Headphones

[BradHann]

Getting a headtracker meant I had to start using my headphones. Now, my speakers are pretty good, but the sounds that I'm getting through the headphones are just... wow. Not necessarily clearer, but so much more. Like radio chatter near stations, and all sorts of spacewhale singing or I don't even know what it actually is, but so many sounds that I never heard before.

If you aren't using headphones, do yourself a favour and try it out.

 

[jasonbarron]

Agreed. Headphones are a must. I splurged for a set of Fidelio X2's and an already amazing audio stage became leagues better.

Head trackers are pretty nifty, too. I have an EDTracker Pro that I'm falling in love with

 

[Gunnet]

Headphones are simply better than speakers unless you're sitting in a perfectly quiet room with good acoustics and spend ten times as much.

 

[space pilot]

Yes, quite, as long as you have no friends headphones are ideal for everything.

 

[Gunnet]

Yes, quite, as long as you have no friends headphones are ideal for everything.

Good headphones let me hear my friends' voices more clearly

 

[c00ky1970]

Agree!

It's the,Amersham of audio that you notice really make this second to none!

The background ATC chatter has me still wondering if that fire that broke out has been resolved!

 

[Hooplah]

Having more money than sense I have the Sennheiser PC-363D 7.1 surround sound gaming headset which is probably the best for TeamSpeak and Discord one can get as well as pro sound broadcast quality when narrating a YouTube video about ED. Still I use a Corsair SP2500 Gaming Audio Series High-power 2.1 PC Speaker System for totally awesome sound when I'm not chatting with other players. Go figure.

 

[Ian Skippy]

Also, if anyone is surprised how much better ED sounds when using headphones, consider using headphones rather than crappy speakers for music as well. Heck, you dont even have to do it for yourself. There is nothing more depressing than having someone say they like your music after listening to it on laptop speakers... [sad]

 

[tafkabb]

I use headphones too. White ones. Sounds amazing

 

[Ian Skippy]

Headphones are simply better than speakers unless you're sitting in a perfectly quiet room with good acoustics and spend ten times as much.

Not really. One thing headphones cant bring is sheer force. You can get a much more powerful sound with good speakers compared with good headphones.

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I use headphones too. White ones. Sounds amazing

Darn hipsters. If there is a red 'b' on the ears I'm gonna punch you till my knuckles hurt. Which is after one punch, but I am not gonna tell you that.

 

[tafkabb]

Not really. One thing headphones cant bring is sheer force. You can get a much more powerful sound with good speakers compared with good headphones.

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Darn hipsters. If there is a red 'b' on the ears I'm gonna punch you till my knuckles hurt. Which is after one punch, but I am not gonna tell you that.

haha no. It's a headset, not a fashion accessory for the tone deaf

 

[Gunnet]

Not really. One thing headphones cant bring is sheer force. You can get a much more powerful sound with good speakers compared with good headphones.

True. I've never been especially concerned with having very forceful sound, but I guess the balance could be tipped towards speakers for somebody with the right tastes.

Having the best of both worlds would be nice, but that's where the perfectly quiet room etc comes in.

 

[space pilot]

They have vibration devices you can plug into audio outputs to give you "force".

 

[Ian Skippy]

They have vibration devices you can plug into audio outputs to give you "force".

Yeah, buttkicker and such. But its not the same. Sitting on your KB chair with headphones is really not the same as standing in front of a huge amp.

 

[Para Handy]

I have the Logitech THX-certified 5.1 surround sound system for my PC and it really shows how amazingly good the E D audio is. I have a very good set of gaming cans (HyperX Cloud II) I wear late at night (otherwise the sub-woofer would kill the neighbours) but honestly, 5.1 is just a huge leap better.

(P.S. Planet Coaster is great in 5.1 too.)

(P.P.S. No I don't want to go to 7.1 thanks.)

 

[NascentChemist]

Darn hipsters. If there is a red 'b' on the ears I'm gonna punch you till my knuckles hurt. Which is after one punch, but I am not gonna tell you that.

While I'm not defending the brand of headphones that add literal dead weight to make their products feel higher quality, some audiophiles need a stern talking-to as well. Something has gone very wrong when people pay 340-10,000 dollars for an ethernet cable.

 

[space pilot]

I consider myself an audiophile, and I use $10 Skullcandy earbuds until they break from pulling on the wires over several months or more. I wouldn't argue that's the best you can get, but earbuds have evolved to be really good with the light-pressure rubber inserts, so even the cheap ones are like 50x better than standard headphones were 10+ years ago. They're on par with professional over-ear headphones from that time at least.

 

[Ian Skippy]

I consider myself an audiophile, and I use $10 Skullcandy earbuds until they break from pulling on the wires over several months or more. I wouldn't argue that's the best you can get, but earbuds have evolved to be really good with the light-pressure rubber inserts, so even the cheap ones are like 50x better than standard headphones were 10+ years ago.

Okay, glad to see there is no hyperbole there. Btw, you do know, as an audiophile, the last ten years has seen practically zero technical advances in headphone hardware?

 

[space pilot]

Okay, glad to see there is no hyperbole there. Btw, you do know, as an audiophile, the last ten years has seen practically zero technical advances in headphone hardware?

It makes sense to me.

 

[Zeeman]

Getting a headtracker meant I had to start using my headphones. Now, my speakers are pretty good, but the sounds that I'm getting through the headphones are just... wow. Not necessarily clearer, but so much more. Like radio chatter near stations, and all sorts of spacewhale singing or I don't even know what it actually is, but so many sounds that I never heard before.

If you aren't using headphones, do yourself a favour and try it out.

Most people tend to have (relatively) better quality headphones than speakers. I'm int he fortunate position of having owned and run a high and home theatre/automation company since 2000, and thus, have managed to acquire some really good stuff over the years (handy hint, spend the money on the really good speakers first time around - they will last you many decades!).

With that as a qualifier, I have yet to find a set of headphones to match a properly set up, good quality surround system. The sound team have done an outstanding job, and the surround can't be matched in those pretend 7.1 headphones. Of course, not everyone can have a5.1/7.1 set up, and on that note, I'd suggest good quality stereo headphones. I've had to use headphones of late (for keeping neighbours happy reasons), and have been quite happy with my set, and would totally agree with the op that it is an excellent way to get a great experience out of ED, if a good 5.1/7.1 system is out of the question.

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