Gaming Headsets

Games
1

I’ve been shopping around for a new pair of headsets, as I play at home a lot and sometimes family isn’t interested in listening to explosions and bullets. I figure I’d ask what you suggest for a new headset.

I’m definately looking for a budget pair - I don’t want to spend more than $30. Quality isn’t a huge issue here.
And I would like for it to include a microphone - TeamSpeak can be a useful tool if you can communicate well.

What would be great is a site that compares and reviews gaming headsets. I’ve been looking for that but with no luck. However, I’m mainly looking for your own recommendations

Thanks!

2

Labtec Axis 302. We got a carton of them at work, I think they ran 5 or 6 bucks. You’ll pay more, but they are comfortable enough and have a mic.

3

And only slightly off topic, does anyone have a recommendation for a set of USB headphones? Is ease of use a factor with these? Are they prone to screeching or dropouts when the bus traffic gets high?

4

Not to hijack my own thread as well, but is there any real difference between a regular headset and a USB headset?

5

^^^

I was just going to ask that myself. I really hate reaching around to the back of my computer to plug in my Logitech headset I use for voice comms and I’ve been looking at USB headsets but I’m not sure how they work. How do you get gaming audio if you’re not patched into your soundcard with a USB headset?

6

I bought the highest priced USB headset they had at best buy when my Altec Lansing microphone/headphones went out. In a word: the mic works well but the headset sounds like crap. if I were you, get the altec lansing ones. USB doesn’t offer that much other than ease. The mic works good on them though.

7

Plantronics Audio .90’s - used both the mic and headphones extensively and they’re very good.

8

There’s a DAC in the headset.

9

Another vote for Plantronics.

http://www.plantronics.com/north_america/en_US/products/cat640035/cat1430032/prod440014

I use the Audio 60 ones. You should be able to find them for less than $30.

I tend to be very picky on how comfortable a headphone is. These I can wear for 8 hrs straight at Lan parties without any issues.

Oh and they sound pretty good too.

10

I vote plantronics as well. Had a few, the only reason they ever tend to die is my bad habit of standing on them when I’m drunk.

Comfy, good mic and good sound.

11

They’re about $40 bucks, but I’ve been using the Sennheiser PC150 for about 8 months. They’re comfortable and the sound quality is pretty good.

http://www.sennheisercommunications.com/pr-pc150.html

12

I absolutely swear by Plantronics. Anything from them that is within your price range should leave you pretty happy.

13

I bought a set of Altec Lansing headphones a while back ( I forget the type they have AHS - 502 written on them… ) which are pretty good (not great but they do) . I paid $40Au for them so it’s pretty close to what you’re going to spend.

As for the ‘reach around’ problem, I solved this with a simple extension cable that sits on the right side of my desk. I just switch between the headphone plug and my speaker plug depending on what I want to use. ( The extension is always plugged into my sound out port at the back.)

14

If you like the wrap-behind-your-head kind of headphones, try the Logitech Internet Chat ones:

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/details/US/EN,CRID=103,CONTENTID=6339

I have a pair of those and I really like the sound. Dunno about the mic, but I haven’t had any problems on TS or Vent. I know that you can get them for around here (Michigan) for $20.00 but I haven’t checked around online.

On another note, for those of you that use TS or Vent and don’t want to hear the game audio as well as the chat in the headphones, get a pair of USB headphones or get a USB soundcard. Both TS and Vent allow you to run their audio throug the USB device.

15

RadioShack sells a unit that gives you that extension, as well as being able to switch between your speakers and headset with the push of a button.

I have it, works pretty well. It comes with double sided tape so you can stick it to your desk. Just F.Y.I.

16

^^

good ole Radio Shack saves the day again. I’ll have to pick that up.

17

I also got that, but it’s made me realize that I have something wrong with my soundcard. Both through a direct connection and the RadioShack thingy, I get very little sound out of my headset (tried several), but the speakers sound fine. Once I get the soundcard working, I’m looking forward to being able to finally use the switcher (although a y-splitter mini-plug should do a similar job for ~$3.)

18

Those are the ones that shipped with the UT2k4 Special Edition, and IMHO the sound is awful and they’re really uncomfortable. I’ve had my Plantronics headset for about 1 1/2 years now and despite the abuse I’ve thrown at it it’s still going strong, and is superb for long periods of use.

19

I use the Plantronics DSP-500 USB headset and have for the last two years. I needed them for voice communication more than sound and the USB feature meant I didn’t have to crawl behind my PC to disconnect my speakers and plug in a microphone and headphones. My speakers and mobo at the time were such that the speakers used all three audio jacks.

The only complaint I have about them is the ear pieces are not big enough to actually go over your whole ear but larger than traditional walkman style headphones. The Plantronics sit directly on the whole ear rather than just in the middle part or completely around the ear up against your head.

20

I’ll second the logitech ones.

Cheap, comfortable, fairly durable.