[yslee]

I'm looking for something rather unique, and very likely to not exist. But what the hey, here goes!

Well, essentially, I'm looking for something to bring along to either a LAN cafe or to a LAN gaming meetup between my friends. I don't want something bulky, since going to the LAN cafe I'll be packing light, and going for a LAN meetup I'll be carrying too much as it is anyway.

The headset part is because a mic is preferred in a LAN cafe setting. Having it integrated is one less thing to pack and lose.

Acoustics-wise, I'm not asking for something too special. A decent sound-stage, and not overly boomy and muddy bass is what I'm after. Too often "gaming" headphones fall into this trap.

Also, I want something with a decent mic. I find it funny that the audiophiles here can spend $500 on headphones but cheap out with a $5 mic. I've gone through many microphones when I was still raid leading in WoW and the clip-on kinds commonly recommended here are *awful*. I suspect they'll do in an FPS when simple commands or a warning will do, but the inherent complexity in an MMO raid means they're absolutely garbage when trying to guide people in a fight.

Oh, and budget. I don't want to spend too much, but if it's something special I guess I can pay a couple hundred for it. So far I know of a few from the usual suspects but I'd like to hear all your opinions, if any.

 

[Hentai11]

Not a gamer, but from your needs, I would cheap out with mid-line bass IEMs (Nuforce NE-6/7, Senn CX500), and a good mic.

It seems your sound quality needs are mic first, phones seconds. Spend that way.

 

[loopfreak]

sennheiser hd 25 1 with mic ! They are not to bulky , dont need an amp , incredibly durable great isolation and good comfort and sound is very good all in all great package.
Bass is punchy and defined some time feels like good woofer my table vibrates !

 

[DeanKeith]

I don’t know the answer to this, but I would research it:

I wonder if you could use the mic built into a a pir of NuForce NE-7Ms. I would imagine there should be a way to take the 3.5MM that incorporates L/R/Mic, and run it to some kind of splitter to two 3.5MMs for input into your computer’s separate mic input and audio output plugs. What I don’t know is if that is all it would take to access that mic.

Regardless, I think the NuForce is a great choice for an affordable pair of IEMs that doesn’t sacrifice sound quality. I have ordered a pair for myself that have not arrived yet, but based on everything I have read, you can’t beat them for value, and you would probably have to spend > $200 to beat them on sound. If you know for sure you would never use the mic, the NE-6 model is the same with no mic (and $10 less).

Here is a link to a noteworthy NE-7M review, but there are many here:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f103/r...5-09-a-383617/

 

[yslee]

Cool, I knew you guys would come up with something I've never heard of before! Thanks!

The NuForce looks interesting, though I'm not sure if it'll work. In a sense won't it be too different from all those iPhone headsets that have been appearing?

Also, doesn't the HD25 come without a mic? It's a DJ headphone after all.

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by yslee /img/forum/go_quote.gif Cool, I knew you guys would come up with something I've never heard of before! Thanks! The NuForce looks interesting, though I'm not sure if it'll work. In a sense won't it be too different from all those iPhone headsets that have been appearing? Also, doesn't the HD25 come without a mic? It's a DJ headphone after all.

Right, no mic on the HD25. I think it was implied that you get a separate boom and stick it on.

For the NE-7M (and any of the other iphone headsets) you'd want this thing to hook them up to your PC.

 

[yslee]

Oh, joker, that adapter is handy! Thank you! That's tremendously expanded my choices!

 

[Gbjerke]

The HD 25 is pretty low on soundstage. Not something I' recommend for gaming.

 

[KingStyles]

Try these out. They might do the trick.
E.D.G.E. Acoustics

 

[bcpk]

Have a look at this recent thread, I discussed the E.D.G.E/Etymotic and NuForce headsets in this post - http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f103/a...5/#post6108854

(perhaps that's where ljokerl got his link from? )

Also, something I discovered whilst I was looking for that adaptor a couple of weeks ago - The PSP accepts iPhone (4-pin) headsets for stereo and mic I/O, when connected through the PSP's remote -- this then converts the 4-pin 3.5mm to a 3-pin 3.5mm and a serial connector bus - http://mc.pp.se/psp/phones.xhtml

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bcpk /img/forum/go_quote.gif (perhaps that's where ljokerl got his link from? )

Don't flatter yourself - the link is from a different forum. There are others, as well (e.g. this)

 

[yslee]

I have no idea Etymotic now has a gaming arm. Interesting. I'll have to go check it out.

 

[DeanKeith]

For what it's worth, I posted my NuForce NE-7M review here:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f103/n...review-452984/

I didn't specifically address the microphone, and haven't thoroughly tested it, but I did accept a phone call with it, and my wife said my voice was very clear and understandable. If you are seriously considering the NuForce set, I'd be willing to test the mic out further for you.

 

[bcpk]

When I used the NE-7Ms I found the quality to be quite acceptable, but I didn't have much to compare it against besides my laptop's inbuilt mic.

 

[yslee]

Revisiting this post; got them Triple.fi 10vi's thanks to Amazon, and finally got the splitter at a good price from DealExtreme:

DealExtreme: $2.35 Gold Plated 3.5mm Female to Dual Male Audio Split Adapter

(warning: This is sourced from China. If you have a bias against Chinese-made products do not proceed)

As for the Triple.fi's themselves, I can't believe they cost so much in the first place. Don't think I'll ever pay that much for IEMs.

The mic however isn't that good. In a gaming session I've been told I sounded muffled. Back to the drawing board!