Headsets

[FullAuto]

Educate me about headsets please, chaps and chapesses. Primarily for gaming, so the sound quality doesn't have to be superb, just nice and clear, decent mic, comfy (or at least not a torture-device-level of pain), and of course, cheap.

 

Not asking for much, am I? Been looking at Sennheisers primarily, but also intrigued by the super-cheap brands like Soyntec.

 

Help.

[Gimli]

Don't know much, I have one from Genius, quite a few years old now. Things to look for in my opinion are:

 

- the earpieces go around your ear. You'll get a whole new appreciation for stereo and you'll have better sound isolation (which has the downside of the chance to not hear if something important is going on... like your friend getting stabbed to death )

- make sure the part that will go on your head doesn't press it too much, because over time it can start hurting. Preferably, you'd want something soft on your head.

- it would be wise to check how the mic rotates. After some time, mine went kind of borked, so now it can only be in the vertical position, or the lowest possible. So you'll want a mic that stays where you put it.

- if the mic can be bent somewhat and stay that way, it's an added plus.

- watch out for the wire, too. If you accidentally pull it, the conductor might break over time, which will render it useless.

 

That's all I can think of.

 

Sennheiser aside, maybe check Philips as well, they usually have good products. Whatever you pick, make sure to read some reviews on the net, either pro or user reviews. Just to get a feeling and catch any bad things.

[FullAuto]

- the earpieces go around your ear. You'll get a whole new appreciation for stereo and you'll have better sound isolation (which has the downside of the chance to not hear if something important is going on... like your friend getting stabbed to death tongue.gif)

 

Not a problem, already done that myself...

 

Good point about the sound isolation and getting rid of background noise.

 

- watch out for the wire, too. If you accidentally pull it, the conductor might break over time, which will render it useless.

 

Was checking out a headset which I quite liked, except the wire at the base of the connector wasn't thickened, and it usually breaks at that point. Definitely something for me to keep in mind. Only problem is, when buying online, they only shows pics of the headset, the sods.

[Matri]

You can also go to your nearest A/V shop and check out their selection of headsets. I'm pretty sure you can test them out there to see which suits you best.

[Zombie]

I have been using headphones for a while now. Sound quality is usually fair to good for all headsets regardless of brand, but there are a few things to consider. Dynamic range is usually touted as most important, though it really doesn't matter too much on the high end of the frequency (on average, males hear fewer high frequency sounds than females, so I'd shoot for the 15-20,000hz upper limit). On the low end, headphones can start to distort the sound when they get below 50hz or so. (Small speakers are not meant to push large quantities of air and when they try to act like a big subwoofer sound is lost in the translation). However, higher priced headphones use superior cones to those of the off-brands and are usually able to reach lower in the audio spectrum without distortion.

 

Listening to music on headphones is completely a different experience from listening with normal speakers. You are probably going to be able to pick up on sounds which were "hidden" before (usually "muddied" in the track). On a side note, human ears are "handed" just like we are left handed or right handed. We usually prefer one ear over another and thus audio information encoded on the opposite stereo channel might get ignored. For a different listening experience, try swapping your headphones around to the other ear. You'll be amazed what shows up sometimes.

 

As mentioned before, there are different types of headphones depending on application. Normal headphones are fine for most things. If you listen to music in a noisy area, noise canceling headphones may be the way to go. They basically have a small microphone which takes the ambient "noise" around you and transmits a wave through the speakers which is opposite in amplitude effectively lowering the noise factor by quite a bit. Can't use this type of headphone where you need to be aware of your surroundings at all times (such as cycling, driving a car, operating heavy machinery, answering phones etc).

 

Which brings us to the next point: type. There are numerous types of headphones out there. Ear buds, on the ear, and over the ear are the three most popular. Settling on a type is up to what you like. Some people like the low profile ear buds as they are convenient and cheap while offering decent enough sound. Some like an on the ear design as it still allows you to catch important phone calls and is easily carried with you from place to place. Over the ear designs offer the best sound reproduction, but they are cumbersome to use on the road.

 

Like Matri says, go to a local A/V shop (if one is close by) and try out some headphones to see what you like the best. Don't worry too much about brand, but decide what sounds the best and is most comfortable. I ended up getting a brand called Koss which is produced just blocks away from my place. Then if you want to purchase a set online, you'll already know what you want. If it is a corded headset, check the cord and the connection for durability. If it comes with an in-line volume control, make sure it's sturdy. They are certainly convenient, but tend to degrade on the lower priced models within a year or two with normal wear. (Chalk that up to cheap plastic and constant banging/tugging which is usual). Cordless headsets are also out there, but they require batteries which may be too heavy for some people to tolerate.

 

- Zombie

[FullAuto]

Cheers, reason I'm asking is that my local shops are either useless or part of a conglomerate so evil I'd rather buy a headset from the Taliban, which is why I'm shopping around online primarily.

 

Good tech details Zombie, much appreciated.

[Slaughter]

Trusted Reviews has some reviews for you. I've got a Sennheiser headset, and they produce good stuff. I also got a Koss Portapro for when I'm out walking, on a buss etc.

[FullAuto]

Any excuse to talk to yoyrself eh? Thanks for the link, Slaughter.