Yet another headphone thread

I called Sennheiser and they don't have a shorter cable with 1/8 jack for my brand new HD 558 :'(

Lady said they get asked ALL the time *sigh*

I've been kicking around the idea of getting some nicer gaming headphones for a bit. I've got somewhat odd requirements, though, that just more odd. Mainly I'd use them for playing TF2 on the Mac. I'm not sure, but I'm guessing any USB headset would work for this. I currently have a Logitech Clearchat headset that works well enough, but it starts hurting my ears after a while with my glasses on. I'd also like to use these on my PS3. I had more or less decided I was going to pick up a set of the official PS3 headphones since it looks like they'll work fine on the Mac as well.

As of yesterday, though, my wife and I decided to pick up an XBox 360 on sale as a Christmas gift for the two of us. That sort of throws a monkey wrench into the decision. I was hoping I might find something that could work for all three, but I don't know if that's doable.

I did come across the Steelseries Siberia that lists both consoles and the Mac for compatibility. I'm wondering if there are any other options I should be looking at. I don't want to spend a ton, maybe $150 at the most. Hoping for $100 or less if I can get away with it.

If it were me I'd probably just get something that plugs into a headphone jack rather than try for something that's USB compatible with everything. Maybe the Audio Technica AD700s plus a Zalman clip-on mic and a 360 adaptor.

Well, that's the second Sennheiser in-ear set that gave up after only a couple of months. The left earbud just died all of a sudden and the shipping for a replacement from them would cost me around half the cost of headphones themselves.
I'm not sure if I should just switch to ultra cheap brands and resign myself to replacing them every once in a while, or try Klipsch or some other better known brands. Seems to me like most of the brands that were renown for their high build quality are changing manufacturers these days and getting worse.

I think all of them are subject to wire connection issues over use.

Thin_J, I may be wrong, but I suspect your Sennheisers are working great because they are older. All the older stuff (and some of it is 15 years old at this point) I bought from them is still working great, it's just the newer products that are failing for me.

I don't know what magical being has blessed every pair of earbuds I've ever bought... but I feel like that's the only explanation.

I have four pairs, all that have led fairly tortured lives. A set of Sennheisers, two sets of Etymotics, and a pair of Denons. They all get stuffed in pockets, shoved in laptop bags, yanked out of my ears by the cord because I don't pay attention when I move around at work, thrown on top of my dresser, etc, etc, etc, and on from there.

They all still work great. The Sennheisers are over three years old at this point and probably have a couple thousand of hours of use on them, and I've been using the one set of Etymotics, the MC5's, almost every day at work since August of last year, sometimes for four or five hours at a time.

If there's some ritual sacrifice I can perform to continue this trend I will do it.

I feel like other people open the box, look at the earbuds wrong, and they stop working.

On a sound/headphone/audio/whatever related note, my X-Fi Titanium HD very recently just up and stopped outputting audio from the RCA outs at random. A driver reinstall would fix it, but only for a few weeks before the problem happened again.

So I went looking for a new card that would let me keep my setup the way it was, input/output wise, and hopefully without going back to creative. I ended up with a Xonar DGX, and it just frickin works. Went to the website and downloaded the windows 8 drivers before I even put the card in.

Very first thing I noticed: Creative driver package is like 140+ megs. Xonar DGX driver package: 19.3 megs. lol.

The driver control panel for this thing is incredibly small and lightweight compared to the creative stuff, and I'd downloaded specialized drivers for the X-Fi that eliminated a lot of the extraneous software.

And it was less than a third of the price. So far it sounds very similar, if not identical through both my Maverick D1 and my LittleDot MKIII.

The only thing I haven't had time to test yet is Dolby Headphone vs CMSS3D. I expect they'll be very similar.

All I know is CMSS3D is old, everyone seems to use/prefer Dolby Headphones these days.

On another note, I'm thinking of picking up some AD700's. Has anyone compared those to cheaper offerings, like the Samson SR750's, or whatever those are... or the JVC RX700's? I know those two are closed, while the AD700's are open, but they are all supposed to have nice soundstages, especially for gaming.

I like the idea of an open headphone, if only for the reason that I now have an infant in the house, so while I have time once in a while to game, I can hear if he starts to cry. The wife is always around, but I like to be there as well. Plus, you know, the AD700's have created quite the legend now.

If I have an Asus motherboard, would I really hear the difference if I bought a soundcard?

interstate78 wrote:

If I have an Asus motherboard, would I really hearvthe difference if I bought a soundcard?

I have no idea. Everybody's different. I still think onboard stuff is lacking, but it's certainly hugely improved over even just a couple years ago.

I've had a lot of problems with onboard sound with my last few motherboards. In one the output volume just slowly and inexplicably tapered off. In the other, the microphone input went to crap.

And just saying "Asus" isn't a defining yes or no. Onboard sound has improved, but not every motherboard is made with the same DAC

The Realtek 889 on my ASUS P8P67 Deluxe seems really good. My hearing is not as good as it was, so I no longer like to weigh in with absolutes on whether or not a given DAC is good... I'm not really qualified to do that anymore. I used to always rely on treble response to measure DACs and encoders, and it's just disappearing as my ears age.

The headphone out had an audible hum when I didn't have speakers connected, but as soon as I hooked those up, the headphones quieted right down. Pretty odd. But now that it's quiet, it sounds really good to my not-so-great ears. And it's super-flexible, too -- the headphone in/out and microphone in/speaker out are separate devices, so you can have both active at once, with Vent in your ears, and the game on the main speakers, without needing to buy anything else.

fleabagmatt wrote:

I've been kicking around the idea of getting some nicer gaming headphones for a bit. I've got somewhat odd requirements, though, that just more odd. Mainly I'd use them for playing TF2 on the Mac. I'm not sure, but I'm guessing any USB headset would work for this. I currently have a Logitech Clearchat headset that works well enough, but it starts hurting my ears after a while with my glasses on. I'd also like to use these on my PS3. I had more or less decided I was going to pick up a set of the official PS3 headphones since it looks like they'll work fine on the Mac as well.

As of yesterday, though, my wife and I decided to pick up an XBox 360 on sale as a Christmas gift for the two of us. That sort of throws a monkey wrench into the decision. I was hoping I might find something that could work for all three, but I don't know if that's doable.

I did come across the Steelseries Siberia that lists both consoles and the Mac for compatibility. I'm wondering if there are any other options I should be looking at. I don't want to spend a ton, maybe $150 at the most. Hoping for $100 or less if I can get away with it.

http://www.turtlebeach.com/product-d...

Another option is to pick up the DSS2 amplifier from Turtle Beach and pair it with a third party headset in your price range (something from Sennheiser should work great). As an inexpensive option for gaming on all platforms, I cannot think of anyone else that can do all three on the cheap. You would have to do a lot of cable swapping, though.

Thin_J wrote:

On a sound/headphone/audio/whatever related note, my X-Fi Titanium HD very recently just up and stopped outputting audio from the RCA outs at random. A driver reinstall would fix it, but only for a few weeks before the problem happened again.

So I went looking for a new card that would let me keep my setup the way it was, input/output wise, and hopefully without going back to creative. I ended up with a Xonar DGX, and it just frickin works. Went to the website and downloaded the windows 8 drivers before I even put the card in.

I had a very similar experience about six months ago. My X-Fi Titanium always caused random issues that forced me to restart the driver, including sudden crackling noises or the mic no longer working. When it turned out to be the culprit in a lot of my game crashing problems, I finally gave it the boot.

Picked up a Xonar DGX for a crazy low price and love it. Had no issues with the drivers, and agreed, the client it uses is a lot easier. As someone who goes between headphones and speakers constantly, I also love the built-in amp for the front panel input, and how it automatically recognizes that I plugged my headphones in and switches over.

The only major issue I have with Dolby Headphone vs. CMSS is that as the Dolby one is just a general surround tool not specifically for games, it can make things more echoey, which is great for movies that already have a surround mix but not when you're in a game with bullets are being shot constantly from all directions, which means it's not ideal if you are using headphones that already have a large soundstage. I had a negative impression the first time I tried it out with my AD-700s because it sounded like every explosion was 10 miles away. Using my A700s has been the best compromise. And on the other side, DH doesn't seem to suffer from the issue I had with CMSS-3D where talking voices could easily be drowned out if you weren't directly beside the character.

All of that is moot anyways because Creative have completely discontinued CMSS-3D on the new versions of their cards and replaced it with THX TruStudio, which has wildly differing opinions.

I bought a Xonar DX last spring on a sale, but after reading about the driver issues and Asus seeming to abandon them a bit, I've been afraid to install it and have just stuck with onboard. I probably ought to at least try it.

I know there were some hacked drivers around that tried to fix some of the Asus shortcomings.

Hey guys, hope this is the right place to be posting this. I got a bunch of gift cards from Amazon for Christmas, and am looking at using them to pick up a headset. I'd like it to be able to work with my Xbox, PS3 and PC and be able to swap between systems with little to no fuss. Right now, I've got an Xbox in the entertainment center, hooked up via component. Occasionally, I will swap out the cable and run HDMI from the console to my GAEMS G155. It's got dual 3.5mm headphone jacks for audio out. I'd also like to be able to use it with a second Xbox running on component cables. I'm looking at keeping it to around $100-$150 if possible. Is there anything that comes close to this without having to buy all sorts of adapters, and massive amounts of unplugging and replugging to move from one system to another?

Unless you have it all plugged into the TV or a receiver and have the headphones plugged into that, it gets more complicated. Actually... you said headset, so that wouldn't work anyways. Sorry, I got nothin'

The only thing I know of that makes it easy to use a headset on both consoles and a PC is the Astro Mixamp.

I'm not sure how/if it deals with the bluetooth voice setup on the PS3 though. I've never used it with the Playstation. Just the 360 and my PC.

Yeah, the PS3 functionality is actually less of a concern, since I do most of my gaming on the Xbox. I would like to have it as an option though. I looked in to the Astro stuff, but apparently Amazon doesn't carry it. I was leaning toward Turtle Beach, specifically the Ear Force PX5, but just checked and the price went up enough since yesterday to put it out of my range.

The X42 model is in your price range. It is a budget model, but it should sound similar to the more expensive models. The drivers and underlying technology are probably the same, but the build quality will not be as nice.

I used the old infrared model (X41) and I thought they very good for gaming, but not really suitable for listening to music. The build quality was not impressive either. They held up fine, though, and the guy I sold the them too was happy with them.

Yeah, that AstroAmp is probably the best thing for using nice headphones and gaming. All inputs, Dolby Headphones, and I think it's a decent amp in there.

Would probably pair nicely with the AD700's. Hmmmm

I'm kind of upset I didn't jump on the PX5 yesterday, guess I thought it would stay at that price for a bit. Anyway, did some more digging, and now I'm deciding between the X42 and the Tritton 720+. I like that the 720+ does 7.1 surround, but it apparently is only compatible with PC in Europe. How does that work? I understand that things run on a different voltage there, but I'd assume that the consoles do too, so if it works on both US and European Xbox, it should work on a US PC as well.

Edit: Looks like the Trittons are not wireless like I thought. 12 feet of cord should be enough, but I'd rather not have the extra cord to worry about. I'll have to think about this a bit more.

The Tritton (MadKatz) offerings are subpar. I owned one of their setups for a while and the sound quality was terrible. They should be avoided.

heavyfeul wrote:

I used the old infrared model (X41) and I thought they very good for gaming, but not really suitable for listening to music. The build quality was not impressive either. They held up fine, though, and the guy I sold the them too was happy with them.

The X41's are 2.4ghz wireless, the X31's are the infrared ones.

Just discovered that the Turtle Beach Tango is on sale for $200 right now. Really tempted on that one, but it's the same price as the PX5s now. Also, just did the bills, and don't have any money to spare right now, so I guess I'll have to wait a bit. Though I'm sure by the time I have the money together, they'll be back to regular price, and again out of my budget.

heavyfeul wrote:

The Tritton (MadKatz) offerings are subpar. I owned one of their setups for a while and the sound quality was terrible. They should be avoided.

I've heard and seen this same thing from way too many people at this point not to agree.

Citizen86 wrote:

Yeah, that AstroAmp is probably the best thing for using nice headphones and gaming. All inputs, Dolby Headphones, and I think it's a decent amp in there.

Would probably pair nicely with the AD700's. Hmmmm

It does indeed pair well with the AD700's, or that whole series of Audiotechnica cans actually. I have my A900's hooked up to my older Mixamp right now.

I own the E7, it's a nice little piece of hardware. It won't make much of a difference with cheap headphones, but there have been some songs I've noticed a difference on with cheap headphones, so it does do a better job. Especially coming from laptop out.

I was going to say it only has USB in, but you're right, you can use it as a straight amp and skip the DAC if you have a receiver or something. I was trying to figure out how to use it from the TV or some other component, but I wanted to use the DAC, no optical in.

Alright, when we get some of this credit card paid off, I'm going to fill it back up with some AD700's, hehe.

I will say that (non-headphone related), I picked up the Corsair SP2500's last month, and so far they're great. It does what I want without dealing with more than 2 speakers and a big ol' receiver. Plugged right into my E7 for PC music or straight into the TV. It actually works fine for the TV, I set it to about 75% on the Corsairs and control the volume of the TV with TV remote. Movies are much more fun now.

I know everyone suggests bookshelfs + receiver, but I just didn't want to get into it. In any case, I think the $200 for the SP2500's was well spent. Thought I'd share that somewhere

@soonerjudd

The Audio Technica ATH-AD700 headphones are the best gaming headphone value right now. They are $99.95 at Amazon and that is a steal for how wonderful they are. They will work nicely even without a Dolby Headphone amp and they are excellent for music.

You could then pair them with a Fiio amp (E7) and have a pretty great setup. It would be a stereo solution, not a Dolby Headphone one, but it will sound great.

You would simply plug your stereo feed (might need RCA to miniplug adapter) from your source into the amp. It is a portable amp and charged through USB. It can also serve as an external USB DAC/Souncard for your PC.

Now, you could spend your money on the Turtle Beach setup and be happy as well, but the AD700 and E7 are high quality audio components for an extremely reasonable price. The Earforce stuff is good, but overpriced. If I had $150 budget I would go for the AD700/E7 setup.

Audio Technica ATH-AD700

Fiio E7 USB DAC/Amp

The big drawback is that it does not solve the problem of voice/chat. The Earforce stuff will handle that. Not in a very elegant way, but Xbox voice chat is done via a cable that runs from the headset to the Xbox controller (X42). Their more expensive models uses a wireless connection between the headset and a little puck you plug into the Xbox controller. I have never used it, but that model is out of your budget (Model: XP500). Note that the X42 does not have chat support for the PS3. You will need a bluetooth model for that (XP400/500).