Headset and Sound Card

[angaddev]

Hi there, my trusty Creative Fatality headset recently broke and I'm looking to upgrade to a 5.1 or 7.1 headset. I want to stay under about £150 for the sound card and headset, what do you recommend, btw I live in the UK
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Should I get an expensive Sound card like the Creative Sound Blaster Recon3D Fatal1ty or should I invest more in the headset, getting a soundcard like the Creative Audigy SE?

 

[angaddev]

By the way I forgot to mention I use the headset for gaming, listening to music, and voice comms.

 

[gamerk316]

First off, I never recommend surround headphones, as quality always suffers. I prefer virtualized surround via Dolby Headphone, which most soundcards support these days.

Secondly, the Audigy line is obsolete (not even dated, obsolete). ASUS currently offers the best quality at the best price. The Xonar DGX and Xonar DX are probably the best priced cards on the market. That being said, the Creative Sound Blaster Z is very attractive at its price point (still waiting on decent reviews though...) I wouldn't touch the Recon3D line; very substandard cards.

As for headsets, I generally recommend good stereo headphones paired with a clip-on mic. A few are decent (Sennheiser PC360 comes to mind), but most aren't that well made.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/534479/mad-lust-envys-headphone-gaming-guide-updated-10-16-12-ps3-bd-playback-in-dolby-digital
http://www.head-fi.org/a/headphone-buying-guide