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So I'm looking to buy a new gaming headset...

omamder5
Level 7
I had been using Turtle Beach P11 Headphones to game, on both my PS3 and G75, and just about a week ago, the right cup stopped producing sound, unless I fiddled with the wire at the volume control-box. Obviously, it was a frayed wire, so I popped it open and tried to resolder the wires (no warranty left), but was unsuccessful.

What really angered me is the absolutely abysmal quality of the cable, using 1/10 mm or so copper cables for all the wiring. Of course it's going to stop working! The kicker is that I only bought this set a year ago, for 60 bucks, and it has gone through totally normal, non-abusive use. We had a set of Sony headphones that worked for 13 flipping years (!) until I sat on them and broke a cup off. Seriously, one year? This stuff is just made to disintegrate.

Anyways, I am obviously back in the market for a new set that would work with both my laptop and Playstation, but I have a new requirement.

It has to have a detachable cable, or have the ability to replace the cord with some user-friendly method, that doesn't involve soldering. Also, it would be perfect if I could then buy a replacement cable or two, because, in all likelihood the quality will be down the toilet, so I'd like to have some backup on top of the warranty, which leads me into my next point:

Either a detachable cable, or a proven warranty, be it extended or lifetime, that's going to allow me to replace the set if something goes wrong, with a reasonable amount of leeway for the 'cause' of the defect. Basically, I want to know that I can get a replacement without having trouble 'proving' that I didn't abuse the product, or have the defect mysteriously become outside of the warranty's limits. I have heard a lot of not-nice things about warranties, and I want to be sure I'm at least reasonably backed up.

The Steelseries Flux looks like it has a detachable cable, and works with PS3, apparently. Any others?

[Update] I got them! Read the posts below.
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14 REPLIES 14

dedaciai
Level 10
Hi omamder5,

Sorry to hear about your old headset. A few questions regarding your needs/wants

- Do you need a detachable or built in mic?
- What is your budget?
- Do you use an external amp?
- Do you plan on using this headset for anything else like music and movies?
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Easy enough.

- A mic is nice, but not entirely necessary. Retractable or at least have the ability to fold away, detachable is not necessary. I could live without a mic, but it would make gaming online a bit trickier. Bottom line, no mic doesn't mean I won't look at it.

- I'm probably looking at an absolute maximum of $150, hopefully less than that. That high price would only be justified by superb construction.

- Don't use an external amp, don't feel the need even though it could improve the sound quality. I'm not big on it.

- I have Sennheiser HD 205's, and I use those for music on ipod or tablet. However, I wear glasses, and the Sennheisers are too tight with them on; they dig into my temples very painfully. So this new set would be for laptop gaming, playstation gaming, and movie watching on a big screen.

Also, a playstation-specific set is not necessary, but is an option. I could simply get an audio cable splitter and hook up a regular 3.5 mm jack set to the playstation, although I'm not sure how this will affect simulated surround sound, since the Sennheisers are pretty crap for directional audio during laptop gaming usage.

dedaciai
Level 10
Cool. Thanks for the info.

I currently own both the Vuclan ANC and Razer Cacharias.

Vulcan
Pros:
- GREAT in game positional sound
- detachable mic
- detachable cable
- GREAT natural noise blocking ear cushions
-protective case comes with it

Cons:
- Only so so with music (I had to really mess with my equilizer to make these sound good with music)
- Sound stage is not as nice as with an open back headset...usually not a concern with gaming though

Retail at $119.99US - you may be able to get them for less if you look around. I have a big head and wear glasses at times and these could get a little tight on the temples when wearing glasses and if you have a big head. 🙂

Razer Cacharias

Pros:
- Crazy comfortable
- flip up mic
- Really good all around sound (i.e. music, games, movies)
- Soft velour ear cushions are glasses friendly
- Good sound stage

Cons:
- The highs can get distorted at times
- cable is not detachable

Notes on Cacharias: You can find this headset for about $70 or so. I have had this thing for almost two years and have dropped it many times without it breaking.

Other Notes: Go for a stereo headset...all of those extra little drivers are nothing but gimmicks in my opinion - you only got two ears right ? 🙂

Also, I would also look at a good music head set like something in the Sony MDR series or Audio Technica Reference Headphones. Below is a link to a website that may have you asking more questions then gettiing answers and tons of audio candy to boot 🙂

http://www.head-fi.org/
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Thanks for the detailed reply!

I saw a Razer Carcharias (?) at Futureshop, and it's true that they looked comfy with those soft cushions (I can't remember if I tried them on or not). Bowever, despite what you say, I'm still a little concerned with the build when I'm dropping 70 bucks on plastic that looks like it came out of the dollar store. Also, non-detachable cord....waaahhh! Sound is decent, though, I'm sure.

Now those Vulcans sounded interesting, but what I'm guessing are stiffer cushions on the cups might make for a painful wear with my thicker glasses. I'll have to look that up.

Now, what I was really looking into yesterday was just what you said, regular audio 'phones for music. I found something that might just be the winning number when I saw the Shure SRH440's at London Drugs. I even popped open the box and tried them on. Detachable cable (yes!) and loose enough to wear with my glasses. Not the most comfortable set in the world, but decent, and from what I've read it has very accurate sound. I tried it with my ipod, but without any burn-in, it's not going to give me the best sound, anyway. $130 at LD, but I found a pair on eBay in Canada for $100, plus shipping. I'll keep looking, but for now those seem like the most attainable, best value choice.

dedaciai
Level 10
No prob, omamder5. Post back and let us know what you decide on. Cheers!
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Without a way to actually try on the Vulcans, I can't really go for them in case they end up being as uncomfortable as my Sennheisers with glasses - and those things hurt!

Do you have any knowledge of using a female 3.5mm to male RCA splitter with the PS3? Will this affect sound quality or the simulated surround effect during games? I'll have to get a splitter and try it with my cans today...

omamder5 wrote:
Without a way to actually try on the Vulcans, I can't really go for them in case they end up being as uncomfortable as my Sennheisers with glasses - and those things hurt!

Do you have any knowledge of using a female 3.5mm to male RCA splitter with the PS3? Will this affect sound quality or the simulated surround effect during games? I'll have to get a splitter and try it with my cans today...


Regarding your first statement, the leatherette cushions on my vulcans are pretty soft. I have a big noggin and I have problems with almost all headsets (except the cacharias). I have not tried the vulcans with my glasses, but I could see there being a problem since they are slightly tight on my head with the band out (yes...my head is big 😞 )

With regards to your second statement, I am not sure since I don't own a PS3. I would assume the degradation in sound quality won't be too bad as long as the cables aren't terribly long. However, maybe someone else on the forums with more audio experience can chime in.
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dedaciai wrote:
Regarding your first statement, the leatherette cushions on my vulcans are pretty soft. I have a big noggin and I have problems with almost all headsets (except the cacharias).


The P11's, while not extremely loose, somehow managed to be comfortable with glasses over long periods of use, but the headband sometimes hurt the top of my head a bit. Another problem is that I don't have a very small pair of glasses, which would be great for gaming. The arms of mine are really quite wide and thick.

dedaciai wrote:

I would assume the degradation in sound quality won't be too bad as long as the cables aren't terribly long.


Actually, I just tested this, and I'm glad to say it seems to work pretty awesome. I got a 3.5mm female > RCA male, RCA female > RCA female, and volume control adapters from The Source totaling around 40 dollars (!), and I planned to just test them out with my HD 205's, return them, and get the same stuff cheap online. However, when I got home I realized I could just use the adapter off of the old Turtle Beach, which got rid of one adapter and went straight from 3.5 mm to RCA female! So those pieces of trash actually had a use.

With the volume adapter in, I can pick up details I never could with the P11's. Trying Gran Turismo 5, the bite of the Murcielago's rev is shiver-inducing, and the stereo phones reproduce the Doppler effect quite admirably. The only problem I noticed is that I can't turn the sound up high enough. So, I guess my next question is...what did you say about those amps? Haha.

omamder5 wrote:


Actually, I just tested this, and I'm glad to say it seems to work pretty awesome. I got a 3.5mm female > RCA male, RCA female > RCA female, and volume control adapters from The Source totaling around 40 dollars (!), and I planned to just test them out with my HD 205's, return them, and get the same stuff cheap online. However, when I got home I realized I could just use the adapter off of the old Turtle Beach, which got rid of one adapter and went straight from 3.5 mm to RCA female! So those pieces of trash actually had a use.

With the volume adapter in, I can pick up details I never could with the P11's. Trying Gran Turismo 5, the bite of the Murcielago's rev is shiver-inducing, and the stereo phones reproduce the Doppler effect quite admirably. The only problem I noticed is that I can't turn the sound up high enough. So, I guess my next question is...what did you say about those amps? Haha.


Glad to hear you got the 205s to work on your PS3. I have heard from several people that a good music headset will always run circles around a gaming headset - even expensive ones. And you got it to work on the cheap is a plus!

With regards to it sounding low, I also have the same problem with my Vulcan if I don't increase the gain to between 60-100 Ohms even though the headset is rated at 32 Ohms. Now that you have $150 dollars to play with since you got your HD250s to work, you may want to look in to an amp:) An amp should last you a long time and you'll be able to use it on a multitude of devices too if you get the right one. I have heard the Asus one has gotten some really good reviews and the one by Astro gaming too
Intel Core 3930K at 4.25GHz
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