[Paradigm]

Ok i have decided to scrap getting a new pair of 5.1 speakers for the PC due to cheap manufature quality of them. It seems that since PC 5.1 speakers have to fit a buget market they compromised to much on quality, and i don't have time and money to waste 300 on a crappy 5.1 setup.

Anyhow I need to know what Headhones are good for gaming and are going to be comfortable for long extended use.
Some people have mentioned the SONY V6's as good phones for gaming any others?

Also I am hearing a 2 sided issue about what is more acurate for gaming, 5.1 speaker setup or Headphones. Some say the phones have better 3d position accuracy, other say only a 5.1 setup can do it, due to phones being directional.

Can anyone please shed some light on the issue?

 

[ph0rk]

headphones will be a bit better for position, less ambient noise/fan noise.

Also, you can configure (in windows, i'm assuming this isn't an OSX gaming box

) the machine to use headphones, and some directsound games even go binaural (or at least do some ghetto crossfeed) once you do that.

I'd recommend away from the v6 for their brightness, you want something as non-fatiguing as possible. I had good luck with the senn hd590's, 280's and the sony MDR-v900's (v900's were great, but did get warm if the room was hot).


As for 4 or 5.1 surround (you really have no need for a center channel for a pc, the speakers are so close together it is a waste), i really like the klipsch promedia stuff, they aren't cheap but the sound is very decent, a whole level above the creative/cambridge fps1000/2000.

headphones are nice for positioning, but that klipsch sub is nice for the boom-boom (in games even more than movies, i like feeling explosions in the soles of my feet). This depends on if you live alone or in an appt, etc, of course.

What sound card do you have?

.

 

[Tyson]

Assuming we are sticking to the under $100 price range, I'd rec the Sennheiser HD280's for closed style, and the Sennheiser HD497's for open style. For overall sound quality I think the 497's are better, but they don't isolate nearly as well as the HD280's.

 

[Chefguru]

mdr-R10's!!!! mdr- R10's !!!!

-Don't mind me im just boreddd

 

[tortie]

I love to play first person shooters and based on my experience, my headphones give way better sound cues than my previous 4 channel surround set-up.

The latest FPS Ive played is Vietnam. I set up my 4 channel speakers just for comparison's sake and played 1 mission using that and my headphones, the headphone setup beats it hands down. You get immersed inside the game with headphones. It is also more accurate in pinpointing the location of sounds.

I think any decent headphones will do.

edit: BTW I use a Senn 590/Meta42 for my game rig. I love the combo.

 

[KShaft]

beyer dt 990s and senn 545s work great for me.

k.s.

 

[Geek]

For $8,000: A top-of-the-line soundcard/DAC setup connected to the sugden headmaster connected to AKG K1000. This provides the most precise imaging and sense of three dimensionality I've EVER heard on a head setup. Very pricey. Does not isolate at all, they're like speakers hanging from your ear (not exactly phones).

For $2,000: Get the Maxed Out Home reference, once again a top of the line soundcard, and get the HD600s with the cardas cable. This setup is really tight and controlled with excellent bass, imaging, and soundstaging, though falling short of the K1000 in terms of 3D realism. Pricey.

For $500: Get the AKG K271 studio coupled with a dedicated headphone amplifier, such as the Headroom Little. You should be using a really good soundcard once again, something that's about a hundred bucks such as the M-Audio revolution.

For $150: Get some DT250-80s. These have nice imaging, a nice sound, are closed, and comfortable.

For $80: Grado SR-60s. Great sound, warm, rich, good impact for gaming. Not isolated at all, might be uncomfortable, but they're easy to drive even with a poor soundcard.

For $50: Sennheiser HD497s. Warm, rich, fairly balanced, overall nice phones for a budget gamer. Not very isolated.

For $30: Koss UR30 phones and the like. They sound in between the crap portable sound and the decent HD497 / SR60.

That's what I'd do, broken down by possible budget.

Cheers,
Geek

 

[cscott23]

I've had luck w/ HD590s, V6s, and ATH-A900s.

 

[pennylane]

Quote:

Originally posted by Geek For $8,000: A top-of-the-line soundcard/DAC setup connected to the sugden headmaster connected to AKG K1000. This provides the most precise imaging and sense of three dimensionality I've EVER heard on a head setup. Very pricey. Does not isolate at all, they're like speakers hanging from your ear (not exactly phones). For $2,000: Get the Maxed Out Home reference, once again a top of the line soundcard, and get the HD600s with the cardas cable. This setup is really tight and controlled with excellent bass, imaging, and soundstaging, though falling short of the K1000 in terms of 3D realism. Pricey. For $500: Get the AKG K271 studio coupled with a dedicated headphone amplifier, such as the Headroom Little. You should be using a really good soundcard once again, something that's about a hundred bucks such as the M-Audio revolution. For $150: Get some DT250-80s. These have nice imaging, a nice sound, are closed, and comfortable. For $80: Grado SR-60s. Great sound, warm, rich, good impact for gaming. Not isolated at all, might be uncomfortable, but they're easy to drive even with a poor soundcard. For $50: Sennheiser HD497s. Warm, rich, fairly balanced, overall nice phones for a budget gamer. Not very isolated. For $30: Koss UR30 phones and the like. They sound in between the crap portable sound and the decent HD497 / SR60. That's what I'd do, broken down by possible budget. Cheers, Geek

The Revo's no good for games. He's probably better off with an Audigy 2 in that case.

 

[ph0rk]

for the most part, when people say a soundcard is "no good for games" they mean it doesn't have good/great multichannel support. For 'phones, all you need is 2 channels (EAX can go to hell, btw).

 

[Talz]

Well the M-Audio is a significant CPU drain in games, similiar to most onboard solutions. Where something like an Audigy will have a relatively low CPU overhead and offload most of the sound processing.

 

[MD1032]

Quote:

Originally posted by tortie Yo u get immersed inside the game with headphones. It is also more accurate in pinpointing the location of sounds.

*completely* *bogus*

 

[D-EJ915]

There is a reason why Computer speakers are built for gaming, and positioning is it, not sound quality.

The fact that headphone transducers lie about a half an inch from your head just makes your statement even more laughable.

 

[ph0rk]

It is really rare to get that "right behind you" feeling from a game, maybe directsound just sucks. Headphones work great for right or left positioning, and have the added bonus of blocking most of the other ambient noise in the room (if they are closed).

I prefer speakers, though. You don't need a whole lot of fidelity for explosions and gunfire.

 

[Talz]

Very few games are capable of good surround sound, so headphones are almost always better for positioning. There were some Aureal coded games that were the exception, but I haven't heard anything new that is comparable. Besides, 5.1 (or more) is just a bit of a pain to setup at most pc's.