PC Gaming Headset for a low(ish) budget

[Mathius]

Right my budget is around £10, but this excludes £20 worth of amazon vouchers....

Basically I'm willing to pay upto £30 retail for a decent set of headphones...on amazon.

Temporary Short List

¬Microsoft LifeChat LX-3000 = £14.49 (- £10 voucher) = £4.49

¬Plantronics Gamecom 380 = £19.xx (+ a little something, so I can use £20 voucher, I dunno maybe Thermal Paste or something.) = ~£5

¬TurtleBeach x12's = £30 (- £20 voucher) = £10.


Drawbacks........
LX 3000, these have Leatheret ear cushions subjective to peeling after use
Plantronics 380, hard mic, so unable to bend to required position.

lol, as yet the x12's I haven't found anything.

 

[iBeInspire]

My team mate uses x12's and he HATES the mic on em'.
Sounds really clear but it's omnidirectional meaning all his key presses, clicks and drinking/eating are picked up.
As headphones, their about the best your going to get on a £30 headset.

 

[barnsley]

I use a gamecom 780 and so far I have to say it's fantastic so I'd recommend the 380 as it is effectively the same but with no 7.1 surround. The non-adjustable microphone was a bit weird not being able to bend it (I used to have my mic a mile or so away as I can be liable to shout) but the headset copes fine if you're worried about volume.

How long do you plan to use it for daily?

Also a word of warning on turtle beach build quality. It can be very hit and miss.

 

[Mathius]

well I dont record my own youtube video's and such, this will be primary for the in-game voice chat for games like COD 4 and MW3 etc....... roughly around 4hours ish a night.....

And the mic, would only be used when the house is quiet so I'd say less than that.

 

[barnsley]

The Gamecom should be fine for you then .

 

[Mathius]

My vouchers came this morning, so will be purchasing the plantronics 380's.........

Just want to make sure that there is no alternative in this price range...

also, given that the headset is sub £20, I was thinking of a USB sound card or card reader just to take the total over 20.

thoughts?

 

[Damien c]

I have tried many headsets over the years and I always come back to these.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Creative-Fa...8-1&keywords=creative+fatal1ty+gaming+headset

I cannot recommend them highly enough.

I can crank the bass up on Hardcore music which has allot of bass and these handle it with no problems.

I can crank up the treble etc on the sound card and again they handle it no problems.

The headset handles music really well, in my oppinion to the point where I have tried headsets upword of £60 and never found a single set that can match the Creative ones.

The game sounds are really good as well as are movies.

I keep trying other headsets because other headsets get really good reviews, but everytime I try them I have not found one that can handle the music at high volumes, or give a decent thud when there is a explosion in a game or movie.

I tried some of the Turle Beach headsets when I was waiting for some money to come through, a while ago to be able to build a new pc and I was gaming on my Xbox and was getting annoyed by the tv sound, so I bought a Turtle Beach headset because apparently they are really good, looking at the reviews and I found them to be as good as people were saying, but with 1 issue and that is the mic is to long and picks up the slightest of noises.

 

[Mathius]

I had noticed these quite soon after posting my post on the thread..... will have a final look later, I see a bendable mic which is good, but is it letheret on the ear cushions...

 

[Damien c]

I had noticed these quite soon after posting my post on the thread..... will have a final look later, I see a bendable mic which is good, but is it letheret on the ear cushions...

Yeah but they are quite comfy, although if you use them for along time your ears start to hurt but for me that only happens when I am at a lan and I manage to keep playing for 12 hours or longer.

 

[SuB]

Has Fatality branding = nope.

I'm not going to add much more to this thread, other than I hope you enjoy your choice. Personally I'd have saved up some more coin and gone with mid-range headphones as they will always, always, always outclass any gaming 'headset'.

 

[Damien c]

Has Fatality branding = nope.

I'm not going to add much more to this thread, other than I hope you enjoy your choice. Personally I'd have saved up some more coin and gone with mid-range headphones as they will always, always, always outclass any gaming 'headset'.

I have to admit the one thing I don't like about the Creative ones is the stupid Fatal1ty branding.

My next set will probably be a normal set of headphones and then mod a Mic on to them.

 

[Mathius]

I had thought about a set of headphones with a free standing seperate mic, or even makeshifting (modding) a mic to it, but would rather simplisity.....

I think I'm gonna go with the Plantronics 380's but now looking for something to bump it over £20.... annoyingly I'm 15p under. (£19.85)

 

[Mathius]

OK, I went with this:

Delivery estimate: 23 April 2013 - 25 April 2013
"Sharkoon 1337 Gaming Mouse Mat" £8.65
Sold by: Amazon EU S.a.r.L.

"Plantronics 86050-05 Gamecom 380 Gaming Headset" £19.85
Sold by: liGo


Total Cost to me...£8.50

Pictures to follow in the respected thread on delivery