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Im looking to buy a new headset/mic to communicate online with my voice and im wondering what a good one is. I would really prefer if it was cheap, comfortable, and the sound quality not too bad. It also would be a plus if it could pick up my voice easily instead of me having to scream into it.
" Look into the turtlebeach range. They start cheap with the x11, but there are some better ones in the range. "
The cheapest Turtle Beach model is the XLC. They're something like $29.95 in the US and £20 in the United Kingdom. I'm not sure if they're good or not, but one of my friends recommends them for gaming at least.
" Look into the turtlebeach range. They start cheap with the x11, but there are some better ones in the range. "
The cheapest Turtle Beach model is the XLC. They're something like $29.95 in the US and £20 in the United Kingdom. I'm not sure if they're good or not, but one of my friends recommends them for gaming at least.
I forgot about those... I haven't heard good things, and for that sort of price you are getting what you pay for.
I forgot about those... I haven't heard good things, and for that sort of price you are getting what you pay for. "
Really? Oh well. Chances are they'll be effective enough, and I'm being as tight as possible with any money I have, so I can understand Turtle Beach have to make other models of headset superior.
I have these so that's another vote for the Steel Series range. Great surround sound effects and the mic has a mute button too so you can leave a chat channel open and just mute the mic in games where there are no chat option provided.
For a mic my friends and I all use the Logitech USB Desktop Mic. It's cheap and the sound quality is amazing. You don't even have to stoop in to get it to pick up, you can just talk. On the downside it'll definitely pickup background noise though if that's an issue.
I used to be pretty anti desktop mic before I got this thing but now I swear by it.
I asked my clan to post about their headsets back when a certain game was still around and we had a few members who seemed defiant on using $5 microphones - some of you remember what those late 90's computer ones looked like and how bad they were. Here's a little cut & paste magic (closed registration forum):
I have a lot of headsets : Plantronic Gamecom 777, Plantronic Gamecom 367, Razer Carcharias, and several older ones. In my opinion, choosing one is all about "compromises" and taste, but I'll make a short review of the 3 I used the past 2 years :
Plantronic Gamecom 777 : ~ 55 to 100 Euros + Overall good sound quality + “Full-ear” covering + rigid mic + Solid construction + Jack or Usb plug-in
- Fake 5,1 (That's not 5,1 sound guys, don't get this set for surround sound, it's just a “simulation” of it) - can get a little tight on the head - Expensive - “Open” head set, meaning people in the same room as you can hear your music if it's to loud, but it ables you to hear your wife when she calls at you
Plantronic Gamecom 367 : (/!\ not talking about the 377 there !) ~ 20 to 30 Euros + Overall good sound quality + “Full-ear” covering + Rigid mic + Solid construction + “Closed” head set. Unlike the Gamecom 777 the 367 is a “half-closed” head set, meaning people in the same room as you will be less likely to hear what you are listening to, however, you won't hear your wife calling you :p + Not very expensive for being Gamecom's 777 little brother.
- Can get a little tight on the head - Not very nice looking headset.
Razer Carcharia : ~ 70 to 100 Euros + Very good sound quality for games, medium (to good if you go for some equaliser customising) for music + “Full-ear” covering + Rigid mic + AAA quality (hey, it's Razer...) and solid construction (slightly less then Plantronics) + 3m long cable + VERY comfortable ! And Soooo sexy...
- Only stereo - Expensive - “Open” head set, meaning people in the same room as you can hear your music if it's to loud, but it ables you to hear your wife when she calls at you etc etc...
Razer Megalodon (~ 150 Euro) has overall same stats as Carcharia, but with 7,1 sound. Didn't get to test it though, was to disappointed by the fake 5,1 headsets I got to use.
Most headsets I use have solid mic (I don't like Steelseries getting-in-and-out mic things) and full ear covering. My recommendation would go for the Gamecom367 : Easy to configure to get a good sound out of it, really solid, and not that expensive. Exellent for what you ask from it. I however use the Carcharias most of the time, caus I never found a more comfortable head set out there, you can hardly feel it on your head, but still it doesn't move when you move your head around.
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Had a SteelSeries 5Hv2 = Awesome
Did hold 2 and a half year without any problem, sadly the sound on the right earphone did get really quiet lately.
Had a Ben Heck Special Edition Headset by eDimensional was comfortable to wear but the Fake-Leather Earthings were getting a bit sweaty in the summertimes, price was just arround 40€ so quiet achivable. The 5.1 Emulated sound was dead on, pretty nice bass boost as well
Currently useing a GameCom 777, because i got it for free. Im waiting for my Steelsereies 7H right now (for free ^^). 2 Problems with the GameCom 777 the Mic sounds strange and its not as comfortable to wear as the 5Hv2 as its acting more stiff.
and the good old clanleaders words
My new headset is a steel series Siberia 5v2 and so far have to say it's pretty good though it is a little disconcerting in that your own voice is muffled. However noticably sharper sound than anything I've had before (Sennheisser/Creative) though a lot pricier also.
I went from a $5 microphone to a $50 microphone, to getting a mixer for that microphone and that took care of my "sounding terrible and broken" issues, which may have been because of the sound card I had at the time. Since then I've become a bit of an audiophile about voice communication, I found that the headset microphones in price ranges normal mortals could reach were out of question and settled for a separate microphone to go with headphones instead. It's overkill, but my OCD about audio quality can finally rest :) Audiophile PC voicecommunication rig
I use an Astro A30 set, as I'm the kind of person who likes to consolidate and just have one thing that does everything I need. In this case I use it for games, watching movies, listening to music on my PC, it's portable enough to use as my headphones on the go, and can even be used as a headset with my phone. I used to use Sennheisers which had an over the ear style, while these are on the ear, yet they are very comfortable despite the fact that I have to wear glasses at all times and am generally picky about comfort. If you do decide to go another direction, I'd at least check out their Mixamp, which is so decent I've replaced my surround sound receiver with it. Then again I'm all headset all the time unless friends are over, so I wouldn't go doing that yet. Either way, good luck, shopping for headsets can be quite the task. I took me a while to find a decent one that fit all my needs.
I use an Astro A40 set, but that's a little too pricey for most people. Before that though, I used a Tritton AX 180 headset. You can usually find it new for only 60 bucks, or cheaper if you got a promo code. Its great cuz it works on every system and PC without an add on.
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