Gaming Headsets: Myth, Truth and How We Test

1 - Einführung und Übersicht 2 - Alles über Schall und Frequenzen 3 - Räumliches Hören, Surround und viel Voodoo 4 - Sounding: Markting-Gag oder Skill-Verstärker? 5 - Menschliche Sprache, Tiere, Bewegungen 6 - Typische Kampf- und Transportmittelgeräusche 7 - Wie wir messen und urteilen 8 - Fazit und Zusammenfassung

Due to the constant high response over the last few years, we will once again focus more on gaming headsets. However, many of our tests with more or less positive conclusions have certainly contributed to the fact that the gaming industry is already undergoing a certain rethink. Of course, not everything is where you would like it as a customer, but the trend is already right.

Nevertheless, we still wonder what this fabled gaming sound is supposed to be. It was often (allegedly) developed with pro gamers that the rind crashes, and every new headset should then offer even more unbeatable advantages, especially for first-person shooters. Adapted sound, room sound, particularly good “foot sound detection” and everything else – most people certainly don’t know what gaming noises actually are and which frequency spectra are really behind it.

Often underestimated: Creative SoundblasterX H5

Often recommended in forums: QPad QH90

This is exactly what we will give answers to, because the analysis of the so-called gaming sound from real games alone brings amazing things to the fore! Together with important theoretical foundations on sound, frequencies and human hearing up to “3D sound”, we put a lot of things to the test.

We will also summarise what and how we measure in our tests and why we have set the bar for our assessment exactly where it belongs: to the very top.

“Gaming” is a sold illusion

But we would like to introduce our little excursion with a few marketing style blossoms, some of which are so inflated as to acquire the nonplusultra of technical feasibility and have to thank the developers knee-jerkly for the revolution of the gamer-being at all.

Become a trendsetter! The unique design makes you stand out with these headphones. It won’t be long before someone asks you where you bought them. While we’ve designed the fashionable and trendy headphones, we’ve always made sure the ear pads are soft and comfortable, making them portable all day long. The speakers provide crystal clear hi-fi sound with enormous sound width and clear tones.

Not bad, HiFi for under 20 euros is a fight announcement! But only in the brochure, unfortunately. Or let us confidently embark on flourishing soundscapes:

With its unprecedented 60mm neodymium speakers, it offers a massive soundscape and marker-shattering bass.

Yes, of course, but only the price of 150 euros was shocking, the sound belonged rather to the 50-euro class.

The xxxxx USB headset from xxxxx was developed in collaboration with professional gamers. Special features such as specially adapted equalizer settings are designed to make the hard first-person shooter life easier for the professional gambler.

Funny, because for most of the sounds – we’ll see and substantiate that – equalizer experiments are pure poison. Finally, maybe this one, because more sultry and self-loving is actually (n)always:

At xxxxxxxx, we are passionate about the technology that makes gamers winners. We develop precise gaming devices. We develop the technology that keeps gamers at the highest level in terms of speed, precision, reliability and comfort. Technology is our philosophy, our leitmotif in exploring, testing and developing the optimal gaming experience – in the lab as well as in the game.

So what exactly do we have in our way?

To understand that the best and most neutral pair of headphones with the largest possible stage and excellent resolution is really the best solution, you have to look at the gaming-relevant weapon, environment, vehicle and aircraft sounds just as much as the different voices in speech playback. In addition, in frequency range and trajectory curve, resolution and attention to detail as well as spatial location and Separate the stage.

The gaming-typical noises used on the following pages for the analysis of frequency spectra also come from games such as Battlefield 4, FarCry 4, Fallout 3 and Crysis represent exactly the “gaming sound carpet” needed to assess playback quality. It is also interesting that many sounds were cut at a predominantly 16 kHz and that in places even from the game a kind of clipping is used to appear even louder (compression).

Let’s be surprised what sounds like in games and what frequency ranges are needed. But before that, there is still a somewhat entertaining theory, everyone can nag. But we also want to justify it.