[airwax]

I would like to show my appreciation for the JH13pro. Amazing product. Best audio purchase I ever made. Thanks to head-fi and of course to JH Audio.
 

 

[dallan]

If i had to do it again i would have done that exact color.  I tried to do black transparent with a percentage so it was more clear.  When they told me they had stopped doing it and I had to tell them right then what color i went to my fallback color-black eyed blue which is nice but i still like that color better now that i look at it.  I also would rather have the ease of the red and blue to quickly put them in.  Good call!

 

[airwax]

I wanted to keep things simple. They've done a great job. Although, the color was not really what I wanted. It was supposed to be clear shell with a transblack faceplate. But I got over it now, because it sounds so good.

 

[Bojamijams]

Has anyone here used the JH-13's for gaming? I use them on my computer with the Essence STX, set in 8 channel mode with Dolby Headphone.  It works but I'm wondering if perhaps the famed AD700 are still better for gaming then the JH-13?

 

[3X0]

Quote:

Has anyone here used the JH-13's for gaming? I use them on my computer with the Essence STX, set in 8 channel mode with Dolby Headphone.  It works but I'm wondering if perhaps the famed AD700 are still better for gaming then the JH-13?

 
True surround headphones will be (significantly) better than either for a true competitive edge, and save you a couple of dollars. The purpose for the AD700s even existing is because they can do both music and gaming relatively well for the price.. but if you already have music cans (presumably the 13s), surround headphones can be cheaper and do you better.

 

[Bojamijams]

What do you mean by surround headphones? The only 'true' one I know of are the Psyko ones and they have been generally not favorably reviewed

 

[3X0]

Quote:

What do you mean by surround headphones? The only 'true' one I know of are the Psyko ones and they have been generally not favorably reviewed

Sorry, meant just any headphone with 5.1/7.1 qualifications, even if via DSP and emulation. Stereo sound is rubbish for gaming (and HT, although I do use my stereo system for the latter..).

 

[Bojamijams]

Well then I'm confused what you meant by your first statement.  Are you saying that the JH-13 isn't good for gaming?

 

[3X0]

Quote:

Well then I'm confused what you meant by your first statement.  Are you saying that the JH-13 isn't good for gaming?

Yes, not as good as a 5.1/7.1 headset. I use it for gaming nonetheless, but it's suboptimal if you're playing competitively or anything.

 

[Bojamijams]

So would you say something like AD700 would be better for gaming? Have you tried any of the gaming favorites and compared them to JH-13?

 

[3X0]

Quote:

So would you say something like AD700 would be better for gaming? Have you tried any of the gaming favorites and compared them to JH-13?

No, I would say a 7.1/5.1 headset would significantly better either of them. What kind of games, though? I'm talking from a competitive, FPS-style perspective. Games like Call of Duty 4, Unreal Tournament 2004, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, et alia. Anything where positional audio makes a serious difference.
 
I ask because 7.1/5.1 will slightly compromise the ability to enjoy non-competitive modes or single-player, since the music won't be as brilliant. This also applies if you like to play music while playing.
 
I haven't compared specifically, but besides the JH13s I've used the HD 650, A900, D2000, AD700 for gaming in the past and just a $40 Turtle Beach headset off Newegg simply bested all of them.

 

[Bojamijams]

My main focus right now is for Bad Company 2... I don't mind switching to the JH-13's when I play WoW or some other RPG but for BC2 I'd like to take advantage of the.. well.. advantage.. that a good gaming headset offers...
 
So this $40 turtle beach headset that you prefered over the AD700... do you have the name of it? And is that what you use now for your FPS games?

 

[3X0]

Quote:

My main focus right now is for Bad Company 2... I don't mind switching to the JH-13's when I play WoW or some other RPG but for BC2 I'd like to take advantage of the.. well.. advantage.. that a good gaming headset offers...
 
So this $40 turtle beach headset that you prefered over the AD700... do you have the name of it? And is that what you use now for your FPS games?

I think it was the X-52. I only borrowed them, never owned them, and evaluated them in UT2004 (which is insanely competitive, especially given the meager community nowadays mostly playing [T]DM/CTF/[T]AM). The headset didn't seem very durable at all.
 
Since I'm in recruiting season of college I can't really afford to game anymore (besides already having a 2.31KD rank 50 in BFBC2). Over the break my JH13s sufficed -- but I strictly play non-HC (i.e. with 3D Spot and whatnot). I found the 13s (and the HF-2s, when I used them, FWIW) to be insufficient in excellent positional cues and relied mostly on the glowing orange triangles. I would probably get brutally massacred in HC. The Vietnam MP expansion makes it tougher since it's much more about close-range play.
 
It's even worse in games such as the CoD series, UT, and Quake where twitch reflex can reign supreme. With the 13s I get my butt handed to me all the time.
 
 
The thing about stereo is that with positional audio, you really have to listen closely since the positional cues aren't optimally audible in stereo channels. 5.1/7.1 gaming headphones make them really obvious; they are optimized to really hear just the footsteps and gunfire and explosions and shouts in specific positional instances without much ambient noise. Appropriately, they're usually terrible for music.

 

[Bojamijams]

The thing is though, and this is the part that keeps confusing me, is that you're differentianting stereo and 5.1/7.1 gaming headphones but the ones you listed before are all stereo.  Obviously with fake emulated 5.1/7.1 with DH or CMSS3D, the JH-13 can also do surround sound, same as AD700 or DT880 or any of the 'great' gaming headphones.
 
So when you say the 5.1/7.1 gaming headphones are better, you're still referencing stereo headphones just with that emulation right?

 

[3X0]

Quote:

The thing is though, and this is the part that keeps confusing me, is that you're differentianting stereo and 5.1/7.1 gaming headphones but the ones you listed before are all stereo.  Obviously with fake emulated 5.1/7.1 with DH or CMSS3D, the JH-13 can also do surround sound, same as AD700 or DT880 or any of the 'great' gaming headphones.
 
So when you say the 5.1/7.1 gaming headphones are better, you're still referencing stereo headphones just with that emulation right?

The Turtle Beach uses multiple drivers (i.e. it's actually 5.1). Probably more than a few gaming headsets also have multiple drivers, especially when advertised as 5.1/7.1 specifically as opposed to just surround. Emulation to stereo doesn't really cut it IME.
 
I only mentioned the stereo ones because you did ask for gaming favorites. I'm not aware of much true-gaming-headset advocacy around here and I haven't kept up with gaming headphone threads, so I just listed a few that might be comparable.