Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Hardware and Software => Topic started by: ebfd11 on March 21, 2010, 09:21:03 AM
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I just picked up the logitech g35 and the sound quality is phemominal. It has 7.1 surround sound and makes you realize where the sounds are coming from. What's funny is it comes with a voice morpher and using it last night I bugged the living heck using my squeaker voice outta my squaddies.
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/webcam_communications/internet_headsets_phones/devices/5095&cl=us,en
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One word USB.
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I just picked up the logitech g35 and the sound quality is phemominal. It has 7.1 surround sound and makes you realize where the sounds are coming from. What's funny is it comes with a voice morpher and using it last night I bugged the living heck using my squeaker voice outta my squaddies.
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/webcam_communications/internet_headsets_phones/devices/5095&cl=us,en
You can send one to Upstate NY as well! I'll PM you the address to ship it to. :)
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most of the good (awesome) headsets are usb. I am trying to replace my plantonics headset(same that Td uses) but too chicken to order from the web in case I dont like it and ahve to send it back. waiting for best try or frys to have one.
semp
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USB headsets cause issues in WIndow 7 and vista because they did away with a lot of the sound stuff in windows.
I have TurtleBeach 5.1 surround with all the plugs for my 5.1 surround sound card. Best headset I've ever heard.
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I enjoy my mini-plug Plantronics GameCom 377 headset. It's also one less driver to worry about.
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USB headsets cause issues in WIndow 7 and vista because they did away with a lot of the sound stuff in windows.
I have TurtleBeach 5.1 surround with all the plugs for my 5.1 surround sound card. Best headset I've ever heard.
I have the USB version of that one AND Windows 7 and don't have one single problem. The problem that were present before (in sound devices) were driver issues, nothing more. I would think that all (at least most) reputable brands would have corrected this by now.
Yes it does use a bit more in resources, but AH still performs well with everything turned on... heck I don't even bother turning of AV on this system.
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Well with ny MB having 7.1 built in I can't say anything bad about it.
Ohh btw semp that is where I got mine is from best buy, 138 with the 3 year warranty....
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crap now I have to buy one. Well the one I have is so last year and my birthday is coming up.
Semp
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The funny thing about them is I caught myself looking over my shoulder a couple of times when I heard a ping over my left shoulder.
Pro's: definate surround sound. Superb bass sound. Extra heavy duty cord with heavy duty wrap on it.
Cons; I can't fit my track ir clip on it so I have to use the hat clip. The mic is only set up to be used on left side. Other than those 2 things I am extremly happy with it...
Oh BTW if you do get it marry it up with Rangers soundpack, awesome combination.
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I mounted my Tracker IR on top of my headphones it's the hat one.
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USB headsets are WASTEFUL and don't do anything great....get a great sounding headset and a great sound card and you can blow ANY USB headset out of the water for generally any application.
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I'm getting an echo with this headset. When speaking into the mic, I hear myself. Anyone else have this problem?
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When hearing myself, the playback is a delayed echo. Very annoying.
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You need to mute the mic for playback.
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As Skuzzy said, disable microphone monitoring.
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The funny thing about them is I caught myself looking over my shoulder a couple of times when I heard a ping over my left shoulder.
Pro's: definate surround sound. Superb bass sound. Extra heavy duty cord with heavy duty wrap on it.
Cons; I can't fit my track ir clip on it so I have to use the hat clip. The mic is only set up to be used on left side. Other than those 2 things I am extremly happy with it...
Oh BTW if you do get it marry it up with Rangers soundpack, awesome combination.
Just wait until you're in a good GV battle.. you can almost pinpoint the exact location of the enemy (distance AND orientation) just by sound. It's pretty wild.
USB Headset.. wasteful? Mine has excellent sound, excellent Surround capabilities, excellent voice recording (crystal clear on vox), and my system still stays 50+ FPS with virtually no stuttering... this is 1024textures, hi-res pack, all sliders MAXED, 1920X1200 and all advanced video options turned on with the exception of self-shadows... and I'm not exactly running a start of the art system (2.8Ghz Core2Duo, 9800GTX). BTW this is running win7 64bit AND Avast AND not disabling anything. IMHO yes maybe it's wasteful in the fact that I have onboard sound with ports not being used (I do have speakers plugged in for when I want them)... but using that rationale you could say the USB keyboards and mice are wasteful in the fact that a PS/2 port is sitting there unused... or that my rudder pedals are wasteful in the fact that my joystick has a twisty built in.. give me a break.
As for hearing yourself, yes you can adjust that in your audio properties. Personally I like having it on so I can hear what's going on around me in real life... it actually amplifies sounds louder than not wearing the headphones at all LOL. I can hear my g/f tapping on her electric piano's keys on the other side of the house.
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The best headset by far is this one;
www.psykoaudio.com
(http://www.mnpctech.3dpixelnet.com/picture_library/psyko_headset_headphones_5.1_casemodblog.com.jpg)
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USB headsets require much more CPU overhead than a good sound board does. The difference is significant. Anything requiring a lot of data, such as sound or networking, is really not suited for the USB bus. It does compromise CPU performance. No matter what kind of glowing recommendation someone gives a USB sound device, that is just the way it works. It will use up more CPU power than a dedicated sound device would.
The secondary effects are due to how Windows works. If you also have an onboard or dedicated sound card and it is enabled, Windows will poll that device each time a sound request is made to play a sound. This can have other negative impacts such as stability issues, sound stutters or pauses, or generally garbled sound. It does not always happen, but it is possible for it to happen.
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USB headsets require much more CPU overhead than a good sound board does. The difference is significant. Anything requiring a lot of data, such as sound or networking, is really not suited for the USB bus. It does compromise CPU performance. No matter what kind of glowing recommendation someone gives a USB sound device, that is just the way it works. It will use up more CPU power than a dedicated sound device would.
The secondary effects are due to how Windows works. If you also have an onboard or dedicated sound card and it is enabled, Windows will poll that device each time a sound request is made to play a sound. This can have other negative impacts such as stability issues, sound stutters or pauses, or generally garbled sound. It does not always happen, but it is possible for it to happen.
This IS truth.
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Do I take the same hit if I'm just running a usb mic with the headphone speaker disabled in windows?
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I believe what skuzzy is saying is right. but usb headsets are better than non usb when it comes to surround sound. at least the one's I can buy around my area. (frys, best buy). I have a really good non usb headset but I do miss the surround sound of my speakers. cant use them due to neighbors complains. anybody know of a surround sound non-usb head set please let me know.
semp
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I believe what skuzzy is saying is right. but usb headsets are better than non usb when it comes to surround sound. at least the one's I can buy around my area. (frys, best buy). I have a really good non usb headset but I do miss the surround sound of my speakers. cant use them due to neighbors complains. anybody know of a surround sound non-usb head set please let me know.
semp
Surround sound is the same between the two.
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USB is stilll using the CPU to process all the mic data, where with a sound card, its done on the card.
Not dissimilar to onboard video vs a good graphics card.
Cost of a reasonably decent PCI based card is dirt cheap nowdays.
You can get a Creative SB Audigy SE 7.1 for 25$ at Newegg, they have off brands as low as 10$.
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does AH even generate surround sound channels? (ie. 5.1/7.1)
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No, we do not generate Dolby encoded sounds. We generate true 3D sound.
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so AH supplies DS3D which the audio device then converts to however many channels it supports? :headscratch:
(trying to get my head around how this works)
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No, the sound device decides nothing. The sounds are all produced according to thier location in 3D space. DirectSound handles the actual positioning by adjusting the volumn and spread based on the parameters we give it. All sounds are then played through the correct speaker(s) to produce its location in 3D space.
There is no encoding/decoding done by the sound card or headset. Forcing any decoding will screw up the sound positioning.
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USB headsets require much more CPU overhead than a good sound board does. The difference is significant. Anything requiring a lot of data, such as sound or networking, is really not suited for the USB bus. It does compromise CPU performance. No matter what kind of glowing recommendation someone gives a USB sound device, that is just the way it works. It will use up more CPU power than a dedicated sound device would.
The secondary effects are due to how Windows works. If you also have an onboard or dedicated sound card and it is enabled, Windows will poll that device each time a sound request is made to play a sound. This can have other negative impacts such as stability issues, sound stutters or pauses, or generally garbled sound. It does not always happen, but it is possible for it to happen.
AMEN!
Best headset I have ever used is the Sennheiser pc350 and I will say so until someone shows me something better.
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Surround non-usb....
(http://hwt.dk/images/literature/2062/2062-1.jpg)
Been using for years. I'm no audiophile but I'm happy with them.
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I still have my SB audio card (forgot exact version off hand, I am not at that comp at moment) Every time I get a new machine I disable the on board sound and plug this card in. It is an old friend. Never fails me in voice communications and the hardware buffers ensure I get all the channels I need for game sounds.
But the rule is, whatever you are happy with works for you. Glad you got something you like.
Also, I have some great headsets that are full over the ear coverage. Blocks out most external distracting noise (aka wife), and, I have ordered replacement pads so the 15 year old headsets feel like new ever cpl years when I replace the pads. I have no memory so will log on when I get home and give the name of my audio card and the headsets. Note, the headsets were appx $100 but since I have had them for 15 years I think I have gotten my money's worth. Besides, the padding on the ears allow me to loop a mic over the ear so it sits just to the side of my mouth. That type of mic is the one on many cheap stores that come with the pencil lenght stand to clip it on. I threw away the stand long ago hehehe.
:cheers:
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No, the sound device decides nothing. The sounds are all produced according to thier location in 3D space. DirectSound handles the actual positioning by adjusting the volumn and spread based on the parameters we give it. All sounds are then played through the correct speaker(s) to produce its location in 3D space.
There is no encoding/decoding done by the sound card or headset. Forcing any decoding will screw up the sound positioning.
and since AH does the sound this way, you can tell which direction the enemy is coming from ........ even using your views you hear the sound change directions( example... I use my 8 way hat switch and cycle it around from forward clockwise, I can hear the sound change in my Plantronic's non-USB Headset or in my Audiovox cheapo non-USB headset)....... so I have no need to buy a 138 dollar USB headset, since AH already provides the sound in a 3 dimensional aspect....... I do use a Creative Xtreme Fatality pro PCI SoundCard though.....
if you use speakers, you will be limited by your speaker setup, whether you have surround sound speakers or not.... 2 speakers/2 speakers & SubWoofer/ 5 spkrs/7 spkrs etc...
YMMV.......
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I still have my SB audio card (forgot exact version off hand, I am not at that comp at moment) Every time I get a new machine I disable the on board sound and plug this card in. It is an old friend. Never fails me in voice communications and the hardware buffers ensure I get all the channels I need for game sounds.
:cheers:
Wish I could with my SB live 5.1..... Creative has no plans to release divers for win7 64. :furious
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hey lawndart got the g35 sound is awesome. I also used black electrical tape to attach the trakir clip. what I liked best about it, is placed cd in, connected usb headset and that was it. no messing around with the mike in windows it worked automatically. :x.
semp
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No, the sound device decides nothing. The sounds are all produced according to thier location in 3D space. DirectSound handles the actual positioning by adjusting the volumn and spread based on the parameters we give it. All sounds are then played through the correct speaker(s) to produce its location in 3D space.
There is no encoding/decoding done by the sound card or headset. Forcing any decoding will screw up the sound positioning.
so we get 3D effect sound on 2 stereo channels, not true surround sound on multiple channels to feed to a 5.1/7.1 system?
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Semp I am glad you like it. Have you had the chance to use the voice changer yet?? Love the spaced out squirrel.
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so we get 3D effect sound on 2 stereo channels, not true surround sound on multiple channels to feed to a 5.1/7.1 system?
that's how all stereo headphones are, every last one.
You can't have surround with 2 speakers, and you only get 1 speaker over each ear.
Most just simulate surround with clever placement and mixing of the sounds into those 2 speakers.
That's why "surround headphones" IMO are a gimmick. I get some really cool surround sound effects off my 10 year old Boston digital speakers (2.1 setup) and my SB Audigy1 sound card. I don't need surround or special headphones, when I get that effect already.
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sure, 2 speakers, 2 channels. just wanted to confirm what AH generates before making the point that any surround headsets like the psykoaudio ones arent going to give you surround sound.
since lots of players are using very big screens/multiple monitor setups it seems a shame they cant use surround sound as well. quite a few folks have 5.1 systems already for home cinema, would be great to have the option to use them for AH too, and perfect for simpits.
edit: have you finished your FrankenHOTAS yet? I need your P40 for bait ;)
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If you have 5.1/7.1/22.5 (or whatever) speakers, you get true 3D sound placement, from the game, as long as you tell Windows the speaker configuration.
If your speaker configuration is 2, then you only get stereo sound with sound placement being limited to left/right. Front/back is simulated via volumn level control for a 2 speaker system.
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ok got it ty :aok
one more question :D does AH send Directsound any sounds for the .1 LF effects channel? or does directsound just use the sub component of the game sounds for the .1 channel?
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I always thought the .1 (subwoofer) was automatically filtered out and sent out via the sound card. Windows doesn't recognize my 2.1 (only lists 2) but I still get benefit from my sub. Makes all the difference in the world compared to a 2.0 speaker setup.
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yeah thats how the .1 ch is normally used, but not what its intended for. its supposed to be for low frequency effects - stuff you feel rather than hear, and therefore not directional.
a 5.1 example for AH would be a large bomb exploding within earshot of a GV. from the GV first you should see the explosion (speed of light), then feel the blast using the .1 channel (blast propagates through the ground), shortly after that hear the blast from the direction of the bomb drop using the 5 speakers (speed of sound in air).
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LFE are filtered by DirectSound and sent to the sub automatically.
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Remember when Skuzzy talks you "Herd it through the Grapevine", Texas that is.