Headset?

[Lt_Maverick]

Thanks for the tip!

Yeah it really is a toss up for me, whether to go open back or closed, but I think for how I am going to be using them and the environment closed would probably suit me better.

 

 

Did you order yet? They're on sale at Amazon.

 

 

 

 

"The first time I ever saw a jet, I shot it down."- General Chuck Yeager, USAF, describing his first confrontation with a Me262.

 

 

JayRac3r/Lt_Mav YouTube Channel

[dburne]

Did you order yet? They're on sale at Amazon.

 

 

Yes, I ordered the Sennheiser Game Zero from Amazon yesterday.

[Lt_Maverick]

Yes, I ordered the Sennheiser Game Zero from Amazon yesterday.

 

 

Good for you! I looked them up after reading this and they look phenomenal. A few of the reviews on Amazon recommend an amp.

 

 

 

 

"The first time I ever saw a jet, I shot it down."- General Chuck Yeager, USAF, describing his first confrontation with a Me262.

 

 

JayRac3r/Lt_Mav YouTube Channel

[Endy]

A few of the reviews on Amazon recommend an amp.

 

 

Sound Blaster Z he's using has a built in headphone amp and trust me it's LOUD on a 60 Ohm set of cans :) I just confirmed it can drive even high end headphones up to 600 Ohm so will definately be enough for these, even if they're 150 Ohm.

[dburne]

Good for you! I looked them up after reading this and they look phenomenal. A few of the reviews on Amazon recommend an amp.

 

 

Thanks!

 

Yeah I saw some of those same reviews, but as I mentioned earlier at some point this year Sennheiser changed the impedance from 150 to 50 ohms, which negates the need for an amp. According to the specs on the unit I ordered, they are 50 ohm. Just hope it was not an older set Amazon happened to have.

 

I will find out soon enough...

[Endy]

Thanks!

 

Yeah I saw some of those same reviews, but as I mentioned earlier at some point this year Sennheiser changed the impedance from 150 to 50 ohms, which negates the need for an amp. According to the specs on the unit I ordered, they are 50 ohm. Just hope it was not an older set Amazon happened to have.

 

I will find out soon enough...

 

You won't need an additional amp either way, please look at my post above :)

[dburne]

Sound Blaster Z he's using has a built in headphone amp and trust me it's LOUD on a 60 Ohm set of cans :) I just confirmed it can drive even high end headphones up to 600 Ohm so will definately be enough for these, even if they're 150 Ohm.

 

That is good to know, thanks for checking that Endy!

 

I be a getting excited lol.

 

Plus not to mention, I have since discovered Voice Attack on these forums, really excited about having a mic and trying that program out in my single player flying.

Edited November 7, 2015 by dburne

[Lt_Maverick]

Thanks!

 

Yeah I saw some of those same reviews, but as I mentioned earlier at some point this year Sennheiser changed the impedance from 150 to 50 ohms, which negates the need for an amp. According to the specs on the unit I ordered, they are 50 ohm. Just hope it was not an older set Amazon happened to have.

 

I will find out soon enough...

 

 

Please keep us updated. I have spent $1000 dollars on assorted headphones over the years and my current set is the cheapest but sounds the best. They were only $40 on Amazon. I've spent $200 at one point or another. I added yours to my Amazon wish list. I may get them:

 

Sound Blaster Z he's using has a built in headphone amp and trust me it's LOUD on a 60 Ohm set of cans :) I just confirmed it can drive even high end headphones up to 600 Ohm so will definately be enough for these, even if they're 150 Ohm.

 

 

Thanks for pointing this out. I may put a sound card into my rig after reading this thread.

 

 

 

 

"The first time I ever saw a jet, I shot it down."- General Chuck Yeager, USAF, describing his first confrontation with a Me262.

 

 

JayRac3r/Lt_Mav YouTube Channel

[dburne]

Please keep us updated. I have spent $1000 dollars on assorted headphones over the years and my current set is the cheapest but sounds the best. They were only $40 on Amazon. I've spent $200 at one point or another. I added yours to my Amazon wish list. I may get them:

 

Thanks for pointing this out. I may put a sound card into my rig after reading this thread.

 

Will do. Understand though this will be my first set of headphones, so I really will not be able to compare them to any others so to speak. But I do appreciate good sound and will certainly share what I think about the sound with these.

 

I have a Kipsch Pro-Media speaker system, and I know it sounds great with my SoundBlaster Z card.

[Endy]

Thanks for pointing this out. I may put a sound card into my rig after reading this thread.

 

It's well worth it mate, it's like a night and day difference between this and onboard sound. Go for a card of at least SB Z or Asus Xonar DX class or higher if you got the money. Trust me, the difference between a simple realtek on your mainboard and a card of at least this class is amazing when it comes to music and gaming sound quality. Pair it with a good set of headphones and you'll be wondering how you could ever get by without a sound card :) Plus, it doesn't go obsolete like graphic cards do after a year or two.

[dburne]

It's well worth it mate, it's like a night and day difference between this and onboard sound.

 

A big plus + to that!

 

When I built this system a couple of years ago, I thought I would give it a try with onboard sound rather than a soundcard, as I had heard how much better onboard sound is these days. My EVGA X79 Dark mb has RealTek I believe for onboard sound.

 

So I assembled the build, and ran it that way with my Klipsch Pro Media speakers for a couple of weeks. I thought it didn't sound all that bad, but I was not overly impressed with it either. In a previous system I had a SoundBlaster X-Fi card, and knew it had decent sound.

 

So rather than pulling it out of the old system, I picked up a newer SoundBlaster Z on sale, and put it in my new system and disabled the onboard sound.

 

Oh my goodness, wow the difference it made - especially when I went in and adjusted the EQ a little. It beat the onboard sound, hands down, by far.

[Endy]

Oh my goodness, wow the difference it made - especially when I went in and adjusted the EQ a little. It beat the onboard sound, hands down, by far.

 

+1

 

The games sound waay different and you get that oomph to every sound. The sound is also nice and crisp, the sound stage opens and you get all the benefits of proper sound. That's something that is not easy to describe, one has to hear it for oneself, but you'll not regret it, 100% sure of that.

[Lt_Maverick]

It's well worth it mate, it's like a night and day difference between this and onboard sound. Go for a card of at least SB Z or Asus Xonar DX class or higher if you got the money. Trust me, the difference between a simple realtek on your mainboard and a card of at least this class is amazing when it comes to music and gaming sound quality. Pair it with a good set of headphones and you'll be wondering how you could ever get by without a sound card :) Plus, it doesn't go obsolete like graphic cards do after a year or two.

 

 

How much of a difference does it make in DCS, Falcon or IL2?

 

 

 

 

"The first time I ever saw a jet, I shot it down."- General Chuck Yeager, USAF, describing his first confrontation with a Me262.

 

 

JayRac3r/Lt_Mav YouTube Channel

[Endy]

How much of a difference does it make in DCS, Falcon or IL2?

 

 

Well, the sound is sure more beefy and real. Separation of different sounds is also better but that of course depends on the headphones you have too. It just sounds a bit more real too, instead of falling flat like from onboard sound card.

 

It's difficult to describe. Flight sims are probably not the best example as sounds in the cockpit are a bit limited - for example sound effects are not that numerous in most. In Falcon you will have better radios and the sound engine of course but there are not that many other effects. DCS has better sound effects than Falcon so a bigger difference. They all do sound better but the most difference you'll hear in other games, with more varied sound effects like FPS etc. - playing stuff like Arma 3 or Battlefield on a sound card vs onboard makes a huge difference, and of course in music and movies, it will be a huge improvement there.

[Lt_Maverick]

Well, the sound is sure more beefy and real. Separation of different sounds is also better but that of course depends on the headphones you have too. It just sounds a bit more real too, instead of falling flat like from onboard sound card.

 

 

 

It's difficult to describe. Flight sims are probably not the best example as sounds in the cockpit are a bit limited - for example sound effects are not that numerous in most. In Falcon you will have better radios and the sound engine of course but there are not that many other effects. DCS has better sound effects than Falcon so a bigger difference. They all do sound better but the most difference you'll hear in other games, with more varied sound effects like FPS etc. - playing stuff like Arma 3 or Battlefield on a sound card vs onboard makes a huge difference, and of course in music and movies, it will be a huge improvement there.

 

 

Thanks for the reply. That'll be my text PC upgrade.

 

 

 

 

"The first time I ever saw a jet, I shot it down."- General Chuck Yeager, USAF, describing his first confrontation with a Me262.

 

 

JayRac3r/Lt_Mav YouTube Channel

[nigelmcelwee]

I own a pair of blackshark headphones and they are great. a little pricy but they feel and look just like dave clarks. Here is a link to them:

 

http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-audio/razer-blackshark

[dburne]

The new Sennheiser headset actually arrived yesterday, was not expecting them till today. Gotta love that Amazon service.

 

But alas, yesterday was a busy day for me, so hopefully little later on today I will get to try these out. Lot of new things to try , the new headset ( which is my first really), then I can try out the Track Clip Pro for my Track IR and stop wearing the hat clip, and finally now that I will have a headset with mic, going to grab Voice Attack and give it a try as well.

 

Lot of fun things to try this week, with continuing playing with the latest Open Beta of DCS 1.5.

 

I will let you guys know my thoughts on these headsets soon.

[dburne]

Ok so got the new Sennheiser Game Zero unboxed and hooked up today.

 

Again, this is my very first headset ( yeah I know took me a long time to come around), and I really can not compare it to any other headsets.

 

First I was really impressed with the looks and feel of the headset, seems to be built very well, without a lot of fluff. No drivers needed, just plug it in and go. Seems to be pretty light weight, and it fits my large head very well. Even with my Track IR hat on I had no fit issue with it, it is very comfortable.

 

It already came with the necessary cable for me, has a long braided cord ( app 10 ft), and I don't have any issue with the cord scraping across me making a sound in the headphone, the braid seems to isolate it well. The end has both a headhone and mic jack, so I just plugged it into the appropriate headphone and mic jacks on my SoundBlaster Z soundcard. It also had plug for plugging into say phones, etc.

 

I have been gaming with them for at least a couple of hours today, so far they are still very comfortable and am not having any hot/sweaty ear issues so far. Maybe if I kept them on for many hours I might, I don't know.

 

The sound is very, very good. I made good use of my SoundBlaster Z software, without the Equalizer enabled the sound was pretty faint and tinny. With the EQ enabled, it really came to life. Very pleased with the sound so far.

 

Now I will mention, I would like to have a little more bass. When I say that though, understand I have a really nice Klipsch speaker system with a good powerful subwoofer, that I have been using for a while. My Klipsch system puts out some really incredible sound, with all the bass anyone could hope to have.

So I am not surprised after being used to that, the bass seems less with the headphones.

Perhaps I could add an external amp and that would give me deeper bass, something I can think about I guess. But really I would be fine with what I have as well.

 

Have been flying Blackshark with them on, and it sounds really good.

Have not had a chance to try the mic yet, as I don't do MP currently , but hope to give it a try soon as I want to get that Voice Attack program and give that a try for AI wingman commands.

The mic is a boom mic, that swivels up and down. It mutes when you swivel it up as I understand, you can tell a noticeable click when raising it and hear a faint click in the headphone itself, I assume that is the point it mutes itself.

 

So far pretty pleased with the purchase.

 

Edit: And many thanks again to all, for all the helpful advice I got in this thread! When I started it, I knew absolutely nothing about headsets or what to look for, thanks to all the help I was able to learn about them and make an educated decision for my first purchase.

Now, I gotta find that Track Clip Pro that came with my Track IR 5, see if it will hook onto this headset ok, and give that a try after using the hat clip all of these year.

Edited November 9, 2015 by dburne

[Endy]

I think weaker bass is something you need to get used to as these headphones are not know for very powerful low end. Other than that they're pretty good from what I read :)

[TomOnSteam]

Glad you like the headphones! I'm wondering if perhaps you need an external amp to get the most of them if they are sounding a bit faint and tiny.

[dburne]

Glad you like the headphones! I'm wondering if perhaps you need an external amp to get the most of them if they are sounding a bit faint and tiny.

 

Well I would not say they sound that way, especially after I adjusted the EQ settings, but I just don't have that same very deep base that I get with my Klipsch speaker system. And maybe I am expecting too much from headphones, after all the Klipsch system has a nice subwoofer powering that bass.

 

I know nothing about external amps, so I have no idea if they would give a deeper bass than what I am currently getting.

Don't get me wrong they sound good, but think I am a little spoiled with the bass I have been used to.

[Endy]

If you read about these headphones, many reviews mention weaker bass, in favour of better sound stage and separation. So it's something for something else in this case.

[dburne]

If you read about these headphones, many reviews mention weaker bass, in favour of better sound stage and separation. So it's something for something else in this case.

 

Yeah I think you are right, been playing around with the EQ settings and got them about as good as I think I will get.

Again, I am somewhat spoiled by the awesome bass from my speaker system and sub, so am not really surprised that the headphones would be less.

I have also read that after about 40-50 hours of use they really tend to come alive.

 

The headphones really do sound good, the mid-range is awesome. I don't think an external amp would really do anything for me, as I am running it through my SoundBlaster Z, and seems to be providing plenty of power for the headphones, I have no power problem with them. Even with the volume down pretty low I have very strong sound coming through the headphone. It is not weak sound by any means, just bass not as much oomph as I am used to with the speaker system I have.

 

Tomorrow going to check out the Track Clip Pro for my Trackl IR and see how it will work with the headset, and hopefully soon Voice Attack.

Edited November 9, 2015 by dburne

[*Rage*]

Glad you like it. If my PC350s ever give up the ghost ill be getting the zeros as well.

[dburne]

Update,

 

I have been playing around with my EQ and SBX settings in the SoundBlaster software, actually created a separate profile and settings for the headphones. The same EQ settings for my Klispch speakers, are not so good for the headphones, so adjusting for the headphones and separate profile for them has made a nice difference.

 

Sounding better now with much better base. Obviously the bass will never be what I get with the Kipsch system, but now the headphones are really sounding good!

Just took a little effort on my part. Very pleased now...

 

Now to find that Track Clip Pro and give it a try with my Track IR.