Gaming / LAN Headset

Hello,

My SteelSound 5H v2 died a couple a days ago, so im looking for a decent replacement.

After reading some reviews, this is what i found:

SteelSound 7H (coming out somewhere in the next 3/4 weeks)
SteelSound Siberia
Roccat Kave (Not really a fan of Roccat, but might be a good choice?)
Logitech G35 (USB)

I'm using onboard sound of my Gigabyte X58-UD5.
Any advice? Or maybe a Headphone with a seperate mic?

Thnx in advance

 

My advice would be a sennheiser hd555 or even a 595 with a clip on mic. That's better than every gaming headset out there. Most of them are junk compared to good headphones. The problem with the hd555 is, it's open so you'll hear sound coming in from the outside. You could also look for the Audio Technica ATH-a700(closed no sound coming in) or the Audio Technica ATH-ad700 (open sound coming in). You could just clip the mic onto your headphone cable.

If you really want a gaming headset. Get a steelseries siberia v2 or a sennheiser hd 350.

Also, the headphones I mentioned are really good for music. The siberia is pretty ok for it's price. Same goes for the sennheiser hd350.

Headphones like 5hv2 and 7h are just for gaming and utterly suck for music. If you don't use it for music, the 7h is an option.

 

I would also suggest a AD700 as well as a Ultrasone HFI-550/580 with a clip on mic on it. Amazon i think still have the sell on the HFI-580s still.

These two would be the better option then buying gaming brand headsets which marketed for gaming and tend to have poor audio quality for any thing else.

 

roccat kave user here.
been using it for like a month. its the best headset i've ever used. 5.1 feature really helps me A LOT in fps games. headset's surround sound is magnificent and gives pinpoint enemy location near u.
so comfortable i feel like im not wearing any headset. no joke

try avoid usb headset

 

Gaming headsets are specifically designed for ofcourse gaming (FPS), therefore they have another frequency spectrum in comparison to multimedia headsets. E.g. the middle tones are higher so you can hear reloads/footsteps better.

I've been using the SS 5Hv2 and Im enjoying every moment with them. The 7H should be even better. Certainly go for a closed version or one with background filtering. A friend of mine has the G35 and it's also really good, only not specifically designed for gaming. But I guess you cant go wrong with either of them.

 

I heard u can switch from 7.1 to Stereo?
But to make a long story short. The headset will be used for Counterstrike (Source) only, and on LAN Events (for the same game).

What is the best choice to go for. I'm NOT planning to buy a seperate soundcard in the future.

 

For gaming purpose only I would buy the 5Hv2 or the new 7H. Because the reviews these headsets have been getting are very good and from my own experience the 5Hv2 is very good.

If you buy the 7H or 5Hv2 be sure to get the USB version, this will allow you to work around your crappy onboard sound.

 

HD280 pro from sennheiser, shud cost you about €80 to €120 depending on the store. If you take good care of it it will last years, unlike that steelseries crap + it's a closed headphone, ideal for LAN. Other options would be the PC350 ones, but those are rather expensive for what you're getting.

Other then that perhaps a closed beyerdynamic?

I'm using the HD280 pro myself on lans.

Seperate mic: go to a computer store and say: "gimme mic!!", pay 5 to 10 euros, done.

 

Why are the SteelSeries crap?

 

After reading a lot of reviews i have the following headsets/phones left to chose from:

SteelSeries 7H (€ ~80 USB ~100)
Logitech G35 (€ ~90)
Sennheiser PC 280 (€~100)
Sennheiser HD 555 (€ ~90)


The HD 555 has fantastic sound but has an open design which is not ideal for LANs. The PC 280 is sort of a DJ headset but is good for games aswell? Waiting for the 7H worth it?

Some1 that could help me solve this last problem

 

As far as I'm concerned, SteelSeries for gaming, Sennheiser for multimedia.

 

The Sennishers would a better job at gaming then the steel series because they use sub bar drivers in so called gaming marketed headphones, You paying for a mic being attached on the headset. Sennishers would offers the Op better sound quailty as well as better sound positional over the steel series. So would Ultrasone HFI-450s as well as the Audio Techinca's AD700, as well as the closed back ver the A700. also the gaming headsets is a marketing poly they attach a mic to a subar headphone and add gaming in its name to pull in buyers.

Amazon has the Ultrasone HFI-450 for 70-80 there not surround sound headphones amazon label them wrong, their drivers are pointed in a way that the sound goes into your ear like you hear naturally. The Audio techica's A700 are 109 and are closed back, they have more bass then there open back AD700. But a tad less of the wide sound stage. These will work very good for gaming as well. The AD700 has a huge and wide sound stage but less bass then there A700 model. both A700 and AD700 is what alot of people go for there gaming needs because of the sound stage, the SQ of the A700/AD700 and there easy to drive on a sound card/onboard without a headphone amp.

Both of them have good sound positional and you can tell your surroundings. I personally used the AD700 For gaming and they did a dam job in the FPS and other type of games I played. I used to own Gaming marketed headsets before the AD700, The A700 close back will work just as well.

So I suggest the Audio-techia A700s from amazon for 109, or if you prefer Sennishers then the PC280 , or the Ultrasone HFI-450 which is 70-80 and then just use a clip on mic for your communion between your lan mates.

 

...and switch to a crappy USB based chip. Garbage....don't waste your money.

 

Any clip on mic recommendations? I want to move away from the steelseries crap to something with pretty amazing audio, but I'd like a mic as well.

I suppose all gaming headsets are probably crap. I was looking at qpads offering.

http://www.corporate.qpad.se/modules/news/article.php?storyid=221

I do not mind clip on mics if I can get something like the Sennheiser HD600 or something better/similar.

 

I would say the Zalman clip on mic or something similar to it.

 

There doesn't seem to be much of a selection. Zalman clip on mic has decent but not excellent reviews. Doesn't seem to be anything great quality available in this area.

 

a Desktop mic would work if you dont mind having it on your desk when in use.

 

A few good gaming headset round-ups:

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/pc-gaming-headset,review-1471.html

http://www.everythingusb.com/gaming-headsets.html

 

usb headsets are no way better than normal 3.5mm jack headset

 

Actually many would suggest they are worse. Atleast with a 3.5mm set you can use it with any source device you want. With a USB headset you are stuck using the cheap, garbage chip they put in the headset.