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[Recommend On] USB Headsets

mere_immortalmere_immortal So tasty!Registered User regular
edited January 2009 in Moe's Stupid Technology Tavern
Time to get a new headset, but for some reason the mic in port on my soundcard is very iffy, and either doesn't recognize when a mic is plugged in or keeps thinking im plugging it in and out and in again, which is damn annoying as it minmizes whatever is fullscreen when doing it. Also when a mic is finally working its damn quiet and sometimes just picks up static, so decided on a new usb headset, preferebly under £50.

Looking at this atm: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SP-112-CL

Had a creative before and was happy with it, but tell me whats good and bad for ear furniture.

Steam: mere_immortal - PSN: mere_immortal - XBL: lego pencil - Wii U: mimmortal - 3DS: 1521-7234-1642 - Bordgamegeek: mere_immortal
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    EchoEcho ski-bap ba-dapModerator mod
    edited January 2009
    I have a Logitech Clearchat Pro (USB), and I'm very satisfied with it. Volume control/mic mute on the right cup.

    Echo on
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    HamurabiHamurabi MiamiRegistered User regular
    edited January 2009
    My keywords are: headphones, headset.

    My automated response is: Sennheiser.

    Hamurabi on
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    RohanRohan Registered User regular
    edited January 2009
    I have the Logitech 350 Premium, and I love it. Great sound from it, great noise-damping microphone.

    Rohan on
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    king awesomeking awesome Registered User regular
    edited January 2009
    Hamurabi wrote: »
    My keywords are: headphones, headset.

    My automated response is: Sennheiser.

    This.

    You can get Sennheisers as low as 35$ and all the way up in to the thousands, and all of them sound great, are comfortable, and are what you want.

    king awesome on
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    Mortal SkyMortal Sky queer punk hedge witchRegistered User regular
    edited January 2009
    king awesome wrote: »
    Hamurabi wrote: »
    My keywords are: headphones, headset.

    My automated response is: Sennheiser.

    This.

    You can get Sennheisers as low as 35$ and all the way up in to the thousands, and all of them sound great, are comfortable, and are what you want.

    My Senn 280 Pros are the best things ever, and I think they may come in headset form too.

    Mortal Sky on
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    archonwarparchonwarp Registered User regular
    edited January 2009
    I'm throwing in a vote for the Plantronics 650 . I have what is essentially this without the USB. It comes with a USB converter that gives you fake 5.1 surround sound, which I'm told works very well. The headset is huge and makes you look like you're piloting a plane, but the sound is better than any pair of headphones I've ever used. Also, I've ran it over with my chair several times and it's still good. They're incredibly comfortable as well, and the mic is really good at blocking out ambient noise.

    archonwarp on
    873342-1.png
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    1ddqd1ddqd Registered User regular
    edited January 2009
    Well, I'll break the mold: Razer Barracuda HP-1s

    For the price, some of the best positioning and mic capture. Everyone that uses one loves it and it goes even better with the card (Barracuda AC-1)

    1ddqd on
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    VistiVisti Registered User regular
    edited January 2009
    I'll just throw this out there.. Another solution would be to but a USB soundcard. There's ones that are the size of a flash drive.

    I have a bigger one and when I need to use a microphone, I have an actual XLR slot for a SM58 and whatever headphone I want to use. It works flawlessly and both voice and sound in the headphones will be leagues better than any all-in-one solution. This is only if you're an audiophile, I guess.

    Visti on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
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    EchoEcho ski-bap ba-dapModerator mod
    edited January 2009
    Might as well ask while we have a fresh thread.

    Are there any USB headsets with a mic and 5.1 sound that don't have the mic and/or sound suck?

    Echo on
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    FightTestFightTest Registered User regular
    edited January 2009
    I've owned two brands of headsets over the past few years.

    First and second were Plantronics DSP 500 type headsets. First one broke due to my own stupidity as I rage tore it off my head and the cord was hung up on something so it ripped right out. Second one died after about a year and a half or so. Basically the weight/pulling on the cord over time loosened the connection inside the headset so the right cup died.

    Issue with both of them was that when there was no sound there was some odd background noise, sort of a high pitch hearing test type whine.

    Annoyed with the whine and the cord connection failing me I picked up a pair of Sennheisers (~$80, about the same price as the Plantronics sets). Main complaints with these being that even if I wheel the volume down to minimum there's still sound, and it's louder in one ear when it's all the way down as a further annoyance. And also if there's no sound and the volume is up you can hear ambient hum from the mic. You can flip the mute switch to stop it but I don't know why it pics up noise on its own without me or a program telling it to.

    Both brands had/have good sound and voice quality, but I've yet to find the perfect pair with no flaws. (And to prevent further cord trouble this time the first thing I did out of the box was tape up any connection locations so general strain via gravity will hopefully be on the tape rather than the cord connections.)

    FightTest on
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    1ddqd1ddqd Registered User regular
    edited January 2009
    Echo wrote: »
    Might as well ask while we have a fresh thread.

    Are there any USB headsets with a mic and 5.1 sound that don't have the mic and/or sound suck?
    Well, I'll break the mold: Razer Barracuda HP-1s

    For the price, some of the best positioning and mic capture. Everyone that uses one loves it and it goes even better with the card (Barracuda AC-1)

    Of course, I'm not sure what you mean by "that don't have the mic" - headsets, per definition, have a microphone. Do you mean headsets that don't have the boom (aka the little stubby shaft sticking out of an ear?)

    1ddqd on
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    VistiVisti Registered User regular
    edited January 2009
    1ddqd wrote: »
    Of course, I'm not sure what you mean by "that don't have the mic" - headsets, per definition, have a microphone. Do you mean headsets that don't have the boom (aka the little stubby shaft sticking out of an ear?)


    He said that have the "mic and/or sound suck". Whole sentence there.

    Echo > Did you look at the post I made before you? I've never found a setup with a headset where one of the parts weren't lacking. I use on of these, but it might be overkill if you never at any point want to record some music, but the concept would be the same with a smaller size one. Allows me to plug in an actual microphone and an actual stereophone rather than some chimera that is far from the sum of its parts.


    But again, this will probably be overkill if you don't want either a high-quality setup for listening to and recording music, podcasting and so on.

    So uhm, I propose this instead:
    SB40_1.jpg

    Stolen from the site: 
    Ideal for gamers who enjoy deep bass, the SB40 features a dynamic element for premium sound at all volume levels. Incorporating a frequency response of 20-20,000Hz, the SB40 delivers a full-range of sound that will bring your favorite games to life. 

Whether you're alone or online, the SB40's sound will be so efficient that you'll hear your opponent before they even know you're there. Its large, closed ear cups surround the ear for maximum isolation so you can stay focused on saving the world or kicking a forty-yard field goal. 

Soft, leatherette ear cushions envelope your ears without creating pressure for long lasting comfort. The microphone eliminates excessive background noise for a greater ease of use with PC voice applications, such as speech recognition. 

The SB40 has an adjustable headband to fit most head sizes. Built of durable plastic, the SB40's headband can stand up to the rigors of daily wear and tear for a fits-like-new feel after years of use. 

Built to last, the SB40 is covered under Koss' No-Questions-Asked Lifetime Warranty - the only warranty of its kind in the stereophone industry.


    I will recommend anything Koss in a heartbeat. I have probably owned five different sets of headphones from them. And I've tried other top brands, such as Sennheiser and even AKG for studio headphones, but they can't be beaten for the price.

    Excellent sound, excellent prices and.. uh.. read that last paragraph again. Sure, just read it now and come back once you've done it. Lifetime warranty - no questions asked.

    Best company ever or bestest company ever?

    Visti on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
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    ArcticMonkeyArcticMonkey Registered User regular
    edited January 2009
    1ddqd wrote: »
    Echo wrote: »
    Might as well ask while we have a fresh thread.

    Are there any USB headsets with a mic and 5.1 sound that don't have the mic and/or sound suck?
    Well, I'll break the mold: Razer Barracuda HP-1s

    For the price, some of the best positioning and mic capture. Everyone that uses one loves it and it goes even better with the card (Barracuda AC-1)

    Of course, I'm not sure what you mean by "that don't have the mic" - headsets, per definition, have a microphone. Do you mean headsets that don't have the boom (aka the little stubby shaft sticking out of an ear?)

    Or those usable with USB? If they are, the headphones looks interesting.

    From the link it looks like Razer made their own sound connector from a standard DVI and you need a wierd adaptor including a USB for power if you don't own a soundcard with it (presumably nobody but Razer will be crazy enough to make a soundcard with a DVI connector).

    Weird looking Frankensteinish plug
    P8268498.jpg

    ArcticMonkey on
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    1ddqd1ddqd Registered User regular
    edited January 2009
    The DVI connector is for the sound card that partners with it. It's great, only having one connector going into that card (and a sturdy connector, at that). If you have a 3-plug mini-stereo sound card though, that works fine too - you just use the adapter for it (and the USB is for power, yes).

    However, if you want a headset that is USB only, they have one as well: the Razer Megalodon

    1ddqd on
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    LuqLuq Registered User regular
    edited January 2009
    I got the Razer AC-1 soundcard and HP-1 headphones in a woot sale. I really love it, EXCEPT. The damn mic. It's tiny and short, and has no fuzzy thing. Even when I taped a fuzzy foam thing around the mic to eliminate noise the thing is WAY quiet. I have to boost the hell out of it to get anyone to hear me. Everyone in Vent or Steam I have played with has complained about it. I have ordered a zalman clip on mic from xoxide.com for 6 bucks so I don't have to use it anymore.

    The positional audio on the headphones, good.
    Mic, bad.

    Please let me know if your experiences has been different 1ddqd, or if I'm doing it wrong..


    Really good headphone / headset thread at Hard OCP.

    Thread on replacing the microphone for your HP-1 Barracudea headset.

    Luq on
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    1ddqd1ddqd Registered User regular
    edited January 2009
    Luq wrote: »
    I got the Razer AC-1 soundcard and HP-1 headphones in a woot sale. I really love it, EXCEPT. The damn mic. It's tiny and short, and has no fuzzy thing. Even when I taped a fuzzy foam thing around the mic to eliminate noise the thing is WAY quiet. I have to boost the hell out of it to get anyone to hear me. Everyone in Vent or Steam I have played with has complained about it. I have ordered a zalman clip on mic from xoxide.com for 6 bucks so I don't have to use it anymore.

    The positional audio on the headphones, good.
    Mic, bad.

    Please let me know if your experiences has been different 1ddqd, or if I'm doing it wrong..


    Really good headphone / headset thread at Hard OCP.

    Thread on replacing the microphone for your HP-1 Barracudea headset.
    The mic has never really been an issue for me. Were yours refurbished when you got them? Sometimes woot does that. I have used my mic for everything, including Skype, gaming, and Dragon Naturally Speaking. The few times I've recorded myself speaking, I've never had any noise issues. It could be ambient noise is very low in my office (it is, watercooled PC) or that the connection in the ear is solid. If the headphone has lost connectivity, signal can be weak. You can always send it in to Razer, they're very fast about RMA (less than a week, in most cases).

    1ddqd on
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