PC Gaffers, do you play PC games with headphones or 2.1/5.1/7.1 speakers?

I've got the pleasure of both. I've got myself a set of Corsair vengeance 7.1 headset, it's not true 7.1 and emulated but still really nice to use.

Also got a Logitech Z506 system for the PC for true 5.1, really decent quality for the price.
 
Headphones or bust.

I mean gotta have some sort of speakers for when you're farting around not playing games. But for games, gotta rock the headphones. I need that sound IN MY EARZZ.
 
Adam Audio A3X speakers and Matrix Mini-i DAC. XLR wired, DAC fed by toslink.



The DAC also doubles as headphone amp and is driving my ATH-M50 headphones.

 
Right now I have my PC hooked into my receiver through my ATI 7850 (via 1 HDMI for both sound/vid). I get surround ok and in general it sounds great, but I’m just using ATI / Mobo sound drivers.

If I was to get a dedicated sound card, would it improve fidelity if I still feed it out of my video card? Don’t really want to deal with running another cable through the house because as I mentioned I’m pretty happy with current setup. But if I can get better sound that I don’t realize is possible with perhaps native dolby digital / DTS support, I might bite.
 
NIN90 said:
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Zalman ZM-MIC1

Only a couple bucks and they last forever.
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I use this right now as my boom mic is broken. It works, though the voice quality isn't terribly good. Make sure your ambient noise levels are low, otherwise everyone online will hate you. A good boom mic is worlds better. It's a shame there's no decent boom mic attachment out there. One could easily be designed, clip on style like the TrackIR headset clip.

Dreams-Visions said:
shit cans. I sent them back so fast Valve's head spun. Actually, they were the Commanders, which I guess are the upgraded versions of the 780's with "better sound". A fucking audio travesty is what they were, and an insult to music generally.

I'd strongly recommend anyone looking for a "headset" instead purchase a set of cans in the price range you're looking for (visit the GAF headphone thread and peruse the OP for recommendations in your price range) and add on a ModMic. You'll actually have headphones worth a damn to go with a good mic. Leave the Gamecom shit on the shelf. They are truly terrible, uncomfortable equipment (though the mics are good).
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That bad? I haven't heard the Gamescom 780 specifically, but I've been really happy with past Plantronics products. While the sound quality isn't amazing, the tonal balance is decent, and most of their cans are very comfortable. At $20-30, I couldn't recommend anything better.

I'm sad they don't make these anymore (Plantronics Audio .770). They were fantastic for the money, and the most comfortable headphones I've ever worn. I'd rate both the sound quality and comfort as being much better than the current defacto gaming headsets out there (Steelseries Syberia V2). My only issue is that the cable was thin and prone to breaking. That's a problem most headsets have, unfortunately.

plantronics_audio770.jpg
 
Avallon said:
I love this thing. Click to see specs/reviews/features/etc

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I use these when I need to be quiet. I love them. Best PC headphones I have ever owned.

I have the Logitech z5500 5.1 surround for when I can be loud. And loud it is. Like "Holy shit I'm shaking windows on the third floor" loud.

Both devices serve their purposes exceptionally well and I see no need to upgrade either one of them.
 
I just use a very old set of Dell 5.1 speakers most of the time.

But if it's a game where I need to communicate with people, I use my Roccat Kave 5.1 headset. Or if it's an immersive game that I feel will be better with the surround sound.

The headset doesn't have the best reviews, but I'm pretty happy with it. I've had it 2 years and the only problem is a very slight static background noise.
 
Mostly I use my Sennheiser HD650's plus a Prodigy Cube. Need a better DAC to drive them but right now it's just because my Xonar Essence STX didn't fit between my 2 x 3 slot GPUs.

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When I'm playing with friends I put on my Sennheiser PC 360s for the Microphone.

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And for non-headphones sound I use my Edifier S730

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Sethos said:
Need a better DAC to drive them but right now it's just because my Xonar Essence STX didn't fit between my 2 x 3 slot GPUs.
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I'm slightly regretting getting an Essence STX instead of the ST for that reason.

It won't fit into the first PCIe slot period, because my ASUS GTX570 has an aluminum backplate (I don't *think* it's conductive, but still) and the ASUS sound card has an EMI shield, so the two would be touching each other.

It very barely fits into the 3rd PCIe slot. Again, that ASUS GTX570 causing problems because it has a triple slot cooler.

It wouldn't be an issue at all if I had chosen the Essence ST.

Oh and, how did we get to the point where a sound card needs it's own dedicated power cable from the PSU? How does it not get enough power from the PCIe alone? Although, maybe this explains why my X-FI died after I tried to send full volume to my Pro700MK2.
 
Mr Swine said:
If so what kind of Soundcard, headphones or speakers are you guys using to play you games on?

Myself I have a Sound Blaster Z with Seinheiser HD555 headphones. Sounds fantastic when running in 5.1 mode with headphones on :)
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I regret picking up a Sound Blaster, but daniel_K's fan drivers are REALLY good and fix all the problems I have with Creative cards.

I use a simple Turtle Beach headset, and I received a Logitech 5.1 speaker system for my birthday last year, which I tend to use for racing games (because fuck yeah, cars).
 
I have a PC hooked up to my theatre where I just use the HDMI out from the 6970 to an Onkyo TX-NR809, yet more often than not I find myself gaming on my Office PC.

My office PC is a bit beefier and I have a Xonar Essence STX sound card out to a pair of Sennheiser HD598s. Love the sound but I definitely will not be able to SLI GPUs in this set up.
 
Speakers : Logitech Z-4. I know, but they are decent actually. Just keep the bass control to half setting.

Headset: El-cheapo Plexgear headset, sounds okay. Ill get the Sony headset or that ^ surround logitech one
 
Xonar DG + Sennheisers

Otherwise, I have shitty Logitech speakers and a real cheap Logitech headset for voice communication. I really need to upgrade both of those, preferably with surround sound.
 
Cheap Plantronic pseudo 5.1 headphones for when I don't want to upset everyone else in the house. They're great for gaming, shithouse for every and any other thing. USB connection.

But I also run a Hdmi cable to my Yamaha receiver and enjoy huge 5.1 sound on my days at home alone. Realtek drivers from an AMD video card. It's terrific.
 
I posted this in the not so active headphones thread in the OT. Was hoping for some help here in this more active thread.

Ok, so I read through the OP, nicely put together Des. However, I'm still walking away with some questions. I wouldn't consider myself and audiophile. I would consider myself a guy that enjoys a nice fitting comfortable pair of headphones with a mic.

I work from home and frequently make calls from Skype and Google Voice. I used to use Sennheiser PC 161 PC Gaming Headset and it was perfect for my needs. I loved the fit they were very comfortable to wear for 8 hours a day. Recently the mic went out on them so I had to run up to microcenter and just grabbed a cheap pair of Turtle Beach p11. I don't like them very much the sound quality seems worse and they are uncomfortable to wear for more than a few hours at a time.

Now to my questions. I didn't see anywhere in the OP how I can get a good pair of headphones and still have a mic. Are there add on's that work just as well if not better than the built in one on my PC 161's? Will I need to get a dedicated sound card? I'm open to buying a sound card in the $25-50 range.

Lastly I am willing to spend no more than $100 on a pair of headphones and mic. What do you think Can-GAF?

edit: I suppose I could just go and buy the Sennheiser PC 161 PC's again for 79.99 but I wanted to get an opinion here first.
 
For gaming or watching movie Asus Xonar Essence ST + Sennheiser HD 598 (2.0 or Dolby Headphone 5.1 depending on game). For music most of the time i use Asus Xonar Essence ST + Microlab Solo6c.
 
WhatRobEats said:
I posted this in the not so active headphones thread in the OT. Was hoping for some help here in this more active thread.

Ok, so I read through the OP, nicely put together Des. However, I'm still walking away with some questions. I wouldn't consider myself and audiophile. I would consider myself a guy that enjoys a nice fitting comfortable pair of headphones with a mic.

I work from home and frequently make calls from Skype and Google Voice. I used to use Sennheiser PC 161 PC Gaming Headset and it was perfect for my needs. I loved the fit they were very comfortable to wear for 8 hours a day. Recently the mic went out on them so I had to run up to microcenter and just grabbed a cheap pair of Turtle Beach p11. I don't like them very much the sound quality seems worse and they are uncomfortable to wear for more than a few hours at a time.

Now to my questions. I didn't see anywhere in the OP how I can get a good pair of headphones and still have a mic. Are there add on's that work just as well if not better than the built in one on my PC 161's? Will I need to get a dedicated sound card? I'm open to buying a sound card in the $25-50 range.

Lastly I am willing to spend no more than $100 on a pair of headphones and mic. What do you think Can-GAF?

edit: I suppose I could just go and buy the Sennheiser PC 161 PC's again for 79.99 but I wanted to get an opinion here first.
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Check out mod mic.

They send you a mic that attached directly to any headphone, so would work perfect with your sennheisers.

I haven't heard too much about audio quality but i assume they are pretty solid.
 
Xonar dsx with akg k44 headphones. I should have bought the dgx since it does not have dolby headphone, but some day I will upgrade the speakers.

Using speakers as amplifiers (connecting the cans to the speakers) gives worse quality, right? I have to switch the jacks everytime and it is a pain.
 
Grief.exe said:
You really don't want to upgrade to the Tiamat.

They are literally some of the worst headsets you can buy, and thats saying a lot because the average audio quality of a headset is incredibly low.

Expensive (I can't stress this enough, for that price you could have some ridiculously high quality 'phones)
Razer build quality
low audio quality
simulates 7.1 with little tiny speakers that are cheap
Sound quality because of this is low
Any headset that says 5.1/7.1 is a scam, simulated surround with stereo is much more accurate.

Look around this thread if you are in the market for some. Or just ask with what kind of music you listen to, and what type of games you play.



Yes I agree, sometimes people are tricked into thinking that headsets are the only option on the market.
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Strange because all the reviews i have read on the Taimat 7.1 rate them very highly its just that you need a decent sound card to get the best out of them, without the sound card the sound is apparently low or muddled.
 
I use either some old 2.1 speakers I got, Steelseries Siberia v2 (for MP), and Sennheiser 595 if I'm not on Mumble.
 
Normally I just use a pair of these, which are pretty old, but they still sound fine to me:

41AP4ADKBGL.jpg


I'm not really an audiophile, nor do I have a lot of money to blow on good audio equipment.
 
USB headset. Good audio quality and has a mic, so it does what I need it to do.
 
DocSeuss said:
I regret picking up a Sound Blaster, but daniel_K's fan drivers are REALLY good and fix all the problems I have with Creative cards.

I use a simple Turtle Beach headset, and I received a Logitech 5.1 speaker system for my birthday last year, which I tend to use for racing games (because fuck yeah, cars).
Click to expand...

Which one? The latest Sound Blaster z has very good and stable drivers. I have had. The card for over 2 weeks now :)
 
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