Looking for a good, affordable, durable 7.1 surround headset

My headset currently is one of these. it is cheap. Durable, comfortable, has EXCELLENT sound, but is virtual surround, not 7.1. After 2+ years of abuse it's finally starting to wear out:

https://www.amazon.com/EasyAcc-Surro...ming%2Bheadset

(it's not precisely those, but apparently one company in china makes them and sells them to like 4529 different manufacturers)


I am thinking something along the lines of the kraken 7.1...


I'd prefer to stay away from logitech because their headphones are made out of plastic and they literally disintegrate after about 3 months of use (rip G900s x 3 pairs)


Also i'm not a fan of wireless because charging, costs extra, offers me no advantages

Hi Jerry
I have been using a pair of these for a while and think they're the best headphones I've ever owned also as they're usb you don't need a soundcard:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00...loud+2+headset


https://www.hyperxgaming.com/en/head...gaming-headset

I've had a couple of sets of true surround headphones by a company called Sharkoon whuch were good but expensive. Also each ear had several small speakers in the overall sound seemed a bit weaker, I found them to have a silly amount of cables and the set up was more fiddly.

In my time I've also had a set of Astro A40s which are virtual surround like the HyperX. They were also good and very comfy, however I just found the HyperX to have a much better precence and surroundness (my new word).

Before buying the HyperX I read loads of reviews and these seemed to be the most consistently highly rated headphones for under $100.

I hope this helps cheers.



Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

There are no good headsets. They are all trash. Just get regular headphones and a separate mic.

For example:
This: https://www.amazon.com/AKG-K240STUDI...dio+headphones
And this: https://www.amazon.com/Professional-...ier+microphone

Will destroy any headsets even the most expensive gaming headsets.


P.S. I have Razer Kraken headsets. THEY ARE COMPLETE GARBAGE!!!

I 100% agree with ZED; all gaming headsets are bad and overpriced.

Try something like this:

Headset https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Mic https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You will not regret it.

I was just about to ask this very same question. I've been using a 5.1 Creative Labs Z sound card and a Roccat Kave analog headset for about 4 years now. The left channel has gone out on 2 sets of these things so far due to some poor solder joints within the control unit. Directional sound was fantastic, but as I've never tried a USB virtual 7.1 headset I can't really compare the two. Would the separate headset/Mic combo be able to give a realistic 7.1 studio of sound ? I was about to drop nearly $350 on the Turtle Beach Elite Pro and TAC combination, but if this will surpass the comfort and sound quality, I'd rather save a couple hundred bucks !

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AOD_CrazyJoe

I was just about to ask this very same question. I've been using a 5.1 Creative Labs Z sound card and a Roccat Kave analog headset for about 4 years now. The left channel has gone out on 2 sets of these things so far due to some poor solder joints within the control unit. Directional sound was fantastic, but as I've never tried a USB virtual 7.1 headset I can't really compare the two. Would the separate headset/Mic combo be able to give a realistic 7.1 studio of sound ? I was about to drop nearly $350 on the Turtle Beach Elite Pro and TAC combination, but if this will surpass the comfort and sound quality, I'd rather save a couple hundred bucks !

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The biggest problem with USB headsets is that they use onboard sound card built in within headset, which is a complete trash. Second all this 5.1 and 7.1 advertised on headsets is a complete utter BS and is just a marketing trick just like the DPI stuff for the mice. Any studio quality headphones will deliver better surrounding positioning than these headsets advertised as 5.1 and 7.1. And to confirm about the marketing trick - have you ever seen any DJ or music producer using USB headphones? Wonder why they use analog?

As for the headsets you linked, that is the perfect example of what I mentioned above in regards marketing trick. Those headsets is just a waste of money. Save your money and get a proper Audio Interface or a Headphone Amplifier with DAC chip or Audio Interface + Headphone pre-amp or Mixer with built in amplifier + headphone pre-amp and get a good pair of Studio Quality headphones with an XLR mic.

Here is what I have:
Audio Interface: https://www.amazon.com/Steinberg-UR2...berg+ur22+mkii
Studio Headphones: https://www.amazon.com/beyerdynamic-...=bayerdynamics
XLR Mic: https://www.amazon.com/Neewer-Profes...rds=neewer+700

I'm planning to get headphone pre-amp for my headphones since that audio interface lacks one but is very solid on speakers and mic. I'm also planning to get a mixer because I'm currently using software equalizer APO 1.2 - I spoke about it here: https://www.clanaod.net/forums/showthread.php?t=183707. An awesome software to improve sound on any headphones, headsets. Don't even need that BS software from onboard mobo sound card or like Razer, Logitech or whatever other software come with gaming headsets you buy - you can read about it in more details on that thread.

Benefits having studio headphones for gaming - they sound just amazing and you can fine tune the way you like and can hear sound that you will never hear in gaming headsets. It's a complete game changer. I've used DJ headphones for gaming for almost 20 years. Back in the days when I played Counter-Strike competitively I've been accused of hacking so many times because I simply new where the enemies are if they were making any noises. Even today when someone is sneaking on me behind me I literally know where exactly he is and to do 180 shot is so much easier.

Also, just wanted to point out that choosing headphones is not an easy task because there are so many variations of them, for example, Mixing, Monitors, Studio, DJ, etc. Then there are things like, opened, semi-opened, closed headphones; again different purposes, different soundings.

My usb headset is better than when I ran a headset through my soundblaster soundcard. It's great for gaming anyway.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AOD_jerry

...has EXCELLENT sound, but is virtual surround, not 7.1...

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All headsets are virtual surround sound from the PC software which controls the frequencies.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AOD_jerry

Also i'm not a fan of wireless because charging, costs extra, offers me no advantages

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I hear you & understand. I'm a longtime thinker of the same concept. However, technology changes with time; so keep an open mind & inspect the latest devices to make sure you haven't missed out on anything super cool.

As for the charging & your thinking of no advantages, I recommend looking at these:

https://steelseries.com/gaming-heads...s-pro-wireless
http://youtu.be/rbyZ08racS0

By far the best gaming headset I've ever purchased. 2 batteries make weekend gaming amazing. DTS X (with compatible games) sounds awesome. Being able to use them to watch Netflix built-in my TV while wife is asleep, also amazing. Deezer via Bluetooth, also amazing.

Price, not so hot, but you get what you pay for! And there are still more expensive headsets than these!!!



P.S.
Check your local computer shops, gaming shops, online sites, etc. They might have the previous version of the above headset at a reduced cost https://steelseries.com/gaming-headsets/siberia-840

I ditched headsets awhile back, I use a desktop mic and a pair of Phillps 9500S, I then use a equalizer program and set to hear footprints, it works in BF1 and PUBG. These headphones are great for music as well. I use a $10.00 clip on mic with my laptop that sounds just as good as my Blue Yeti. so for under 70 USD you can have top notch audio.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...B&gclsrc=aw.ds

Don't ever use surround virtualisation too if you're playing games like CS:GO that use Head Related Transfer Function (HRTF) for audio. It totally ruins the effect and fucks up your sound.

Headsets with the built in sound-cards (like the HyperX Cloud II) use this for their, supposedly, 7.1 audio.

To add on to the post reccomending the k240s, Massdrop has been having the AKG K7XX series at a very reasonable price.

Phillps 9500s and mod mic affordable. Hd 660s schiit dac/amp blue mic high end

The Beyerdynamic DT 1990 PRO headphones are a perfect example of German engineering, with their matte black finish and minimal plastic covering the wires.

7.1 is a gimmic and usually done via software and most of the time destroys directional audio. Go with a good open back headphone or headset like audio technica AD700x or Sennheiser PC38x. Will give you far better competitive audio than anything you're looking at. If you want wireless tho I'd just go with Arctics or HyperX. Don't expect them to be game changing tho. Beyerdynamic dt990 and dt880 are great for gaming too. dt770 I LOVED but they don't have great sound stage (distance to the sound). Directional sound was amazing tho. Only headphone I've owned that I could tell the difference between up and down in Warzone garage audio environment.

I'd recommend giving Drop/Sennheiser a try. Sennheiser makes some great drivers. Check some reviews for their updated PC38X headset. I have an older version that is closed back but same drivers and I love them. (Wife hates them.. lol). Most above me are right though, a separate solution will probably give you better audio quality but for simplicity these worked well for me. Also, as Mr. Tea said above, don't use any of the Surround sound settings in Windows or driver apps. Most games and media player programs in windows have functions built in to use (tricks) to virtualize surround. They work great.

https://drop.com/buy/drop-epos-pc38x-gaming-headset