is what I've been after - when you read reviews online and watch youtube clips, they all give the Elite really good reviews. This is why it's important to have you guys (people in 'the know' audio-wise) review them...I'd be none the wiser otherwise. I wouldn't go for the Siberia's, despite the following they have gathered...compared to the other options they don't seem at the same standard.
 
I'm still no closer, other than pretty much eliminating the Elites, lol.

sentinus said:

I'm still no closer, other than pretty much eliminating the Elites, lol.

Click to expand...

We now know that positional audio is important, XB1 compatibility must be accounted for and you'd,prefer a neutral sound signature (although, like in my case, it sounds like you haven't the experience to know what kind of sound signature you like). This will help the people here to help you, so you're a little closer
 
Knowing that positional audio is important means you'll need something with a decent soundstage. This most of the time means an open back headphone (though there are exceptions). I also think that sooner or later you may be interested in a virtual surround processor, but we'll take it one step at a time. That being said, sometimes a device such as a Mixamp will open up the possibilities of what you can connect to (I believe the Mixamp works with all the consoles).
 
From you're previous post I can also tell that a mic is important. Finding a mic solution is one of the biggest reasons I came to be on this thread and your choice in headphone will have a bearing on mic compatibility (some headphones have proprietary connections or non removable cables which affect BoomPro compatibility).
 
In terms of PC audio, I think most people here will likely recommend a sound card or DAC. The advantage of a sound card is that many include some form of virtual surround, so even if you are not particularly interested in it now, it is there for if you do become interested in future.
 
I haven't much experience myself but thought I'd impart some of what I've learned in my time here. I'm personally looking to go the X1, Mixamp, Boom Pro route myself. I've had to hold off on pulling the trigger as another financial consideration has cropped up. With the X1 I still have a little doubt in my mind, as ideally, I wanted something with a neutral signature. But being fairly new to all this, I've not owned enough headphones to have found what I like or dislike, so it seems like a chance to broaden my knowledge in that regard. Hope this has helped

After a lot of reading and research (and some more reading and some more research) i've decided to buy OG CAL and DSS (1). 
Thank you all for the help. I'll post my insights after i'll test them out (will take some time).
Peace

 Elder scrolls online is a extra $14.99 a month on top of your xbox live or psn+!