Project Reality Forums

Hello after more than 5 years my Creative Fatal1ty Headset
is starting to make some trouble, so I need something new.

my System:
- Xmg A722 Notebook based on a Clevo Barebone
- onboard soundcard
- THX TruStudio Pro

usage:
- music, series/movies, gaming

budget: 100-200?

goals:
- better overall sound
- better positioning and more surround
- that I can use my Onkyo speakers in the notebook, at the moment they sound bad

What Headsets or Headphones+Mics do you recommend and do I need a extern soundcard?

Don't buy gaming headsets.

For $200 I recommend Sennheiser HD598 and a $10 mic.

Go check out Head-fi
Over-Ear - Head-Fi.org Community

What's wrong with gaming headsets? You can't simply say that without bringing arguments

I myself bought this one. (also coming from the fatality the mic stopped working
http://steelseries.com/products/audio/steelseries-5hv3

For about 90€. But steelseries offers many other headsets of very decent quality. The only thing they usually lack is build in sound drivers(not a problem for me) and often they are made out of medium-plastic. But I haven't heard of any breaking-problems myself.

I'd say for headsets just stick to the good,known brands. And evaluate what you want:
-medium/good mic
-build quality(material)
-what kind of connection (usb or jacks)
-portability( like you can dismantle them)
-how heavy they are (for long gaming sessions the lighter the better, but usually means less build quality)
-build-in sound drivers.
-audio quality obviously

There are many features to consider.

Now depending on what laptop you got, does it have a decent build in mic? if so, you might look at just buying a audio headset without the microphone? This allows for a wider set of options and usually better sound quality.

I have read and searched a lot the last days and now I'm confused

At the moment I'm not quiet sure if I want a closed or opened Headphone.

With my old Creative Fatal1ty Headset I can hear the sounds of my enviroment
lightly dulled and only if I turn the volum of the headst really up, people right next to me can hear it.

My aim with the Headphone is, that the sound of the Headphones dont bother
someone besides me and that I'm at the same time not complete deaf.

Normaly my sound volum is quiet low.

So should I go for a open or a closed headphone?

What I found so far:

open Headphones
Sennheiser HD 518/558

closed Headphones
Sennheiser HD 380 Pro, Shure SRH 840 / 440

Headsets
Sennheiser PC 333D 3D G4ME Headset = a good all-in-one solution?


The second question is, do I need a extren soundcard? I only have an
onboard Realtek High Definition Soundcard, Audiocodec ALC 269 if thats helpfull. ops:

I found this two:
Creative Sound Blaster X-FI Surround 5.1 Pro with THX or SBX
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Go Pro USB with THX or SBX

does THX or SBX matter? I have the THX Software but I think SBX is more modern?

I will test my notebook onboard mic, mabye its working.

Thanks for the help!

Short Update

some days ago I bought me this:

Sennheiser HD 558
Zalman ZM-MIC1 microfon
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro Externe soundcard with SBX

I didn't had much time to test it, but after one round of PR I couldn't believe how much more and clear I hear now.
The headphone are open, but it's ok if you dont go up with the music volume you wont distrube anyone near by.

Good job on the purchase OP, I've had that same mic since 2005 and it still works as good as new.

[R-DEV]Mineral wrote:What's wrong with gaming headsets? You can't simply say that without bringing arguments

Well, most of them are overpriced **** made of plastic that brakes fast, their sound drivers are far behind any reputable headphone brand, they use technology such as 5.1 or 7.1 that should never be featured in a headphone and use other, similar useless gimmicks to fool people who know nothing about headphones and never heard a decent one before.

[R-DEV]Mineral wrote:I'd say for headsets just stick to the good,known brands.

Like SteelSeries and TurtleBeach? I think Sennheiser and Beyerdinamyc are the only two good, known brands who also happen to produce headsets.

There are many, MANY more brands of normal headphones that are also overpriced,plastic pieces of ****. This isn't an isolation for gaming headsets alone. This is for all products... It's all up to the buyer to look shit up

Brands depends on the budget. For 0-100€ steelseries will give you for what your moneys worth IMO. Fair deal. for above 100 I wouldn't recommend steelseries at all and indeed would look at other brands like the once you mention.

You see everything so black/white. GAMING HEADSETS SUCK. STEELSERIES SUCK. It all depends on what the user wants and what his budget is. For my budget, my steelseries one that I have now is all I can every wish for. But for someone who wants better with a bigger bank, it obviously won't be good enough. That's why my previous post mostly focuses on telling OP that he needs to look for all characteristics that are important to him(as he didn't mention any except for his budget in his post, so we can't recommend something at all) instead of saying 'get this, or don't get this'.

Well, for pretty much every budget you find a better headphone/microphone combination that offers higher quality sound than a similar priced headset.
For far less than 90? you get an amazingly sounding Superlux (e.g. hd681, 30$) and that Zalman Mic1 8$ which is by far a better solution than a Steelseries.
The Fatal1ty is "okay" though, considering it's really cheap.

Anyway, sound is very subjective. Before buying a >100$ headphone I recommend visiting a local hifi store first and try out different cans.

But then you are going for the mic + headphone solution. Something I wasn't interested in It really all depends on the buyer's wishes. Anyway, OP got what he wanted, and he got good sound for his money now! That's all I wanted when posting here.

[R-DEV]Mineral wrote:There are many, MANY more brands of normal headphones that are also overpriced,plastic pieces of ****. This isn't an isolation for gaming headsets alone. This is for all products... It's all up to the buyer to look shit up

Brands depends on the budget. For 0-100? steelseries will give you for what your moneys worth IMO. Fair deal. for above 100 I wouldn't recommend steelseries at all and indeed would look at other brands like the once you mention.

You see everything so black/white. GAMING HEADSETS SUCK. STEELSERIES SUCK. It all depends on what the user wants and what his budget is. For my budget, my steelseries one that I have now is all I can every wish for. But for someone who wants better with a bigger bank, it obviously won't be good enough. That's why my previous post mostly focuses on telling OP that he needs to look for all characteristics that are important to him(as he didn't mention any except for his budget in his post, so we can't recommend something at all) instead of saying 'get this, or don't get this'.

Please name some of these overpriced headphones that are made by a reputable headphone company.

And brands don't really depend on the budget. For example OP went for Sennheiser which sells headphones for under 50? and over 1000?. What you're getting out of the headphones somewhat depends on the budget.

And as bd already pointed out you can get far more value for far less money if you go for headphone + mic option. For 30$ Koss KSC75 + the Zalman mic will beat most of your bs gaming headsets regardless of their (over)price.

Who said anything about a reputable headphone company? You said most gaming headsets are ****. I said that also counts for headphones as there are so many crappy brands. I didn't reputable companies?

And like I said, not everyone wants a headphone + mic. Like me, I don't want a setup like that.

All i said(I keep repeating myself) is it's not black and white. It's about a lot more then brand/budget. It's about personal choice of many factors that are important. You guys keep talking about that all gaming headsets are bad/overpriced, and that everyone should go mic+ headphone. Which this thread is really not about. OP wanted help with his selection.

[R-DEV]Mineral wrote:Who said anything about a reputable headphone company? You said most gaming headsets are ****. I said that also counts for headphones as there are so many crappy brands. I didn't reputable companies?

And like I said, not everyone wants a headphone + mic. Like me, I don't want a setup like that.

All i said(I keep repeating myself) is it's not black and white. It's about a lot more then brand/budget. It's about personal choice of many factors that are important. You guys keep talking about that all gaming headsets are bad/overpriced, and that everyone should go mic+ headphone. Which this thread is really not about. OP wanted help with his selection.

And he selected headphones + mic. The thread wasn't about you. Please Mineral, next time you post about a topic you know little or nothing about start with: "I don't know much about this, but here's my experience".

He selected that in the end, but you can't go 'this is superior'.

If you want to help this guy you need to broaden your view and give him all the options :
' if you want a headset : look at these characteristics, in your budget these are good,bla bla. If you want headphone + mic : look at these characteristics, and these in your budget are good, bla bla.'

Lito started by saying 'don't buy a gaming headset'. Which isn't something you should say here without saying why.

Maybe you should start by reading what I said in my first post. I never said 'I'm experienced in this subject'. I said: 'I have bought this one and about that I can say this. And overall you should be looking out for these points when choosing.'

I even suggested myself in the end of my post he could go for laptop mic + headphone... It's not like I'm defending gaming headsets here. I'm just pointing out that you need to give him all options.

After that I had to somehow had defend myself against you for post after post cause you and your black/white vision somehow missed the point.

Damn you are one stubborn son of a b*

Anyway, the guy got what he wanted. Now let him enjoy his new setup in peace. This thread is getting pointless.