Need A Headset For My PC

[claudiusixi]

First of all, hello everyone!

I've run into a dilemma when it comes to headsets for playing games on my PC (Battlefield 4, StarCraft 2 and SimCity), I've been trying to find an answer and people have recommended getting a cheaper headset with good sound card or just getting a headset with all the bells and whistles. currently my computer has a Creative Sound Blaster ZxR and would prefer a wired headset since I also DJ I don't want my speakers to pick up on all the radio and wireless signals and budget is not an issue.

Thanks you!

 

[ssddx]

unless you buy a high end pair of headphones.... a high end soundcard isnt going to do much good as you wont be hearing any real difference. some higher end phones also have integrated soundcards inside them so you might not even need one. if you do use a high end pair of headphones without an integrated card then a soundcard might actually help but then again unless you have a bad soundcard it wont much matter (i'm talking crappy onboard realtek audio here) as most quality onboard options and just about any card slot options are more than good enough.

personally i always suggest using a quality pair of stereo studio headphones (my favorite is the audiotechnica ath-m50s) and a seperate clip on or desk microphone. sure you will not get surround sound in games but you can set that to simulated surround anyways which is almost as good and the quality level between the headphones i listed and most gaming headsets is pretty vast. if you use a desktop microphone or clip on you can also get something of notable quality.

or you could attach a boom mic like this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ic4fSzXToSs

if you dont like those options then i'd suggest a pair of studio headphones with a microphone already attached.

if you still dont like those options... then perhaps an astro a40 or other gaming headset. this would be the last thing on my list of items to try though.

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short version:

i'd recommend an ath-m50 stereo studio headphone set with a detachable boom mic, clip on mic or desk mic.

 

[Conrad925]

I would go with a good DJ headphone and use an external mic (which you may already have). The gaming headsets I've heard sound like crap for music, mainly because they tend to be quite boomy/muddy with a lot of shrill at the high end. I like the sound of the Audio-Technicas if you need the sound isolation of a closed back, and AKG has some really nice sounding open back designs, if it isn't that important to you. For gaming you will want something capable of 5.1 or 7.1 positional audio, but the DTS or Dolby surround emulation your soundcard provides is quite good and adequate for all but the pro/serious gamer amongst us.
Ultimately the choice is up to you because everyone hears sound differently. Go hit some stores and listen to what's available at different price points and compare. Then see if you can purchase the item on-line at a discount. These outlets usually have user reviews as well to get some idea of the products quality/customer service etc. Good luck.

 

[Conrad925]

"personally i always suggest using a quality pair of stereo studio headphones (my favorite is the audiotechnica ath-m50s)"

I see great minds (ears) think alike lol. I agree, those are the best sounding cans you can get for the $. I called 'em cans to sound like an audiosnob 😉 . Of course a true auiosnob would only recommend Bose wireless noise cancelling, but we know those are over-hyped over-priced etc.

 

[ssddx]

bose is synonomous with junk. anyone who knows anything about audio at least knows that.

at $100-200 (depends on where you buy them) the ath-m50s are absolutely great. i love the build quality too and the nice thick cable. as an added bonus they are low resistance so can be powered by portable audio devices instead of needing a fiio or other portable amp however they can still sound great amplified. a win-win i would say!

yeah.. thought it was funny you recommended the same phones as i did right after i did.

 

[claudiusixi]

Honestly that's what I was thinking of doing (getting a mic for my DJ setup since I don't have one and just using that) but the thing is that when it comes to mixing I usually like a flat sound like what I get from my Pioneer HDJ-2000 headphones, that's honestly why I just wanted to get a dedicated headset for gaming cause they tend to be more bassy (if that's the right term) and have that surround ability but there are a couple shops of nearby dedicated to sound so I'll go and check if they have that headset and check it out

 

[ssddx]

i cant imagine any "real surround sound" headsets are going to sound a world of difference apart from "simulated surround" seeing as how the drivers arent going to be very far away in terms of distance. by getting multiple drivers you also reduce the quality of each one so in essence you pay more for less but get "surround sound". while some like it... i dont think its all that great.

the ath-m50s are pretty flat across the board. they arent boomy like alot of headsets can be but do have quite a bit of bass kick when needed.

all we did was give you more options to explore. what you decide to do is completely up to you.