Megalodon or 5HV2

Title

Which one and why, compare

Razer Megalodon
Steelseries 5HV2

 

If I had to choose I would go 5HV2, seems like more bang for your buck.

If your open to other similar products also check out Astro's stuff like the A40's and A30's

The A30' are pretty much directly in line with those 2 products.

Also logitech has some good stuff like the G35 in the same price range with rave reviews.

All said though I would just get an audiophile grade set of headphones and an external mic before purchasing any of these.


I feel "surround headsets" are a popular market trend right now and just a gimmick. For the last 10 years I have never had issues hearing sound from all directions in a game with just 2 speaker headphones, then now they start making them with 6+ speakers.

The first that occurs to me is this.

If you go to Walmart and buy a $20 set of PC speakers and then go across the street and buy a $100 pair of pc speakers from Best Buy. The quality and sound of the $100 pair is obviously going to be vastly superior.

Why? Simple question to answer, because the speakers are worth more, and they cost more. The $100 pair has speakers that cost approximately $50 each, while the $20 pair has speakers worth about $10 each.


The same can be assumed with headphones. You go buy a pair of $130 headphones and you can assume you have about $65 resting on each of your ears. Some Audio Technicas like the AD700 are on sale for $100 on amazon and a great deal.

Now enter the realm of surround gaming headsets.... now you have 3 speakers on each ear. You still go pay $130 for it....

Do you think the company is going to give you 3x $65 speakers on each ear the same quality to be had on the 2 speaker headphones? Nope they had to use those cheap $20 speakers isntead because it still cost $130 for the whole unit.

So what you just did is payed more for more of a crappy quality speaker, instead of sticking with the basics and getting 2 really good speakers for the same price. All the while with no benefit since 2 speakers do just fine for surround in gaming and are more appropriate for music and movies when not gaming.


Reverting back to the first scenario, if you had gone back to Walmart and bought 4 more pairs of the $20 speakers and hooked them all up do you think its magically going to sound better than the single $100 set you got from Best Buy?

The answer is NO because in audio quality > quantity.

 

. . . Megalodon, it's overrated. Megalodon has also problem in playing musics.

For 5HV2 I don't know much about it but steelseries' products are good, but pricey.

 

GREAT POST! I never looked at it that way. One thing to look at though when considering your rationing... The 130 headset could possibly have 2 $50 speakers and be accompanied by a few cheaper ones. I have a G930 set and when I first put them on, I jumped because I really thought someone was behind me. That was something I would never do before... even using some high end "sure" headphones.

Sorry OP, I have no experience with either headset your asking about.

 

I think the main reason you felt the G930 was so good was its own DAC it bypases the cheap onboard soundcard.

I use a DAC with my headphones and the difference in sound & quality is amazing.

Back to what you said about one good speaker and a few cheaper ones, that would still be bad. Why would you have a home theater 5.1 setup with your 2x $500 speakers and then accompany them with 4 $20 speakers? They would just ruin the sound from the good speakers.

 

I have been looking at Virtual surround headsets for about a month now.

I have to disagree with a few comments because I think Virtual surround is not a gimmick. I have used the Logitech G35s extensively over the last few weeks and I can say the 7.1 Virtual surround they provide is excellent. I have also tried the Tritton AX51 Pros which have 4 speakers per ear. They actually "sound" better than the G35s, but the G35s actually offer better 3D effects (surround positioning) than the Trittons (which is amazing since the G35s have only 2 speakers and are virtual surround sound).

In your situation I would get the 5H V2. Here is why. Both sets are virtual 7.1 surround sound. So they will both offer 3D positioning. But the 5H V2 comes with USB soundcard that can be used with any 3.5mm jack headset. This means when you are ready to upgrade, you can get some ATH-AD700s (like ViciousX recommends), and plug them into the USB card, this will turn the ATH-700s into surround headphones.

I am probably going to buy the Steelseries Siberia USB soundcard, and do just that. I am very happy with my Logitech G35s, they sound great, but I want something where I can use earbuds when I am traveling, and headphones when I am not. The Steelseries soundcards provide just that.

 

I am not trying to run off into a tangent too much, but aren't most rear speakers lesser quality than the front ones in most surround sound home theaters.

Also is your DAC USB based? If so, mind sharing what you use? I would not mind looking into that...

 

Most in a box setups seem to use lesser speakers for rear, thats ok I guess they only produce a small set of sounds and effects.

My setup however uses the same for front & rear, only the center speaker is different.

For DAC I use a uDAC-2 for my G73, using it now just got done with a game of BFBC2 and almost jumped my chair when a tank shot me lol wearing my Ultimate Ears Triple.Fi 10's they go down to 10hz so you really can hear any bass that is present.

 

And you my good sir... are a true audiophile...

 

Virtual surround is a gimmick. If you can't tell where sounds are coming from in a stereo headset, you're just not doing it right.

 

Yes, you have 2 ears you can only hear in 2 places at once so you only need 2 speakers.

Games internal 3d engine will properly render the sounds to give proper positioning without the addition of any extra speakers.

 

Everyone has their own opinion on this issue. I've gamed extensively with both. I find Dolby headphone to be quite convincing as have many professional video game and hardware reviewers (Tomshardware has an excellent article on it). There is small percentage of the population (<10%) that virtual surround doesn't work for. Either their hearing is too good (or too poor) and they cannot tell the difference.

I recommend people try it for themselves. If it doesn't add to your video game experience then don't buy it, but for many people it does.

I actually agree with you, you do only need 2 speakers. I used the Tritton AX51 and I found that they don't offer very good positioning, due to their speakers being so close (as I've heard you say in many a post). But I do find the timming changes and echos that Dolby Headphone (or CMSS-3D etc) provides through 2 speakers to be very convincing.

 

The Astro A40s look great, but are a bit out of price range for me, really the max i can go is $150

The headset will be mostly used for Counter Strike Source, so anything change?

Please recommend anything around that price range

 

I have been looking around and the Siberia V2 is better than the 5HV2 apparently, anything better than those 2 for around $150?

 

I was going to bring up the V2. I think it is a great choice. Newegg has it for $109 and if you don't like the virtual surround you can plug in an external dac or whatever. I'm going to buy the Siberia sound card I think and use it with my earbuds until I can afford some ath-ad700s. If you really want to save $$$ you can get the logitech G35s for $65 dented box from logitech.com. They go on sale every few months. They just had 'em last week so they should be back again in a month or two.

 

Really want to buy a gaming headset soon .

Using for CSS 99% of the time.

5HV2 seems to be best for gaming, but idk, im a sound noob

 

Then just get the Siberia V2 or the 5HV2. Both are good. I like that they are modular, they come both come with USB soundcards for virtual surround sound. If at a later time you don't like the soundcard, you don't have to use it. Or if you do like the soundcard but want better headphones, you can use the soundcard with different headphones. I don't think you can wrong either way. If you want to spend your entire budget of $150, you could get the Siberia soundcard for $40 from amazon. Then buy the ATH-AD700 headphones from amazon. And get Zalman microphone from amazon. That would run you $155 total. I don't think ViciousX could disagree with that combination, it is really a best of both world approach. Obviously just the Siberia V2 or 5HV2 would be less.

 

Think i might go with the Siberia V2 USB.

Whats the 7H like?

 

SteelSeries – SteelSeries 7H USB

 

You linked me to the site that i have seen, good job.

Has anyone used these before and think they are better than the siberia?

 

I haven't used the 7H. Personnally I don't like the way they look. From the specs it looks like it is identical to the V2 just a different style.

 

Just ordered the Siberia V2 Full Headset USB.

 

Will do

 

Can you use Bose QuietComfort® 15 Acoustic Noise Cancelling® headphones for gaming? Because they say its good on movies and musics. I wonder if it is good at playing games on PC / Laptops. Just curious, thanks. Sorry if I ask like a newb.

QuietComfort 15 - Noise Cancelling Headphones - Bose Headsets and Headphones

Don't mind the price.