[raven2000]

Hi,

I recently bought Benq E2200 HD and as some of you might know the sound on these is atrocious. I wish to purchase either good speakers or headphones. I am only going to be using these for gaming. I always turn music off in games as I would much rather know position of enemies then some cheesy soundtrack.

My budget is about $200 so should I purchase speakers or headphones?

Thanks.

 

[myinitialsaredac]

If your a serious gamer, headphones ezy. Specially if u ever use vent or ts speakers just cause echo and that is a no no. Headphones also offer a much better positioning ability IME. I have played many a league of cal in 1.6 and speakers are kinda a joke for competitive gaming. They just cannot give you that faint stutter step outside b tuns.

Best of luck!,
Dave

 

[Goit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by raven2000 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi, I recently bought Benq E2200 HD and as some of you might know the sound on these is atrocious. I wish to purchase either good speakers or headphones. I am only going to be using these for gaming. I always turn music off in games as I would much rather know position of enemies then some cheesy soundtrack. My budget is about $200 so should I purchase speakers or headphones? Thanks.

For 200 dollars you can get a good set of 5.1 speakers, would be much better for "knowing position of enemies" than some stereo headphones.

And 5.1 headphones don't really work.

 

[raven2000]

Any suggestion on what speakers are good?

 

[FallenAngel]

I've used the Logitech Z-5300 for gaming for a while, very good bang/buck for gaming but not good for music at all. Too much boomy bass. There's one on eBay here. Definitely worth the $100 starting bid. I actually turned this into a very nice and inexpensive 5.1 home theater by hooking it up to a very cheap $200 old computer that works as a perfect HTPC.

Don't think you can beat that for bang/buck.

Honestly though, a good pair of headphones and an X-Fi card that has 3D-CMSS will be MUCH better for gaming.

 

[dwong]

According to many the Audiotechnica AD700 have excellent sound stage ("position of enemies") and sound quality, especially at the ~$100 price tag. I have not listened to them myself, but those phones are regarded as a great value around here.

With the other $100 that you have left over, you may want to look into finding a good sound card with gaming features. You haven't stated which sound card you use, but if you peek around the For Sale/Trade forums for Source Components, you may find one for less money. I saw a few Auzentech Preludes for sale for ~125-135, about 50 bucks less than what you could get new on Newegg. I just read a new review on the Asus STX Essence and it seemed like the reviewer preferred his Prelude over the Essence for gaming.

 

[spacemanspliff]

Look, I might just have the most experience of anyone living in regards to this issue lol.

For $200 you can have both. I truly believe that a small, inexpensive 5.1 might be the best thing for gaming. So long as you will not bother anyone with the noise.

The speaker company has a decent little 5.1 setup, superior to the logitech BOOM BOOM BOOM and Squeaky squeaky for $70 shipped. The AD700s are $103 shipped on Amazon now. Try the speakers first. The AD700s will be superior for music but if you are happy with the speakers? Why bother.

I know b/c I have been obsessed with this issue for several years now and have finally settled on 5.1 speakers giving you the best indicators when properly placed. You must have room behind and in front. You must also set up the speaker distances properly and use an EAX capable card like the X-Fi titanium and XP. Vista is a dead OS anyway. I have both and game on XP exclusively.

 

[Ziek]

For $200 you can get a pair of ATH-A900's. Their soundstage is spectacular. I was also surprised at how well the positioning is for fps gaming (running out of a Gigabyte MB so no EAX/CMSS3D ect).

You could also check into the AD900's (open) for about $40 more, or the AD700's which are generally about $100. I can't speak on these though as I only own the a900's.

I'm pretty sure Onkyo has a 5.1 that fits your budget too, if you decide to go with speakers. They were suggested on the [H]ard Forum so you might be able to find more information there.

 

[oqvist]

Hard choice for 200$ you can get headphones that have a sound quality much better then 200$ 5.1 speakers ever can offer you.

But some games just want the huge soundstage speakers get you whereas others more claustrophic games (system shock 2, Bioshock, F.E.A.R and other where you really need to focus) is definiatly more enjoyable with headphones.

As for surround nothing beats 5.1 speakers if the game is really developed with this in mind. However with headphones you can detect even the lowest sounds and particularly closed headphones I find really help you focus on the important stuff and get in the zone so to speak.

It´s different experiences really. In many games you don´t want the cramped soundstage headphones and particularly closed gives you. Other even open headphones sound like they give you to much space.

Anyway you should really get both... It´s quite refreshing gaming with my 5.1 pure digitheatre platinum speakers. For the money I spent on them they sound amazing...

Freedom.... then you put on your headphones and Oh the sound quality

. you will miss the sub woofer if you go with headphones though. Can be solved easilly with a buttkicker.

closed headphones and a buttkicker gamer if you are on an office chair is a killer combo. I currently sit on a LFE but well you don´t get anything like that for 200$

.

But as mentioned weither you start with headphones or 5.1 speakers you should complement with the other when the budget allows.

 

[El_Doug]

if this is for serious FPS playing, you will always remain on your home system, and you understand the spatial requirements of setting up the system properly (that is to say, actually put the rear surrounds BEHIND you, not on a desk), then certainly a cheapo 5.1 will be fun and useful.

this is also fun for an intro into movie surround sound. the sound itself will certainly be subpar, but if you set the system up correctly, you will experience the surround effects properly - not a bad thing at all