Best Headphones with X-Fi?

[Forlorn]

I just bought an X-Fi Platinum and I'm looking at buying a nice high quality set of headphones to accompany it.

I'm looking at about a $100 budget.

For gaming I prefer the big headphones that cover your ears as opposed to anything else. However I have been hearing that canal phones are top notch.

Suggestions?

 

[astrallite]

Find the best Sennheiser deal you can at that price range. They fit over/around the ears and are slightly warm/laid back so extended use will be less fatiguing.

 

[Arucard]

I'm getting the Sennheiser HD595, for AU$265 It's the last one I can find before they jump to the $600 price range.

 

[satori]

I'd recommend a pair of Medusa 5.1 headphones. The surround sound quality is excellent, and they're incredibly comfortable (a bit on the heavy side, though). The customer support is even better, I own three sets of these thanks to the nifty people who work at the help desk

I have an X-Fi Elite Pro, so I can vouch for them working extremely well with these cards.

 

[Arucard]

I'd recommend a pair of Medusa 5.1 headphones. The surround sound quality is excellent, and they're incredibly comfortable (a bit on the heavy side, though). The customer support is even better, I own three sets of these thanks to the nifty people who work at the help desk

I have an X-Fi Elite Pro, so I can vouch for them working extremely well with these cards.

I considered buing two of them with the amp, so my girlfriend and I could watch movies in my bedroom late at night together, but there are two issues.

1. They're not sold anywhere in Australia.
2. One of the big features with the X-Fi is the 3D sound with stereo headphones. You're probably better off investing in qualite stereo headphones, that you can also use for other things.

 

[CowbellsRule]

Medusa just came out with a pro-gamer version ... atleast here in the states that plugs right into the sound card. I don't have XFI but they sound awesome and the amp is on the cord instead of taking up space. Medusa prices also just dropped and all the headphones are about 30-60 dollars cheaper than they were (110.00 Progamer - 95.00 Medusa 5.1). They make Euro and Stateside versions so just check them out at their website and see if they will ship them.

 

[wstcoaster07]

Are they really that great to pay 100 bucks for em? i am currently running the Koss Pro3AA titanium

 

[satori]

They were well worth the money I paid for them, and I got 'em before the price lowered to a hundred.

Also, Arucard, the CMSS-3D function of the X-Fi card hardly worthwhile. It does tend to give music and movies an extra kick, but not at all comparable to an actual surround sound system. So long as he's using his headphones mainly for computing, a pair of Medusa 5.1 headphones would definately be a better choice. Not to mention an adapter is included so you can use the headphones with a normal headphone jack.

 

[Gangle03]

I'm basically in the same boat as forlorn except I haven't bought my x-fi yet... would the general xfi population agree that 5.1 medusa's with the xfi's cmss 3D turned off the way to go? Or would turning off the cmss 3D ruin the purpose of having xfi? I was planning on buying medusa's but if they will not work well with the xfi card, should I get a cheaper sound card like 1 of the newer audigys or should I just get different headphones like sennheiser HD555s?

 

[satori]

CMSS-3D is only good if you have stereo headphones. It sounds terrible with the Medusa 5.1 headphones (I've tried it both ways), there is almost no bass at all, and it sounds far too "garbagy."

CMSS-3D isn't the only feature of the X-Fi either, I definetely think it's worth the money even if you don't plan on using it.

 

[gearbox]

Sennheiser HD280's FTW!

They cost me $138 Canadian & have performed excellently with anything I've tried, including recording music. They are designed to professional standards and to shut out all outside sound in noisy environments, so I imagine it is easy to damage your hearing if you don't respect their efficiency.

Admittedly I haven't tried them with a X-Fi card specifically, but they are easily the best phones I've owned