headset + soundcard

Discussion in 'Soundcards, Speakers HiFI & File formats' started by head, Feb 4, 2014.

  1. head

    head Guest

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    Hi guys, I always bought those gaming headphones but they always end up dieing on me so maybe its time to invest some money in a more quality brand.

    I was checking on the sennheiser website and they have a lot of nice headsets.

    Some of my friends told me that I should just buy some headphones and a clippon mic but they never really said why I should do that?

    So what would you guys do?
    Buy a PC350 SE or go for some headphones and clipon mic?

    I was thinking about a soundcard but I have really no idea what is good and what is not.

    My budget is around 200 euro for the headset / headphones.
    My budget for the soundcard is around 50 euro.
     
  2. Tacoboy

    Tacoboy Guest

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    AKG K612 Pro headphones, 138 Euros
    Creative Labs Sound Blaster Z sound card, Euros? (The price for the SB-Z in the US is equal to about 44 Euros to 66 Euros).

    The website Head-Fi.org is great for headphone advice.
     
  3. head

    head Guest

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    What do you guys think about the sennheiser headsets?

    PC360
    PC350 SE

    If i buy headphones + clipon mic, what mic do you recommend?
     
  4. eclap

    eclap Banned

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    Look into Beyeredynamic DT range, also Audio Technica, AKG. A lot of models to be had for under/around 200eur. I have Audio Technica AD700, great gaming and music listening headphone, also have DT 880 PRO 250 ohm coming later this week. Sound card wise, on that budget SB Z is a great choice, avoid Zx, not worth the premium, it's the same card, ZxR is nice but a lot more.
     

  5. Tacoboy

    Tacoboy Guest

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    The Sennheiser HD558 uses the same (50-Ohm) driver as the PC360 and the Sound Blaster Z (retail SB1500) comes with a mic.
     
  6. Loophole35

    Loophole35 Guest

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    The mic that comes with the SB-Z is for beam forming and not ideal to use for communication. A clip-on is still suggested.
     
  7. TirolokoRD

    TirolokoRD Guest

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    Indeed, I got the Zx and the mic is not optimal for team/games chat
     
  8. head

    head Guest

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    Thanks for all the help so far.

    I think I will buy the sound blaster Z from azerty.nl (im located in belgium)

    I play DOTA2 / CSGO / COD2 and I am on teamspeak all the time so a good mic is very important.
    I could not find the Audio Technica AD700 in any of the shops I know.

    In the past I bought a clipon mic and wasn't that happy with it, was kinda messy to haveit hanging around etc. I would rather buy a headset. (unless the quality of the headphones is so superior)

    head
     
  9. eclap

    eclap Banned

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    is eBay an option? you'll find most of the headphones I mentioned on there. Also Amazon.
     
  10. head

    head Guest

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    I never bought anything from amazon and have no idea how much I would have to pay for shipping and all that stuff. I know my gf bought some stuff on ebay before but like with amazon i have no idea how much the shipping costs.

    I think I will go with the Sound Blaster Z but I am still not sure about the headset or headphones + clippon combo.

    I play a lot of multiplayer games / teamspeak / skype so a good mic is important. On some other forum the suggested the PC360 but they said that the mic wasn't that great.
     

  11. ESlik

    ESlik Guest

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    This guy..http://forums.guru3d.com/member.php?u=240403. He has a set of the Xonar Xense-PC 350 combo package for sale. I don't think he sold it yet. It's brand new. I know that cuz it was my set and I didn't like the PC 350s at all. Killswitch is a well respected seller of hardware at Hardware Canucks if you want to go there and check him out. Or,simply PM him here at Guru to see if the sound card-headphone combo is still available. I'm sure the price is right.
     
  12. Sasquatch

    Sasquatch Master Guru

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    Not to throw things off any, but a couple of you mentioned the mic on the SB Z not being good for gaming & what not. I had thought the beam-forming tech between it & the software was supposed to optimize it for voice communication. My understanding was that it used the software & the stereo mics in it to isolate only what you wanted it to pick up & keep out the background noise.
     
  13. Corvus.Corax

    Corvus.Corax Member

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    I think the posts above refer to using voice activation. In that case most external mics aren't too good, it's hard find the right treshhold for the mic activation so it won't be triggered by louder background noises. This is just my experience, but most competetive gamers use push to talk. For use like that, the beamforming mic works well.
     
  14. Darkest

    Darkest Guest

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    I literally don't know a single person who doesn't use push to talk tbh. Unless you're at a LAN I really don't see the benefits of a headset over a seperate MIC. I use one myself and have never had a problem with anyone understanding me.
     
  15. Loophole35

    Loophole35 Guest

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    The beam forming mic is used in conjunction with a clip on to filter outside sounds from the voice. So say you have a dog barking outside your window it does not get picked up by the voice mic because the beam forming mic picked it up too and the software determined that is was background noise. But it works best with a mic close to your mouth like a clip on mic would be.
     

  16. head

    head Guest

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    I went to a decent amount of lans and its always nice to have a headset, on lan i always use push to talk but when im home I use voice activation.

    When my mic died I bou ght a clippon mic and maybe I just bought a bad one but I didn't really like the "mic sound" that much. That being said, I am willing to buy a clippon mic again if you can recommend me a "good" one.

    A friend of me has the soundblaster Z and he says that the mic that comes with it isn't that great for multiplayer games where you have to talk a lot.

    What do you guys think about the Sound Blaster Z compared to the ASUS models?
     
  17. Darkest

    Darkest Guest

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    As entry level soundcards go, Asus doesn't have much on the table at the moment to compete with Sound Blaster Z. You can get an Asus Xonar DG/X for 20 bucks cheaper, but the Z is the better product. I'd also recommend taking a look at Mod-Mic, although I think they've become a little more expensive in recent years. A good investment though, you can attach one to any set of headphones you happen to buy.
     
    Last edited: Feb 8, 2014
  18. Sasquatch

    Sasquatch Master Guru

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    This makes no sense, as the card only has the one input. Why market something needing two separate inputs.
    Did a little research after posting and looks like it's all done w/ the one stereo mic & software algorithms.
     
  19. Loophole35

    Loophole35 Guest

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    Not on my Phoebus the beam forming mic is part of the breakout box.

    Did some looking around an you are right the SBz uses a different method than my ASUS does. I made the mistake of assuming that they both worked the same way sorry about that.
     
    Last edited: Feb 9, 2014
  20. head

    head Guest

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    I am not sure about those mod mics, on their site they aren't really that sure about their new product + they are located in the US and I think the shipping will cost me a lot.

    So we all agree about the Sound Blaster Z?

    The main problem is now do i go for the PC360 (or even the PC350SE) or do I try with a clip on mic again.
     

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