Help!! Need Good Headphone for PC GAming

Oct 27, 2003 at 4:58 AM Post #31 of 57
Quote:

Originally posted by cadobhuk
There's nothing wrong with my setup im just stating that 5.1 speaker system produces better 3 dimensional sound then 2channel headphones/speakers.


Using 2 channel speakers & headphones are totally different because we place the speakers right in front of us so surround positioning will not be as accurate as compared with front/back speaker setup. But with headphones you should get better 3D positional sound, thats why others also said there must be something wrong with your PC configuration if you dont get good 3d position with your audigy 2 card.

Quote:

I didnt say that headphones are not suitable at all,usually two channels is enough to locate the enemies combined with your logic/map knowledge.But come on,dont tell me that stereo headphones can match surround sound speakers..even the special surround sound headphones with 6 separate drivers (dont remember the model) dont deliver the same 3D sound,only an approach to it.


I have not tried the special surround headphones myself, so I can not comment on that. But it should be logical (given that the PC is configured correctly) that sound location should be better with headphones because of lack of crosstalk between left and right speakers. But there are evidently different experiences of people here with regards to 3D positional sound, It might just come down to each one's personal preference. Some get better 3D-PS with headphones while others prefer speakers.
 
Oct 27, 2003 at 5:10 AM Post #32 of 57
For non-competitive (not online) gaming I would take my 5.1 setup for the overall impact of sound. But when I have to play against others online, I would take a pair of headphones anytime. I get far better response time with headphones than with speakers.
Headphones are not the same as two little speakers beside your
ears. 3 dimensional sound is very pronounced in headphones. When I play enemy territories, I can hear enemies below, above, left, right, behind, or in front of me.
I can setup a CS/Wolfenstein ET server right now playing with my headphones, I can bet you will think I play like I have wallhack.

I don't know what's the science behind this, but I draw my conclusion from my experience, as in gaming from 9pm to 5am daily in my high school days (shudders just thinking about it).
 
Oct 27, 2003 at 7:35 AM Post #33 of 57
I must be really stupid but I just dont get it.How can you hear clearly sounds coming from below, above, left, right, behind, or in front of you,with 2 channels?Yeah,you hear the sound and you think that you can hear if its in front of or behind you-but thats just your eyes+logic,its not your ears that tell you the difference.You can not get surround sound from movie with the stereo track,you can not get a surround sound playing a game with EAX 5.1 turned off,and if you have 5.1 sound on while using headphones you'll only hear 2 channels of those 5.I tryed it once - its a very funny thing - whenever someone's shooting to the left or to the right of me i hear very loud sound,but if I try to turn my face/back on him - the sound simly dissapears.Now - playing any game with 5.1 sound or litening to dvd-audio with my megaworks I can close my eyes and still clearly know where the shots and explosions,and other things are happening-in front of me or behind me...with the headphones I only get left/right + how far from me the sound is,can never tell if its front/back..and above/below! This is just impossible,for that you'd need a speaker on the ceiling and speaker under your chair
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And whats crosstalk that speakers have while headphones dont?I guess you mean that the sound of the right speaker you hear with both right and left years,and the same with the left one?Well all "real" sounds are the same - all the sounds in our life we hear with both ears,only each ear hears it a little different.I guess all the good headphones have a special constraction that mixes portion of the left channel in the right channel and vise-versa,otherwise u get "inside-your-head" micro-soundstage.

Well may be im wrong somewhere (or entirely) sorry then..Id be happy to be enlightened
 
Oct 27, 2003 at 8:39 AM Post #34 of 57
Like I said, I don't know the science behind this.
My assumption is that the different size of sound cues me the distance/elevation of the enemy. I can definitely locate anything at any spot.
May be I just have psychic power?
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Oct 27, 2003 at 8:50 AM Post #35 of 57
Quote:

Originally posted by cadobhuk
I guess all the good headphones have a special constraction that mixes portion of the left channel in the right channel and vise-versa,otherwise u get "inside-your-head" micro-soundstage.

Well may be im wrong somewhere (or entirely) sorry then..Id be happy to be enlightened


That special construction that mixes portion of the left channel in the right and vise versa is called crossfeed. And your right, it is very helpful to eliminate that "inside-your-head" micro-soundstage. But that is only helpful for stereo music. For 3D surround, lack of crosstalk or that "crossfeed effect" is beneficial. If you want a sound to appear to come from the left side, you only process the sound to come from the left channel and not have to compensate for the volume heared by the right ear also.
Quote:

I must be really stupid but I just dont get it.


I had a hard time understanding this at first. But what is frustrating is that this effect or feeling of 3D-PS in headphones should not have to be explained to someone who has experienced it first-hand, someone like you
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What I dont get is that why you dont get the same experience with 3D-PS in headphones that me and others here have also experienced.
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It maybe just wrong configurations in somebodys computer software or it is because we are people and each one of us experience things differently. Its either you experience it or not. One thing I admit are better with speakers are its great "my-feet-are-moving" bass. If you get good results with your speakers, then use it, if you get good results with heaphones stick with it.
 
Oct 27, 2003 at 11:04 AM Post #36 of 57
You havent tryed very good headphones for gaming? When i had my HD570's i could'nt be more pleased about the sound, and as Unclewai said, i would get accused for wallhack in games just because the headphones gave that good sound precition. 5.1 Speakers may give a better feeling, more "realistic" or so to say, but headphones gives u the exact location of an opponent if they are good (HD570, HD590, because they "need" no amplification) Cheap headphones tend to just give you left/right channels, dunno why, they just do, ok, there are diffrent kinds of 'cheapo' headphones, there are good ones too. but mostly there is just some Philips or Sony budget crap phones with just alot of bass.

As far as i know the best headphones ive used for gaming is : HD570, H590, HD600 (they kinda lack of precition and range in some games without an amp, but they sound good)

Anyway.

Cheers.
 
Oct 27, 2003 at 6:09 PM Post #37 of 57
Quote:

Originally posted by Mindless
You havent tryed very good headphones for gaming?


I had Koss R-200 first,and they honestly sucked.Then I got HD600s,and now I have CD3000.I have to admit that precision and detail latter two have make a big difference.
 
Oct 27, 2003 at 6:58 PM Post #38 of 57
While I haven't tried them for this purpose myself, how about the Pioneer DIR1000C or the XB1? These are Dolby Headphone processed headphones, and gaming is a big part of their advertising literature (at least in Japanese.) In fact, the XB1 has the XBOX logo all over it.
 
Oct 27, 2003 at 7:51 PM Post #39 of 57
I used to play in FPS tournaments all the time, and there is honestly no comparison. I will take headphones over speakers any day of the week, and twice on Saturdays. I have no idea why, but sound cues are MUCH more pronounced and easier to pinpoint with headphones on. If you talk to any tournament/competitive gamer, you will get the same response...headphones are the way to go.

I personally use V6's. They fold up nicely for LAN parties, are built very solid, and are inexpensive enough that if something were to happen to them, it wouldn't break my bank.
 
Oct 28, 2003 at 3:29 AM Post #42 of 57
Those demos didnt work for me.I dont hear any front/back or up/down only left/right.I read on the page though,that everybody's ears shaped differently and therefore spatial sound needs to be personnaly ajusted to really work.I guess my ears are too far from their standart,so I dont feel any 3d sound at all.
 
Nov 4, 2003 at 11:49 PM Post #44 of 57
the demo files in the NetRunner's link didnt do it for me,but I found something better :
http://www.am3d.com/samples/index.htm
this one is the best:
http://www.am3d.com/sounds/mp3_256kb...egree_high.mp3
I never heard anything like that in any game,guess I never played the right games.But alot of games suppport EAX and 5.1 sound and not very many the spatial sound.For example,hitman 2 featuring the EAX3 support and being one of the best surround sound games,did not have anything for headphones before they made this pack:
http://www.am3d.com/hitman2/index.htm
 
Nov 5, 2003 at 5:33 AM Post #45 of 57
First, I'd like to say that I think that "high quality soundcards are not suitable for gaming" is, imo, a totally wrong affirmation.

Just recently I bought a Terratec WEX 24/96 and since then I have only played two games... Max Payne 2 and Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2.
The experience (sound-wise) with both was as good as it gets. Each side of the headphones acted as one of the character's ear (perfectly, you can even do lots of moving around and testing, incredibly accurate) and the soundstage was ABSOLUTELY convincing.
Previously, I had an Audigy 2, but I never really liked EAX... when there was Aureal it was something else(which, in fact, provided me with the experience I currently get with modern games and stereo audio outputted to headphones)... but EAX, nah, not convincing at all for me, never was ... plus the drivers issues and the lousy audio ouput... big no no.

I output my EWX to a Creek OBH-11 amp and my HD580s.

I can't wait to buy me some Etys, I'm guessing they might be the ultimate headphones for gaming. I was gonna buy some Shure E2s to solve this little problem I have with noise at home and my classical music listening habits... but no, I will wait 'til the end of the year and get the real deal, ER4Ss!

After all this... I don't think I really have to say I *definitely* think headphones are head-over-hills superior to speakers (especially cheap mass manufactured awful sounding desktop speakers --- had Promedias and I got rid of them!) as far as games (or anything else) is concerned.

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