1. Headset Update
We’ve spent time with five PC gaming headsets over the last few weeks. They range in price from $60 all the way up to $300. Our goal was to review headsets several different price brackets, so gamers of every budget will find something worth checking out. While a favorite headset is sure to pop up from this latest group, we aren’t treating this roundup as a straight-up competition like the last one, published in December 2009 (although some comparisons are bound to crop up).
It’s a safe bet to say that the more money you spend, the better the product, but there were a few surprises in this latest batch. All of these headsets have been released within the last six months, from companies including Astro, SteelSeries, Turtle Beach, Nox Audio, and Psyko.
We've used the same criteria for this roundup as we used for the last, which are as follows:
Design and Build Quality: For those willing to drop a Benjamin or two on a PC and console headset, it had better last longer than a handful of marathon gaming sessions. We analyze the types of materials used, the overall design, and how well the headset stands up to stress. The headset needs to look good, too, especially if you’re bringing it to the next LAN party or MLG event.
Comfort: The last thing you need during a five-hour session of Bad Company 2 is a headache or sore ears. This reviewer has a particularly large head (literally, not figuratively), so that cranium will be the ultimate benchmark for comfort. If it’s comfortable on my head for several hours, you should be in the clear.
Convenience: Convenience includes basic qualifications like easy installation and any extra features that may come with the headset. It also takes into account the in-line volume controls found on nearly every headset.
Sound Quality: A headset might make you look smooth and feel nice on your noggin, but if it can’t execute its job properly, what’s the point? Each headset will be tested for sound quality in three areas: games, music, and movies. Also, just because a headset excels in gaming conditions doesn’t mean it will be perfect for watching "Transformers 2" or "Star Trek." In fact, it’s usually quite the opposite. Factors include positional audio, bass levels, stereo-sound quality, and surround sound quality.
Console Usability: All but one of these headsets can be used with consoles in one way or another. If that’s the case, we look at which consoles are compatible and how well the headsets perform. Because we are focusing on PC gaming here, this category will carry the least amount of weight.
Overall Score: After we’re finished testing each headset, we score it in each category, with a maximum of five points possible for each section. The overall score won’t be an exact average of the category scores. If there are other small details about each headset that we liked or disliked, the score can go up or down.
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Good review. It highlights their features and is honest about the sound quality.
Too much do I see people saying that their $200 headset is amazing for games, movies, and music. The truth is that the right professional headphone will blow all of these away.
I have only heard one headset that had the positioning and imaging of the Audio Technica AD700s, and it was well over $400 compared to $80 for the AD700s.
I use Audio Technica ATH-M50 because they have pretty good imagining and have a very nice punchy bass impact that is fun in games and a very nice neutral sound with a slight bump in the bass department for music.
When you go for actual headphones, you will get so much more for the price, but you will need to get a separate MIC.
Why don't people just buy conventional headphones (such as the AD700s mentioned above) which are great for music, movies AND gaming and just buy an external $15 microphone? Logitech provides mics that have sound suppression which are external so there's really no point for a gaming headset.
I'm making an upgrade to my headphone setup in a few weeks, which will hopefully consist of a set of Sennheiser HD 555s and one of these Zalaman mics: http://www.amazon.com/Zalman-Micro [...] =8-1-spell
Why did you review the lesser of the Turtle Beach ones? Heeeellloooo...Turtle Beach HPA2 with ACTUAL 5.1 speakers rocks all things, including the Z2. Seriously, you all dropped the ball by picking the Z2.
Review the HPA2 if you want a real PC gaming beast!
Readers: get the HPA2 not the Z2!!
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Why did you review the lesser of the Turtle Beach ones? Heeeellloooo...Turtle Beach HPA2 with ACTUAL 5.1 speakers rocks all things, including the Z2. Seriously, you all dropped the ball by picking the Z2.Review the HPA2 if you want a real PC gaming beast! Readers: get the HPA2 not the Z2!!e
We didn't pick the HPA2 because it's an older headset. When we review a product it needs to be something new, like the Z2.
-Devin
but if you never reviewed it...and it's still sold on the market...it's new
Sennheiser HD580's still reign supreme, especially if you're using the Dolby DSP processor addition
None of these come even close to my Sennheiser PC 350 gaming headset... Can we have an article with serious gaming headsets instead of the crap load reviewed here? Not a single one had decent bass reproduction for crying out loud! The PC 350 plays in the same league as professional headphones with its 10Hz - 26kHz frequency response. (For comparison the popular Sennheiser HD 280 PRO professional stereo headphones offer 8Hz - 25kHz response.) And the PC 350 sells online starting from $125 - definitely in the same price range as the gaming headsets reviewed here.
LoL at that chart,
it is a FAI
L
None of these come even close to my Sennheiser PC 350 gaming headset... Can we have an article with serious gaming headsets instead of the crap load reviewed here? Not a single one had decent bass reproduction for crying out loud! The PC 350 plays in the same league as professional headphones with its 10Hz - 26kHz frequency response. (For comparison the popular Sennheiser HD 280 PRO professional stereo headphones offer 8Hz - 25kHz response.) And the PC 350 sells online starting from $125 - definitely in the same price range as the gaming headsets reviewed here.
I got the same ones, their awesomesauce
I have a pair of the astro A30's and love em got the metalgear solid peacewalker edition ive always disliked the over the ear style cuz they make me sweaty no problem with that on the A30's they might not be the best thing ever but they destroy my old logitech gaming headset and noone sneaks up on me in bfbc2 or mw2 anymore
Well I do not want to sound as an asshole but... All these headphones are terrible. The only valuable thing here is the Astro Mixamp ( which I have and love ) : it's god gift to Console gamers.
Still the other posters are right , a CHEAP AD700 or HD555 will blow out of the water into the outer space all of these.
My gaming sound setup consist in : Xbox 360 --Toslink--> ASTRO Mixamp --> Mini3 Amp --> Beyerdynamics DT880
No review for the Turtle Beach Earforce x41s? Wireless and Dolby 7.1
I love mine.
To those that tout the use of separate headphones and a mic, I'd like to say that's solution just isn't for everyone. I hate clip- ons, get a lot of complaints in chat about the sound quality. I like the convenience of the attached mic. Not an audiophile so I want to just slap on the headset and go. I also prefer open ear so I can my voice isn't muffled and I can hear the tv.
None of these come even close to my Sennheiser PC 350 gaming headset... Can we have an article with serious gaming headsets instead of the crap load reviewed here? Not a single one had decent bass reproduction for crying out loud! The PC 350 plays in the same league as professional headphones with its 10Hz - 26kHz frequency response. (For comparison the popular Sennheiser HD 280 PRO professional stereo headphones offer 8Hz - 25kHz response.) And the PC 350 sells online starting from $125 - definitely in the same price range as the gaming headsets reviewed here.
Just because it says "Sennhieser" on it, doesn't make it the be-all, end-all in gaming headsets. In fact, I've read other wise in other publications about some Sennhieser products. You may be right, you and others who say "all these headphones are junk" or something like that, but the fact is, NONE of you have listened to them all, and the best you know about them is their spec sheets, if you even bothered to look at that. I have no respect for that kind of opinion; it amounts to product bigotry.
Any true audiophile can tell you that a spec sheet is only a guide when it comes to judging the performance of audio equipment, and can be a poor guide at that. Most of them can also tell you that the MP3 format is junk, yet most people are perfectly happy with it. In a time when the majority of people are quite happy with MP3 quality, calling these headsets "good" might be on-target - for those people, if they aren't actually good otherwise.
Really though, if you want to get serious reviews about audio equipment, go to a site that specializes in audio equipment - or at least is more serious about it. It is not one of Tomshardware's strong suits.
Wondering how does the Turtle Beach Z2 compare to the Logitech G35, if price is not an issue.
I would think the G35 would be quite a bit better considering it has the Dolby 7.1 built into it. With the Z2, you have to buy the 80 dollar accessory to get the same thing, but it does work with any headphones you have, not just the Z2.
Then how would the Turtle Beach Z2 compare to SteelSeries Siberia V2?