I am not much of a gamer and I haven’t played any multi-player yet. However, I need to get a decent headset for my PC so I can Skype/GoToMeeting/Google Voice talk for work and I figure if I’m going to buy one I might as well get one that can do double duty as a PC headset for VOIP/Video conferencing and also work if I ever get around to playing some Madden with my friends across the country.
Suggestions are welcome. I’d like to keep it somewhat reasonable and wireless would be a plus, but neither function is liable to become a regular use so I’m not interested in anything too advanced/pricey.
If such a blend of uses is not available I’d take suggestions for a good cheap PC headset and skip the gaming portion.
I think there are some better to be had (at higher prices) but this does a fine job.
My only quibble with it is when I flip the microphone up I get a barely audible whine coming from the speakers. Easy to tune out though in seconds and not noticeable at all when actual sound is playing.
There are better headsets with better sound quality at higher prices but unless you are a real aficionado with the ears of a dog I doubt you’ll notice.
I like this because I like around the ear headphones for extended wear (on the ear irritates after awhile). These are not the most comfortable I have ever used (they are a bit heavy as headphones go) but I can’t complain.
It also has surround sound built in (which you can switch on or off). Nice touch for my games.
Ease of use is a breeze. It powers off the USB. Once the software is installed simply plug it in or yank the plug and it all works. No muss. No fuss.
The mic works fine and the mic can be flipped up out of the way. It is also bendable for ideal placement. No one has complained in voice chat (most of how you sound is in the voice chat software anyway). Not a mic to record your next album but plenty fine for chatting.
It has various other features I never make use of but nice to know they are there.
For price, performance, comfort, features and ease of use I think they are hard to beat.
I bet there are better out there but they will cost you substantially more (law of diminishing returns I guess).
Are your computer and Xbox right next to each other? If not, you’ll be facing a real hassle using the same headset for both, especially if you want wireless. Wireless audio requires a transmitter plugged into the sound source, so every time you want to change devices, you’ll have to disconnect the transmitter, unplug it from the wall, and move it to the other device. Unless, as I say, they’re right next to each other, then you can do some A/B switchery.
I think you’d be better served by getting two headsets. I recently bought this Sennheiser headset for my wife to use with Dragon Naturally Speaking software, and it’s working great; they’re super-light and comfortable to wear for a long stretch. For the Xbox, I use an older set of wireless Turtle Beach headphones, of which these are probably the closest modern match. If you want 7.1 audio rather than just stereo, they’ll set you back a little bit more.
I figure there’s headsets that just use a USB dongle as the receiver. Unplug the dongle from the PC and plug it into the XBox when you switch and you’re done.