Recommend me a good gaming headset for the PC.

[Mrbob]

So I'm sitting in the stone age by not having a decent headset to use online.  I've been meaning to get more into TF2 and of course the upcoming L4D, so a decent mic is a must.  At the same time, I moved my PC into a smaller area than it used to be.  I did have a 5.1 system set up to it but it really isn't functional in this new space.  So I'm really looking at getting two for one setup here.  A decent pair of headphones I can use when I game, and then a mic to use when I'm playing online.  I have been hoping to find one with a detachable mic but this seems hard to do.  The only one I see with a detachable mic is a creative labs fatality gaming headset, and I really don't want to buy anything with fatality on the box.  I hear Sennheiser is supposed to be decent, but none of their gaming headsets have detachable mics.  Since I will be using these full time, I don't mind paying a little more for quality.  I am currently looking at this:

http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-PC-350-Gaming-Headset/dp/B0012XFDWO

Of course, the other option is to just buy a nice headset and a mic seperately.  I'm not familiar with attachable mics though and their quality.  I am also considering going with a regular headset like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD555-HD-555-Audiophile-Headphones/dp/B0001FTVDQ/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1220563774&sr=1-13

And then buying a clip on mic.  But are these mics reliable for picking up sound?  Any input would help, as I plan on buying something this weekend so I can have it sometime next week. 

[Mrbob]

Second question before I forget.  Is there any reason for me to look at a USB headset at all?  I'm a bit weary of a headset I can't plug directly into the sound card. 

[Vizzys]

I use the tritton ax360, it has a very small bit of noise when connected to its little box for ps3/360/etc but when connected to my pc without that box is completely noise free

http://www.amazon.com/Tritton-Q33801-Digital-Headset-Xtreme/dp/B000FP0K78/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1220566723&sr=8-1

the mic is detachable and moveable but the corded part of it broke on mine so you have to be careful when its unplugged (theres no reason to do so)

as for the sound quality is true 5.1 but lacks bass and trys to fake it with a vibration function which doesnt work well, cant honestly recommend them for music but its fine for gaming

I just looked and apparently they have a newer model here: http://www.amazon.com/TRITTON-Hardcore-Gaming-Headphones-Connection/dp/B0011EOX6G/ref=pd_bbs_3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1220566723&sr=8-3
which looks quite a bit better, get them instead

[Mrbob]

Wow those do seem really, really good.  Decent reviews too.  But why the hell do those headphones have to look totally xbox?  Ugly.  But hey if they work well and it sounds like they do these are jumping to the top of my list.

[Vizzys]

get the second ones I mentioned

I cant recommend the ones I have too much

they are only acceptable

heres the other ones for cheaper
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3566390&Sku=T26-1098

anyway i think the difference betweent he two is the ax51 are geared towards pc and the others can be used for anything

[Mrbob]

Is the mic quality decent? 

I won't be hooking these up to my consoles.  I already have a regular 5.1 system for those. 

[Vizzys]

yeah the mic worked good

speaking of which though, you cant just plug in the mic to an xbox360 controller if you ever want to, you need some Datel adapter so you can mute it otherwise its on all the time, that was another gripe I had.

But for PC it was flawless

[Draft]

How convenient for you, I just had the itch to upgrade my sturdy but cheap Plantronics Audio 90s, and have spent the last couple days doing headset research.

The conclusion I reached is that headsets are jokes if you really care about sound quality, and that you need to do the whole headphones + mic thing. So this is what I bought:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E9VKUQ



All of the research I did indicated that the Audio Technica 700 series is just the fucking bomb in the $100-ish price range. The ones I went with are the closed variety. Closed produce deeper bass and are better at keeping out ambient noise, but are heavier and hotter (my ears do sweat just a bit under real headphones.)

If you prefer lighter headphones that have less bass impact, consider the open air variety:

http://www.amazon.com/Technica-ATH-AD700-Open-air-Dynamic-Headphones/dp/B000CMS0XU/ref=pd_cp_e_1?pf_rd_p=413863501&pf_rd_s=center-41&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000E9VKUQ&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0DHVG2V3F8NYMYBDFRMJ



Apparently, open air cans have a better "sound stage", which I guess means a little bit more accuracy in terms of their output. From what I've read, there's not much difference at least where these two are concerned. It's a question of less bass + lighter + cooler vs. more bass + heavier + hotter. Also, open air headphones let in a lot of ambient noise. That's not really a problem if you're just using them at a desk to play games or listen to music, but if you are in a noisy house or something I guess it could be an issue.

Either way, pick up this puppy to turn your sick new headphones into a sick new headset:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00029MTMQ



This thing appears to be a recommended without reservation beast, and it's only like $6.