Headphone recommendations (oh yes another one of these threads!)

Soldato
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Sorry guys but after reading through the forums all day I’m left with more questions than I originally started with so need some advice.

Today my daughter finally killed off my current headphones (Plantronics Audio 90s) so I’m looking for a replacement for listening to TV, DVDs, music and gaming via an Audigy 2 card.

I bought the Plantronics a couple of years ago for gaming needs as it had a built in mic but to be honest I’ve not used it in the last year so that’s not a must. I was interested in the idea of the 5.1 headsets (such as the Medusas) but from what I’ve read they don’t seem to be too great for 2 channel sounds (music/tv), is this correct?

Also how do headphones from the more PC friendly companies (plantronics/ Sennheiser /creative) compare to the usual high street brands (Sony / Technics / etc) and why would I choose one of these over the latter?

And at the moment the only real requirement I can think of is an inline volume control so based on the above what do you recommend? :)
 
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I guess it all boils down to personal taste in the end.

Personally I'm a Sennheiser man myself, and the reason for that is because I've tried other brands for various headset requirements and have always found the Sennheiser to offer the highest quality. That's just my opinion though, but it's always better to try before you buy.

Own Sennheiser cans for DJing (bedroom & club), Commuting/Travelling (small closed foldaways) and Gaming (with mic)
 
Soldato
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Yeah, another Sennheiser fan here. You just can't go wrong with them to be honest - have they ever made a lousy set of headphones? I've also used Sony as well in recent years and they've been pretty good as well - they sound better straight out of the box than Sennheisers, which take a while to break in and sound sweet in my experience.

I'm currently using EH250's and they're great for gaming and movies - they have very serious bass! Actually, I have to turn the bass level in the X-Fi software down to 15% or the bass is a bit too much, especially in music :)
 
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Ive just bought some Sony MDR-Z700's (Jap version of the V700's) and these r the best headphones ive ever had. Really good build qaulity and nice deep base...pure qaulity :) . I also have a Audigy 2 ZS and i tried these with BF2 and i could hear footsteps better
 
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Been doing a lot of sniffing about regarding gaming headphones and the 2
that comes up time after time are -

Audio-Technica ATH-A900 also A500/A700 get a good write up.

Beyerdynamic DT770 PRO/80


Managed to get the DT's ok and they sound brilliant (using Audigy 2 ATM
just waiting on X-fi card to arrive)

Make sure you go for the 80 rated model and not the 250 as that one
appears to require an amp.
 
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Soldato
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Two things I would avoid - firstly high street brands, and secondly 5.1 headphones. Those Medusas are 'ok' for 5.1 gaming when it's late at night and you can't use speakers, but that's it, they don't have a high quality sound, and are not good enough for music listenning IMO. The Zalmans sound even worse.

High street brands are mostly useless too. For the same money, you'll get a far better sound with something like Sennheiser. Even £20 Sennheisers can make listenning to music a real pleasure, and obviously the further up the range you go, the better it gets.
 
Soldato
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Just adding that I wouldn't consider Plantronics to be an especially good manufacturer despite what the pc gaming community seems to think. The likes of Sennheisers, Beyer are in a different league.
 
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I also prefer Sehhheiser and if you do manage to brake them within two years no matter where they are from you can have them swapped, Also oCuK have many on offer at the mo which can be found here
 
Soldato
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Angus01 said:
Been doing a lot of sniffing about regarding gaming headphones and the 2
that comes up time after time are -

Audio-Technica ATH-A900 also A500/A700 get a good write up.

Beyerdynamic DT770 PRO/80


Managed to get the DT's ok and they sound brilliant (using Audigy 2 ATM
just waiting on X-fi card to arrive)

Make sure you go for the 80 rated model and not the 250 as that one
appears to require an amp.

Im using the DT770's also (ive got the 250 ohms though), they are extremely worth every penny. Best headphones ive ever had and they last for years! Replacable parts also. They are said to be hard to power but i play my portable cd player with them and they are well powered from that. My Ipod seems to power thembetter though.

Ive got them plugged into the front bay of my x-fi at the mo tho.
 
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Soldato
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Well I popped out to the shops today to have a look around and was disappointed by the lack of headphones available.

The only full can Sennheisers I could find were a wireless pair (RS120) and seeing how they were from a well known catalogue store I though I’d give them a go considering a can return if I don’t like them.

Anyway I’ve been testing them out this afternoon/evening and I’m actually very impressed. As they work over RF I was expecting them to suffer from interference but so far they have been fine and the room they are being used in has loads of electrical gear and various wireless stuff.

Now I’m no audiophile so can’t really judge how good/bad the sound quality technically is but to me they sound miles better than my old plantronics with clear and full sounds. So thumbs up from me. :)
 

daz

daz

Soldato
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young lad said:
I also prefer Sehhheiser and if you do manage to brake them within two years no matter where they are from you can have them swapped

Koss headphones have a lifetime guarantee as standard. :o
 
Soldato
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GSXRMovistar said:
Now I’m no audiophile so can’t really judge how good/bad the sound quality technically is but to me they sound miles better than my old plantronics with clear and full sounds. So thumbs up from me. :)

Give them another few weeks and they'll sound even better ;)
 
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