Best 7.1 Headset?

j1j1j

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Hey Guys, I just built a new PC that has over 12 fans. Its incredibly loud. I currently have a sound card capable of 7.1 and was wondering what the best headset on the market these days is....

I have an infinite budget, so price makes no difference. I guess I'm looking for 7.1 since thats what my sound card supports. Any help or advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
 

dgoldberg

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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826153051

I currently have a carchiacas (somethin like that) has ILLL sound quality, sometimes ill even take it for a walk with my ipod. anyhow i trust razer more than any gaming company, am currently typing on a taranchula mirrored edition and clicked this link with a wired/wireless razer mamba (awesome) , DEFINITALLY give these a shot, there isnt much better in gaming quality than razer (im running on a xonar dx2 soundcard btw) ENJOY! :D
 

welshmousepk

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i aslo have the g35, and its great. if you have the budget though, i would suggest something of better build quality.

i friend of mine has razer magolodons, and they are superior to my g35s in every way. probably as good as a headset can get.
 

RazberyBandit

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While I love the sound quality of my Tritton AX51 Pro's, I can't stand their build quality. I'm on my 3rd pair in less than a year. The problem stems from an un-reinforced wiring connection to the ear-cup. Any stress on that connection is likely to sever a wire. So, if you were to use them, I suggest no sudden getting up from the PC with them still on, as it will jerk on the wiring.

The difference between this pair of Trittons and most other 5.1 headsets? There's no inline 5.1 USB audio device and no software required to enable such a device. You just plug them into your existing 5.1 jacks on your motherboard or sound card, connect it's power plug, and you're done. If you've already got a hi-fi sound card or onboard HD audio, the USB-based headsets just add yet another device and more software.
 


More or less correct, especially on the lack of decent reinforment on the AX Pro earcups (ehnce the reason I now use a G35).

First and formost: There are only two 7.1 headsets: The Logitech G35 and Razer Megalodon. The G35 basically uses an enhanced version of dolby headphone that maps a 7.1 audio stream onto a 2.1 plane. The Megalodon does the same thing, just with a proprietary software solution instead. As all USB headsets do, they ignore the soundcard for processing (although the megalodon claims to use the soundcard, although I'm unsure to what degree).

Secondly, all USB 5.1 solutions use either dolby headphone, or some other simmilar software solution to achieve the same effect. If you have a soundcard, theres no reason to go this route.

Optical 5.1 solutions generally squeeze more actual speakers into the headset [emphess added], as opposed to virtualizing the sound. This tends to give better side channel processing, but these have two downsides:
1: External decoder module for decoding Dolby Digital/DTS audio.
2: To get 5.1 in games, you need to encode the audio stream to one of these formats, which requires a dedicated soundcard with either Dolby Digital Live or DTS Connect.

And of course, theres also 5.1 analog...
 

RazberyBandit

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^ Right. I forgot to mention that while not 7.1, there are several True Dolby 5.1 options. And of course I mean true as opposed to virtual.

Some of the high-quality virtual 7.1 headsets are excellent, but to me seem just a bit lacking when directly compared to true 5.1. Having directly compared a few virtual 7.1 headsets (there are more than 2, btw) to both my Trittons and my brother's Turtle Beach HPA2's, I simply prefer genuine Dolby 5.1 over simulated 7.1 surround. And with motherboard-embedded audio devices now featuring HD Dolby audio, going the simulated route just seems... wasteful.
 
^^ Agree; the G35 does its job, but in 7.1 mode, everything seems more...flat i guess. My old Trittons (before they broke) sounded crisp and sharp, and oddly enough, my old Sony MDR-3000 wireless headset still has the best side channel processing I've ever seen.
 

welshmousepk

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i have actually found that i prefer virutal surround to the multi dirver solution some 5.1 headset offer.

when gaming with multi-driver 5.1 you can distinctly hear the move of audio from one driver to the other (at least in the ones ive tried).
so i prefer the even movement of virtual surround (which is just as good at portraying directional audio)

as i said earlier, i have g35s and the sound quality is excellent. but they are light and flimsy, and darned ugly. my firend has megolodons, the sound quality is about the same, but the build quality is miles ahead. since the OP isn't worried about the amount of money, id recommend the razer headset hands down.
 

pheesh

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I own a Creative Arena headset, and it's very good (great sound quality, very comfortable).
If virtual surround doesn't bother you (works quite well if u ask me) then I'd go for it.
Price is also much lower than the G35, so that's another (+).

Edit: almost forgot, it's 5.1 virtual surround, not 7.1 (if that matters to you).
 

welshmousepk

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by 'real' he means multi-driver headsets.

by having more than one driver (speaker) in each ear cup, it can genuinely replicate surround sound. but in such a close space the sound can be a little hard to discern, while the movement of an audio stream from one speaker to another can be very noticeable and break immersion.

virtual surround uses only two speakers, but internal deflectors and very clever software to create directional audio without speaker separation. many people say that virtual surround sound is not 'real' surround sound, but in my opinion (and just about every other gamer i know who has used both) its a much more accurate and believable form of surround sound for headphones.
 

thefivetheory

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Agreed. Personally, I've tried numerous "real" 5.1 headphones and they all pretty much suck. Trying to physical cram 5+ drivers into a set of headphones usually results in tiny drivers with crappy sound quality. I'd strongly recommend a set of GOOD stereo headphones paired with either CMSS-3D Headphone or Dolby Headphone.

I most recently switched from a Tritton AX 720 (simulated 5.1 via an optical Dolby Digital connection) to a pair of Audio Technica ATH-A900s and I have to say the A900s with CMSS-3D Headphone sound WAY better. I think really it comes down to sound quality of the headphones, which a "real" surround headphone will probably always lack IMHO.
 

RazberyBandit

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It's not 5 drivers, it's 4-per ear-cup. 1 front, 1 rear, 1 center, and 1 sub for each ear.