[Yethal]

  Thanks a lot. It's not the first one, but it is similar in design.
 
I'll check out the cable.
 
Btw, do you know if this mixamp has eq settings? Mine didn't come with any literature, so I wasn't sure.

2013 edition onwards has equalizer.
 
 

I wasn't aware you could hear yourself in chat ever on the Mixamp. I don't remember if that's even a thing.

Connecting a daisy chain port to the mp3 input allows that.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

No, I mean by default. Not sure why anyone wants to hear themselves, other than to make sure your voice isn't too loud. I certainly don't wanna hear it.

 

[raband]

I need to hear myself - even if it's very quietly.
 
Especially with closed cans on - I find myself raising my voice way too loud to compensate.

 

[MattKelly]

What makes a headphone superior for competitive FPS gaming?

So after finally narrowing down my choice for a closed back headphone to be used strictly for competitive FPS gaming in noisy LAN environments, I've found myself asking a new question.

"Is it the openness of a soundstage that allows for pinpointing footsteps in FPS (like CoD/CS) or is it the detail/imaging/instrument separation instead?"

Because if it's the former, then I've narrowed down my choices to the AKG K553 Pro, the Audio Technica MSR7, or the SoundMagic HP150. I've heard that for closed back headphones under $300, these options are going to provide the largest soundstage and most clarity.

But then I came across a post made by Dreyka, from quite a long time ago in this thread. I'll copy it below:

Quote:

  I've used a lot of different virtual surroud sound software and listened to a lot of binaural audio. I've come to the conclusion that IEMs are the best for gaming due to sharper imaging than full sized open headphones. Most notably imaging in front of the head is better which is the hardest part to localise sounds.
 
I'm currently using the Etymotic ER-4PT and the only full sized headphones that have come close to that level of sharpness in imaging is the Sennheiser HD800. While full sized headphones sound 'airy' that isn't as important for competitive gaming where the position of sounds is more important. Another important aspect is the sound isolation that IEMs bring is amazing for LAN events, tournaments and their small size means they are really portable. I use a Giant Squid Lavalier Omni mic and just clip it on to my shirt.
 
My personal opinion is that the best full sized gaming headphones are the Sennheiser HD800 (possibly SR-009 too) and the best IEMs for competitive gaming are the Etymotic (HF5 and ER-4PT). No doubt there are CIEMs that are even better but I don't have the disposable income to test them.

I went on to private message Dreyka and he had some more feedback to offer me on the topic. I'm sure he won't mind me sharing with you all:
 

Private Message from Dreyka /img/forum/go_quote.gif
With IEMs there is less width to the stage due to the drivers being much closer to the ear. I think soundstage width is highly overrated for gaming. Frequency response, high detail retrieval and noise isolation are all important factors. EQ is very helpful for emphasizing the sounds you want to hear. IEMs are far superior than closed headphones of that price and very detailed. There are loads of cheap IEMs with much better sound quality than closed headphones of an equivalent price.

So I'm here trying to revive this conversation, and hopefully we can get some input from both sides - what do you all feel is more important in a competitive FPS headphone? High detail retrieval or an open soundstage.

 

[The Lamonster]

How does using Razer Surround compare to using an external Sound Blaster for surround sound?

 

[Yethal]

  How does using Razer Surround compare to using an external Sound Blaster for surround sound?

Razer Surround sucks. It adds latency to sound, it's inaccurate and makes the game sound like there is a layer of wool inside the headphones (everything sounds muffled to me).

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Razer surround is the absolute worst virtual surround I have demoed.I'll take a very bad Dolby Headphone Room 3 setting 10x over Razer Surround. All gaming amps with Dolby Headphone use Room 2, FYI. Room 3 is quite bad.

 

[Fegefeuer]

Hold on, MLE. HOLD ON FOR JUST A SECOND
 
NO dedicated 2.0 gaming over Razer Surround?

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Oh... hmm... it's been awhile since I've used Razer, but I think the smidge more spatial awareness, outweighs it's cons over plain stereo. I just really don't like the limitations of stereo audio for games, UNLESS the games don't have multi speaker audio to begin with, like most 2D platformers, etc. Then I'll, of course take stereo over ANYTHING.

Honestly though, I'm not as anal about virtual surround gaming as I used to be, and do dabble with plain stereo gaming, if I'm playing very casually. What I mean by that, is for example: when I'm winding down before bed, and don't care about audio all that much.

I'm currently playing Valkyria Chronicles, and I honestly am not getting any surround cues anywhere with that game (even though it's supposed to), so I prefer stereo on it.

As far as virtual surround tech goes though, Razer Surround is bottom tier.

 

[MattKelly]

 
So I'm here trying to revive this conversation, and hopefully we can get some input from both sides - what do you all feel is more important in a competitive FPS headphone? High detail retrieval or an open soundstage.

No input here? Super curious about this.

 

[Fegefeuer]

HD 800 has best of both worlds. Why not both then? Also universal with something like Modi 2 Uber/Vali

HD800 + SBX has excellent frontal projection.

also open and detailed: K7XX/712. though lacking Depth in soundstage

 

[Raika]

Razer surround is the absolute worst virtual surround I have demoed.I'll take a very bad Dolby Headphone Room 3 setting 10x over Razer Surround. All gaming amps with Dolby Headphone use Room 2, FYI. Room 3 is quite bad.

so what's the best virtual surround prog. ?
 
will I get any improvment if I add sound card to my dac/amp + beyer t1 ?
 
what's the best sound card for games ?

 

[MattKelly]

HD 800 has best of both worlds. Why not both then? Also universal with something like Modi 2 Uber/Vali

HD800 + SBX has excellent frontal projection.

also open and detailed: K7XX/712. though lacking Depth in soundstage

Thanks for the response! I'm interested because I need something that isolates well for LAN tournaments, and I need to stay under the $300 mark. That means I can go the route of "biggest soundstage possible on closed headphones" (i.e. AKG K553, SoundMagic HP150, ATH MSR7) or I can go the route of "most detail/separation possible" (i.e. Etymotic HF/ER4). Just curious which would result in a better outcome for competitive FPS.

 

[pennylane]

Is there a consensus on which ModMic is "better"?  Omnidirectional or unidirectional.  It seems like unidirectional would reduce echoes and whatever.
 
Also, what are people's experiences with dealing with the extra cable from using a ModMic?  I have a couple headphones that I'd like to use as headsets, but I'm also concerned about the inconvenience because I imagine 90% of my headset usage is just so I can chat with people while playing Street Fighter (ie, in-game sounds don't even matter).  So I'm considering just getting some $50 wireless headset instead of the ModMic just so I can have something decent for chatting and convenient enough that I'd actually use it.  Have some people just found the inconvenience of dealing with the extra cable from the ModMic a deterrent?

 

[Darkangelpt]

I was thinking buying mod mic for my akg q701.
That's a lot of cables if we use it on xbox one.
And still looking for an amp to. Join the mixamp.