The Logitech Z-5500's have finally been replaced. The Z-906 is their new-ish successor. What do you think? Anything else out there?

DS

Amongst the never ending heavy snow, a the wonderful young delivery man delivered the LoL Prize today, I will say now, That I will be jumping on to do a review very soon, I just want to give them a trial run over the weekend, but so far, i'm loving them.

if there's no review by monday evening please remind me, thanks

sincere thanks guys!

Beyerdynamic MMX 300 Headset

2012 Head-Fi Summer Buying Guide

Turtle beach site

Amazon £86

Close to wanting these!

If 1 wanted to sit in a field, for example, and record sounds, what would you recommend?

These have no less than eight speakers packed into the head unit, I did wonder if they would be a bit gimmicky but I wasn't disappointed as the sound is truly amazing.

They came with every thing you need to connect them to a PC or gaming console. I used the supplied optical and USB lead.

You have plenty of control over the sound with a digital audio control box and an inline controller where you can set the output levels for each speaker independently.

I only got them today but first impressions are pretty damn good as I'm very fussy when it comes to my sound equipment.

Anyone looking for a good quality set of headphones should take a look ate these.

I got mine from Amazon, only took two days to arrive.

Tritton AX Pro.

even when i'm audio mixing and movie editing.

Usuall headphones i buy are SONY brand. So i'm willing to pay quite a bit.

Thanks.

Oh and nothing too expensive, you know who you are (WD).

32GB iPod Touch and DT770

Could really use some advice to make experience better

Need an amp for the DT770 and a decent LOD...if possible all under $50-75

My old Plantronics ,model DSP 400 Headset is in need of retirement due to the fact that only one side is producing sound.This headset has seen many hours of gaming use and has served my needs well.......until one of the speakers quit working.I picked up a replacement set a few weeks back,when I bought Arma II ,a new mouse (due to short in cable,causeing it to work only when cable was in the "just right " postion),and children's "Santa Clause"( one 360 Elite,one Wii)........OUCH to pocket book. The new set is a Plantronics,model "Audio 655".It's a USB set.......kinda sorta like my old set......with mic.

I get them home,open them up........hmmmmm,no software......like old set had. "Thinks to self",Oh well,just plug em in to USB port like you do old ones and try em out. Nope.....nothing......they're not recognized anywhere by my PC............Time to read scant instructions that came with them........." Plug USB into "sound card" ".....yelp, that's all the instructions had to say. But guess WHAT........I dont have a sound card,I have "onboard sound".

Sooooo, My question is........if you were in my shoes,would you return this headset and get one that will work with "onboard sound"..........or, keep what I have,buy a sound card and install it?,and if you'd purchase a sound card.......which one? AND,how do I confirm that I can install one in my PC ......never been down this road before.

"Let the opinions begin"

Download:

http://support.creative.com/downloads/down...ownloadId=10969

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi series driver 2.18.0013

Release date : 26 Jun 09

File Name : SBXF_PCDRV_LB_2_18_0013.exe

This download is a driver providing Microsoft® Windows® 7, Windows Vista® and Windows XP support for Creative Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ series of audio devices.

This download supports the following audio devices only:

* Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty® Professional Series

* Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum Fatal1ty Champion Series

* Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic

* Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer

* Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum

* Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty

* Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro

* Sound Blaster X-Fi

Added Features or Enhancements:

For systems using Windows 7 or Windows Vista

* What U Hear feature is enabled.

To find out the Product ID of your audio device and if it supports the following feature in Windows XP, click here.

* Dolby® Digital and DTS® decode re-established for sound cards that included decoding in their Windows XP drivers (Not applicable for products that included a 3rd party software DVD player license in the package).

Requirements:

Windows 7 64-bit,
Windows 7 32-bit,

Windows Vista 64-bit with Service Pack 1 (SP1),
Windows Vista 32-bit with SP1,

Windows XP Professional x64 Edition,
Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2),
Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE) 2005 or Windows XP MCE 2004

* Sound Blaster X-Fi audio devices listed above

Notes:

* Do not install this driver for Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio.

* To install this driver

1. Download the SBXF_PCDRV_LB_2_18_0013.exe file onto your local hard disk.

2. Double-click the downloaded file.

3. Follow the instructions on the screen.

Download:

OpenAL Installer for Windows

Updated Summer 2009 : Version 2.0.7.0

The OpenAL Installer for Windows will install the OpenAL 1.1 libraries, enabling support for core OpenAL operations as well as extensions such as EAX and EFX.

The installer supports both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows.

DLL Version numbers:

* OpenAL32.dll version 6.14.357.24

* wrap_oal.dll version 2.2.0.5

Changes and Bugfixes

* Fixed bugs and improved performance of the Capture extension

* "Generic Hardware" device returns more accurate 'Buffers Processed' count

* Various performance improvements in "Generic Hardware" and "Generic Software" devices

* Miscellanous bug fixes

Taking a slight risk of getting an ear disease and trying the ones on display I was quiet pleased with the audio that comes out of these things. Comparing these to most Logitech gaming headsets I would say the audio quality is a good 2 if not 3 times clearer and have lower lows.

Now im not a tech junky but the on ear headphones they had next to them didnt really sound any different. Which is astounding considering they cost nearly 100$ more then the ear buds.

All in all 80$ earbuds are pricey but the performance competes with many headsets including the other top of the line bose headphones.

So if you got the cash and want some tiny ass headphones check these out if you get the chance.

[Thread moved to Computer Discussions \ Sound Cards & Audio forum (where there are a number of older threads you might also want to look at for ideas)]

Keen to get some SR 225's...I'd likely get them from Amazon @200 (plus shipping to Australia).

But thought I'd ask here is anyone knows a better deal?

Dav

I just pick myself up a new headset. I decided to go wireless this time. I've been using Dragon NaturallySpeaking about 10 years now, but have always used substandard headsets. Yeah they were good headsets, perhaps costing around $100, at this little puppy just set me back around 500 AUD... and it's worth every penny.

http://speechrecsolutions.com/microphones_samson.htm

If you are serious about using speech applications I can highly recommendgetting a good-quality headset. The Sennheiser ME is also an outstanding unit, however I could not go past the opportunity to go wireless.

Also one of the fantastic things about this unit is that it can operate in a noisy environment. The noise cancelling is absolutely incredible.

I just typed the entire above post and the dam thing did not make one single mistake (as far as I can see with the quick skim). With my old headset I would have gotten at least four or five errors in the above.

It's worth every cent I say.

Dav

I'm in the UK, so UK manufacturers/distributors would be better.

I am looking for a good headset with a mic and only one earpiece. I only use my mic for TS as all other sound comes thru my speakers so an actual set of headphones is no good for me.

My current one is a Labtec LVA-8711 which has done me just fine.

Price range I gues would be no more than 100.

Any kind of reccomendations would be greatly aprreciated.

On the audio side I've been involved from the very first days of PC audio. I currently work for a very high-end earphone company (Etymotic Research) and head up their new gaming division called EDGE Acoustics (www.edgeacoustics.com). ER makes $300 earphones for people like U2, Coldplay, Dire Straits and many other pros. We're aiming to do the same for pro gamers (and non-pros who want to be the best they can be).

GRAW 2 has exceptional 3D sound. The spatial cues are better than in many other games with very small subtleties present to hear the opponent.

When you think about audio know a few things:

1) Most headphones/earphones were NOT designed for FPS gaming. They were designed for music. Music audio is not the same thing as game audio. Music headphone companies design their products to "enhance" the experience. That means what you're getting is an artificial sound. In games that means that the spatial cues that were presented by the developer are also artificially processed, and thus, changed.

2) This "enhancement" usually means HEAVY bass boost. Bass boost is a MAJOR enemy of FPS gamers. If you're a good player with bass-boosted headphones, you'd be significantly better without bass-boosted headphones. Bass boost muddies spatial cues heavily. Each company colors the product to fit the needs of the perceived market. Color some highs, boost the bass X or Y amount, etc. All of this is bad for gaming but might be just fine for music. It's why some people prefer Sony over Sennheiser or any other comparisons. The different coloring goes a long way towards why these products are so different.

3) Isolation is a key factor. The more isolation you can get the more clearly you can hear. If you cup your hands over your ears you get a muffled sound as every outside resonance bounces around the cup. If you stick your fingers in your ears that goes away. You hear your heartbeat. That's isolation. GOOD earphones give you maximum isolation. For example, the BEST headphones on the planet give you 22dB of isolation. ER earphones provide 37-42dB of isolation and that's log scale so that's not double but 10x the isolation of headphones. Most headphones give you only 2-10dB of isolation. This is all about focus. The more you can focus, the better. Anyone that tells you that you can block out all sounds is lying. You have a bone structure so your body will convey outside sound. The key is to reduce it as much as possible.

4) Accuracy/Detail is king. Most products made for music are not accurate. This can be easily measured and most products on the market have accuracy scores well below 50%. The products I've used measure in the 80's and 90's.These are designed for a medium that isn't concerned about accuracy. They're sold to gamers because that's the predominant available technology. It's like using a butter knife as a screwdriver. It can work but it's not optimal.

Just so you know, ER is a research company. They don't do marketing. They don't do commercials. I've been with them nearly 3 years and have yet to sell anything (the gaming earphones launch next month). I spent all this time on a research study testing pro gamers response times with all sorts of audio equipment.

The results were pretty obvious. The BETTER (fidelity) the equipment, the better your results. Speakers did the worst. Surround speakers did SLIGHTLY better (they sound great and fun but they're totally inaccurate). Earphones (ER, Shure, Ultimate Ears and soon, EDGE Acoustics) give you a 30-50% performance improvement over headphones. It's mainly due to isolation but also, in the case of ER & EDGE, flat response. We're not bass boosting so you hear what you're supposed to hear without it being "enhanced."

I'm telling you all this not to sell you earphones. I'm telling you this so that you'll think about the facts the next time you replace your heaphones. Our products aren't even available yet.

I wrote the Official Sound Blaster Book. I helped get AdLib and Creative Labs started in the sound industry. I have literally dozens of headphones in my collection all sent free to me by the manufacturers. I used to use $1,200 studio-level Sennheisers when I gamed. When they wore out I tried earphones and never looked back.

Be wary of marketing hype. I posted this specific note because I saw a recommendation of a pair of headphones that are almost entirely hype. For example, any product listed as using active noise-canceling is suspect for a gamer. These processes remove elements of sound in an attempt to reduce outside noise. What are they removing? In a game you can't afford to lose localization data! Also, the result of this, as I said, gets you to about 20dB of isolation at best. You can do much better without all the "technology". Another one is surround sound headphones. This one is pure marketing. If you feel you hear surround with it, great. What you're hearing is an effect very much like turning on any processed effect in your stereo like "Hall" or "Arena". Your ears are STEREO. Surround sound works only because of distance. To place multiple drivers in your headphone and think your stereo ears are going to pick up on this is just not realistic. The same result can be had from any good, clean, accurate stereo headphone.

You also get what you pay for. I wonder with people who spend $400 on a video card, $100+ on a sound card, $90 on a mouse, $80 on a keyboard, etc., and then spend $30-$50 on a headset. EDGE earphones aren't cheap but neither are any of the headphones out there that are truly accurate. What you see debated most of the time are people arguing about the differences between low-end solutions. I also encounter the term, "best I've ever used" which, on the face of it, means nothing. How many have they used? I will get into debates with kids who have owned two or three pairs of crappy headphones telling me that their $30 surround-sound headphones are the best on the planet. Uh-huh. I cannot begin to tell you how many poor audio reviews I encounter. Most of them are clearly written by people who have only a cursory exposure to equipment. The best they can do is share a use-case review. They liked or disliked them "because" but to recommend them over other equipment types or levels they've never experienced is where I start to get annoyed.

Be informed. Go look up what went on with the DVD debate of DTS audio versus Dolby Digital. Fans of each camp fought heavily over each one being better but in the end, the majority of consumers who did blind testing preferred the sound of DTS. Recent studies have analyzed this and found that the ONLY difference between DTS and DD is that DTS provides the same audio slightly louder than DD and most consumers equate "louder" as "better". The same thing happens with video all the time. TV's in stores have their color settings set way over the top as people look at one set over the next and if the colors "pop" they perceive this as "quality". It rarely means that but that's how people think. People in audio equate booming bass and volume as quality and that's what companies then cater to.

If you have questions, don't hesitate to drop me a note asking about it.

Sound Card

Creative Labs X-FI Xtreme Gamer Fatality

Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer

Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Extreme Audio

Turtle Beach Montego 7.1 Dolby Digital Live Surround PCI Sound Card

Headsets

Turtle Beach X-52 Surround Sound Headphones

Tritton AXPC 5.1 USB Rumble Gaming Headphones

eDimensional AudioFX Force Feedback Gaming Headset

Considering that I'm currently using mobo onboard audio, a microphone that's integrated into this old Compaq CRT monitor that I'm about to trash, and some cheap Sony earclip-type headphones, anything will be an upgrade. All feed back and other suggestions are much appreciated.

Currently I'm looking at Steelpad Steel Sound 5H, Koss Headset SB45, Cosonic CS-7, in declining price range. Anyone use any of those and can give me some feedback on their quality?

Thanks in advance - and see you on Saturday!

I know this might not be the right spot to post this but I value your opinion and you are the guys that play the game. FutureShop has this card on sale for $109.

Currently, I have an ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe on-board sound using Realtek ALC850, 8-channel CODEC.

For $109 +tax and using primarly just stero headphones .. is it worth the cost?

I was going to buy the Audio FX headphones from woot .. but of course they do not ship to Canada...

P.S. Sale ends today .. so please, please respond...

Thanks