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Please help me pick a headset and/or a 5.1 speaker -SENNHEISER 150/150/280 pro/z5300e

post #1 of 10
8/2/06 at 8:57pm
Thread Starter 
Hi there, i bought a audigy 2 zs card from a guy on forum and i just got it today (thanks to whackamac) now i have some problems picking the best headset/speaker that suits me.

i live in apartment on monday-friday and going home every weekend (laptop always with me). on alot reviews for audigy 2zs says that card is somewhat fragile, so most likely it will stay in apartment when i bring my laptop home with me.

I first wanted a good 5.1 headphone/headset, but couldnt find a good one, they are too...ugly to me. Then i decided to buy either a 5.1 speaker with a cheap headset, or just a good head set, budget's $100 ish

here are some headphones on my list:
SENNHEISER pc 150
SENNHEISER pc 160 (what different from 150? )
SENNHEISER HD 280 (CONs: i listen to music @ work, they'd look funny on me, and i prolly cant hear boss talk to me with these on?)

see the thing is, Im not that picky about sound, but I know my laptop (I9300) sounds...not good enough. i highly doubt i can tell the different between the 150 and 160 headset. I live with 2 roommates and we sometimes play games together, so even with headset on, i need to beable to hear them yell at me (hd 280's noise-cancelling isnt too good for me, but its not too big of a problem, i can always play with headphone off)



orrrr maybe, i should just get a 5.1 speaker and make a good use for auudigy 2

heres the speakers i was looking at:
Logitech X-530
Logitech THX Z-5300e

I'm a total newb about those, I want a good speaker set but i dont want it to shake the house or anything, i dont want to bother my roommate or neighbors, I dont listen to metal or any heavy music, most time R&B, pop and ez listening, so maybe X-530 would be good enough for me?

please help, whats my best pick for $100 with good use for audigy soundcard?

ps: oh yea i wear glasses
pps: need those for both gaming and music, perfer headset with mic but doesnt have to, i dont talk much on mic


THANKS!
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post #2 of 10
8/2/06 at 9:41pm
i like creative ep-630's
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post #3 of 10
8/2/06 at 11:58pm
i won't even consider getting any headphone or speaker if it has a dynamic range (or frequency range i think) smaller that 20-20,000 hz. If you want hi def audio, go for the widest range, even though you can't realy hear frequencies higher/lower that 20-20,000 hz.

the SENNHEISER headphones sound realy good, but honestly, ive been perfectly happy with my radio shack over-the-ear headphones. They have a dynamic range of 20-20,000 hz, have a nice bass response, made by KOSS, and are pretty cheap. I use them for djing and audio editing alot, but i wouldn't reccomend walking around in public with them...they're big.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...entPage=search

shure also makes some reeeeeeealy cool earphones that, supposedly, have the best acoustics out of any headphone or speaker becase the fit right in your ear.
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post #4 of 10
8/3/06 at 1:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by itsmillertime10
i won't even consider getting any headphone or speaker if it has a dynamic range (or frequency range i think) smaller that 20-20,000 hz. If you want hi def audio, go for the widest range, even though you can't realy hear frequencies higher/lower that 20-20,000 hz.

the SENNHEISER headphones sound realy good, but honestly, ive been perfectly happy with my radio shack over-the-ear headphones. They have a dynamic range of 20-20,000 hz, have a nice bass response, made by KOSS, and are pretty cheap. I use them for djing and audio editing alot, but i wouldn't reccomend walking around in public with them...they're big.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...entPage=search

shure also makes some reeeeeeealy cool earphones that, supposedly, have the best acoustics out of any headphone or speaker becase the fit right in your ear.

Frequency range means crap without other numbers to quantify it.

I can have earphones that are 20Hz-20KHz, except that 20Hz is 20dB lower than anything else.

Not to mention, if you listen to MP3, AAC, or half a dozen other Audio formats, you wont even have any frequencies over 16KHz, as those formats cut frequencies over 16KHz.

Personally I have stayed very far away from KOSS for my work, they arent known for quality. But they might work for every day listening I suppose, depends on who you are.

Seablade
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post #5 of 10
8/3/06 at 1:31am
ur right, KOSS isn't super hi fi, but are cheap and are great for casual listening on a budget. i personaly hate those cheeesy earphone that have such a tiny range.

I do agree with the numbers, I realy wish more headphones would come with that chart like mics do, id never buy a mic without one of those charts ( i can't remember what they are called for some reason)
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post #6 of 10
8/3/06 at 4:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by itsmillertime10
ur right, KOSS isn't super hi fi, but are cheap and are great for casual listening on a budget. i personaly hate those cheeesy earphone that have such a tiny range.

I do agree with the numbers, I realy wish more headphones would come with that chart like mics do, id never buy a mic without one of those charts ( i can't remember what they are called for some reason)

The term you are looking for for the chart that many mics come with is Frequency Response Chart

Seablade
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post #7 of 10
8/3/06 at 5:29am
Thread Starter 
thanks for the replies, but I have no idea about how frequency range works. a good pair of headphone to me = MUSIC: crisp, clear sound, perfer surround; games... for example, in CS: be able to tell what direction the enemy is coming from w/o looking around.

I dont really like earphones, they hurt my ears after an hr or two, but again, I only had a few pairs of CHEAP ones...

please help me decide between Logitech X-530 and Z-5300e, they are about $50 diff, whats a better pick?

i might end up with
1) a sennheiser pc 150 + a 5.1 speaker
2) a pair of earphone + a 5.1 speaker
3) a big headphone


PS: just installed audigy sound card and tested with creative earphone that came with the card, the only improvement (so far) that I can tell is, sound is slightly better, the BUZZZZ ZZZ ZZZZZZ sound is gone
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post #8 of 10
8/3/06 at 12:17pm
Thread Starter 
just found out that Icemat Siberia is on sale on amazon for $3x after rebate thats also an option now
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post #9 of 10
8/3/06 at 9:31pm
I still laugh at the concept of 'surround' headphones... Why?

Because unless there is processing on each channel going into your headphones to replicate the sound correctly, it will never be true surround, also to correctly place sounds you would want to individually delay them, though that can be taken care of in mixdown.

The Human ear because of how it is shaped affects sounds, as such with open (or closed) earphones that bypass the shape of the ear, you lose that difference in quality of sound that you would normally hear from sounds that are behind you, and as such never will get a true surround experience.

Also the human itself uses two things to place the source of a sound, as well to affect clarity, not only does it use the sound itself, it also uses movement or visuals to help it. This is part of the reason that in many stage productions the one speaking is the one doing the majority of the action to allow that focus of your eye and your ear to both place the sound correctly(Well that and it helps you follow the story better, and half a dozen other reasons that directors could explain) But if everyone was moving all at once you would have a tough time telling who is saying what, or what is happening.

Seablade
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post #10 of 10
8/4/06 at 8:31pm
Thread Starter 
btw, 90% of my music is in mp3 format...so just need something that plays mp3 format well
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NotebookForums.com › Forums › General Notebook Discussions › Notebook Audio & Video  › Please help me pick a headset and/or a 5.1 speaker -SENNHEISER 150/150/280 pro/z5300e