ssddx :
while i'm not terribly familiar with the siberia elite, it is worth noting that generally audio quality from gaming headsets is inferior to good headphones with the exception being headsets designed by actual hifi audio companies which are based on actual headphones. the sennheiser lineup of gaming headsets are all based on actual headphone designs - the zero is based on the 598 i believe. audiotechnica and beyerdynamic have a few headsets as well based on headphones. or, its entirely possible to get headphones and a clip on or boom mic which broadens your choices even more.
can your motherboard handle the 598s? many motherboards are hit or miss although given you have decent onboard audio and it lists compatibility with high impedence headphones i think you have a decent chance of them working fine. onboard will never be equal to a good soundcard but you should be okay. if you went with higher impedance or harder to drive headphones i'd be a bit more on the fence but with the zeros (hd598) you should be fine.
what you forgot to mention is what kind of sound you want. did you want something neutral and lifelike? bass heavy? bass anemic but which gives you good advantage in fps? something very "fun" sounding? also, did they need to be open (better soundstage/positional audio) or did you need closed (noise isolating from the outside world but less soundstage)? also do you like your headphones bright (sharp detailed treble) or a bit more laid back?n
my own opinion is that so called gaming headsets are expensive crap. i see why people buy them since they are cheap and they get the job done however there are much better options out there if you want quality audio. if you buy into the whole true 5.1 thing there really isnt much choice but headsets although realize that more smaller drivers means less quality sound over larger higher quality ones at the expense of perhaps not as much 3d effect. you can emulate 3d effect on stereo headphones with virtual surround although with large soundstage headphones some users say they do not need it as they are fine without. realize that virtual does distort audio a little to achieve this effect (you can youtube virtual surround sound and find videos comparing the styles - mainly cmss3d/sbx, razer and dolby headphone).
perhaps the best buy would be the hd518 paired with a clip on mic or modmic given that the hd518 and 598 share the same drivers. the difference in sound comes from the design of the headphones (hd518 is a bit more bassy with less soundstage, hd598 is a bit more neutral with a bit less bass). the build quality is superior and the cups more comfortable on the 598 as well which is what you're paying for really - not as much a huge leap in sound quality. as for attachable mics the modmic is top class, the moovmic acceptable with lavalier microphones ranging from great to poor depending on model. the zm1 zalman is a cheap fix but only so-so in quality. good quality comes at a price.
sennheiser is not your only choice, but i'd need to know more about what you like/want in terms of sound to suggest otherwise.
is there a reason you do not want to use speakers for everything? (such as having a household full of people and late night gaming) if you combined a budget you could get some really nice speakers.
Thanks for answering!
The main reason i don't want/can't use speakers for everything is because i am probably going to move in a few months so i may not have all the space i now have, meaning if right now i buy a 5.1 or even a 2.0 i may be force to not use it later on.
The idea here, since this my first gaming build and also my first audio build (right now my audio build is, and has been for the last 10 years-ish, a 10 bucks 2.1 set of speakers
), is to go real safe. I want to buy a set of headset just to be safe in my choice and if possible i want it to be good enough so that when/if i'll actually get a soundcard or amplifiers i may just plug it in and keep using it.
Basically i want a headset that is good now, with my onboard sound card, that has a decent enough mic for multiplayer, and that has the chance to become even better by using amps/sound card later on.
Since i never actually used over-ear headsets, or headphones for that matter, i am a little "scared" by the prospect of not hearing myself when using closed headsets, but from what i gathered both Elite Prism and Sennheiser g4me zero have sidetone so there's that.
Maybe the Sennheiser game one? They are open and seem to have, like the game zero, high quality, or as much as possible, in sound and a good mic, again like the other ones
As for the sound i want, well i can't really aswer that because, as i said, this will be my first experience with headphones. I just want something that goes along nicely with the kind of games i listed in my Opening Post, something immersive, i guess, soemthing that makes the experience better.
Going back to the speakers, what would you suggest for a 2.1 implant? As i said, i'd like something good enough that i may upgrade with sound card/amp if the place i'll move in will not allow me to take a 2.0 or 5.1 implant, and at the same time cheap enough that i may discard it(sell it) if i'll have the possibility to get something better.
A 2.0 may still fit in if it's not awfully big, and if they're much better that the 2.1 i could actually consider that.
The budget for the speakers is about 100-150 as of now(maybe 200 if the 2.0 are really good and not that big), not much but i hope it'll be enough
Thanks again!
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram