[-spy-]

I've decided im either getting a Muse XL, or a fortissimo II souncard, since my sound is the only crappy part left in my system.

But im still stuck on headphones. I'm only gonna use them to play games, and listen to a bit of music (but the music quality doesnt bother me greatly). Budget is like 70-$80 or so. Might possibly go a little higher ( maybe $115 or so) if someone can convince me it will be MUCH more worthwhile...The focus is DEFINETLY on positional sound, as in the game i play most, counter strike, thats vital..

EDIT: I forgot. I'm australian, so those prices are in Australian dollars. Umm. I think its roughly half the US $ atm..Im assuming this is a US site? so yer, I've only got like $40-60 US$ to spend..

I have no idea when it comes to headphones. I'm a speaker person atm. Can i get a worthwhile pair for around that price, a pair that'll give me good positional sound in games like counter strike and such?

ta

spy

 

[Hamsterball_Z]

Any idea what the Sennheiser HD280 goes for? If it's in your price range I'd say that's the one you want. It is extremely good for positional audio and it pulls out details I never knew were there in my games. Another option might be the Philips 890, they're supposed to be pretty good and at the price you can get them for in Australia they're a great deal.

Also, since your looking at soundcards the favorite around here for headphone gaming is the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz. I don't have one myself so I'd suggest doing a search to see why it gets the raves that it does.

(HBZ)

 

[Nezer]

Go read through the buyers guide at www.headphone.com and you'll likly find the right answer for you there.

If you want to get away cheap I recommend the Koss KSC-35s for around $30 USD.

 

[jlo mein]

i think the turtle beach santa cruz is in a different price range than the Muse XL...

I currently have the Fortissimo II. Its ok, but not spectacular. It does have some slight problems with Windows XP, which is what i use. It also has some EAX emulation problems, so i always use DirectSound 3D.

Headphones in his price range....I'm actually thinking something like the koss ur20 will be good for him. It really sucks on musical detail and sound, but i think it will have the kind of sound positioning that he wants...

wow...thats the first time i have referenced the koss ur20

.

 

[Buddha]

You should be able to pick up a Santa Cruz for around
$160 AUD ... I dont own one but its reputedly the best you can get in this price range.

The HP890 do an outstanding job at positional audio for gaming and weigh in around the $120 AUD mark, probably your best bang for buck in Orztraylya.

 

[ray4jc]

i have no problem suggesting the fortissimo II....i got mine for $32 US dollars.....i have used it with....HD600, HD497, ksc35, mx400.....for a sound card the headphone output is better than most......

as far as positional audio....i played counterstike..firearms....etc...and it did an excelent job....

the HD497 can be had for under $50 US.....it is open however but...unless you *need* closed cans...it is a good buy...

i also highly recommend the koss ksc35s however..the cord is a bit short......

ray

 

[-spy-]

sigh
im so lost now
theres so many crazy number letter combos floating round, everyone saying good stuff about different things.

I've been reading good things about these sony V6's..?
but i dunno if we can get them here =(
bah, im confused

spy

 

[-spy-]

as a side note
i've found someone selling a sonic fury (indentical to santa cruz) for $90 AUS, so ill be getting that =)

spy

 

[Hamsterball_Z]

I think you can only get the 7506 which is the V6 with a gold plated plug and a higher pricetag. There's been a number of people here upgrading from the V6 to the Senn HD280 so I'd still recommend that. The 497 is also a good choice but when I said I got more detail out of the 280 than other phones I tried I was comparing against a 497. The 497 is a great music phone but I think games do better with an analytical sound. The 280s are analytical but they also have a good bit of musicality as well.

(HBZ)

 

[Magicthyse]

I actually use the HD280 Pro with a PC and the only thing about it which I like is the isolation. For somewhere as noisy as my home computer room, it's a huge boon.

In comparison to my previous Plantronics headset, positional cues are, well, not excellent, shall we say. And comfort is bleah.

Unless you have like me, 3 servers, assorted networking equipment, 2 firewalls, an air-con and 4 PC's in one 5m x 5m room at home, save your cash and get the Sennheiser HD 497. It's a superb general-purpose phone and it's cheap. Got a nice long lead, and is light on your head.

However if your computer room does resemble an industrial site in terms of noise, definitely consider the HD 280 Pro.

 

[-spy-]

see this is what makes it difficult =(
Not blaming u
but everyone has different opinions about stuff

Im thinkin about the Phillips HD890s atm
Ill try and find the senn 280s, but im not sure

And the Koss ksc 35s, are they gonna be terrible or something? Cause i mean they're not terribly expensive.
Im just not sure how much quality i wanna sacrifice for $$ =(

spy

 

[Magicthyse]

It's difficult sifting the info, isn't it?

The only problems with the KSC's would be that they're clipons (slower than a headphone to put on) and that they're nearly completely open - everything that you can hear without them off, you can hear with them on (depends on whether your PC/house is particularly noisy of course).

Apart from that, I'd certainly vouch for them. Excellent, well-balanced, high-resolution sound.

 

[Hamsterball_Z]

I have the Koss KTX-Pro (the Radio Shack clone anyway) and have tried the KSC-50. I wouldn't recommend either for gaming, the positional audio was lousy so I couldn't tell where anything was coming from. Pretty good music phone though but can be a bit muddy. The KSC-35 is supposed to be better about the muddy sound but I think it would still share the positional audio problems with the other models since they all use the same 60 ohm driver.

(HBZ)

 

[Magicthyse]

KSC-50? Muddy? Are you kidding?

But then as one of the guys who recommends the HD280 with everything I'm not surprised

 

[Hamsterball_Z]

What can I say, I like detail.

YOU like the boomy V700DJ, that says it all. Your "army of one" is way outnumbered here.

Actually, I think all this proves is you've got some damn bright equipment.

(HBZ)