I don't get the obsession audiophiles have with headphones. In all honnesty why the fuck would u ever wants to use a pair of headphones if you are that into sound and want to pay soo much for it compared to just using speakers which is for most purposes better (you aren't in a studio and need sound canceling and most likely this is the only sound source in your enviourment). I mean I understand that people can't always use speakers but why would you really pay this much for what is essentialy a oh I should prob keep quiet now instead of blasting out music on my speakers.
Yes I know that using skype and so on using speakers isn't great but aprox 98% of the time (and yes I'm pulling this number from nowhere but u get my point) the headset won't be whats ruining the experience because the other guys mic isn't what it should be.
This is not trying to flame the whole wow man you should go for headphones and a mic but let us be honest for gaming the convenience of having a mic on the headset instead of a clip on (got the steelseries v1 and had it for ages which also have a clip on) isn't nearly as convenient. Headsets have come a long way from back when it was a huge difference. Sure there might be a small difference but for the vast majority of people the convenience outweighs the improved sound quality (which for the most parts u need to pay a lot for or else it's just buying a slightly "better" pair of headphones to claim it makes a difference).
Personally I use the Siberia v1 but what I would do is not just rely on what other people say and perhaps go to a store and try them out for fit. Gaming means using them for a longer period of time most likely so they have to fit right else no matter of sound quality can save them. If you use glasses this is especially true or I guess if your head is in any way out of the ordinary
I'll try and answer this to the best of my abilities, having both owned shitty $40 headsets and $1000+ audiophile headphones.
Lets say you live in an apartment building, chances are not all the neighbors will be happy when you crank the volume up to 11 and tear the house down, just like you mentioned. But there are numerous other reasons as to why you would buy expensive headphones instead of speakers. A pair of $1000 headphones provide vastly better resolution and sound quality than a pair of $1000 speakers. Even a pair of $3000 speakers will struggle against a pair of $1000 headphones when comparing quality. In other words, you get more bang for the buck with headphones.
A separate microphone is very inexpensive. There are good Logitech microphones which cost like $30 and give amazing sound quality taking in mind the cost. If you want more expensive stuff with better quality, go for something like a Blue Microphones "Snowball".
You say headsets have come a long way. I say bullshit. A gaming headset for $100-150 doesn't even remotely compare to a "real" headphone for $70. Add to that the facts that were mentioned in a post on the last page (poor build quality), well, you can quickly see that there isn't much that is good with a headset. My oldest pair of headphones is a pair of Sennheiser HD600 which I bought used for $200. They are now 13 years old and look brand new and still sound pretty damn good. I have no headset older than 2 years that is still alive.
For games nowadays though I mostly use some cheap surround speakers because the games I play don't really require amazing sound resolution (Diablo 3 for example). When on skype and playing with friends though, I use my HD600.
I have some AKG - 701's, they are on the pricier end though the resolution is freakishly accurate. Not as good as those senn's i read about on here but hey, they are half the price of those. I equivocate this to high resolution screens, that seems like a worthy investment to most people and the importance of sound is tantamount to visual information.
Buying "gaming" headsets is a huge waste of money.
be warned if you own a mac pro this mic will not work. Macs have line level inputs and the zalman mic is a mic level signal. so unless you have a pre-amp for it its not going to produce any signal on a mac input line.
I tried to rig this exact thing myself to no avail. Imacs and macbooks have mics built in... though mac pros and mac minis do not.
I agree with you on the quality of gaming headphones... most are cheap hardware with some software enhancements and A LOT of marketing to make them seem like they are going to turn you into a better player. don't buy the hype!
best option mics for mac are Blue brand.
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I have some AKG - 701's, they are on the pricier end though the resolution is freakishly accurate. Not as good as those senn's i read about on here but hey, they are half the price of those. I equivocate this to high resolution screens, that seems like a worthy investment to most people and the importance of sound is tantamount to visual information.
For people wanting crazy sound quality for a cheap price - here you go http://www.headphone.com/headphones/grado-sr-60i.php
be warned if you own a mac pro this mic will not work. Macs have line level inputs and the zalman mic is a mic level signal. so unless you have a pre-amp for it its not going to produce any signal on a mac input line.
I tried to rig this exact thing myself to no avail. Imacs and macbooks have mics built in... though mac pros and mac minis do not.
I agree with you on the quality of gaming headphones... most are cheap hardware with some software enhancements and A LOT of marketing to make them seem like they are going to turn you into a better player. don't buy the hype!
best option mics for mac are Blue brand.