[D4RPA]

Alright. So, I'm pretty new to the Head-Fi thing, but I'm definitely glad that I found it.

I've done a lot of searching and a lot of reading. I've don'e a lot of thinking and a lot of deciding. But, I haven't really accomplished anything. For the past two weeks, I've been trying to find myself a decent pair of headphones/headsets to use for gaming. Since then, I've pretty much dumped the idea for headsets. .I've read a lot about what people have posted already and their comments and suggestions. For me, I'm a pretty competetive gamer. I goto the LANs, I participate at the international level, and I definitely play online. With that said, I'm asking for one last time that people recommend whatever headphones and why.

But before you reply, please keep these in mind:

- spatial representation or surround-sound handling is VERY key when you need to know where your opponent is spawning
- clear lows are almost a must, because knowing what kind of weapon is being fired can make the difference between a win and loss.
- closed headphones are a must, because at LANs, no one give's a rat's ass if they're being loud or that you can't hear
- the headphone's cables need to be atleast 10ft long because if you play at LANs where the PCs are provided, they have them in all weird places
- durability is very important as well because gamers have a tendency to slam something on the table then they get killed (you'd be surprised how fast people forget how much they spent on their headphones)
- most gamers use onBoard sound in their computer since they don't need a soundcard to drive a 5.1 speaker system, but let us know if the headphones need an extra "umph" to use them to their greatest potential
- gamers who play online are talking on some kind of VoIP application (teamspeak.org, ventrilo.org), so being able to clearly distinguish voices and being able to discern speech is key

That's pretty much everything that I've tried to find out for myself as far as what kind of headphones I want. There may be more that I forgot or just don't take into account, but for the most part, these are big key factors.

As for myself, I've been leaning toward the Ultrasone HFI-550's. I asked about other makes from Beyerdynamic, Sennheiser, and Audio Technica and I've heard that the HFI-550's handling of surround sound and spatial representation is unsurpassed.

Please let me know what you think. I hope to have enough feedback to where I can just have this thread linked to friends when they decide what kind of headphones they want. Thanks!

 

[TWIFOSP]

I find that the huge sound stage the Sony 3000's provide are excellent for first person shooters. You can really pinpoint where people are.

The impact leaves something to be desired, explosions are way cooler on Grados, but personally I use them for the same reasons you do. Hearing details and sounds to figure out where people are.

 

[lindrone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by D4RPA As for myself, I've been leaning toward the Ultrasone HFI-550's. I asked about other makes from Beyerdynamic, Sennheiser, and Audio Technica and I've heard that the HFI-550's handling of surround sound and spatial representation is unsurpassed.

LOL... Well, put it this way, Ultrasone loves to advertise their S-Logic natural surround sound and whatever. In reality it's actually very underwhelming, and I don't get what S-Logic is supposed to do, nor by any means is the sound ever "surround".

I've tested them before, in head-to-head comparison against Audio Technica A900. A900's soundstage is more spherical, more directional, more depth... hmm.. more of everything. Without some of the harshness in the Ultrasone headphones. Granted, I tested them against HFI-700 and HFI-650, but both of those are supposed to be better than HFI-550. Which means, I don't expect much from HFI-550 at all.

Regardless, Ultrasones aren't bad headphones at all, I think they're pretty good. However, I remember there was a piece of marketing material that came with the headphone that said something close to the regards of, "This isn't just a soundstage, it's a space stage!"... Yeah, right, if that's a "space stage", then A900 has a "galaxy stage" and the CD3000 has a "universe stage", or some other lame simile like that.

 

[D4RPA]

With the rise of First-Person Shooters, the tournament directors and events coordinators have always made sure that some type of dueling (1v1) game have been a spotlight in spectatorship. And because of that, gamers are always thinking of new ways to keep themselves on the edge with everyone. Since then, you can't play a game without someone memorizing spawn times, spawn points, power-up respawns, map control, and the list goes on and on.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lindrone I've tested them before, in head-to-head comparison against Audio Technica A900. A900's soundstage is more spherical, more directional, more depth... hmm.. more of everything. Without some of the harshness in the Ultrasone headphones. Granted, I tested them against HFI-700 and HFI-650, but both of those are supposed to be better than HFI-550. Which means, I don't expect much from HFI-550 at all.

Thanks so much! Honestly, I've never tested or tried out the HFI-550's. I've only heard through recommendations. You're comments go deeply considered.

 

[oneeyedhobbit]

Lindrone makes a wise suggestion with the A900. The CD3000 seems to be overkill for gaming purposes, and although technically closed, it doesn't isolate sound very well.

 

[chrisk]

hey, what games do you play and which clan

? i used to play alot of cs on the net and on lans and the hfi650 have served me very well. i cant compare them to other headphones though, cause this is my first good set of headphones, i bought them specifically for gaming too.
only downpoint is the short cord (140cm). i tried to use an extension cord, but it messed up the sound quality and the 3d image completely. this could be adressed to the cheap build quality, but i havent found a better one yet...

 

[lindrone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by oneeyedhobbit Lindrone makes a wise suggestion with the A900. The CD3000 seems to be overkill for gaming purposes, and although technically closed, it doesn't isolate sound very well.

Not to mention, much more easily driven from just onboard sound or any sort of soundcard. It's what I've been using with World of Warcraft at home!

 

[D4RPA]

I think the best I've ever excelled at was UT2004. I went to the WCG USA Finals, but got beaten first round and second round. I guess that's what will happen when you start the morning with Nutty Irishmen (the drink, don't be disgusting). Anyway, it was my first grand slam LAN tourny experience. After that, I've been dabbling in Painkiller for the CPL World Tour and CS: Source. Come check us out: http://www.neg-1.net or #NegativeOne on GameSurge.net.

 

[lizzardfire]

I use my CD3000 and JMT PPA for gaming at home. Lord knows I'm not taking that rig to a Lan.. big, bulky, easily broken, and easy theft target. I must say it rocks though-- the positioning ability is incredible. The CD3ks also have more than enough impact with the PPA bass boost... mmm. The CD3K may not have the most bass, but it is just so fast, and clean. The attack and decay are incredible. I have logitech Z560 speakers, and once I got my CD3000s I haven't used them (except now, when I'm waiting for new ones... my first pair's right driver went out). Blech. Lots of bass, but bloated and boomy... and I used to think this was quality sound!!

I think the A900 (although I haven't personally heard it) would be good for you. I've often heard it described as the baby brother of the CD3000, and it's also less expensive and easier to drive.

Edit: One more thing, I think you will need a recable or at least an extension cable to reach 10 feet. I don't think the A900s have a 3.0m cable (which is about 10ft)

 

[lindrone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lizzardfire Edit: One more thing, I think you will need a recable or at least an extension cable to reach 10 feet. I don't think the A900s have a 3.0m cable (which is about 10ft)

Oh yeah, that's right.. forgot about that part. I don't think A900 has a 10 feet cable.. but maybe 6 feet?.. You should get an extension. Few headphones come with 10 foot cables (or.. to my recollection, that's probably close to "none").

 

[D4RPA]

I think 10ft is excessive. All I know is that I went to a tournament where the LAN has all the PCs in a center table where people had to give their peripheral plugins to the admins. None of the participants were allowed to touch or "tamper" with the PCs.

Realistically, 6ft should be plenty.

 

[Puddleglum]

DT770's are great for gaming, overblown bass, probably the best instrument seperation I've ever heard in a closed phone. I feel they more than satisfy those listed requirements. I use them for counterstrike and call of duty all the time.

 

[D4RPA]

I'm definitely glad actual gamers are stepping in.

 

[catscratch]

Either A900 or A500 will do quite well. The A900 has a bit more precision in soundstaging, but the A500 does well enough that I'm not sure if the extra money is warranted, especially if you won't be using them for anything other than games.

I'm not sure if low-end impact is all that essential, since I never had any problems knowing what any enemy was firing - usually before they ever fired anything

but that's prediction, not hearing... I think that soundstaging and resolution are definitely key, and bass is there only for the enjoyment factor - and overwhelming bass will actually hurt your ability to pick up soundbits when your opponent is all the way across the map. I don't know what it's like in UT, since I've played it for all of 2 weeks, but in Q3 it's sometimes hard to hear armor pickups and such when your opponent is all the way across the map, and it gets harder when you've got your bass racked up really high. The best results I've ever had from gaming is - surprise surprise - when using my Stax out of my sound card, although this is definitely sacrilege as far as I am concerned

Yeah, I do know a thing or two about duelling. As does sp1N, he's also a very good Q3 player, and posts on these forums. The A900 will serve you really well. The only problem I can forsee is that they might get nicked, since they are a bit flashy looking - but when you drop $200 on a pair of headphones, that's usually what you get.

 

[CMacDaddy]

The only 1st person shooter i've played in the last 2 years has been CS (and maybe a weekend of unreal or Doom), and I only use Sony V6s.

You can distinguish every gun from CS (although the 2 versions of autosniper sound really similiar), and positioning is just as good as any other set of headphones I've directly compared them to (Senn HD570, Sony CD780, and Senn PC150) , although I havent heard the A900 or CD3000, I think spending ~$200 on cans is a little overboard.

The Sony V6's are great for LANs IMO because of the coiled cord which stretches to about 6 ft i think thats easy to keep out of way, durability, and compactness. Plus they're cheap, usually $60-80 new.

Maybe the soundstage or positioning is a better on the aforementioned phones but is it the difference that is gonna change the outcome of the match? probably not.


oh yeah, and you're right about headsets. Even the Sennheiser headsets are worse in sound quality and position IMO