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TPRJones
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Post by TPRJones »

GORDON wrote:if I knew where all the wires were supposed to go, it might have been repairable. But you end up with 2-4 unattached wires and a mini circuit board and chinese solder dust all in the space of a tiny headphone can. Or whatever it is called.
Just start touching wires to likely points until something makes noise. Then solder it on.

Not like you're going to make them more broken.
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Malcolm
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Post by Malcolm »

TPRJones wrote:
GORDON wrote:if I knew where all the wires were supposed to go, it might have been repairable. But you end up with 2-4 unattached wires and a mini circuit board and chinese solder dust all in the space of a tiny headphone can. Or whatever it is called.
Just start touching wires to likely points until something makes noise. Then solder it on.

Not like you're going to make them more broken.
Even if I have to drag it a local repair shop and pay $50 to fix a decent pair, I'd still do it.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Malcolm
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Post by Malcolm »

Opting out of the 480GB SSD in favour of banking cash for the headphones. Oh shit. The Razer Tiamat has open box items on sale for the model I want. Holy fucking red flags.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
GORDON
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Post by GORDON »

I would only spend more than $70ish on headphones if I had roommates or something and had to keep the main PC sound off more than 50% of the time. I just use mine when it is time for voice chat, so like I said.... low-midrange.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
Malcolm
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Post by Malcolm »

I'm willing to do a bit more than double that for my ceiling. I live in a noisy-ass part of town, so headphones give me the least polluted sound output option.

NewEgg's search functionality for headphones isn't quite as discriminating as I'd hoped. Want:

1) 3.5" mm connection to plug into sound card directly
2) circumaural (encircles the ear, doesn't sit on top) design
3) surround sound capability, >= 5.1
4) noise cancelling headphones preferred
5) strictly wired headset, I'm not paying for wireless functionality I will never use
6) mic is required
7) a control unit, at least for mute/volume control, preferably programmable buttons as well
8) bigger the headphone frequency response the better, "average" human hearing ability be damned

I will find a decent headset, damnit.




Edited By Malcolm on 1404428614
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Malcolm
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Post by Malcolm »

Narrowed down to 2:

Plantronics Gamecom 780 ... $50

Turtle Beach Seven Tourney Edition ... $150 new on eBay
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Malcolm
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Post by Malcolm »

Got to go with the Turtle Beach after finding out the Plantronics has the lame USB connector.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Malcolm
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Post by Malcolm »

Malcolm wrote:Got to go with the Turtle Beach after finding out the Plantronics has the lame USB connector.
Come on PayPal, transfer that shyte.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Malcolm
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Post by Malcolm »

Woohoo. Transfer complete. Negotiation time.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
GORDON
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Post by GORDON »

Speaking of headphone/microphones, my kid is on his 3rd set in a year. They keep failing somewhere inside the sealed box that contains the mute switch. Good thing the official Xbox mic is only ten bucks.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
Malcolm
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Post by Malcolm »

After I get my headphones on eBay, I see this on NewEgg. $300 headset knocked down to $100. It's going on sale today, probably to the tune of a further 25%, and I kind of kicked myself for not waiting a bit longer. Then I noticed the alleged $300 worth of quality hasn't netted one completely satisfied review out of a few dozen. Just holy fuck.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Malcolm
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Post by Malcolm »

Headphones have arrived.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Malcolm
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Post by Malcolm »

Sound card installed. Will grab the drivers and give the new headphones a thumpin' test drive. They feel nice on the head. There's some weight but it feels like it's hanging on the side in the speakers rather than on the band going between. Anxious to see if the surround sound works. Always pissed when a guard's on my 7 or 8 in Thief and I turn around to the right.

As an aside, thumbscrews on a case are fucking awesome.




Edited By Malcolm on 1405906684
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Malcolm
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Post by Malcolm »

I allegedly eBay'd this for over $100 over the MSRP. Then again, NewEgg said Daylight was $90 and Steam has it for $10, tops.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Malcolm
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Post by Malcolm »

Woohoo. Asus processed my rebate. Only took 4 months. Now it's another 5-7 weeks until I get it.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Malcolm
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Post by Malcolm »

Managed to figure how to rig my audio setup.

Headset has a control unit, which has a split USB/3.5mm cable. Connect the headset to the control unit, that connects into the tower's USB port and the headset/mic external unit from the sound card, which connects to the sound card.

Sounds glorious. Lower end bass is fucking awesome for headphones. Covers my ears so it does a fine job noise cancelling. Head strap isn't digging into the scalp. Only problem was the volume wasn't getting up there. Maxed every setting on every control panel from the software side. Then I noticed the big knob-looking thing on the sound card external unit. Was set at 8 o'clock. Halfway over 9 o'clock got excessively loud. No hums, no clipping, anxious to try it in Thief and see how surround sound this bitch gets.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
GORDON
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Post by GORDON »

My fave thing about having a proper surround sound setup was hearing a spy decloak behind me as a sniper in TF2. Those spies probably thought I was cheating when I would spin around and start shooting them because I heard them back there.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
Malcolm
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Post by Malcolm »

Knowing where those guards are by footfalls when they're behind you is invaluable.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Malcolm
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Post by Malcolm »

The final rebate card arrived today for the dual Asus monitors. Entire process, including rebate card arrival, took a mere five months.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Trooper
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Post by Trooper »

Glad you didn't pick the gamecom's. I had them for a few months, hated them with a burning passion. They cup the ear, but not really. They're still very shallow, so they hurt like mad after only 30 minutes.
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