Good gaming headphones to use with the X-Fi Titanium HD

Hello everyone, so I just bought a really expensive sound card the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Hd, but my speakers aren't doing it any justice.

I have the Logitech Z4 2.1 speakers, so I was thinking of getting a good pair of headphones.

My budget is between $100 to $150. I was thinking about the Sennheiser (HD 280 PRO), the Sennheiser (HD 448) or the SteelSeiries 7H.

I will mainly use it for gaming.

So what do you guys think? is there better options than the ones I listed?

Thanks!

Depends. Do you want open back (Leaks sound but generally sounds better and more accurate) or closed back (Doesnt leak sound nearly as bad.)

I didn't know about this... huh, I don't really know, I just want the best bank for your buck kind of think, with good sound quality that makes my sound card shines.

I will just use it for gaming pretty much, so I guess closed back would be better?

Hey I just realized that your the guy that helped me pick a sound card from the PC hardware forum.

Thanks for helping me again! :)

Hey I just realized that your the guy that helped me pick a sound card from the PC hardware forum.

Thanks for helping me again! :)

id_mew

NP. Was this the one with the X-Meridian 2G and Titanium HD? I can't remember because there were like 5 differnet topics about sound cards this week.

Open-back would be my recommendation if the leaking of sound isn't a problem. Its literally seems like small speakers on your head. I can recommend the Sennheiser HD555s as that is what I own. Lacks a bit on the low end, but hot damn does it sound good. Excellent sound quality, no distortion unless you try to put too much bass into it, and does a good job at relaying positional cues. There are also the HD595s but I found out the HD555s can be modded to become the 595s. Its such an easy mod that it requires just pulling out a little piece of foam from the insides. Why its like this? I can't answer that but I plan on doing so once I'm back at my desktop,

You can also look at the Audio Technica ATH-AD700. Some say better in games and positional cues, but not as great for music and movies as the HD555. Theres also the new Sennheiser HD 558 but I've yet to read a review on them. Honestly theres so many suggestions that it'd be best for you to read professional reviews and see what you like best. Can't go wrong with Sennheiser, Audio Technica, AKG, Denon, Beyerdynamic, Ultrasone, and a few other brands. Browse Head-Fi.org (Don't worry about getting lost. First time there today and I already feel stupid :P) for reviews and whatnot, or browse Amazon.com and look for headphones by those brands in your price range.

[QUOTE="id_mew"]

Hey I just realized that your the guy that helped me pick a sound card from the PC hardware forum.

Thanks for helping me again! :)

ChubbyGuy40

NP. Was this the one with the X-Meridian 2G and Titanium HD? I can't remember because there were like 5 differnet topics about sound cards this week.

Open-back would be my recommendation if the leaking of sound isn't a problem. Its literally seems like small speakers on your head. I can recommend the Sennheiser HD555s as that is what I own. Lacks a bit on the low end, but hot damn does it sound good. Excellent sound quality, no distortion unless you try to put too much bass into it, and does a good job at relaying positional cues. There are also the HD595s but I found out the HD555s can be modded to become the 595s. Its such an easy mod that it requires just pulling out a little piece of foam from the insides. Why its like this? I can't answer that but I plan on doing so once I'm back at my desktop,

You can also look at the Audio Technica ATH-AD700. Some say better in games and positional cues, but not as great for music and movies as the HD555. Theres also the new Sennheiser HD 558 but I've yet to read a review on them. Honestly theres so many suggestions that it'd be best for you to read professional reviews and see what you like best. Can't go wrong with Sennheiser, Audio Technica, AKG, Denon, Beyerdynamic, Ultrasone, and a few other brands. Browse Head-Fi.org (Don't worry about getting lost. First time there today and I already feel stupid :P) for reviews and whatnot, or browse Amazon.com and look for headphones by those brands in your price range.

Hi again, this is the post from last time when you helped me pick a sound card

"IMO the only brands worth looking at are HT OMEGA, ASUS, and Auzentech. Creative used to be one of, if not the best but with recent driver issues/ect, the only good card they have is the Titanium HD which is geared towards headphones. Auzentech's current flagship is the X-Meridian 7.1 2G. If for some reason you want a slighty cheaper card that also has an X-Fi chip, then the Bravura would be pretty good. Auzentech even has a budget sound card. I've never heard about how good or bad it is though. They have more cards but I can only find them on their own website these days.

From HT OMEGA I'd recommend this since its a great value/cost performer. The next step up is the Claro which is a bit out of your range but the reviews for these cards (All of HT OMEGAs card to be truthful,) speak for themselves about their quality."

So I checked all the links for the headsets, and the ATH AD700 seems to be the best one.

But I'm from Canada and prices for these headsets are almost double than the american one.

I'm probably gonna order from US and get it shipped here.

what do you think of the SteelSeries 7H? it got pretty good reviews, and it's aimed primarely for gamers.

And do you think I sould stick with the Creative X-Fi Titanium HD? So far the drivers installed flawlessly and I didn't get any problems yet.

But when I check out the Creative forums, everybody seems to hate them, there's complaints accross all their forums.

Thanks again.

Those 280 pros will get heavy and your ears will sweat after an hour of use. Hellcinder99

Okay thanks for the tip, I'm gonna skip this one.

So I checked all the links for the headsets, and the ATH AD700 seems to be the best one.

But I'm from Canada and prices for these headsets are almost double than the american one.

I'm probably gonna order from US and get it shipped here.

what do you think of the SteelSeries 7H? it got pretty good reviews, and it's aimed primarely for gamers.

And do you think I sould stick with the Creative X-Fi Titanium HD? So far the drivers installed flawlessly and I didn't get any problems yet.

But when I check out the Creative forums, everybody seems to hate them, there's complaints accross all their forums.

Thanks again.

id_mew

Bolded = no no. Don't worry at what they're aimed at. Thats just a marketing ploy to pull you into spending more than you need to. Plus that headset is USB powered. Look for headphones, not headsets. If you need the mic then you can just grab one of these. You can stick with the Titanium HD. Any good review site seems to love it so far. The previous Creative cards were buggy, unstable (From my experience,) and had shoddy driver support. Plus it lacked some of the features Creative stated on the boxes that it included. I still think you should get the HD555 and mod them (Not required.)

One more thing. These good headphones all have a break-in period, the process of getting the headphones "situated" you could say. For my HD555s I left them on for a day with some music at a bit higher than normal volume then just played games to let them break in naturally (Mainly FPSes.)

[QUOTE="id_mew"]

So I checked all the links for the headsets, and the ATH AD700 seems to be the best one.

But I'm from Canada and prices for these headsets are almost double than the american one.

I'm probably gonna order from US and get it shipped here.

what do you think of the SteelSeries 7H? it got pretty good reviews, and it's aimed primarely for gamers.

And do you think I sould stick with the Creative X-Fi Titanium HD? So far the drivers installed flawlessly and I didn't get any problems yet.

But when I check out the Creative forums, everybody seems to hate them, there's complaints accross all their forums.

Thanks again.

ChubbyGuy40

Bolded = no no. Don't worry at what they're aimed at. Thats just a marketing ploy to pull you into spending more than you need to. Plus that headset is USB powered. Look for headphones, not headsets. If you need the mic then you can just grab one of these. You can stick with the Titanium HD. Any good review site seems to love it so far. The previous Creative cards were buggy, unstable (From my experience,) and had shoddy driver support. Plus it lacked some of the features Creative stated on the boxes that it included. I still think you should get the HD555 and mod them (Not required.)

One more thing. These good headphones all have a break-in period, the process of getting the headphones "situated" you could say. For my HD555s I left them on for a day with some music at a bit higher than normal volume then just played games to let them break in naturally (Mainly FPSes.)

I researchedthe HD 555 vs the AD700 and everybody preferred the AD 700 for the sound quality and for gaming.

So I guess it comes down to those two, I just wish there's place where I can go and just test them.

Should I get the ATH-AD700 or the A700?

I will use it mostly for gaming, so it makes sense to get the A700 right?

Should I get the ATH-AD700 or the A700?

I will use it mostly for gaming, so it makes sense to get the A700 right?

id_mew

[QUOTE="id_mew"]

Should I get the ATH-AD700 or the A700?

I will use it mostly for gaming, so it makes sense to get the A700 right?

DivergeUnify

Allright AD700 it is. Thanks alot!

[QUOTE="DivergeUnify"]

[QUOTE="id_mew"]

Should I get the ATH-AD700 or the A700?

I will use it mostly for gaming, so it makes sense to get the A700 right?

id_mew

Allright AD700 it is. Thanks alot!

[QUOTE="id_mew"]

[QUOTE="DivergeUnify"] AD700- it gives you more of a 3d ,out-of-head sound, and thus better positioning and more realistic sound in games. A700s are closed so they sound more so just around your ear

Elann2008

Allright AD700 it is. Thanks alot!

Sennheiser HD555

Sennheiser HD555

-Unreal-

I did alot of rechearsh between the HD555 and the AD700, and alot of people seem to prefer the AD700, esspecially for gaming.

So I ordered the AD700, it's came to $113 from ebay.

[QUOTE="-Unreal-"]

Sennheiser HD555

id_mew

I did alot of rechearsh between the HD555 and the AD700, and alot of people seem to prefer the AD700, esspecially for gaming.

So I ordered the AD700, it's came to $113 from ebay.

Well hope you enjoy them. Could've had the HD555s for 91ish from Amazon...and made them into HD595s by modding them. Really considering doing that to mine.

[QUOTE="-Unreal-"]

Sennheiser HD555

id_mew

I did alot of rechearsh between the HD555 and the AD700, and alot of people seem to prefer the AD700, esspecially for gaming.

So I ordered the AD700, it's came to $113 from ebay.

[QUOTE="id_mew"]

[QUOTE="-Unreal-"]

Sennheiser HD555

ChubbyGuy40

I did alot of rechearsh between the HD555 and the AD700, and alot of people seem to prefer the AD700, esspecially for gaming.

So I ordered the AD700, it's came to $113 from ebay.

Well hope you enjoy them. Could've had the HD555s for 91ish from Amazon...and made them into HD595s by modding them. Really considering doing that to mine.

I tried ordering from amazon.com, but they don't ship to Canada.

Than I went to Amazon.ca and the HD555 is $179, that's $80 difference from Amazon.com, I don't get it, why would the same company price items that differently? You guys are Lucky, evrything here in Canada is almost double the price, same goes for Newegg.com/Newegg.ca.

[QUOTE="id_mew"]

[QUOTE="-Unreal-"]

Sennheiser HD555

Elann2008

I did alot of rechearsh between the HD555 and the AD700, and alot of people seem to prefer the AD700, esspecially for gaming.

So I ordered the AD700, it's came to $113 from ebay.

Gongrats, that's a really good price, I'm from Canada so I had to pay shipping :(

[QUOTE="ChubbyGuy40"]

[QUOTE="id_mew"]

I did alot of rechearsh between the HD555 and the AD700, and alot of people seem to prefer the AD700, esspecially for gaming.

So I ordered the AD700, it's came to $113 from ebay.

id_mew

Well hope you enjoy them. Could've had the HD555s for 91ish from Amazon...and made them into HD595s by modding them. Really considering doing that to mine.

I tried ordering from amazon.com, but they don't ship to Canada.

Than I went to Amazon.ca and the HD555 is $179, that's $80 difference from Amazon.com, I don't get it, why would the same company price items that differently? You guys are Lucky, evrything here in Canada is almost double the price, same goes for Newegg.com/Newegg.ca.

[QUOTE="Elann2008"][QUOTE="id_mew"]

I did alot of rechearsh between the HD555 and the AD700, and alot of people seem to prefer the AD700, esspecially for gaming.

So I ordered the AD700, it's came to $113 from ebay.

Gongrats, that's a really good price, I'm from Canada so I had to pay shipping :(

[QUOTE="id_mew"]

[QUOTE="Elann2008"] Sweet. :) Just ordered one from eBay the other night for $83, free shipping, brand new. It was a deal I could not pass up. Sold my Logitech G35's and used the money to buy that. Elann2008

Gongrats, that's a really good price, I'm from Canada so I had to pay shipping :(

I'm not allowed to open it until my B-day lol. It's a present from my Girl Friend.

But once I opened it, I'll give feedback.

What are you gonna use yours with?

I just got it because I got a really good sound card, but I'm still debating wethear I should return my card or keep it.

As of now, the difference between my dedecated on board sound and the sound card doesn't justify the $170 that I payed for the sound card.

hopefully the heaset will make it worth it.

[QUOTE="Elann2008"][QUOTE="id_mew"]

Gongrats, that's a really good price, I'm from Canada so I had to pay shipping :(

id_mew

I'm not allowed to open it until my B-day lol. It's a present from my Girl Friend.

But once I opened it, I'll give feedback.

What are you gonna use yours with?

I just got it because I got a really good sound card, but I'm still debating wethear I should return my card or keep it.

As of now, the difference between my dedecated on board sound and the sound card doesn't justify the $170 that I payed for the sound card.

hopefully the heaset will make it worth it.

The thing is, some of the newer motherboards these days have pretty good onboard sound. But I'm sure others who have upgraded to a dedicated sound card can give a better representation.Elann2008

Even with onboard getting better, I still find it lacking. Theres still a lot of noise and not enough power. I don't see how its "good," kinda like TV speakers. Even though they're getting better, a simple $50 pair of bookshelf speakers trounce them. I'd take my Audigy 2 ZS over any onboard even today. That card is from what, 2003?

The Logitech Z-4s aren't exactly...good. Logitech is pretty low in SQ, especially the speakers. Your headphones will show the weakness of onboard sound compared to your Titanium HD. Onboard doesn't have enough power for good headphones anyway. My HD555s are really lacking with the built in Realtek. Even the Titanium Fatal1ty, which is a good card, didn't sound as good as my X-Fi Forte.

[QUOTE="Elann2008"] The thing is, some of the newer motherboards these days have pretty good onboard sound. But I'm sure others who have upgraded to a dedicated sound card can give a better representation.ChubbyGuy40

Even with onboard getting better, I still find it lacking. Theres still a lot of noise and not enough power. I don't see how its "good," kinda like TV speakers. Even though they're getting better, a simple $50 pair of bookshelf speakers trounce them. I'd take my Audigy 2 ZS over any onboard even today. That card is from what, 2003?

The Logitech Z-4s aren't exactly...good. Logitech is pretty low in SQ, especially the speakers. Your headphones will show the weakness of onboard sound compared to your Titanium HD. Onboard doesn't have enough power for good headphones anyway. My HD555s are really lacking with the built in Realtek. Even the Titanium Fatal1ty, which is a good card, didn't sound as good as my X-Fi Forte.

[QUOTE="Elann2008"] The thing is, some of the newer motherboards these days have pretty good onboard sound. But I'm sure others who have upgraded to a dedicated sound card can give a better representation.ChubbyGuy40

Even with onboard getting better, I still find it lacking. Theres still a lot of noise and not enough power. I don't see how its "good," kinda like TV speakers. Even though they're getting better, a simple $50 pair of bookshelf speakers trounce them. I'd take my Audigy 2 ZS over any onboard even today. That card is from what, 2003?

The Logitech Z-4s aren't exactly...good. Logitech is pretty low in SQ, especially the speakers. Your headphones will show the weakness of onboard sound compared to your Titanium HD. Onboard doesn't have enough power for good headphones anyway. My HD555s are really lacking with the built in Realtek. Even the Titanium Fatal1ty, which is a good card, didn't sound as good as my X-Fi Forte.

Lol I know my speakers aren't that good, but they fit my desk perfectly.

That's a good example comparing the TV speakers, I agree 100%.

I decided to keep my sound card, the reviews for it are really good everywhere. I just hope Creative keep releasing and improving their drivers.

Everybody hates them so much for some reason.

Lol I know my speakers aren't that good, but they fit my desk perfectly.

That's a good example comparing the TV speakers, I agree 100%.

I decided to keep my sound card, the reviews for it are really good everywhere. I just hope Creative keep releasing and improving their drivers.

Everybody hates them so much for some reason.

id_mew

Everybody seems to hate them because of lies and poor driver support. Plus the tons of useless bloatware. Really its just their low-end cards that really suffer/suck. Their high-end always seems to be solid, yet the cheap ones seem shoddy as hell.

@Elann I'd get the DS 7.1 for better SnR and DTS Connect incase you ever hook it up to a home theater system.

[QUOTE="id_mew"]

Lol I know my speakers aren't that good, but they fit my desk perfectly.

That's a good example comparing the TV speakers, I agree 100%.

I decided to keep my sound card, the reviews for it are really good everywhere. I just hope Creative keep releasing and improving their drivers.

Everybody hates them so much for some reason.

ChubbyGuy40

Everybody seems to hate them because of lies and poor driver support. Plus the tons of useless bloatware. Really its just their low-end cards that really suffer/suck. Their high-end always seems to be solid, yet the cheap ones seem shoddy as hell.

@Elann I'd get the DS 7.1 for better SnR and DTS Connect incase you ever hook it up to a home theater system.

Excellent sound quality, no distortion unless you try to put too much bass into it, and does a good job at relaying positional cues. yuanyelss

Hey I see this is your first post, welcome to the forum :)

by the way, What are you refering too?