New headset

[T}{OR]

Originally Posted by Codex

My view is if you want quality sounds and listen to other things than games with your headset then go for stereo, but for gaming and picking up positional audio 5.1 headsets, even with poorer sound quality are way better.

That is precisely what we're talking about here.

5.1/7.1 headsets are good only for gaming, while stereo headphones beat them with sound quality on all levels, every time. And with good sound cards you can get 3D sound emulation which will match the best what 5.1/7.1 headsets can offer. It all comes down what you're using them for.

It all comes down to what are you using them for and what is you personal preference.

[Chivas]

I'm no audiophile, but have bought quite a few high priced headphones for IL-2 the past 10 years. The Medusa 5.1 were by far the most immersive for IL-2 in my experience.

[Les]

Originally Posted by Codex

Well just spent the good part of an hour at JB-HiFi testing the Sennheiser 555, 515 and 215s on their iPad display, listening to the virtual barber shop on YouTube and also listening to Music. Yes I can hear the difference in quality from my Medusa 5.1s, Music is much better on the stereo headsets. But in terms of positional audio my Medusa is much better. I've just been listening to the virtual barber shop again at home with my 5.1 headset and there's no comparison. Music quality is better with stereo but in all honesty, nothing that I would would notice or even care about.

My view is if you want quality sounds and listen to other things than games with your headset then go for stereo, but for gaming and picking up positional audio 5.1 headsets, even with poorer sound quality are way better.

I don't doubt you heard what you heard and, based on what you experienced, I'd tend to agree with your conclusions. There's a bit more to it than that though when you look at all the possible variations and options there are available more generally.

For example, different stereo headphones give a different sense of three-dimensional 'spaciousness' to the sound you play through them. The ones you listened to in-store aren't the best choice for positional audio. Also, I'm not sure how the iPad's audio was set up internally either, or how it would compare to the setup you use your Medusa's on, but that could easily influence impressions too. And speaking purely in terms of positional audio, ie. being able to hear and locate sounds in a game, there are actually several variable factors involved with that as well which can make a blanket recommendation of 5.1 headsets a bit deceptive.

Anyway, I'll leave it at that, people can research things for themselves depending on their level of interest. I've been finding out quite a bit about all this myself lately, about the products and the science and technology involved, but I don't want to use this thread as a 'hey, guess what I found out today' clearing-house for that, soo...

[Codex]

Originally Posted by Les

I don't doubt you heard what you heard and, based on what you experienced, I'd tend to agree with your conclusions. There's a bit more to it than that though when you look at all the possible variations and options there are available more generally.

For example, different stereo headphones give a different sense of three-dimensional 'spaciousness' to the sound you play through them. The ones you listened to in-store aren't the best choice for positional audio. Also, I'm not sure how the iPad's audio was set up internally either, or how it would compare to the setup you use your Medusa's on, but that could easily influence impressions too. And speaking purely in terms of positional audio, ie. being able to hear and locate sounds in a game, there are actually several variable factors involved with that as well which can make a blanket recommendation of 5.1 headsets a bit deceptive.

Anyway, I'll leave it at that, people can research things for themselves depending on their level of interest. I've been finding out quite a bit about all this myself lately, about the products and the science and technology involved, but I don't want to use this thread as a 'hey, guess what I found out today' clearing-house for that, soo...

And that is the exact reason why I went to try them out, because I'm sceptical that 5.1 or 7.1 headphones should be passed off as mere gimmicks.

I used the iPads to playback the youtube track because they were right next to the demo stand but I also realised that when listening to binaural sounds to decide on a stereo headphone purchase it should be done with no assistance from hardware i.e. sound card.

I've just been doing some further testing using my Medusa's coupled with my X-Fi card, setting the speakers to "headphones" , "2.1" and "5.1" while disabling CMSS-3D chip and listening to these samples:

http://www.qsound.com/demos/binaural-audio.htm
(the guys that made the virtual barber shop recording)

Setting the X-Fi speakers to "headphone" and "2.1" the sounds were muffled and tended merge over one another but they were still good and I got the binaural experience. Turing on the 3D chip also improved things further but not by much. Setting the speakers to "5.1" was the game changer, it made the world of difference, but then again they are 5.1 headphones.

Getting back to albx's original question. Based on which headphones would be best for SoW and binaural sounds? Well I think the answer IS more complex than simply saying 5.1 are gimmicks or stereos are only good for music and at the end of the day everyone has to make their own mind up, of which I'm still undecided. But I'm sticking with the 5.1s

Ultimately I think its best if people wait for SoW to be released before making any purchase as that's only when you can put things to the test.

On a side note: If there is one thing I have take from this thread/two day research so far is that Stereo phones are great for Music, but 5.1s are better for gaming and that I prefer closed headphones to open.

[KG26_Alpha]

Problem is people will always be convinced by what the price is and or specifications tell them, thinking the expensive ones are the best and not what they are actually hearing.

I have done this many times with mic/headphones (not headsets), putting them on customers and asking them to tell the difference without looking at the product first, 75% choose the cheaper ones the 20% cant tell the difference 5% can tell definitely what they are listening to.

With a price difference of £100-$150 they are bemused they hear no difference, this is because some people don't really care what they are actually hearing or don't understand and don't need to, so long as it sounds nice.

Now these customers are PC gamers or general PC users, and not esoteric audiophiles looking for something to compliment their B&O system, so generally speaking cheaper 5.1 headsets are better for PC's with PCI audio cards.

I will use my old Koss or Sennheiser's to listen to my audio system.

[Les]

I'm finding there are too many variables involved to be able to make blanket generalizations about what's 'best'. And that's just because of all the variables related to the hardware and software products themselves (the technology involved), let alone all the variables related to people's subjective impressions of them (human nature).

I guess that's what makes it such a fertile market. There's always some other feature or aspect that can be emphasized as a point of influence or attraction, as being better or worse, more or less suitable. Even the stuff that can be objectively measured still has to be put in the context of the end users subjective experience (which is influenced by their current and past and possible future circumstances) in order to assess it's actual 'value'.

It's just like every other consumer purchase in that regard, more or less. Prone to hype and exploitation, misinformation, disinformation and other unethical practices, deliberate or not. But that's just the way it is. As soon as you decide you want something, you open yourself up to all the xxxx that goes along with wanting that thing.

The best you can hope for is to find something that provides more good times than bad, that gives more than it takes and doesn't always leave you wanting more from it or wishing it were something else. If you've got that, no matter what it is, congratulations. Personal satisfaction doesn't run on an objective scale. If you're happy with an item, then you're happy, and if someone else is happy with a different item, then they're happy too, it's just different ways to the same end, and it's not for anyone else but you to decide how you get there.

I know that's all been said before, but I'd rather say it again than get into explaining my own personal preferences, as I was tempted to do.

About the use of binaural sound in BOB, I'm curious as to how they're going to do that. As far as I know binaural sound hasn't been done before in a game. And again, as far as I know, all the binaural recordings I've heard have been done as live recordings. So I'm guessing there will have to be some kind of binaural emulation going on, as they've already stated they'll be using synthetic sounds not live recordings. Hmmmm, unless they do live recordings of their synthetic sounds...nah...

Also, binaural sound works by recording sound as it would be heard by ears on the human head. This means it should be heard through headphones that don't re-introduce the shape of your own head and ears (and the room sound in which the listeners external speakers would be placed) into the mix. So does that mean the binaural sound would have to be a switchable headphone-only feature in-game, as it wouldn't be appropriate to listen to it through external speakers? And if it is switchable like that, would they differentiate between 5.1 headphones and 5.1 external speakers settings, or would the 5.1 headphones have to use the stereo headphones setting?

Questions, questions...

[KG26_Alpha]

LOL

I agree.

Would be interesting to do an equipment blind test and add a price tag to what you think they are worth and compare the results afterwards.

Of course as mentioned its impossible to have exactly the same hearing as the the next human being, so everyone hears slightly differently, so long as they are happy with what they are hearing and paying

[Phantom77]

Just got the Steelseries Siberia V2 I must say that I'll wait for break-in period (Yeah electronics also need one ) before recommending it. Anyway I already got Sennheiser HD-600 that I use with my high-end stuff and a HD-438 I use with the computer for music. For gaming the Steelseries will do the job it comes will a virtual 7.1 usb card that I can use or use the mini-jacks and connect it to my Audigy 4 sound card.. For now the sound quality is acceptable.