Sennheiser vs Steelseries vs X (Gaming Headsets)

[Meri]

I am in the market for a new gaming headset. Mainly, what I am looking for is a USB headset with a very good positional audio (channels do make a difference, but do not guarantee better positional audio).

The reason I want to go for a USB headset is:
1) I do not have a soundcard.
2) I plan to LAN a lot, so USB is a lot more convenient
3) Because I will be using different computers, the USB soundcard will allow me to save my settings on the USB device, allowing me to get the same audio result from multiple computers.

For a while, I wanted to get the SteelSeries 7H USB:
http://steelseries.com/us/products/a...lseries-7h-usb

But I then found that Sennheiser has its own set of USB gaming headsets. For Sennheiser, I am looking specifically at the 333d's:
http://www.sennheiserusa.com/PC-nois...usb-mac_504126

However, I have heard the 163d's are very good as well:
http://www.sennheiserusa.com/gamer-h...usb-mac_504128



A friend of mine and my brother both own Logitech G35 and Logitech G36 respectively and they both seem to do extremely well for them. I got to test them out and they are way better than the Razer Barracuda, which I am using at the moment.

I want to know what you guys think: what is your preferred or what is the best USB gaming headset with good positional audio? Sennheiser? SteelSeries? Logitech? Some other company? And how do they compare to the other headsets that I mentioned (so I can get some relative idea of the quality)?


EDIT: I also just quickly peeked at another headset by Astro called the A40. I haven't read anywhere on their site or resellers saying if this headset is USB or not. A review also mentioned that you can get better surround sound and sound quality elsewhere for less money. Anyone have experience with these? How do they compare to the other headsets mentioned here?

[Klotyte]

I would personally go for Sennheiser as I've had a pair of PC350s for a while now and the sound is truly excellent for the money (they won an award in this review, and the article is spot on about the level of detail you hear – more so when it's right in your ear as opposed to speakers :-)

However, regarding the newer Sennhieser gaming headsets, just looking at the poor Amazon reviews for the 333D suggests it's really uncomfortable (an observation made elsewhere). But the first Amazon reviewer actually says: “Instead of these, I would recommend the Sennheiser PC 163D which has great sound and microphone quality and is very comfortable (and they cost less).”

And the 2nd reviewer picked up the PC350: “Overall, I'd say the audio quality [of the 333D] was decent but the comfort level was horrendous. I've since returned these and picked up a set of pc 350 which is much more comfortable. Even though I don't have a proper sound card to drive the pc 350s, the audio quality is still great.”

I'm certainly not looking to change my 350s and reckon to get better sound you'd need to start pushing the budget up quite a bit... all mho of course!

[IAmGhostDog]

But I then found that Sennheiser has its own set of USB gaming headsets. For Sennheiser, I am looking specifically at the 333d's:
http://www.sennheiserusa.com/PC-nois...usb-mac_504126

Those look very nice.
I think Sennheiser make the best "phones" out the there.
I have the PC 166 USB and HD 580 Precision.
You can't go wrong with Sennheiser.

[John C]

Those look very nice.
I think Sennheiser make the best "phones" out the there.
I have the PC 166 USB and HD 580 Precision.
You can't go wrong with Sennheiser.

I just picked up a set of the HD555's, for $85. And they are easily modded to make them virtually HD595's. I have not performed the mod yet, however.

[Meri]

Optimally, I would love to get the 350's, but those don't fit my needs.

First of all, I don't have a sound card and getting those and a soundcard at the same time does not fit my budget.

Second of all, I want something that I can just plug into any computer and will have the settings that I saved on the headset be there when I do plug it into a different computer.

As far as I know, USB headsets fit both of these (I'm not sure all usb headsets save settings so you can use it on any computer, but I know the steelseries 7h usbs do).

[3dfxrain]

I wouldn't bother with the Steelseries 7H, mine failed with a bad connection with the wire to the left headphone, was unreliable because it would cut out the sound totally so no audio when there is supposed to be audio. Maybe moving around the plastic near the connector would bring back some of the sound or all however it would not stay that way. In the end I got another pair of headphones and mic. Razor Carcharias. The wire and connections are much more reliable.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/per...arias-review/1