Head sets for communicating in-game

Birdseye · Post by **Birdseye** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 6:34 pm

I was wondering what were the best or most popular headsets people are using for gaming these days...

i.e. what do you use to talk in battlefield, descent, or a MMORPG that has voice chat?

XSabre · Post by **XSabre** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 6:46 pm

My brother and I have used these for the past year or so and they've worked great. Good sound and a clear mic. Not the best or top notch, but for the price id say its a good deal. Ive seen them for around $20 usually.

Behemoth · Post by **Behemoth** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 7:26 pm

Link

Stress showed me that a long time ago, dont know if it'll help or not but there ya go.

Hostile · Post by **Hostile** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 8:27 pm

I use these. They are really comfy and have pretty good sound.

http://www.alteclansing.com/product_det ... ID=AHS502i

Sarge · Post by **Sarge** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 8:44 pm

I use the top of the line Plantronics ones. They have a flip-up mic, full-sized cushy foam ear cups, and an in-line volume/mute control.

Actually, I bought them after I saw Sandmann wearing them at the KC Lan fest.

Pun · Post by **Pun** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 10:20 pm

I've bought so many of these. The biggest problem isnt the way they sound. most of the top end ones have decent sound as long as you're not looking for studio monitor sound quality. The main issue with a lot of these headsets is the mic. This can be hard to identify because you dont hear yourself. But by far the best all around gaming headseat I've found are these Sennheisers for under $40. The mic is real sturdy and you'll sound awesome to others. I've turned a few people onto these and they all love them. I've got two sets here. All my other stuff including Sony and Plantronics is sitting in the closet collecting dust. Try em, you wont be sorry.

fyrephlie · Post by **fyrephlie** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 12:30 am

i use mid grade sennheiser head phones and a labtec desk mic ... cause the mics on headsets tend to suck anyway, and it is never going to be great quality voice audio anyway. although the sennheisers punisher pointed our are great ( a buddy has em... and he sounds good on ts, and they are comfy )

Suncho · Post by **Suncho** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 1:32 am

I'm sold on the Senheisers.

Vertigo 99 · Post by **Vertigo 99** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 2:35 am

i had some altec lansings or however you spell em and the mic broke after not too long.

the headphones themselves still work well tho.

BUBBALOU · Post by **BUBBALOU** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 5:25 am

I have been using some sort of plantronics headset for over 6 years. I originally started with the HS-1(DSP-500).. When it came time to get another one, I found it was disconinuted and converted to a USB version. So the analog version was replaced with the Audio.90 SO i picked one up at best buy. It was identical in everyway to my HS-1's except for the coils. So for the price(16.99-34.99) and uncomparable comfort these can not be beat!

review

The New Audio.100 looks promising too .. may have to pick up a pair!!

Pun · Post by **Pun** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 9:53 am

fyrephlie wrote:i use mid grade sennheiser head phones and a labtec desk mic ... cause the mics on headsets tend to suck anyway, and it is never going to be great quality voice audio anyway. although the sennheisers punisher pointed our are great ( a buddy has em... and he sounds good on ts, and they are comfy )

Whatever you do, dont use a desk mic. If you do, most likely you'll have to set a key to activate it and while you do have it open, it'll pick up all kinds of background noise. This is NOT the ideal setup at all.

fyrephlie · Post by **fyrephlie** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 11:31 am

i've never had a problem with it, the cheap labtec i use is actually surprizingly directional. the only time i use a key is if my kids are around and being really loud. but the last 2 headsets i had picked up background noise like crazy anyway.

Pun · Post by **Pun** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 12:08 pm

fyrephlie wrote:the last 2 headsets i had picked up background noise like crazy anyway.

You should buy that set of Sennheisers.

Fezzik · Post by **Fezzik** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 7:34 pm

I haven't tried a Sennheiser headset before, but I've been using Sennheiser HD570 headphones for years now, and have been very impressed. Personally, I prefer to keep my headphones and microphone separate (I use a Labtec LVA-7370 collar mic). One thing's for sure... you can't go wrong with Sennheiser.

kurupt · Post by **kurupt** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 7:41 pm

logitech internet chat headset. best bang for the buck.

Vander · Post by **Vander** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 8:17 pm

I have some nice sony headphones, so I just got a cheap standing mic for $6. I don't know how great the mic is, but people seem to understand me when I talk.

Just noticed punisher's comment, and I do use a key to activate the mic rather than going voice activated.

fyrephlie · Post by **fyrephlie** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 1:04 am

punisher wrote:
fyrephlie wrote:the last 2 headsets i had picked up background noise like crazy anyway.
You should buy that set of Sennheisers.

if i get heavy into online gaming and ts... i just might do that.. but for now being casual as i am, and having a good thing going already, i will stick with what i got.

just putting in my 2 cents folks. my head set for gaming is as i stated about, and that is what was asked.

MD-2389 · Post by **MD-2389** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 1:08 am

Been using a set of Plantronics Audio-90's for the last three years now and never looked back. This is actually my second set. I broke the earpiece off the previous one when I dropped it on my joystick, breaking the clip holding it in place.

I could've just super-glued it back in, but for $20 I just bought another pair.

Pun · Post by **Pun** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 9:27 am

MD-2389 wrote:Been using a set of Plantronics Audio-90's for the last three years now and never looked back. This is actually my second set. I broke the earpiece off the previous one when I dropped it on my joystick, breaking the clip holding it in place. I could've just super-glued it back in, but for $20 I just bought another pair.

You could throw those Sennys out a third floor window and they wouldn't break.

fyrephlie · Post by **fyrephlie** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 11:02 am

yeah i seen a pair of sennheisers stop an armed robbery by just soothing the robber into submission, and once, i saw a headset pull 8 children from a burning orphanage single handedly, and never break a sweat.

MD-2389 · Post by **MD-2389** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 3:28 pm

punisher wrote:You could throw those Sennys out a third floor window and they wouldn't break.

Interesting....

I'll have to check those out next time.

Pun · Post by **Pun** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 4:52 pm

fyrephlie wrote:yeah i seen a pair of sennheisers stop an armed robbery by just soothing the robber into submission, and once, i saw a headset pull 8 children from a burning orphanage single handedly, and never break a sweat.

Is there something wrong with being emphatic about a product that has exceeded your expectations in every way?

</trollfeed>

[]V[]essenjah · Post by **[]V[]essenjah** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 8:26 pm

Hmmmm....

What I wish I could find is a titanium headset with a mic or even a stand-alone mic that you can attach to a set of headphones.

Will Robinson · Post by **Will Robinson** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 11:10 pm

Hostile wrote:I use these. They are really comfy and have pretty good sound.

http://www.alteclansing.com/product_det ... ID=AHS502i

Ditto on the same Altec Lansing set here...they really do feel and sound like they should cost a lot more.

fyrephlie · Post by **fyrephlie** » Sat Dec 03, 2005 12:50 am

punisher wrote:
fyrephlie wrote:yeah i seen a pair of sennheisers stop an armed robbery by just soothing the robber into submission, and once, i saw a headset pull 8 children from a burning orphanage single handedly, and never break a sweat.
Is there something wrong with being emphatic about a product that has exceeded your expectations in every way?

</trollfeed>

no... not really. why, are you calling me a liar?

kurupt · Post by **kurupt** » Sun Dec 04, 2005 2:59 am

really? i'm on my 3rd pair and $700th of sennheiser headphones. they're awesome, but they seem pretty fragile.

Capm · Post by **Capm** » Sun Dec 04, 2005 3:05 am

I've been looking for a decent headset too.
The logitech ones you find in walmart sound great on both the headphones and mic, but the mic practically rests on your cheek which is very distracting and uncomfortable, and the cushions are very sub-par, and hurt your ears after a while.

Also, they break easily (meaning, like every other headset I've owned, when I get pissed off playing a game, I grab them and destroy them in a fit of rage, used to be the keyboard, not sure when this switch occured....)

Doesn't this belong in the Tech Forum, btw?

Pun · Post by **Pun** » Sun Dec 04, 2005 8:16 am

kurupt wrote:really? i'm on my 3rd pair and $700th of sennheiser headphones. they're awesome, but they seem pretty fragile.

I don't have experience with the more expensive stuff, but the construction on the ones I linked to is very sturdy. The only thing that could use improvement is the cord. It's got that skinny cord that most low end headsets have. It almost seems out of place, considering the rest of the unit.

Man, $700 bucks sunk into headphones. Kinda like me and sunglasses. God only knows how much I've spent over the years.

[]V[]essenjah · Post by **[]V[]essenjah** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 1:05 pm

Capm wrote:Doesn't this belong in the Tech Forum, btw?

Heh, I was thinkin' the same thing. :\

fyrephlie · Post by **fyrephlie** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 1:08 pm

[]V[]essenjah wrote:
Capm wrote:Doesn't this belong in the Tech Forum, btw?
Heh, I was thinkin' the same thing. :\

meh, seems like a lot of threads would be best placed in other forums, but oh well. prolly the same responses anyway, right?

kurupt · Post by **kurupt** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 3:09 pm

punisher wrote:
kurupt wrote:really? i'm on my 3rd pair and $700th of sennheiser headphones. they're awesome, but they seem pretty fragile.
I don't have experience with the more expensive stuff, but the construction on the ones I linked to is very sturdy. The only thing that could use improvement is the cord. It's got that skinny cord that most low end headsets have. It almost seems out of place, considering the rest of the unit.

Man, $700 bucks sunk into headphones. Kinda like me and sunglasses. God only knows how much I've spent over the years.

yeah, i think i bought my first pair about 4 or 5 years ago, and have gone with a better model each time i have to replace them. i love killer sound, so its worth it to me. ive got way more than $700 tied into my home theater and my car stereo

mine tend to last a year or so, but (knock on wood) these ones i have right now i bought because as far as sennheisers go they're pretty cheap ($90 or so) and they've lasted me the better part of 2 years. they dont stand up to the sound quality of my former phones, but they seem t be pretty solid. i'm using a pair of HD280's and a logitech internet chat headset which i spent maybe $15 on. all the guys i talk to over ventrilo love it, and it seems pretty sturdy, so i reccomend it.