Mad Lust Envy's Headphone Gaming Guide: (Updated: 5/17/13. Skullcandy PLYR 1 added) - Page 742

How does anyone else feel about the sennheiser hd558s for gaming? I am only in stereo right now till I have money for a mix amp, but the clarity and positioning between them and my turtle beaches is basically night and day, it is amazing.

Surely they went overboard with the included extras though. I'd have much rather they shipped with just the single set of pads, and used the money saved on the second set towards upgrading the source/transport as you mentioned.

 

Honestly at this level I would be disappointed if they didn't come with extra pads.  I expect it at this price. 

 

And it's a good thing they included a 1/8" to 1/4" adapter.  I mean who really is going to use these on anything other than high quality 1/4" jack from a dedicated headphone amplifier? 

I looked around some more and found this page.The dude there says you can do DH over the SPDIF out on the DG/DGX so it should be fine. I'll pick one up next week and do some testing to be sure.

Should be pretty solid, I've seen a lot of people recommend one particular mod to improve clarity (removing some tape/felt that makes it sound closer to the 598) but I've only heard them stock, YMMV. I've seen the 558 as low as $100 on Amazon (used, but that often includes barely touched returns), I think they'd be hard to beat at that price or anything approaching it.


Huh, be sure to let us know how it works out. I think I actually remember reading of other issues with SPDIF out (related to gaming and surround speaker setups), but I had no clue about DH. I'd give it a shot on my STX but the thought of moving the PC or receiver is ugh, and it might very well work differently anyway.
Edited by Impulse - 1/22/13 at 8:18pm

Can a receiver like this be used instead of say an astro mix amp to get dolby to your headphones? And if so, how would using a mic work?

I think Mad reviewed them in his guide, first page. At any rate he has repeatedly posted that he preferred them over the HD598, I think because the model you have sounded more balanced or bassy.

To your second question, HDMI or optical to the receiver with your console sending 5.1 audio, and it will emulate surround sound for headphones like a mixamp would. Most brands have some sort of surround virtualization processing for headphones, but Dolby Headphone brand processing is really rare now, you're most likely to find it on Maranatz or old receivers.
You have to enable a mic separately though. Are you using an Xbox or PS3? For Xbox, you go to the guide, preferences, voice, select to play chat through "speakers," then chat audio will play through your headphones and you can just plug a mic into the controller's headphone port. I imagine the PS3 process is similar, except you plug in a USB mic. Do ps3 gamers even like talking to eachother? I rarely see anyone in Xbox game chat anymore unless they are trash talking or they left their Kinect mic in.
Edited by Evshrug - 1/22/13 at 8:24pm

Nah, in the first page he reviewed the hd598. Sometimes though, for competitive gaming they can be a bit bassy, but that is easily fixed with a little eq. I just can't wait to get surround sound, but the college life is hard for an audiophile : /

 

Isolation? What isolation?

 

That said, I don't seem to have any issues with voice-chatting with people while using open-back headphones like the Lambda. At the very least, I'm not getting any echo complaints from who I'm talking to.

 

It may be because I'm using a cheap desk mic in the meantime, and not a clip-on mic or a ModMic.

 

 

Magnolia Best Buys? Never heard of that store variant. Doesn't help that I live about an hour or two's worth of driving northeast from Atlanta, in a city that gets mistaken for another state's big city by name and doesn't show up on most maps unless you zoom in real close.

 

Buying blindly is indeed very risky with something like headphones, where you won't know if you'll like the sound signature or the comfort/fit without first-hand experience...but at least for me, it paid off with that SR-Lambda, big time. (On the flip side, it didn't pay off nearly as much with the SR-202. Just goes to show how even similar-looking headphones don't sound similar at all.)

Yeah, that's what they call their Best Buys that stock high end home theater gear (and headphones), they've got a landing page for looking them up specifically etc. Apparently they're fairly common in urban areas (or Orlando has an abnormal amount of them when I last looked), tho I don't remember ever seeing one (let alone being in one) when I've visited friends and family stateside.

I've been satisfied with my DT 880 despite going in blind, but I've got that itch to buy something different to try and A/B it directly on my own gear y'know.

If you want surround on the cheap, I know two options. You can get a used Turtle Beach DSS (the first one uses Dolby Headphone) for about $35 used on eBay, it works ok but has a bit of background hiss. Option two is the Recon3D USB processor, which is what I use. It uses THX TruStudio Pro from Creative's sound blaster PC cards instead of DH, has no discernible background hiss, an adapter/extension cable to use any 3.5mm mic (like a $2 lapel mic) or headset, adjustable sound settings, and also connects to a PC through USB to act as an external sound card. I like the THX processing better than DH, but Mad prefers DH, and NamelessPFG prefers CMSS-3D; Your Milage May Vary. They usually sell for $90, but NamlessPFG is selling his for $70.

Here's mine, I use it with my Mac & Xbox 360:

So many decisions! lol I shouldve known what I was getting myself into with this headphone addiction. But if anyone wants mod work or cables made in trade for any mixamps let me know! And I found the turtle beach for 25 on ebay. Is it worth it for now until I get a more expensive one?

 

Yeah that's a good deal for the DSS.

Can you use USB mics with PS3 consoles?
Big Best Buys have a Magnolia section in them, in the back by the TVs. It's walled off with their more expensive loudspeakers setup inside for demoing. The one near me (south hills Pittsburgh) has an expanded headphone section next to them, with 3 audiophile headphones: ATH-A900x, Senn HD 558, and AKG K550. Still not the biggest high-end selection and the employees won't let you demo them without buying first, but more than most stores. V-MODA's are strangely absent, though a few models are at RadioShack (and some nitwit broke them, dunno why you would do that. Like programming viruses just to mess up someone's day, I guess).

Depends on the system. For Xbox you can use the steelseries "puck" adapter for the mic in on the controller, or simply any mic with a 2.5mm connection. For PS3 a simple usb type sound card (with an input jack) has been used. Probably depends on the drivers for each specific mic. A simple (cheap) usb mic like the one that comes with rockband will work for chat, but I'm not too sure about more complicated/expensive ones. It probably more or less depends on if the PS3 will recognize the device more than anything else.
Edited by ruuku - 1/22/13 at 9:06pm