I want the Perfect Gaming Headphones

[Qu@k3R]

hey guys,
sorry about this double post i didnt know it was a sticky.
I own a pair of zalman 5.1 headphones and frankly, they are crap when you listen to music, as they do not pick up bass very well. But when in games like call of duty, you can hear pretty much everything, which is why i like them. However i plan on buying a real sound card instead of the onboard nvidia soundstorm that im using and i would like to listen to the gigs of mp3s that i own (bought, not stole ) and play all the uber l337 games like doom 3 ,ut2k4, and CoD. But I'm beginning to think that the 5.1 heaphones coming out right now are nothing but a gimmick. Is there any headphones out there that has the same aspect for surround sound in games? I would like for these headphones to support dolby digital encoding but would like to keep the price not so expensive.
Please Shine some light over this.

[Swylen]

Check out the Kinyo KY-100 5.1 Headphones. I read alot of reviews saying they sound much better than Zalman's. Found them cheap too at buy.com. Around $35.

[The Smokey]

I wouldnt pass final judgement on the headphones, until you have a real soundcard first

But as to good headhones for gaming/music on a medium budget, I have and reccomend, Sennheiser HD212 pros (closed) or the HD497s (open)

[Qu@k3R]

Well i have a buyer for my computer, and im going a64 with left over money im sure, what is a nice pair of headphones for games? I want something that picks up explosions in like call of duty real good.

[lidistick]

explosions??
hmmmmmm some sennheisers HD 280/212 pros.
But grados SR 60/80/125 are also good sets of cans.

as The Smokey has said.. get a good soundcard first. or else you may get annoyed by the pops/crackles of onboard sound.

[phsstpok]

Check out the Kinyo KY-100 5.1 Headphones. I read alot of reviews saying they sound much better than Zalman's. Found them cheap too at buy.com. Around $35.

I bought the Kinyos about a month ago, at Buy.com, just before the free shipping deal (figures). I find the KY-100 mediocre for music, just not very detailed.

For movies they are impressive. Hooked up to my surround receiver (Marantz SR680), the Low Frequency Effects are powerful, bone jarring (especially explosions). The headphones literally vibrate (which takes some getting used to). However that's definitely a gimmick, audibly these are lively and dynamic headphones, but not extremely deep. (My old Grado SR-100 went deeper but was not as powerful). The headphone amp (included, proprietary) allows these headphones to play LOUD. (Don't use these headphones without the amp module. There are adapters for standard 1/4" and 1/8" connections but the sound is dreadful, very phasey (like crossed polarity on all channels).

I can't test the Kinyo properly in games. Can't get the center/subwoofer channel to work on my sound card. In 4.0 and 2.0 modes these headphones are very bass shy. Comparatively, 5.1 and 2.1 using my receiver produces much more bass (but still not extremely deep).

These headphones need lots of burn-in time. They sound very narrow ranged when new. They also need some warm-up time, about 15 minutes. (Maybe mine aren't full "burned in" yet).


Phsstpok

[Tazmanian Engr]

psstpok, list ur system spec. On the outside chance that you are using onboard Nvidia soundstorm, check out the link below. Else, I'll see what I can do for you.

http://forums.pcper.com/showthread.php?t=349341

[phsstpok]

Taz.., Thanks for the reply but I'm afraid that thread doesn't apply to my situation. Here is my system spec, a throwback to old school I'm afraid.

Tbred B XP1700+ mod'd to XP2400+ and running at 2.1 Ghz (15 x 140), 1.8V
Epox EP-8KTA3PRO, VIA KT133A
256MB OCZ PC150 Performance RAM + 128 MB OCZ PC133 Select RAM
Enermax EG-351P, 330 Watt PSU
Radeon 8500 275 Mhz core/300 Mhz memory (600 DDR)
Cmedia 8738 6-channel PCI sound card (make and model unknown), VxD driver.
Maxtor 40 GB hard drive, 7200 RPM
Cyberdrive CWD068, 36X/12X/48X CD-RW
Compaq OEM CDROM
Windows 98SE + Alper Coskun's Unofficial Windows98 SE Service Pack 1, rev. 1.6

Phsstpok

[Qu@k3R]

thanks for the replies guys. haha, my zalmans just went out of commision now, both front right and rear right speakers do not work now, thanks to newegg for taking it back. Ill getinto those 35 dollar heaphones ASA i can since i am broke at the moment........stupid bills

[phsstpok]

thanks for the replies guys. haha, my zalmans just went out of commision now, both front right and rear right speakers do not work now, thanks to newegg for taking it back. Ill getinto those 35 dollar heaphones ASA i can since i am broke at the moment........stupid bills

Like I implied (in this thread or one other), the Kinyo is great for movies and good for games. For music, well you probably want to get something else. However, for only $35 these headphones sound about equal to PC speakers in the same price range. Not as deep sounding as with a real subwoofer but have better highs than many single driver satellites.

One ergonomic feature is the ampifier module has a speaker passthru which means you can plug in your 5.1 speakers (analog only). You can switch between headphones and speakers simply by using the respective power switches. No fumbling behind your computer once you have everything connected.