Why do my £90 Steelseries Arctis 5 sound worse than my old £35 Plantronics RIG??

[Chrispy]

For almost 5 years I have been using the Plantronics RIG (just the basic stereo version) for gaming and listening to music. They have served me well but I figured: if these budget headphones sound so good, more premium £90 headphones must sound even better. I also wanted to try the 7.1 surround sound.

I got the Arctis 5 a yesterday and I hate to admit that I'm disappointed. When listening to music, they don't exactly sound worse just different. The bass is nice, but everything seems more muffled, as if there is a thin wall in between me and the sound source. With the RIG, I don't have this. Instead, the sound is clear and much sharper. The real disappointment came when I booted up Forza H4. The headphones sound 'tinny' and 'hollow'. I kept switching between the two headphones and the RIG definitely sounds better in that game. I also couldn't hear any signs of surround sound, even though it is enabled in the engine and the virtual surround sound is enabled in the Windows settings.

I just don't understand. I expected more for one of the highest rated headsets of recent months. I see almost no one talking about the Plantronics RIG even though it sounds better for under half the price. Is there something I'm doing wrong, like a setting that I'm missing? Any replies would be greatly appreciated :)

[Cathulhu]

Because surround headsets are just a marketing gag. Of course they sound worse, they have multiple tiny drivers compared to one proper one per side.
Even worse, emulating surround sound through Dolby Atmos or similar usually sounds better than through a 5.1/7.1 headset, this includes locating the source of that sound.

A good video explaining why those surround headsets are a waste of money:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_JpAyWMeiQ

[Chrispy]

Headphones in the Steelseries Arctis lineup are constantly in the top ten for headphone rankings... it makes no sense.

Also, I heard somewhere that most modern surround sound headphones are actually stereo but they use calculations to emulate the surround sound although I could've understood that wrong.

[just.kamk /idle]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Chrispy:

Headphones in the Steelseries Arctis lineup are constantly in the top ten for headphone rankings... it makes no sense.

Also, I heard somewhere that most modern surround sound headphones are actually stereo but they use calculations to emulate the surround sound although I could've understood that wrong.

Top ten of what? I tested a few from customers, and i still haven't heard a single gaming headset that doesn't sound like utter crap - some HIFI ones aside, where you pay premium for the mic.

Not just some, most. It's usually virtual surround, not actual surround. Valve i.e. pushes HRTF a lot in this regard.

[pasa]

"gaming" headset == firewood. But if your first mentioned was suitable for your needs just stay with that.

And burning your money when you can get real stuff like https://www.amazon.co.uk/beyerdynamic-770-PRO-Studio-Headphones/dp/B0016MNAAI for 95 GBP is kinda crazy.

[Chrispy]

Well crap, it looks like I fell for the marketing bs. Thanks for the advice guys :) Its time to sell these headphones.

[𝓡𝓮𝓽𝓻𝓸𝓒𝓪𝓽]

"Gaming headsets" are nothing more than pure marketing to lure unsuspecting people into buying their products. A pair of normal music cans are always going to be 100x better. Pair that with a standalone mic setup and you have something beautiful.

[tacoshy]

The only thing that has more marketing BS then gamign headsets are Dr. Dre BeatsAudio...

I dont udnerstand why so many gamers fall for that. I mean no gamer would ever ask a nurse as example for the best PC configuration. But most of them rather take headphones from a consumer gaming PC manufacturer instead headphones from audiophile companies that do nothign else like Sennheise, Beyerdynamic, Audio-Technica...