Hi everybody, I need to replace my Tritton AX PRO gaming headset, which is dying slowly unless I repair the wire myself. but I don't know what to buy. I'm tempted by the Razer Chimaera 5.1, but after reading and watching some review, it may not be such a great buy. I own a Xbox 360 and a PC (and soon a ps3).
So I'd like a versatile headset that can be used on these platforms without too much plugging/unpluggin to prevent interference or some other issues (for instance i'm playing on my xbox with optical input while my jack cables are in the turned on PC therefore producing electrostatic-background noise buzzing stuff, and potentially echo)
I'm looking for both sound and built quality, balanced sound, preferably adjustable channel volume, for a relatively nice price, i'm not really on a budget but let's say that paying 300$ for an Astro A50 would make me feel sad inside for all that money that will be dearly missed.
If you have any recommendation, I'll take it. Have a nice day.
I'm not really sure what allows a headset to be used on XBOX/PS3 as I don't own one. But my personal preference is to buy headphones and a seperate mic, I feel like the sound quality is normally better for the money and you can pick up clip on mics pretty cheap. This also has the advantage that when you have a sip of your coffee you don't accidentally dip your mic in it, a problem which I have had many a time.
I`ve used Turtle beach X11s for both, and they would be my recommendation if they where still made. Perhaps you could get some x12s, for roughly the same (fairly low) price.
I have had turtle beach x12's for 5 years now. They are not the slightest bit broken or worn. Granted there are better headsets out there but these don't look like they will be failing me any time soon.
I'd like to start off by saying that you don't need to buy the famous headsets or expensive headsets out there to get the best performance for gaming.
All Razer/Tritton/Astro headsets? They have rubbish in-built microphones and the $120+ price point is definitely not worth it. So don't go with those brands.
Along with that you will not want to go with Turtle Beach either. TB headsets have a very low lifespan.
For consoles, I suggest your basic afterglow or analog headset, don't waste your money.
For PC, I would highly recommend either the Logitech G35 or Corsair Vengeance 2000 headset. These two headsets come with the top quality in-built headset mics out there on the market and only half the price of those rip-off headsets such as Astro.
Like others have said, getting a normal pair of headphones and a different mic is good too. There are things called "modmics" which are $15 each and you can attach them to your normal pair of headphones to act as a headset. The mod mic has a clearer mic than most headsets out there.
I hope you can take my advice, I don't like Razer because their products break on me and I don't like the other brands because of the failed price:performance ratio.
Uhh... As I said, I've been using a Turtle Beach headset (x11), and for around 6 years now, and it's never failed me. So, what you say about TB headsets having a short lifespan is false. Unless you buy the cheapest possible headset, I don't see why you would get less than about 3 years service out of them.
All gaming headsets are junk, I don't have a console so I use a set of AKG Q701s or Sennheiser HD650s, yes these cost a lot but they make any kind of gaming headset sound like Apple earbuds, if you can find a set of open back headhpones then these will be far better as they have such a wide soundstage... as for the mic just get some cheap one that you can have near you.
If you want a gaming head set that pakcs a punch for the price consider the SkullCandy PLYR1. They retail for $180 and the carry the same 7.1 drivers of the Astro gaming headsets that retail for $250+. This is because Skulcandy purchased astro not too long ago and now relased its budget gaming headsets. They come with a year warranty that covers everything, but im not sure if they have the life time warranty they provide for their other headphones.
They come with simulated 7.1 surround sound, bluetooth conecction(PS3 and XBOX compatible) aswell as wired if you like, an EQ switch so you can change from gaming to music, and a stand to charge them.
I've read coutnless reviews on them and they all state the same... they're the best quality for the price. I ordered mine and they should arive tomorrow.
also if you want fidelity over funtionality get a normal pair of headphones their filedility is unmatched by gaming headsets.
Headphones beat headsets in every way, as you said their fidelity is unmatched but also ones that are open back headphones offer supirior 3d sound, having said that my first pair of headphones were the AKG K550s which are closed back and yet again the soundstage was so wide in comparison to even the highest tier of headsets.
'features' like 7.1 audio in headsets is a gimmick.
The only gaming headsets that I would consider are the PC 360s and a model that Beyerdynamic do taylored for gaming however I can't remember what it is called, these parid with a decent soundcard are amazing in all fields of audio whether it is gaming or listening to HD audio (I'm sure there are a few others as well but that us the only one I can think of at the moment)
I would highly recommend the Astro A40's 2013 edition. Amazing sound quality, and a good crisp mic. They are very durable as well, had mine since february and dropped them many times and they're still going! Although i did have some problems with the new mixamp they released, but that was easy fixed. I just downloaded the firmware update from the Astro website. Then 15 mins later I was back sound whoring and dropping MOAB's in MW3 on noobs. (shit game, avoid at all cost, unless you like breaking things)