Surround headphones with these requirements

dodgyd

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Hi all,

I've after a set of surround sound headphones, there's so much choice out there, and it's not made any easier by the rubbish spouted by manufacturers in their sales blurb :laugh:

So, here are my requirements, maybe you know of a set that fits the bill?

  1. Prefer 'true surround' in other words, actual physical speakers in each ear as opposed to 'virtual'.
  2. Have an optical digital input. Reason being, my current speaker system uses the 3 (green, black and orange/pink) outputs from the sound card and don't fancy using break out boxes, or frequent plugging/unplugging
  3. Have good quality sound with a genuine distinction between what's behind and in front
  4. Be comfortable
  5. Be up to a max of £120
  6. I'm not keen on multiple PSUs (seen one which requires 2 PSUs - one for headphones, and one for external DSP :eek: )
  7. USB only input is acceptable, especially if it sounds good and has physical additional drivers in the headset
  8. Good quality mic (I'm an avid Skype user)
I doubt any option satisfies all the above, but maybe you can either offer advice, or suggest one that ticks the most boxes?

Thanks!
 
I have a pair of these:

Sharkoon Digital Headset: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

May be cheaper elseware as I paid about £100 for mine when I bought them new.

They tick all the box's above:

1. They have four Physical speaker's for each ear, each of which are configurable manually for sound. These are:
  • Front in each ear piece
  • Rear in each ear piece
  • Centre in each ear piece
  • and Sub in each ear piece
2.The 6x4in approx 'amp' box that comes with them has analog and Optical input's on, the Optical input is by far the best option :smashin:

3. The surround sound performance is excellent, nice and clear, huge explosions and sence of space.
You can hear things flying around you, people sneaking up behind you or beside you etc....
I was a little skeptical of how this would work, but the atmosphere of the sound is superb.

4. The ear cup's mainly consist of a soft padding with velvety feel to them and your ears fit inside very comfortably. (and I have big ears)
In the summer they can get a little warm, but not 'stickie' like some of my previous headsets with just an immitation leather effect.

5. On Amazon they are just in your budget, but if you scout around they may be had for less as I only paid about £100 for mine.
Price wise, these are about the only one's that I could find that were in this price range and gave me all I wanted in a headset and more (since they are also compatable with PS3, 360 with an included adapter etc....)

6. This headset only requires the small box I mentioned earlier which plugs into the mains. That powers the little box and the headset too, so not 2 plus psu's.

7. The only thing that the USB is used for on this headset is for the mic.

8. The headset has a fantastic mic which is detachable, and since it has two bands round it I think it is a stereo mic.

I use Skype now and then, Team Speak 3 and Ventrillo a fair bit due to raiding with WoW for crystal clear boss tatics to listen to (not that I understand a word of what they are talking about, I just do as they state throughout the fight and wing it ;)).

I also chat to a few friend's in general.

A friend of mine has the same headset and I can hear him as clearly as if he is in the same room as me with no feedback noise between us. He has confirmed this is the case on his end too.

So, this headset ticks all the boxs you want, and is a cracking sounding headset in my opinion :smashin:

You will have to adjust the sound to suit you, I have the rear set a little louder than the front and the sub a little louder than that as I like to hear Tank fire rather than a pop gun with normal headphones :devil:

I have listened to some Turtle Beach headsets and various other's with 'good' virtual surround and nothing has compared to these in my opinion.

I think I got mine from Scan for about £100, but they only have these now:
Gaming Headset with 5.1 Audio,In-line amplifier with volume controller and microphone mute - 4044951011643 - Scan.co.uk

Which I presume is the updated model to what I have in the same price range.

If you can find somewheret to try some out, it'd be a good idea as we all hear different. At the end of the day, I dont regret my purchase one bit and really enjoy using them for WoW raiding, Battlefield, Movies and Music.
I think they really shine with Big atmospheric game's, as they really added to the immersion for me.

tris
 
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Craig davids are the mutts nuts.

craigdavidboselecta.jpg
 
Thanks nero0410 for that detailed response! I'll order the same headphones I reckon!
 
yes it does ..

no it does not as some have not seen it:smashin:, but i can do correction/Criticism mode all day long that's dead easy.


Sent via TomTom Using Avforums.
 
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It seems that Sharkoon no longer require a PSU, they are now powered by USB (at least, that's what my research from the links above is telling me). Anyone know what are the differences between these two?

Sharkoon Digital Headset from Amazon
Sharkoon Digital Headset: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

Sharkoon X-TATIC SR Dolby Digital 5.1/Pro Logic Gaming Headset for PC, XBOX, PS3 powered via USB From Scan
Gaming Headset with 5.1 Audio,In-line amplifier with volume controller and microphone mute - 4044951011643 - Scan.co.uk

They both seem to be very similar, and I don't think it's an old model issue, they're both on Sharkoon's site :confused:
 
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Aha, think I've figured it out. The 'SR' model is virtual surround, the 'Sharkoon Digital' is true surround.
 
Aha, think I've figured it out. The 'SR' model is virtual surround, the 'Sharkoon Digital' is true surround.

That SR version is completely powered via usb rather than one 'psu', so that is a plus.

I'm not sure I understand why this newer model seem's to be just virtual surround since it has an optical connection, but even on the Sharkoon website the one's myself and Mike have state the invividual speaker's:
X-Tatic Digital | SHARKOON Technologies GmbH

And although the newer one's state Dolby digital and optical input, it does not state individual speaker's at all:
X-Tatic SR | SHARKOON Technologies GmbH

It certainlly doesn't have control over each set of speaker's (front, rear, sub etc....) in this review, so it's quite clear that those one's are just [-]crap [/-] *ahem* virtual surround.

So well spotted there

tris
 
See what I mean? It's a minefield, you have to do your research really carefully!
 
See what I mean? It's a minefield, you have to do your research really carefully!

Indeed.

I do have these one's:

Sharkoon Digital Headset: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

The headphones them sleve's don't require a power supply directly into them, they are powered by the box they are connected to which is like a mini amp :)

A little more on the mic, it's not just plugged in....it plugs in and has notch's on the plastic to turn and lock into place so there is no worry of accidently pulling it out :thumbsup:

For the money though, and four speakers in each ear, you can't really go wrong. When I was looking for the best for my money, these were the best I could find and I love them :smashin:

tris
 
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Yep, will be buying those ones from Amazon. Interestingly, popped it in my basket earlier on and the price has gone up by a quid or so. Damn Amazon and their dynamic pricing.
 
Thanks again everyone, now ordered the Sharkoon Digital versions :smashin:
 

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