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I'm After Headset Suggestions
After a gazillion years or so, my trusty Plantronics has given up the ghost. I'll most likely get another, but as I can't get to the shops until tomorrow, I thought I'd garner some opinions.
I need it for:
VOIP
Music
Gaming
Anything else
I'm looking to pay less than £40 and it must be USB. Preferably closed cup, though that's not essential. Any make other than Logitech is fine (I've had nothing but problems with Logitech equipment over the years).
Comments
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000O50V7I/ref=sr_1_1_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1320010992&sr=8-1&condition=used
These are a used pair of pc 161's. They are supposed to have fairly good sound, and also great durability. This used pair is in 'like new' condition and is $45. It's at least around your budget and should give you very nice quality and performance for the price.
I got this
http://www.amazon.com/Razer-Megalodon-Surround-Gaming-Headset/dp/B002EVPBH0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320061593&sr=8-1
Pretty good so far, no real complaints at all.
Don't buy a "surround sound" headset... Its a complete gimmick and all the ones i have tested actually sounded WORSE then regular stereo ones.
Its just another way for a company to jack up the price, stick with a nice stereo headset and you wont regret it.
Roccat Kave if your into surround sound, i find it better than megalodon.
i would get the Asus Vulcan ANC. Review
Something that fits your budget perhaps Corsair HS1. Review
Drazzah is correct. Surround headsets sound vastly worse than similarly priced stereo headsets, MAYBE save the Roccat Kave, but that's only just now becoming available in the US (Amazon has it now), and it was out of stock last I saw, so it's a bit hard to get one's hands on.
OP, your requirements are too restrictive to have any decent options. If I were you, I'd get a 3.5mm to USB adapter if you need it to be USB, one of the other posts here had an amazon page with one (they're only $5-10, and probably similar in the UK). After that, your 40 pound limit leaves only a couple of good options. The Razar Carcharias is a great headset in the lower-mid price range, with absolutely fantastic sound in that price range (it's available here for $60-$80 USD), at least insofar as headsets go (dedicated headphones are way better). The problem is that that's still out of your price range, especially given the customary UK hardware markup. You'll pay in pounds there about what we'll pay in USD here.
If you can expand your budget a bit, I'd say get the Carcharias, hands down. That said, if you're stuck in that price range, consider something like the Steelseries 5HV2. I can't find one in any of the UK stores right now, but I have a friend in Manchester who bought one, so I know you can get them, and he paid about 40 for it.
Another options is the Turtle Beach X12: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Turtle-Beach-X12-Headset-Xbox/dp/B005EQE0YM/ref=sr_1_2?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1320073155&sr=1-2
It's a good headset from what I've heard, and it gets a lot of recommendations, including many here in previous threads, and it's nicely in your price range (unless that excldes some huge VAT charge; I'm not up on specifics there). Again, if you want it USB, forget a USB headset and just get a cheap adapter.
That Asus headset does look nice, even if ANC doesn't sound like a great feature without an enormous amount of tweaking.
The Carcharias was the standard for good sound in a mid-budget PC headset for quite a while, hence it being what that review constantly compared the new Asus headset to, and I have to say, if the Asus beats the Razer headset by that much, then that'll probably be what I buy next when my Carcharias finally throws in the towel (it's already got a loose wire in there somewhere, and I'd rather just buy a new set than try to fix it once it goes completely).
Also, you can't fly because birds (or at least their ancestors) were already fairly well-established in those niches by the time your early ancestors came long. Curse them for taking all the good niches!
I don't know what to say other than the fact that my headset works in the vast majority of games I play and gives positional audio just fine.
There are a lot of nice headsets out there. I have a razer with 7.1, but my cat chewed through it. One of these days I will fix it. I have to say though, this 30 dollars pair I picked up at Best Buy made by plantronics is really good for not having a usb power source, very impressed.
Just got the Roccat Kave 5.1 headset and holy crap these are amazing. They sound way better than I expected. I'd recommend them as well.
I could only say what I've heard from others that I know, but I know many people in the UK and Australia who love these headphones, so while I can't recommend what I've never tried, I can pass on the recommendation from many others.
The Roccat Kaves are apparently very nice.
Sadly, they're a little out of the price range the OP set. Even used, there's no way you'll get a Roccat Kave for 40 pounds (80-90 maybe).
I ended up spending a few days going around different shops and trying out various headsets. I found the surround ones a complete waste of time. Positional doesn't work for me (neither does '3D' imaging, or any kind of ilusionary sensory input btw), so I went with the only one that stood out above the others in terms of comfort and clarity: the Plantronics 655.
Incidentally, I tried the Roccat Kave and found them very uncomfortable, and 'whistly'. Being a a large chap, the ear cups 'cut' into my ears and the padding felt weird on my (bald) head. They are visually awesome-looking though. You can pick up a pair for £55 at Kensington Market.
Comfort is definitely always a big concern.
I have a pair of Sennheiser HD280s; the sound quality is great, and the isolation is second to none (you can literall feel the seal around your ears). The problem is they clamp your head like a vice. As I understand it, most headsets have a clamping force of roughly 3N; for the 280s it's 6N. Why? I guess it makes the isolation better, but what's the point if it crushes your skull in the process?
That's why I like my Carcharias. The lows might be a bit muddy compared to better sets, and they're built like tissue paper, but they're feather light and clamp with almost no force, plus the earcups are downright fuzzy. They're the most comfortable things I've ever used (not to mention the 10ft cord is VERY nice).
Getting slightly off topic here, but I just wanted to say you can now get the Roccat products in the US (finally!) on sites like Amazon (not talking about 3rd party through Amazon, but actual Amazon) and Newegg. They literally just started getting them in stock a week or so ago, but seem very limited in supply. I ordered the Roccat Kave on 10/22 and they immediately went out of stock, so perhaps they are testing out how well received the products are to see if it's worth importing more of them at once.
It's a good off-topic tangent
Yes, Roccat products just came to the US, finally, and I'm really excited. I think they probably went out of stock because of popularity. Most people I know in the US don't own Roccat products, at least not many, but are very much aware of them. I know a lot of people here who have been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to get a decently priced Kave. It's really just the Kave that ran out of stock so quickly; everything else is in stock pretty much.
Ya you are probably right - their keyboards are not very well received review-wise. The mice I think are quite good, but many people have recommended them for the headset cause it's true 5.1 surround that doesnt totally suck hah. They are a bit pricey in the US (compared to the UK and Europe), but I am really happy with them for the money.