7.1 Gaming Headsets

Seriously said:
Do you have experience with the Razer Tiamat 7.1?
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No, but I have broad experience, which you seem to lack.

Well there do not seem to be many headsets with multiple drivers around are there? therefore my interest. I have no experience on 5.1/7.1 channel headsets as I use a 5.1 surround sound system for gaming therefore my research into a decent headset at an affordable price for personal use without losing the same experience to end immersing the whole family and neighbours in my gaming experience.
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Any headset/headphones/earphones will give you much better experience than 5.1 speakers (relatively speaking) especially when connected to a sound card with gaming presets. It is much easier for cans to reproduce sounds than loud speakers.

Heard of the Roccat Kaves? Flop.

Still does not answer my question. Why no Razers, CM Storms, Corsairs, Logitechs, Steelseries headsets in the list? Since you are touting that gaming headsets are special and may offer the gaming edge? After all they are comparing 2 channel cans with virtual surround and the majority of overpriced gaming headsets are 2 channel?

Why do I find your posts very arrogant and condescending?
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Because I've dedicated a lot of time to research and spent a lot of money on audio equipment. As much as I appreciate your interest in physical 5/7.1 (which I believe is a gimmick, correlated by other audiophiles), I don't appreciate your stubbornness in coming here and telling me I'm wrong.

Btw, your quote about a musician recommending Tiamats had me laughing out loud. :)
 
PostmanPot said:
No, but I have broad experience, which you seem to lack.



Any headset/headphones/earphones will give you much better experience than 5.1 speakers (relatively speaking) especially when connected to a sound card with gaming presets. It is much easier for cans to reproduce sounds than loud speakers.

Heard of the Roccat Kaves? Flop.

Still does not answer my question. Why no Razers, CM Storms, Corsairs, Logitechs, Steelseries headsets in the list? Since you are touting that gaming headsets are special and may offer the gaming edge? After all they are comparing 2 channel cans with virtual surround and the majority of overpriced gaming headsets are 2 channel?



Because I've dedicated a lot of time to research and spent a lot of money on audio equipment. As much as I appreciate your interest in physical 5/7.1 (which I believe is a gimmick, correlated by other audiophiles), I don't appreciate your stubbornness in coming here and telling me I'm wrong.

Btw, your quote about a musician recommending Tiamats had me laughing out loud. :)
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I find your posts very arrogant and condescending to say the least!

I did not tout anything and posted what I read about the product recently. I can feel less for your "experience", I'd rather believe reviews that tested a specific product than take advice from someone with a blanket negative attitude against brands or anything else new on the market.

Anyway where did I state you are wrong?
 
Seriously said:
I find your posts very arrogant and condescending to say the least!

I did not tout anything and posted what I read about the product recently. I can feel less for your "experience", I'd rather believe reviews that tested a specific product than take advice from someone with a blanket negative attitude against brands or anything else new on the market.

Anyway where did I state you are wrong?
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:rolleyes:

Hey I own Razer in-ears (rebranded Sennheisers) which I'm happy with, and a few Razer Goliathus mouse pads (best there is).

You'd rather trust reviews? Then Google for audiophiles reviewing gaming junk. :D Do you check up on the reviewers' backgrounds and experience? What if they've only heard gaming headsets? Or are only comparing them? Show me reviews putting gaming headsets against common premium audio headphones where the gaming headsets win?

I sense you are sensitive. You probably don't understand the world of marketing, paying off review sites, etc. - especially when it comes to gaming goods and their aggressive spin.

You also probably don't understand that I am passionate about people getting value for money. It's not in overpriced gaming headsets, I assure you.

Ever watched gaming streams? Who would you say the largest team/house sponsor is?

Money has to come from somewhere in order to gain market control.

;)

Does market control mean products are good? Perhaps when there's scientific data backing them up, opposed to fibs, exaggeration, and marketing gimmicks...
 
PostmanPot said:
:rolleyes:

Hey I own Razer in-ears (rebranded Sennheisers) which I'm happy with, and a few Razer Goliathus mouse pads (best there is).

You'd rather trust reviews? Then Google for audiophiles reviewing gaming junk. :D Do you check up on the reviewers' backgrounds and experience? What if they've only heard gaming headsets? Or are only comparing them? Show me reviews putting gaming headsets against common premium audio headphones where the gaming headsets win?

I sense you are sensitive. You probably don't understand the world of marketing, paying off review sites, etc. - especially when it comes to gaming goods and their aggressive spin.

You also probably don't understand that I am passionate about people getting value for money. It's not in overpriced gaming headsets, I assure you.

Ever watched gaming streams? Who would you say the largest team/house sponsor is?

Money has to come from somewhere in order to gain market control.

;)

Does market control mean products are good? Perhaps when there's scientific data backing them up, opposed to fibs, exaggeration, and marketing gimmicks...
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While the headset is a little lacking in music playback it excels in movie and gaming use. When fed a 7.1 signal the positional audio works very well which allows us to game better, the sounds are clear and there is plenty of bass to suit all needs. In fact the only issue here is that there are limited true 7.1 titles available at the moment. This will change as bigger, newer movie releases are brought to Blu-Ray and all Source games currently use 7.1 audio so some very important FPS titles are supported already. In addition to this there are a number of movies and games where the 5.1channel mix gets expanded to 7.1 which will also impress.

So that brings us to value where the ÂŁ159 and $179 price point of the Razer Tiamat puts it just above the level of headsets such as the Sennheiser PC360. Would we choose the Tiamat over that product or the various virtual 7.1 headsets that we have previously tested for gaming/movies? Without doubt.
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http://www.hardwareheaven.com/revie...at-71-surround-headset-review-conclusion.html

Insomnia is a bastard, no sleep possible for me tonight.
 
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Wow simple request thread turned into plasma VS lcd....
 
Seriously said:
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/revie...at-71-surround-headset-review-conclusion.html

Insomnia is a bastard, no sleep possible for me tonight.
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I'm quite happy to accept that the Tiamats have good positional accuracy, but unfortunately that's where it ends. Gaming is not only about positioning after all and I do not agree with the huge focus on 7.1 versus sound quality. And neither should you if you're sensible.

If only the audio quality was good, too. The problem is that the drivers are the most expensive component in a quality set of headphones. For example, an AU$200 pair of headphones will probably have a pair of AU$40 drivers. When you try to squeeze five times as many drivers into the headphones, the cost per driver must decrease five-fold. The result is a set of headphones crammed with bad-quality drivers.

The specs for the Tiamat show the compromises that had to be made, using a single pair of 40mm drivers for bass, two 30mm drivers for front and centre and two 20mm drivers for side and rear. These deliver truly woeful audio quality. There's a massive loss of detail, with many of the effects blurring into each other. Directional audio is admittedly fantastic — the best of the bunch — but so many sound nuances are lost that the player is actually at a disadvantage. Making matters worse is the echo effect that plagues these headphones, which makes it sound as if you're playing in a giant tunnel.

After spending a few hours with the Tiamat, we can see why audio enthusiasts despise surround-sound headphones using multiple drivers. Sadly, unless gamers read reviews or test the product themselves, the fact that these offer true 7.1 surround will be enough to have them selling like hotcakes.
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http://www.cnet.com.au/razer-tiamat-7-1-gaming-headset-339335622.htm

Very poor ratings on Newegg - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...rue&Keywords=(keywords)&Page=1#scrollFullInfo.

Other bits:

Because people are used to listening to low quality audio, so they focus their reviews on the 7.1 aspect. I bet the reviews have lines like "sounds better" or "deeper bass" or "easier to hear footsteps" littered all over them, right? Meanwhile, things like driver balance, tests of the entire range of frequency responses, and comparisons to other gaming or audiophile headsets are likely missing from the reviews.


Compared to even cheap audiophile headphones, gaming headsets are near universal rubbish.


(Sorry if this comes out strong, but its true. I'm getting tired of people spending $250 on an Astro A40, then complaining when they can't hear a difference when using a soundcard.)
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http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/337526-28-soundcard-tiamat

http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/1113635-Razer-Tiamat-7-1-vs-Sennheiser-PC-360
 
This specific piece is all you need to understand when buying 5.1 and 7.1 over 2.
When you try to squeeze five times as many drivers into the headphones, the cost per driver must decrease five-fold.
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Now our of curiosity to bring some meaning to this debate? If I can call it that. I'm sure many people will have found it interesting as I have. And thanks for all the links.

Lets compare apples with apples. And I'm not referring to the tiamats in particular. No point in saying get xyz when it's more than double the price and not in a persons budget.

Lets look at the list posted earlier. How many if any are available in South Africa for under say R2k (This is a lot to spend for most people already. Anything over this I would consider a niche market).

I genuinely want to know.

Competitive:

K701
Q701
HD598
PC360
AD700
Pro 2900
DT990
D7000
HE-400



Fun:

D7000
DT990
Pro 900
HE-400
DT990 Pro 250ohm
HE-4
Sennheiser HD650
Creative Aurvana Live
DT770 Pro 80
DT880
Pro 2900


All-rounders (for both uses):

D7000
HE-400
Q701
DT990
HE-4
Pro 900
Pro 2900
Sennheiser HD650
DT880
PC360
Creative Aurvana Live
KSC35
KSC75
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nakedpeanut said:
This specific piece is all you need to understand when buying 5.1 and 7.1 over 2.


Now our of curiosity to bring some meaning to this debate? If I can call it that. I'm sure many people will have found it interesting as I have. And thanks for all the links.

Lets compare apples with apples. And I'm not referring to the tiamats in particular. No point in saying get xyz when it's more than double the price and not in a persons budget.

Lets look at the list posted earlier. How many if any are available in South Africa for under say R2k (This is a lot to spend for most people already. Anything over this I would consider a niche market).

I genuinely want to know.
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PC-360 - http://www.razordogdeals.com/collec...cts/sennheiser-pc-360-pc-gaming-headset-pc360 http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthr...eiser-PC-360-are-basically-HD555-s-with-a-mic

HD 598 - http://www.razordogdeals.com/products/sennheiser-hd-598-audiophile-headphones

HD 558 (similarly "bright" like the HD 598s) - http://www.razordogdeals.com/products/sennheiser-hd-558-audiophile-headphones

Searched for the others but they aren't on Razordog. This is a company from which many SAfricans have been importing Sennies (see Carbonite audio import thread) as well as where I got my HD 650s.

The beauty of international warranty. :)
 
I was reading about the AD700 as these are like $100 on Amazon, They look really good.
 
nakedpeanut said:
I was reading about the AD700 as these are like $100 on Amazon, They look really good.
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Absolutely. Very comfortable and excellent value. Obviously would want it coupled with a sound card (which you have). http://www.head-fi.org/products/audio-technica-ath-ad700/reviews

Would love to hear from you if you were to acquire such a set of cans.

The Tiamats only have one review so far at Head-fi (one of the only really trustworthy sites) - obviously negative since it's an audiophile site and not entirely about gaming and we know the Tiamats are crud besides directional accuracy - http://www.head-fi.org/products/razer-tiamat-7-1/reviews.

Eagerly awaiting more reviews (but not really as I know what to expect). ;)
 
nakedpeanut said:
I was reading about the AD700 as these are like $100 on Amazon, They look really good.
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I'm not sure I would go for these without listening. AD700s are very bright and many people find them too bright. They certainly have their advantages for competitive fps gaming, due to the emphasis on the high end and lack of bass (our positional sense for lower frequency sound is very poor) and the sheer clarity, but as an all-round gaming headphone, I'm not sure that they well suited. If you already have some decent headphones, then buying 'deaf', so to speak, is less of an issue.

A good cheap option for gaming as well as some music are the Samson SR850s. They can be a little harsh until burnt in, and the pads are pretty cheap and they don't have the ultra comfort of Sennheisers, but easily the best budget headphone for gaming, with a more neutral sound than the AD700 (which means losing some competitive edge, but producing a more pleasant sound).

Half of the problem of buying headphones is first figuring out exactly what your own preferences are, and what you want to use them for.
 
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Rudimental said:
I'm not sure I would go for these without listening. AD700s are very bright and many people find them too bright. They certainly have their advantages for competitive fps gaming, due to the emphasis on the high end and lack of bass (our positional sense for lower frequency sound is very poor) and the sheer clarity, but as an all-round gaming headphone, I'm not sure that they well suited. If you already have some decent headphones, then buying 'deaf', so to speak, is less of an issue.

A good cheap option for gaming as well as some music are the Samson SR850s. They can be a little harsh until burnt in, and the pads are pretty cheap and they don't have the ultra comfort of Sennheisers, but easily the best budget headphone for gaming, with a more neutral sound than the AD700 (which means losing some competitive edge, but producing a more pleasant sound).

Half of the problem of buying headphones is first figuring out exactly what your own preferences are, and what you want to use them for.
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Thanks I've been reading a lot of reviews about them. They look like a winner to me.

I'd use my headphones for purely gaming. (I've had the Razer Carcharias and now my Asus Vulcans)
Any movies/series I watch with my z5500's,
And for music I use my Sony MDR XB-500 as they have some awesome bass :)
 
Garyvdh said:
The Tiamat Razer. Got it for R1767.00 from Rampage Gaming.
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Please give us some feedback once you test drive your son's present. I also like to buy my family nice gadgets to share unless in your case it was for strategic reasons like creating some peace and quiet.
 
Thanks for that info @ nakedpeanut.

When searching for those AD700, I found it quite interesting to see what the other people bought in combination with it at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Technica-ATH-AD700-Open-air-Audiophile-Headphones/dp/B000CMS0XU
This item: Audio Technica ATH-AD700 Open-air Dynamic Audiophile Headphones $99.95
Zalman Zm-Mic1 High Sensitivity Headphone Microphone $4.00
ASUS PCI 5.1 Channel Sound Card XONAR_DG $23.99
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This just shows that what we've said here in the forums are spot on ;) Rather buy audiophile stereo headphones, mic clip & Xonar DX sound card!
 
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