ISO Gaming Headphones for both PC/Xbox360

I know that narrows the field a bit. I play lots of first person shooters so surround sound would be nice. I also would prefer something fairly sturdy(so not a wimpy plastic mic arm) as I don't always keep my things in their protective kevlar cases

Price range up to about $150 at most.

 

For surround headsets that have dual capability for both PC and Xbox360, you'll be looking for headsets that are bundled with a surround sound processor that accepts a digital optical input or digital coaxial input.

In the $150 price range, you're looking at "gaming" surround osund headsets such as:
* Turtle Beach EarForce X41
* Razer Chimera 5.1
* Tritton AX Pro or AX720

But be warned... at that price range, you're making sacrifices in sound quality for the surround sound processing capability, and the wireless capability. (This is going to sound snobby, but here it goes): My opinion is that the people who typically buy wireless "gaming" headsets like that are typically uneducated buyers that are easily distracted by things like flashy lights and big numbers, and don't actually know what to look for when buying audio products.

If it were me, I'd look into something like:
* Audio Technica ATH-A700 headphones ($125) - These are considered entry-level audiophile headphones, with audio quality that will kick the pants off of any of the "gaming" headsets mentioned above.
* Turtle Beach Earforce DSS surround sound processor ($70)

 

Is the Technica just headphones, no mic? I already have pretty decent headphones for music, just no microphone or "surround sound/"

I suppose I should also specify I don't want wireless. AAA batteries, really?

 

1) What kind of headphones do you currently own for music?

2) You can easily add a mic on to any pair of headphones, with a Zalman ZM-1 clip-on mic (about $10). There are a lot of people out there that use this, who want to use a pair of audiophile-quality headphones as a gaming headset without sacrificing sound quality.

3) In your situation, I would recommend you use your current headphones, buy an extra Zalman ZM-1 clip-on mic ($10), and hook it up into an Astro Mixamp Pro ($120-$130). The Astro Mixamp is a very versatile little device that acts as a mixer, headphone amp, and Dolby Headphone surround processor.

You'll have wires running everywhere, but you'll get surround sound using high-quality headphones (the ones you have now), that is compatible with both your XBox360 and PC gaming setups, without having to settle for the mediocre sound that you'd get from a "gaming" headset.

 

1.) I have the V-Moda Crossfade LP's (pretty heavy bass, not the most versatile across all ranges)
2.) Yeah I saw in another thread the idea for that.
3.) The mixamp sounds pretty 'spensive! What advantages would I have with something like that than say, the Ear Force DSS?(I am far from an audio tech expert)

Don't care about wires everywhere, both the 360 and the gaming won't need mobility

 

1) Yep, those are decent. Haven't tried them, but the people who have tendto review them as bass-rich headphones, with a warm tone and nice clarity. The sound quality on those headphones will kick the pants out of any "gaming" headset.

3) For you, the main advantage of an Astro Mixamp is that it provides mic support for your XBox360 audio setup. The Turtle Beach EarForce DSS would only process sound going to your headphones, but not from your mic --> XBox 360.

If you don't care about Xbox360 mic support, then you can just get a Turtle Beach EarForce DSS ($70) + Zalman ZM-1 Mic ($10), plus a few cables from Monoprice ($10), and call it a day.

If XBox360 mic support is a must-have, then you're looking at an Astro MixAmp ($130) + Zalman ZM-1 Mic ($10) + some cables from Monoprice ($10).

There are a few other benefits to a MixAmp as well, but I don't think that they apply to you (it can function as a USB DAC for your PC, provides mixer functions for your mic or MP3 input, provides private LAN communication channel between other Astro MixAmps, accepts both optical and coax digital inputs).

 

Wait, the DSS doesn't actually send the Mic sound? That seems counter-intuitive

Would that be because the TB headsets all have a single "out" cable or something? Because my Crossfades have an optional built in mic cord dealie. Pretty low quality of course. Is there such thing as an anti-splitter for the mic and audio cords? Join the little attachment with the better quality cord, plug a single plug into the DSS...

The thing is drastically cheaper, after all...(and yes, 360 is the main reason I'm looking, but schamncy surround sound headphone advantage is what I'm looking for. Sick of kids with Beaches getting the drop on me)

 

Nope, no mic upstream on the Turtle Beach EarForce DSS. It is a Dolby Headphone decoder device, which only handles downstream audio signals (5.1 audio source --> 2.0 headphones).

All Xbox360 gaming headsets connect the upstream mic signal to the Xbox 360 controller. You could, theoretically, connect a Zalman ZM-1 Mic to the XBox 360 controller as well with an adapter.



This idea of an "anti-splitter" to combine audio signals would not work. Think about the way that the XBox 360 handles audio. The Xbox 360 sends downstream audio (analog RCA, or Digital Optical out) from the back of the Xbox 360 console itself. Any kind of headphones, speakers, sound processor, etc would tap into that downstream audio signal.

The Xbox 360 handles upstream mic audio from devices that it identifies as an Xbox 360 controller. Any kind of microphone would need to tap into an Xbox 360 controller interface. Every audio configuration, from any vendor, needs to work around that kind of downstream (from the console) / upstream (through a controller) configuration.

 

Hmmm, so I wonder how the Turtle Beaches that don't connect directly to the controller work...(i.e. wireless)

 

Same deal - they go through the XBox 360 controller.



There is a version that is wireless, even for the microphone portion. That happens to use a Bluetooth connection for the microphone. But even that goes through the XBox 360 controller for the upstream mic audio.

 

Damn you know your stuff!