I'm looking "reviews" of your headset/microphone/headphones. Everybody here uses at least a mic, and soundis an important part tof the WoW experience, so decent headphones are nice =) I've also always had problems with my mic not being loud enough even at all settings amxed and soudn quality not being too good. I guess I'm not the only one ;)
So I'm looking for a decent headset or headphones & microphone combination, something better than the average 25$ headset.
I got a cheaper Plantronics headset, but it's not very comfortable when I'm wearing it for longer periods, and the sound quality sucks compared to my regular speakers. I need a headset though because the neighbours are otherwise terrorizing me for making to much noise when gaming at night.
I have been looking at several things, one is this Sennheiser headset for about 60$
I remember reading decent reviews of Sennheiser headsets in the past, and this looks like it might also be suitable for listening to music, meaning that the sound quality is probably good.
What I like even more is a combination of these Zalman 5.1 headphones and extra mic, which are sold as a bundle here in Europe:
I like the concept of having seperate headphones and a mic, since then I can use my speakers during the day and the headphones in the evening/at night, without having to change the microphone. I could use a two splitter to connect headphones and speakers to the PC and just mute whichever oen I'm not using. And if the 5.1 actually works out well that's nice as well...
Tell me what you're using, if you're happy with it, and what you think I should get. Budget is 50-100$
Something to think of, the quality of your soundcard makes a difference as well. I've personally found that onboard sound sucks....which reminds me, I need to go buy a Creative Labs board.
Something to think of, the quality of your soundcard makes a difference as well. I've personally found that onboard sound sucks....which reminds me, I need to go buy a Creative Labs board.
I got one of those Creative X-Fi Xtreme Music cards, and it pisses me off that with a 100$ you can't amplify the mic volume to a useful level, my not-so-goo onboard sound is better in that respect. The sound quality of the X-Fi is great, but software wise and feature-wise it's lacking...
Edit: If you're gonna buy a Creative card, be sure to buy an X-Fi, the older Audigy ones are (as it stands now) not going to be supported for Windows Vista.
I use a Plantronics GameCom Pro 1 USB headset, which I think ran about $75. It's got fabric earcups that are totally comfortable to wear for hours on end, even though it's got some solidity to it, including the mic boom which swivels up out of my way when I just want to use them as a headset. I don't see it on Plantronics' site anymore, but a lot of retailers on and offline carry them.
I like using this USB headset since the system treats it as a separate device, which is handy when I want to send WoW's sound output to my speakers and Vent to my headphones.
Originally Posted by Apate
Yeah, I'm barely OK with myself being in the room while I have sex
I use a Plantronics GameCom Pro 1 USB headset, which I think ran about $75. It's got fabric earcups that are totally comfortable to wear for hours on end, even though it's got some solidity to it, including the mic boom which swivels up out of my way when I just want to use them as a headset. I don't see it on Plantronics' site anymore, but a lot of retailers on and offline carry them.
I like using this USB headset since the system treats it as a separate device, which is handy when I want to send WoW's sound output to my speakers and Vent to my headphones.
That's neat, did not think of that, actually solves my connection problem of having to use a headset at night and speakers during the day.
I have that exact Sennheiser headphone your linking. Overall I'd say im very pleased, Sennheiser has excellent sound quality both inbound and outbound.
The only thing I could say that's negative is that it gets abit 'heavy' on the top of your head after many hour of use. The times when I go above 10 hours of playing i need to adjust the position of it more frequent because I get a 'headache' from them, not a proper one but you get what I mean.
Saying that, one can wonder wich headphone would feel comfy' after that many hours of usage.
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About a year ago, I got a generic $10-15 headset with mic from Radioshack. It finally @#$@ed out... after a year of an adult male rolling over the cord in a chair. Noone's ever said I was anything other than clear, and when I hear myself echo on other people's setups, I sound more or less how I expect. Justified, to me, spending another $10-15 on the replacement pair. They're quite wonderful in my opinion, they serve their purpose, are comfortable to me, and I've never heard of anyone even getting close to that price.
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I have a Playstation 2 USB headset/mic, and like bryne said being able to play vent through just the headset and wow through the speakers is really nice.
I don't think the Playstation 2 headsets are any higher quality then most, but they're cheap, like $20 new.
I personally am using a Sennheiser headset. After using a cheap Logitech headset for several months, going to this new set is pure sex. PC150's for those interested. Comfortable headset, excellent sound quality. Gogogo!
Granted they are quite expensive, but having a booster built into the cord along with fantastic surround sound support makes them quite nice.
The major caveat I have with them is that if you wear glasses, especially if they're new, they will pinch your earlobes and your glasses support arms quite painfully at first, you kind of have to take breaks using them.
Other than that, built in 5.1 support with a microphone and a built in amplifyer make them a very solid "jack of all trades" set of headphones/mic that support pretty much anything you throw at them.
Used sennheisser for a few years and theyre just weak when it comes to wiring durability. First headset the left ear just started to die out, second headset the jack end that plugs into the pc went and required a wriggle every now and then to get sound back. I use icemat siberia's now and have no complaints, mic disconnects as well so i can use it elsewhere. Sound quality pretty good and cords are thick and durable.
I bought a really cheap mic-headset sennheisser pair, it was R280 here in South Africa which translates to about 40 US $, sound is perfect, comfortable even after 10 hours since its very lightweight.
My soundcard is another story though, its an Aureal Vortex 2 which at the time, and still, amazing quality sound however drivers are not updated at all anymore so when I get Vista I'll have to look for something new. Gonna miss this baby, it served me well.
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I've been using a Logitech headset for over a year before, but I must say that Sennheiser feels (and sounds) a lot more professional. Cost me about 85€, 5months ago...
My soundcard is a X-FI Platinum. I'm not an audiophile, but it sounds amazing imo.
Really good quality in sound and, as many others have said, the ability to be able to listen to vent in headphones, with music on in the background, when combined with a noise cancellation mic is really nice.
I use a set of Audio-technica ATH-M40fs studio headphones. No, I didn't buy them for WoW, but if you have really nice headphones lying around, why wouldn't you use them? (This is the same logic behind my using the rest of my ridiculous audio setup as well, although I can't really advocate someone picking up all the hardware they'd need to use the same mic as me - Rode NT1 - I can certainly advocate grabbing a set of the ATH's if you do more than just WoW. They're very good for music as well, obviously, and are designed for professionals who are going to be wearing them for hours on end, so they're comfortable as all hell. They do, however, give an absolutely vicious case of headphone hair.)
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I use a pair of Sennheiser PC150 and I like them a lot. They sit kind of loose (on my head at least) and don't push hard against my ears, which my old Koss SB45 did. Some like it, some don't. I like it and I get a light headache after an hour with the SB45s, which was the reason for buying new ones. If you for some reason like shaking your head alot, they might not be perfect. Other than that, they're really nice. Compared to SB45 they also have a better sound quality both in the mic and speakers.
Being a priest, i do tend to shake my head a lot, but i'm not saying i like it!
I've had that generic 20$ Logitech headset that came with UT2004 way back when, and it's just now starting to wear down on me. I know a lot of people have had problems with them, but i'm not one of those people. 3 years is a long ass time for that cheap headset to last me, with the amount of time i spend on vent/TS. When the padding on the earpieces finally rips completely off on me, i will just go and pick up another set.
I have had Sennheiser HD580s for ~6 years now and they're still working flawlessly. I believe they're down to 150-180 now. My only complaint about them is that for some reason, the left wires always die out after about a year, and I'm forced to replace them. They sound perfect, though, with my SB X-fi platinum.
I have the Senn HD-580s also, and have just ordered a lapel microphone (also called a lavalier mic) from Amazon. Search for "lapel microphone" and lots of options come up. I haven't been able to use it yet, but I'm looking forward to it. I hate having to deal with two headsets.
Someone bought me Sennheisers as a gift many years ago, and the wires blew out in a few months, so I've avoided them since. I'm willing to give them a second chance, but it was an odd failure, to be sure. Even a mediocre pair of Sony headphones seems to be able to last for half a decade, and yet many people report Sennheiser wiring failing very quickly.
01/31/07, 8:42 PM
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