Headsets

[DogMeat]

The LHS earpiece swivel snapped on my Medusas just before Xmas.  They were good while they lasted, but because they didn't last long enough, I won't be buying from them again.:angry:

I'll be trying the Creative Fatalitys with my X-Fi Gamer card next.

[Anonymous]

I am running a pair of the Creative Fatality Headphones. I used them to replace the Plantronic PS90s I had before.

My observations:

Heavier than PS90
Feel tighter on head than PS90 (but more secure)
Microphone doesn't seem as sensitive as PS90 but easily tweaked in volume panel.
Sound quality MUCH better than PS90

Never had Medusas so can't compare against that but I'm generally happy with the Fatality headphones

[GhostMjr]

The LHS earpiece swivel snapped on my Medusas just before Xmas.  They were good while they lasted, but because they didn't last long enough, I won't be buying from them again.:angry:

I'll be trying the Creative Fatalitys with my X-Fi Gamer card next.

Let me know Dogger's if you want the address and contact info for an RMA.

[GhostMjr]

Blunt got the Tritton 5.1 AXPC USB headset which looks similar to the medusa in many ways.

Doing a quick google i also found a similar headset to the medusa from amazon for around £19 reckon its the same build quality as the £64 edition medusa sell?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Easy-Touch-Headphone-5-1-Channels/dp/B000WFJ9T6/ref=pd_cp_ce_1_img?pf_rd_p=136153791&pf_rd_s=center-41&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000O118F6&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=08S7HV4SS0T2Y1FM1K3Q

More info on it here:

http://www.easy-touch.com/EN/products/computers_products/p24857/et-151_octane__5_1_/

Also found a set of these on ebay for around £150

TRITTON TRI-GA611 AXPro True 5.1

http://www.trittontechnologies.com/products/TRIGA611.htm

[[BIG]magnus]

I got these just before xmas

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Speed-Link-MEDUSA-51-Home-Edition-SL-8796-(SPEED-LINK-PC-Console-and-Multimedia)

Wife was complaining about the gun noise form left 4 dead!!  The first game she has complained about.  I think the volume was higher so i  could hear zombies coming!!! Any way the seem so far to be very good.  Good sound quality lack a little base.  Sorted in the xfi sound panel.  Mic seems to be very good and adjustible.  The amp part is genius tho.  I have my speakers plugged into it as well as my headset and at the touch of a button I can switch between them.  It also has two sets of inputs so you can use it with another input and use the pc's speakers ie PS3 or ipod without the computer being on.  The only downside so far is that i still need to use a separate mic for the speakers as the headset mic seems to switch off when speaker are switched on.  So I just use my old headset round my neck.  

p.s. they rumble quite well i nearly fell over the first time i played cod 4 up loud.

[spoong]

Plantronics CS60 USB ftw, if you're ok with using a separate headset for voice comms and still having sound out of speakers.  A bit pricey but light and with great battery life.  Otherwise you can't go wrong with Plantronics .audio 625, at about 20 quid if you shop around.

Oh, and don't bother with the USB option on the .625 / .645s, you just get a USB dongle, which you can get on Ebay for 2 quid direct from China (and they work!)

[BigFatCat]

I got lazy after doing a little football commentary relay/half time DJ work so left one of these or one of these connected to this and then hooked up to the PC's line in feed.
Some of [showUID]=128&tx_sbproductdatabase_pi1[showUid][backPID]=68&cHash=33534009bc]these complete the ensemble.

[delankster]

been thinking of upgrading my stereo set of sennheiser's for a full blown surround sound set

allthou i'm happy with my headset, i have since buying them got back into fps's and think a 5.1 set would help alot

so having read the thread have been put off the medusa'a by the build quality,
the razers by the same and the price.
have been leaning towards these Zalman ZM-RS6F-M

Seems to have had fairly good reviews and the price is well....Nice

 anyone tried them or heard any horror stories

[GhostMjr]

been thinking of upgrading my stereo set of sennheiser's for a full blown surround sound set

allthou i'm happy with my headset, i have since buying them got back into fps's and think a 5.1 set would help alot

so having read the thread have been put off the medusa'a by the build quality,
the razers by the same and the price.
have been leaning towards these Zalman ZM-RS6F-M

Seems to have had fairly good reviews and the price is well....Nice

 anyone tried them or heard any horror stories

DA had a pair of these i think he either didn't like them or something was up with them. This was around 2-3years ago so they were alot more money then. They don't come with a microphone though. Scan the forum for the DA talking about these zalman's or PM him if you can't find anything.

[DarkAngel]

I purchased the Zalman one's when they first came out and the price has halfed now. Personaly i wish i had'nt bothered i found them very uncomfortable and big and heavy, and the mic included was utterly useless.

I believe i binned them in the end, so my advice is to avoid them.

Im currently trying to get the best price for a set of Sennheiser HD650's which seem one of the best entry headsets atm, so shout if any1 see's one for £150

[delankster]

cheers for the heads up guys :thumbsup2:

hadn't realised they had been around that long, shall give them a wide birth.


so any suggestions ??

[lionheart]

I have over the past couple of years had several sets of "gaming" headsets in my search for the nirvana of 3d sound. My conclusion is don't bother with the 5.1 sets.
The better solution is get a soundcard with good positional capabilities (X-fi or Xonar) and a quality stereo headset. It makes sense if you consider the quality of each of the 10 speakers in a 5.1 set compared to the 2 in a  similar costing stereo set.
 
I recently sold my medusas, not because of any quality issues but because I wanted better sound. I bought a set of Sennheiser PC350s, a little expensive but the positional quality when used in conjunction with my X-fi soundcard is massively better them the Medusas.  The sound when listening to music is a little "bright" but some tweaking with the eq can sort this, and the X-fi can have different Eq settings for gaming and music listening so no hassle there.
 
You can pick up an extreme music X-fi oem on the bay for about £40, if you are using on-board sound this will definatly be the best improvement to your sonic enjoyment, add a decent stereo headset (sennheiser ?) and nirvana is yours........

[Dewey]

Another plug for Sennheisers - and of them - the quality is light years ahead of so called gaming headsets - I've tried logitech, Steelsounds etc and they all fall short compared to Sennheiser.

Sennheiser have the advantage that they are designed to come apart so that if you pull the wiring out for example you can just order the part not chuck the whole headset as you do with most other makes. Also a wide range to suit all budgets with many in the range being no more expensive than other makes so its a no brainer. Who do you trust - a company that specialises in audio products or companies that are more interested in sponsoring a gaming gaming(fatality anyone!) etc?

Oh yes and the sound quality is excellent, comfortable too - I've had my current closed phones for 2 years and they look and perform like new, I'm about to buy an oped headset as my wife keeps making me jump as I can't hear her sneaking up behind me!

[delankster]

after scouring the interwebby thingy for a few days i have basically come to the same conclusion as you guys.
all the 5.1 headsets that are available seem to be flawed in one way or another.

i have an creative x-fi 7.1 sound card which sounds brilliant with the speakers system i have
i also have a set of pc-151 sennheiser's, which are good !
but i deffinatly don't get positional sound from them !!!

maybe i am doing something wrong....:doh:wouldn't be the first time

will look into the pc350's :thumbsup2:

[lionheart]

Make sure you have CMSS enabled in the game mode, there is a test you can run from the creative control panel which plays a helicopter flying around.