Computer Gaming Headsets
If you want to have the best gaming experience, a good computer gaming headsets are a must. Most newer games are embedded with high definition audio effects and if you want to hear every sound, know where your enemy is, if you want to win, you need the best headset.
So what do good computer gaming headsets include?
Comfort
Good computer gaming headsets must be comfortable. If you’re going to spend long hours wearing them, they better feel good.
Comfort depends on several factors. Padding should be thick and soft to protect your ear and the ear cups must fit over your ears, not squeeze them against your head. The headband itself needs to be adjustable especially if your head is larger than most.
There’s nothing more uncomfortable when gaming than a heavy headset. Lower priced headsets contain the electronics that do all the work inside the ear pieces weighing them down considerably but the higher priced units will have the electronics needed in separate modules that sit on the table next to you. For incredible comfort, you can’t beat the Razer Carcharias.
Sound Quality
Why buy a computer gaming headset with poor sound quality? Although each person may perceive sound differently, there are ways to distinguish good quality sound from not so good.
Powerful bass will have a significant impact in shooting games such as Counterstrike where you’ll be able to clearly hear the bullets flying and distinguish explosions in the background.
Surround sound creates realism in your game play. Gaming headsets with 5.1 or 7.1 digital audio encoded will give you an unimaginable advantage over your competition. You’ll not only know which side the attack is coming from but at what angle it’s coming.
Headsets with surround sound have more than one speaker in each ear piece. There is a middle front speaker or center speaker. For side to side front speakers are provided to give you regular stereo sound. Two rear speakers complete the Surround Sound and the sub-woofer gives you that throbbing bass sound.
When you’re into a game, you don’t want any external noises intruding on your experience. Some computer gaming headsets have a noise cancellation feature. This is an external microphone that picks up external noises and inverts them in order to cancel them out. This is always useful when playing in a noisy environment. When it comes to sound quality, checkout the Sennheiser PC 161.
Microphone
Many computer gaming headsets include a microphone to allow interaction during gameplay. This is very useful when you’re gaming with one or more remote players.
Cable Length
The cable length determines your range away from the screen and so will contribute to your comfort. Typically a headset should have a cable length of 2m or about 7ft. Anything shorter restricts your movement and comfort. With a game console such as PS3 or Xbox, consider getting a headset with a longer cable or an extra extension cable.
Wireless Headsets
Avoid the cable altogether. Select the wireless headset that uses of Bluetooth or RF technology. One drawback, though: wireless headsets can be more prone to noise interference and/or loss of signal during the transmission, which can lead to static or other annoying noises. However, the Ear Force X31 is one of the headsets that seems to have eliminated that problem.
Volume Control
Some may consider this a trivial feature, but for a headset with surround sound, it would enhance your gaming experience to have an inline volume control. You can customize the volume setting for each speaker to control the individual speaker levels.
Ease of Use
This is something to consider because if you can’t use the headset with relative ease, is it worth the bother? If it takes more for the headset to work than it takes for your computer or console, you may want to look at a different model.
Compatibility
Obviously, the headset you want is one you can use with your current system. But does it matter to you whether or not the headset is compatible with other systems, across multiple platforms and electronic devices. If you have a platform of choice, but occasionally play on a different platform, you wouldn’t want to buy a gaming headset for each. If you’re an Xbox 360 gamer and you occasionally play an online game from your PC, you’d want to be able to use your new headset for both.
And consider this. Besides being compatible with other gaming platforms, many computer gaming headsets are easily used with TVs, DVD players and Blu Ray making them even more useful and cost effective since you won’t need different headsets for each. The Tritton AX Pro is compatible with DVD, PC/Mac and most game consoles.
Price
With the computer gaming headset’s range of options is a corresponding range of prices. You’ll find there are going to be big differences between headsets costing $80 and those priced at twice that amount. In most cases, you get what you pay for.
