Headphones question

[Spartaniz]

I just bought me the Sennheiser 558 headphones via OrangeMusic yesterday due to a lot of people on MyBroadband and other related websites recommend them for everything.

My one friend asked me how they compare to cmstorms, corsairs and other related gaming headphones in terms of gaming- ie, footsteps in COD and so.

He believes sennies are awesome but not so much for gaming.

I did not receive my new headphones yet, so cant say how they compare personally- I will be able to compare them to the TurtleBeach z6a which I had for one year, until they broke...

Anyone willing to compare the 558's to some gaming headphones?

 

[TJ99]

I would go on a long rant but suffice it to say, there's no comparison. Comparing proper headphones to "gaming" stuff is like comparing a Porsche 911 turbo to an Uno with some spoilers and neon lights on. One just has some gimmicks for show, the other is the real deal.

Get the Sennheisers, (and for the love of Zeus, pair them with a decent Dolby Headphone source, even the cheapest Xonar will do), and have fun laughing at people who pay R1000+ for R200 headphones, because they say "gaming" on the box. No gaming headphones (and even many proper sets costing a lot more) can touch the soundstage and thus the positional effects, of the Sennheiser HD 5xx series. The only time you might not want them is if the sound will bother others, as they are open-backed.

Again, just try it and see. Just make sure you have a Dolby Headphone compatible sound card andyou set it up properly.

 

[Pada]

For gaming you may need to tweak the EQ a bit if you want to emphasize footsteps with the Sennheiser headphones!

 

[Spartaniz]

I would go on a long rant but suffice it to say, there's no comparison. Comparing proper headphones to "gaming" stuff is like comparing a Porsche 911 turbo to an Uno with some spoilers and neon lights on. One just has some gimmicks for show, the other is the real deal.

Get the Sennheisers, (and for the love of Zeus, pair them with a decent Dolby Headphone source, even the cheapest Xonar will do), and have fun laughing at people who pay R1000+ for R200 headphones, because they say "gaming" on the box. No gaming headphones (and even many proper sets costing a lot more) can touch the soundstage and thus the positional effects, of the Sennheiser HD 5xx series. The only time you might not want them is if the sound will bother others, as they are open-backed.

Again, just try it and see. Just make sure you have a Dolby Headphone compatible sound card andyou set it up properly.

Thanks for the reply! I am getting the Sennheisers! I am so tired of gimmicks... I also have the Xonar DG sound card- the cheap one with built in headphones amp.

For gaming you may need to tweak the EQ a bit if you want to emphasize footsteps with the Sennheiser headphones!

Can you maybe give me the right EQ settings to achieve this? I tried Googling to no avail.

 

[bullzeye.za]

Thanks for the reply! I am getting the Sennheisers! I am so tired of gimmicks... I also have the Xonar DG sound card- the cheap one with built in headphones amp.

For the love of all that is holy, please don't set the amp any higher than the default setting to the Sennheisers.

They will be loud, but you will destroy them - They are low impedence headphones, so they don't need to be boosted by a big amp.

Also, congrats on the purchase, great set of headphones, those.

 

[Speedster]

Have a look at pages 28-29 of the current Dion Wired brochure, there are a gazillion headphones in there. The brochure is viewable online too.

 

[ponggongbusuk]

I suggest you buy the latest Razer headphones. Every sound in the game is very clear. The more fun if you play games like Amnesia. Haunted game more fun to use this headphones. Try it now
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[poffle]

the prices of those Tiamats is dumb. Why buy gaming headphones when you can have audiophile headphones? still cannot reason that argument, especially since OP has a decent sound card.

Enjoy your sennies, i've loved all 3 that i've owned.

 

[Spartaniz]

omg... these headphones... I have NEVER heard anything so wonderful! I had to take them off to see if my speakers are on! Its as if the sound is around you and not "in your head"!

It actually improved my K/D ratio in blops 2 in the first game! Could hear everything!

will NEVER buy anything else again.

 

[TJ99]

omg... these headphones... I have NEVER heard anything so wonderful! I had to take them off to see if my speakers are on! Its as if the sound is around you and not "in your head"!

It actually improved my K/D ratio in blops 2 in the first game! Could hear everything!

will NEVER buy anything else again.

 

[Pada]

Hehe! We did tell you those gaming headphones are overrated

Did you play with the EQ at all for your games or did you just enable the gaming mode in the Xonar control panel?
I'm not playing games in such a serious fashion any more, so I don't even bother with the EQ, so unfortunately I can't give you one that works best to hear enemies...

You'll notice now that those different audio settings/presets in the Xonar control panel have big effects on the audio feel & quality.
Like for music I like to keep it in the Hi-Fi mode (no EQ), but for games I have to use the game/3D presets.

 

[czc]

Wow, over 2k, they must sound good.

 

[Rickster]

Not to sound like douche or anything but,you call yourself a gamer and you don't buy headphones that come with a mic? I mean come on...anyway about 8 months ago I replaced my HD 205's with a Corsair HS1A (R650) they are good in terms of sound quality ect, I'm just a little bit disappointed because it fails to detect faint footsteps in COD BO but my friends Roccat Kave can hear them clearly, yes I know I'm comparing Stereo to 5.1 surround sound.

This would be my definition of Gaming headphones:

- 5.1 Surround sound
- Has a mic
- >50mm drivers

PS: A nice expensive sound card is recommended to pair with any decent headphones.
PPS: If your system has a Realtek onboard audio device try this: Right click on the Realtek icon-> Sound Manager->Sound Effects-> Equalizer->Powerful

I would also like to say that sennheiser headphones are more for DJ's and studio and general audio use.

If you want proper gaming headphones look at Razer,Roccat,Logitech.

 

[Pada]

@rickster:
My standalone cheap microphone works well enough - so I don't need silly "gaming" headphones with an attached mic.

Also, I don't know what you're on about with the driver size! In the end it is just the frequency response & volume that you care about. The higher quality headphones usually come with a higher impedance, which may lead to you requiring an amplifier. 50 Ohms are pretty much the limit before you'll need an amplifier.

Lastly, a decent set of stereo headphones coupled with a high end sound card will beat a 5.1 surround sound headphone set - but then again it would also cost 2-4x as much in total.

 

[Inn3rs3lf]

Not to sound like douche or anything but,you call yourself a gamer and you don't buy headphones that come with a mic? I mean come on...anyway about 8 months ago I replaced my HD 205's with a Corsair HS1A (R650) they are good in terms of sound quality ect, I'm just a little bit disappointed because it fails to detect faint footsteps in COD BO but my friends Roccat Kave can hear them clearly, yes I know I'm comparing Stereo to 5.1 surround sound.

This would be my definition of Gaming headphones:

- 5.1 Surround sound
- Has a mic
- >50mm drivers

PS: A nice expensive sound card is recommended to pair with any decent headphones.
PPS: If your system has a Realtek onboard audio device try this: Right click on the Realtek icon-> Sound Manager->Sound Effects-> Equalizer->Powerful

I would also like to say that sennheiser headphones are more for DJ's and studio and general audio use.

If you want proper gaming headphones look at Razer,Roccat,Logitech.

Do you drink?

 

[elf_lord_ZC5]

@rickster:
My standalone cheap microphone works well enough - so I don't need silly "gaming" headphones with an attached mic.

Also, I don't know what you're on about with the driver size! In the end it is just the frequency response & volume that you care about. The higher quality headphones usually come with a higher impedance, which may lead to you requiring an amplifier. 50 Ohms are pretty much the limit before you'll need an amplifier.

Lastly, a decent set of stereo headphones coupled with a high end sound card will beat a 5.1 surround sound headphone set - but then again it would also cost 2-4x as much in total.

Agreed!

Also, remember, the only reward for playing your headphones too loud i s deafness, so don't.