Best headset for MMO's

[Jackquelegs]

Originally Posted by raoul_sanchez

to be honest i've not to listen to either of them, but if i was a betting man, i would still bet on the two picks i've left to have better sound quality than any gaming rebrand company could conjur up. hey i may be wrong, but i'd be willing to bet your life that there is a reputable headphone manufacturer that creates either an equal headset for cheaper or a superior headset than any rebrander's product at the same price point, unless you're getting some rediculous deal from inventory overstock that is. thats just me tho, and i prefer getting my monies worth.



and to be totally honest, if i were to reccomend something cheap, and superior to most, it would be a seperate cheapo zalman clip on mic, with a pair of koss porta pros. cost you $50 i'm willing to bet would sound more like $150-200, but of course no prestige, which can be worth alot of $$ depending on your ego.

And this is why Head-fi has a strict rule about don't comment on anything that you haven't listened to. Every company has their hits and misses. Never assume that something from a reputable manufacturer is pure gold all the time. Beyerdynamics for one, their DTX series are pure . The only respectable Sennheiser cans in my experience are HD-25 1 II, and their cans above HD595.

While the clip on mic + decent cans is mostly true. For the 69.99 Carcharias usually go for, it's worth the convenience of having it in one package.

[raoul_sanchez]

i'll stick to my guns here, it's a great rule in any part of our consumer based society, stay away from rebranders, as all they do is put a badge on something made by someone else, when you could just go to the source of the product, leave out the middle man and get the same product for considerably cheaper. if you're looking for a headset, it's better in 99.99% of cases to get one direct from a headphone manufacturer. i have yet to listen to many cans in the OP's price range, tho i do have a general idea of their sound tho, regardless of personal auditions or lack therof, i'm willing to bet... again that the koss portapro's will leave anything rebranders bring to the table... completely in the dust for considerably less $$
but please Jackquelegs enlighten us as to the sound signature and build quality of the razors in question? does their lack of SQ negate the benefit of the all in one package? or is convenience worth and extra $20 and much less SQ of the portapro/zalman combo?

[Jackquelegs]

Originally Posted by raoul_sanchez

but please Jackquelegs enlighten us as to the sound signature and build quality of the razors in question? does their lack of SQ negate the benefit of the all in one package? or is convenience worth and extra $20 and much less SQ of the portapro/zalman combo?

SQ-wise. The carcharias has a warm signature. In terms of frequency response, it has your typical V shaped graph. Good bass quantity and quality for its price with reasonable extension. Slightly recessed mids are common in this price range, but not bad, since most "natural" sounding headphones are like this. Good highs with plenty of sparkle without sibilance. While not spectacularly defined, this headset definitely offers a smooth experience without being analytical. Therefore it's a great choice for consumers who don't pursue absolutely definition and accuracy. Rather it is fun and dynamic, which proves itself in games with a good amount of immersion. On the gaming side, these offer very good distinction between sounds, and have good directionality.

Build quality is excellent so far. It's been tossed around and dropped plenty of times and works like a champ. Slides are still firm and cables are still good from being rolled over by chairs.

For this price, I would not put "lack of SQ" as an excuse not to pick them up. They offer a much better experience than PC161s for example. I would definitely pick it up over a porta pro set. One significant reason would be that the porta-pro is nowhere as comfortable as the carcharias during long sessions of use. Hence your typical supra-aural vs circum-aural case. Secondly, at least the carcharias offer some isolation to the environment, while the porta pro doesn't really. Lastly, you don't have to fiddle with the poor zalman build quality. I've gone through about 5 of them.

i'll stick to my guns here, it's a great rule in any part of our consumer based society, stay away from rebranders, as all they do is put a badge on something made by someone else, when you could just go to the source of the product, leave out the middle man and get the same product for considerably cheaper.

Then don't buy from Corsair, ASUS, or most of the big brands out there because they all use OEMs for their products, and apparently there's a MARKUP. What you don't understand is that companies can use a cheaper, more established OEM for lower price and better productivity. Beyerdynamics and Sennheiser for example, are commonly marked much higher than their true cost because of the smaller scale of production they have. Occasionally, you would have rebranding that's actually CHEAPER than the original product. Creative for example, rebrands the Denon AHD1001 for their Aurvana Live! headphones, but currently prices show that they are about half the price of their Denon counterparts. Hence, when a big company rebrands, they usually have a greater freedom with the price.

The particular reason why porta pros are so cheap, is because they've been produced since 1984. The production line is already streamlined, the materials get cheaper and cheaper as time goes on.

One thing I have to point out, is that personal audio headphones are not equivalent to tuned gaming headsets. The latter will usually emphasize on directionality and in general, making the games sound good. Which is a LONG way difference from making music sound good. I would much rather use Carcharias than my SRH840 or DT770 in games simply because of that reason. They are not made for it.

[YukonTrooper]

Buy a quality pair of stereo headphones from a headphone-first company and a separate mic.

[Stock]

I'd have to agree with Jackquelegs about the Carcharias in comparison to the Sennheiser gaming headsets. Generally, one chooses headsets because of the microphone attachment...it's unidirectional and only (or should) pick up your voice. Not what your family says in the same room, or what's playing on the TV, or even the tapping of your keyboard and clicks of your mouse.

A little more than a year ago I purchased these, along with the PC151's for my partner. I couldn't decide on what was more important; comfort or sound. As the above posters mentioned, Senn has a reputation so I figured it would be a safe bet. I picked 2 headsets that were in the same price range and decided that if I liked the PC151's, I'd just ninja it from my partner. I waited for about 1-2 weeks to make a decision on which set I preferred, so it wasn't like I jumped the gun or anything. I decided that the Carcharias' were easily 10 times more comfortable than the PC151's, and didn't squish my glasses against my head. Looking back, that alone was almost worth any discrepancies in sound quality for headsets of equal price. However, luckily, comfort wasn't the only plus. I won't claim to be an enthusiast, or even a novice audiophile when describing SQ and all equipments, but I certainly have experience with music (qualified to teach piano RCM certif/8 years of symphony). The sound signature of the Carcharias is without a doubt warmer in comparison. I was surprised to hear they were more fun and engaging when listening to in-game music than the 151's. Isn't this the point of consumers choosing sound quality? To find something that makes music more enjoyable to listen to :)

If you wanted neutral, or monitor headphones, for sure there wouldn't even be a reason to consider headsets.

[raoul_sanchez]

you know what i like to do after gaming with my 3 year old fully functioning zalman mic, and 6 year old ultrasone hfi-750's? i like to take the mic off and listen to music that has an enjoyable sound with excellent midrange, bass and treble which headset can u do that with?. now without any knowledge of rebrander's HS's i will confirm 100% that they sound worse then my current setup, and worse than portapro's. easily.. hands down. go check out the majority of user reviews on the SQ of the razors in question. there's a reason porta pros have been made for 25 years, a good one at that. if isolation is a concern i would actually steer towrads some of the rebranded creative buds ep630s if i remember, lol i know i know, but i never spoke in definites as some ppl like to ignore, as they are probably the 1 case of a rebrander having a great price at a great price point compared to the original source, i've bought two pairs over the passed few years for family as a result.

jaque your argument for asus/msi is completely moot, they are board partners and distributers, not just rebranders as the original manufacturer does not make much finished product save for completed gpu dies or NB and SB's, you are really grasping at straws to back up a weak argument. my main statement will hold, rebranding a product and stuffing it with marketing fluff adds.... ZERO value to the original and unless you can pickup overstock or a crazy sale it's generally advised source out original equipment. like most aspects of our middle man centric economy there are general rules u can use to keep more of your money for yourself and still have quality consumables for your castle.

[Dzzope]

What part of the origonal posters comment did you miss??

I know your offering a view that some may consider, however the OP wants a HEADSET.. not a pair of cans and a clip-on...

I for one would choose a headset for my PC any day over a set of cans and a clip on even though I listen to music and movies as much as play games.. People don't want to faff about with a seperate clip-on mic.

Also.. I suspect that unless most people had a direct comparison they wouldn't be able to tell the difference in SQ from a decent set of cans to a mid range gaming headset anyway..
Not everyone is as into their sound and can tell the difference..

I bought a pair of Sennheiser PC 156's a few years back and TBH I don't think I'd buy them again... Overpriced for the quality, advertised as circum-aural when they REALLY aren't (unless your 3)..
Build quality is BRILLIANT, but I doubt they are so much so to justify the price premium that you pay for having the name across the top.

Re-branders don't all buy cheap tat and charge more than their worth.. They can and often do buy quality components at a much discounted price and then make them more suitable for what their target customers want. This means that, if chosen wisely, a brand can match a manufacturuer in both price and preformance (for their target, as said listening to music has VERY different requirements to games).


Also, if you tested the products you are denouncing as second rate you may have more weight behind your argument. At the moment all I can see is someone having a rant becouse of some personal bias you may have.