Headset Help

[peterock]

Hey all, I'm looking for a new headset. It would be mostly for gaming. I'm not to sure what the advantage would be for USB vs 3.5 for connection. I think I want surround sound headset so I can play late at night without waking the Miss, Unless you tell me otherwise to stick with stero type. I'm willing to spend around 150 bucks or more if it will get me agood pair. I do have a seperate sound card with surround sound. Plus I would still like to keep me existing 5.1 surround speakers. Is this a problem? Do I have to manually go behind PC and connect speakers/headset every time I want to swtich them back or fourth? Thanks

 

[Daveskater]

getting one with a usb connection will mean that you won't have to disconnect anything, and 3.5mm will only give you stereo sound unless you get a headset that can emulate surround sound

if you have front panel audio ports then you could quite easily be able to plug a 3.5mm pair in without disconnecting your existing speakers

shop around on pc or audio specialty websites and see what you can get, newegg.com is a good one for pc parts but i don't know if they have a/v equipment on there as well

 

[pdyckman@comcas]

I bought a pair of Logitech stereo headphones for $30 and they sound fine. You don't have to mess with anything regarding your 5.1. Just plug your headphones into the light green output in back unless you have a headphone output on the front of your PC.

 

[peterock]

Which is better USB or 3.5 for sound quality. I've done some research and have read that with usb you have to keep plugging it in each time of use for it to work or be reconized or something along those lines. My old headset was USB and worked fairly well then one ear piece stopped working then mic sounded worse. It was a cheap pair, get what you pay for. If I do get the 3.5 version in 5.1 surround I'm assuming I just plug the 3 or 4 diffrent plugs into my sound card....Right?? but at that point my 5.1 speakers are now unplugged. Can I put a 'T' in there??? Won't that mess up my sound quality? Can I install a second sound card have one for external speakers and one for headset? Is that possible?? I know plantronics, sennheiser, and some logitech are all good but have read that new model 161 is not as good as its older and no longer avaible 150 so on and sofourth. Anyone got any suggestions? Thanks

 

[Daveskater]

i expect there wouldn't be a lot of difference in sound quality between 3.5mm and usb but if you have gold plated connectors on the 3.5mm jack (that any good brand will do on a decent pair of headphones/headset)

i doubt that you will get a 3.5mm jack version tha twill have multiple connectors, most likely it will be one 3.5mm green jack and it will turn a stereo signal into surround sound, having 5 connectors or so (and then the mic one) on a headset would be impracticable and would make it more expensive

i would advise getting a usb one for proper surround sound and good sound quality, but check the manufacturers site and a shop site for proper technical details, otherwise you might buy surround sound headphones that aren't real surround sound, if you know what i mean

 

[peterock]

Why yes I do. How can I varify that they are truely 5.1 surround sound? Any key words to look for? To be honest if it said 5.1 or surround sound I probably would have just bought it and kick myself in the you know where afterwards.