I'm in the market for a new headset... suggestions?

1st Official Post

    So recently my G930 headset broke and I broke it even more trying to fix it. The thing started screeching at me and it was becoming unnaturally hot so I wanted to try taking it apart, because returning a crap headset for another same model crap headset is pointless as all 3 previous ones that I had replaced shared the same problem. So I started unscrewing the minuscule screws and when I got to the last one I stripped the head off of it. After much cursing and prying in attempt to open it, I ended up melting the plastic around the broken screw by contacting a soldering iron to it. The other half that the screw was holding on to fell on the floor and pulled a small wire with it. When I picked it up off the floor another wire appeared to be damaged from attempting to pry it open. At this point I realized there was no hope for the thing and I wanted to stab someone with my soldering iron. Tomorrow I will be leaving to visit family for a week or so which means I will have time to shop around for a better one, but I have no idea what to look for. Please help me decide on a new one.

    TL;DR Broken headset nightmare, need new one, post suggestions below.

    Turtle Beach PX21? And get me one while you're at it, too please :) Just get the one evil has, because he has magical voodoo hearing capabilities with it, so I think it should be good.

    "Knowledge is power and power corrupts, so study hard and be evil."
    "If we do not end wars, wars will end us"

    They dont sell the kind evil has anymore, Most people have G35s and you had the wireless version just get the G35s and be like everyone else, plus we dont have to have the conversation about you laying on the bed talking to us anymore.

    SAVE A WHALE HARPOON A FAT CHICK

    I would think you can probably get evil's kind used... but used electronics, especially ones that go on your head... ehhh Don't need to share head lice. Go for a solid wired one, and since the G35 is the same except wired, then great, you hardly have to get used to it again. Just don't get wireless, unless you're planning on using your iCrap with it.

    "Knowledge is power and power corrupts, so study hard and be evil."
    "If we do not end wars, wars will end us"

    • Official Post

    the turtle beach px21 is a stereo headset. i have the turtle beach hpa2 true surround headset, which is discontinued. the successor according to turtle beach website was the z6a, but i just checked and that headset has been discontinued as well after a very short time on the market. the reviews on it were really bad in terms of durability last time i checked on newegg.

    I looked at headests for awhile before i decided to fix mine after it broke (required soldering of 10 hair-thickness wires, 2 for each speaker plus microphone http://i5.minus.com/iDCIzxEIUgqzp.jpg) and i dicovered a few sets from cooler master featuring true surround sound that seemed pretty decent

    Cooler Master CM Storm Sirus S http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc…N82E16826570018
    Cooler Master CM Storm Sirus http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc…N82E16826570013

    from what i was able to understand, the difference between the two is that the original non-S headset is the same headset but it is a bit more expensive because it comes with a reportedly, really nice control knob. if my hpa2's ever break for good, my first choice would be the "S" version because it plugs directly into your computer's sound card using the 3.5mm jacks for front, center, and rear sound. In the regular non-S version, the 3.5mm plugs go into the control knob which connects to your computer using a usb cable, which i would think uses its own sound system and removes any benefit of having a sound card/audio drivers.

    I haven't used the cm storm sirus s, but my guess would be that it's is the closest thing to the turtle beach hpa2, which i can vouch for.

    if the cm storm sirus s doesn't interest you, my advice would be to get a headset that connects to your computer using 3.5mm audio jacks, as usb headsets use their own built-in software that bypasses whatever hardware/software you have installed


    Take this FIB'S advice

    SAVE A WHALE HARPOON A FAT CHICK

    Edited once, last by (July 6, 2015 at 9:38 PM).

    • Official Post

    If you want something really really nice just buy a good set of headphones some industrial velcro and one of these or something similar to the labtec lva-7330 microphone.

    In the photos you can see it rubberbanded to the open version of my headphones, which I would highly recommend (Tuny did this as well and he was absolutely amazed at the quality of these). They are the most comfortable set of headphones I've ever owned, some reviews say the ear-cuffs get a bit hot, they don't for me unless I wear them for more than 4 hours.

    Here's a link to my headphonesAudioTechnica ATH-AD700X Although the open eared ones (ATH-AD700) can be had for cheaper and will probably be better for gaming, but i live in a loud house so i bought the closed ones.

    You must have really thick hair evil 0_o Anyways the headphone hardware/software that gets connected via USB shouldn't be THAT bad, but then if you have a dedicated sound card, it'd probably be better to use the board. Also, you can hook it up to your iCrap if you need to.

    EDIT (posted right after commie, didn't see his post): You can also do what commie did and deafen us with sudden bursts of your voice :P I would think that buying mic/headphones separately would give you better quality on either part, but is it really worth it? Still, I know audio-technica makes good headphones.

    "Knowledge is power and power corrupts, so study hard and be evil."
    "If we do not end wars, wars will end us"

    • Official Post

    eraser think about how long you do you anticipate to have a set of headphones, often times it's longer than the mic lasts. While I might deafen you with my boisterous voice it can be a problem with the way i boost the volume on my mic (I use the windows recording options to boost the gain).

    Being that I have a pair of Martin Logan Summit Xs, a depth I subwoofer, and a Matinee Center in the home theater set up, i have a pretty good baseline of audio quality. Be it watching videos, listening to music or playing games you want a wider, more vibrant, open sound stage and often times headsets marketed to gamers have high bass, decent mids and bad - decent highs. While you can go with the ready out of the box gaming headset if you are looking for an amazing bang for your buck do what I posted above. I've had misses with Siberia's, Plantronics and logitech headsets, all 3 the mics failed or one speaker went out due to slight tension on the cable if I trip over it.

    While a 100 dollar set of headphones won't be to the level of say an Astro A40 I guarantee they will last 5 times longer.
    It's the same reasons as why you can buy a home theater in a box or save a couple dollars more and buy a set of good speakers and a nice receiver. You may also buy a "mod mic" for headphones that do not come with a mic... or you could make your own for 15 dollars less.
    http://www.modmic.com/collections/frontpage/products/modmic

    Related discussion: http://www.head-fi.org/t/561705/audio…-a40-for-gaming


    Edit: I should probably note that all ArmA sounds are Mono (1 channel) only and then converted to stereo I don't think it's wise to pay a premium for a headset with true 7 channel surround unless the game you play can offer the same.

    Quote from "NecessaryEvil"

    roccat kave looks nice. i'll add it to my list for when my headset eventually breaks. microphone being on the right will be hard for me to get used to though.

    nono microphone is on the left like always. But it´s the sound that makes the difference. Guns / explosions have an impressive bass now and I think I can locate players better than before

    rhnreqez9zad3hut0ooq.jpg

    Edited once, last by (July 6, 2015 at 9:38 PM).

    @Evil: Forgot about the insulation.
    @commie: Reliability is a good factor that I forgot. I do believe that buying one good headset (or headphone/mic setup) that works well and lasts a while is better than a cheap set that performs decent and breaks often. And it is definitely true that making your own setup can deliver same performance and cost cheaper (I have 7.1 surround sound 3D enabled home theater of my own) but it is sometimes annoying to troubleshoot it when stuff goes wrong. If other people do something similar and already have a good "community" that you can refer to with issues, it would be great to go ahead with it, but personally, I wouldn't experiment too much.

    "Knowledge is power and power corrupts, so study hard and be evil."
    "If we do not end wars, wars will end us"