[MarbeL]

I'm looking for some comfortable and durable head phones for competitive first person shooter games. I would like the headphones to have a microphone if possible.  Mainly for counter-strike source. 
 
I want to be able to tell where everything is coming from just through my sound. 
 
I have a sound blaster X-fi card.
 
I've noticed that dolby has something called "Headphone virtual surround sound" and there's a device out there called a mixamp that supposedly creates surround sound for your headphones.
     -Doesn't the sound blaster X-fi sound card give me that "surround sound" for my headphones too?
 
If my sound card works to give my headphones surround sound, I don't want to have to use an amp for the headphones I purchase. I simply want to plug the headphones into my computer and play. I wouldn't mind some headphones with a little bit of bass, but not too much because I definitely want to hear where everything is coming from. Please give me some suggestions.  I've looked around for a little bit but all I'm getting is a headache from all of the choices.  I found that the Beyerdynamic MMX 300 looked nice but I'm not sure if there is a better option out there for me and I have no clue as to whether or not I will need an amp for the thing.

 

[WhiteCrow]

Have you looked into the Sony XB line? XB700 Used to be go to for FPS's until I got my over haul. Great bass and pretty good sound positioning. Easy to drive and comfy as all get out. No microphone but good headphones don't usually have those with them. Look for a Zalmin stick on mic to mount on the cup and should work great!

 

[MarbeL]

Those look comfortable, but would I need to get that dolby surround device with the mixamp, or would my sound blaster x-fi card work for that?  Also, I wouldn't need an amp for that would I?  Didn't mention before but I'm willing to spend around $300 for the headphones, will spend more if I have to get the mixamp or another amp.
 

 

[phantasmor]

http://www.sennheiserusa.com/closed-headset-computer-gaming-headset-pc-soundcard_502141 if you MUST have a mic. Or you could get a hd 555/595 and just use a mic that is separate. from my experience any built-in sound card that gives you "surround sound" does not do a good job. If you buy a separate sound card I would trust that. I can also attest that the astro mixamp does amazing things!

 

[jerg]

 
Quote:

I'm looking for some comfortable and durable head phones for competitive first person shooter games. I would like the headphones to have a microphone if possible.  Mainly for counter-strike source. 
 
I want to be able to tell where everything is coming from just through my sound. 
 
I have a sound blaster X-fi card.
 
I've noticed that dolby has something called "Headphone virtual surround sound" and there's a device out there called a mixamp that supposedly creates surround sound for your headphones.
     -Doesn't the sound blaster X-fi sound card give me that "surround sound" for my headphones too?
 
If my sound card works to give my headphones surround sound, I don't want to have to use an amp for the headphones I purchase. I simply want to plug the headphones into my computer and play. I wouldn't mind some headphones with a little bit of bass, but not too much because I definitely want to hear where everything is coming from. Please give me some suggestions.  I've looked around for a little bit but all I'm getting is a headache from all of the choices.  I found that the Beyerdynamic MMX 300 looked nice but I'm not sure if there is a better option out there for me and I have no clue as to whether or not I will need an amp for the thing.

 
 "Headphone virtual surround sound" is a scam gimmick targeted at inferior "gaming headsets". Any decent headphone with decent soundstage and imaging does a better job at simulating surround sound than this.

 

[WhiteCrow]

 
Quote:

Those look comfortable, but would I need to get that dolby surround device with the mixamp, or would my sound blaster x-fi card work for that?  Also, I wouldn't need an amp for that would I?  Didn't mention before but I'm willing to spend around $300 for the headphones, will spend more if I have to get the mixamp or another amp.
 

 
Honestly the sound stage on these is great for gaming, i never used and type of surround sound device I just ran them out of my Audigy 2*good old Creative soundcard* and I could pretty much pinpoint people sneaking up on me. You do not need an amp for these AT ALL!!!! but I would like to add the if you do use them for music and want to get more out of them a cheep amp changes these things quite a bit. The midrange and vocals in particular really REALLY pop when amped just a little. Looking at your soundcard I think this will probably supply enough power to make them pop with out an extra amp.

 

[MarbeL]

The 555 & 595 don't look quite as comfortable to me. I'm thrilled that my sound card will work just as good as the dolby surround sound thing.  So far I'm looking at the XB700 & the Beyerdynamic MMX 300.

 

[SONIC BOOM]

The mmx300 is fantastic if you can afford it.

 

[MarbeL]

I can, do you know if I would need an amplifier for it?  I'm just connecting it to my sound card.

 

[PurpleAngel]

What Creative X-Fi card are you using?
 
Samson SR850 (made by Superlux) semi-open headphones.
(They are a Taiwan knock off of the AKG K240)
 
Zalman Zm-Mic1 microphone.
 
Total for both should be just under $60.

 

[WhiteCrow]

 
Quote:

I can, do you know if I would need an amplifier for it?  I'm just connecting it to my sound card.

 
Well just judging from the spec's it doesn't look like it needs an amp 32 ohm Impedance at 96db sensitivity you should be able to drive them just through your sound card. Beyer's pretty good a bout there low impedance headphones.

 

[MarbeL]

I'm using a Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum PCI Sound Card.  The SR850 doesn't look quite as nice as I would like, the pleather and plastic headband just don't look comfortable.  I like how the XB700 & the Beyerdynamic MMX 300 are very padded everywhere.

 

[SONIC BOOM]

 
Quote:

I can, do you know if I would need an amplifier for it?  I'm just connecting it to my sound card.

 
you dont need a amp its only 32 ohm