Potential Headphone Damage?

[Cereal Milk]

So I bought a new pair of steelseries surround sound headphones just yesterday and one of the first things I wanted to do was to tell my friends about it over discord.

One thing I forgot about was that I had put one of my friends at 200% volume due to the fact that my old headphones didn't do the best job picking him up and this is what sorta lead up to the unfortunate event that made me write this post.

Once I got on the call, my friend began moving his microphone around and my ears got blasted for a couple of seconds by the sounds generated by the movement.

I think my ears are fine but one thing I instantly became worried about was whether or not my headphones were damaged by what just happened. I've tried them out on some music and they seem alright but a big part of me still seems to have doubts.

Could headphones be damaged by what just happened to me or am I just being paranoid?

If they can what are some indicators that my headphones were damage by this incident?

I just got these headphones and I'm disappointed that I'm already worried about their well-being. This is sorta killing my first time experience of owning a good quality pair of gaming headphones.

[Komrade]

Originally posted by jumbograpes:

This is sorta killing my first time experience of owning a good quality pair of gaming headphones.

quality pair of headphones :/

But, if it was only connected via the PC, it's fine, no need to worry.

[Cereal Milk]

Originally posted by christmaS:

Originally posted by jumbograpes:

This is sorta killing my first time experience of owning a good quality pair of gaming headphones.

quality pair of headphones :/

But, if it was only connected via the PC, it's fine, no need to worry.

I heard that steel series made some pretty good ones and apparently the ones I got were pretty good for their price range. They were even on sale so there's that.

Anyways, how would headphones being connected via the PC prevent potential damage from what I just experienced? Just curious.

[Komrade]

Originally posted by jumbograpes:

Originally posted by christmaS:

quality pair of headphones :/

But, if it was only connected via the PC, it's fine, no need to worry.

I heard that steel series made some pretty good ones and apparently the ones I got were pretty good for their price range. They were even on sale so there's that.

Anyways, how would headphones being connected via the PC prevent potential damage from what I just experienced? Just curious.

There isn't enough voltage in the motherboard audio jack to damage the drivers, if it's plugged into an external amp that's more powerful, damage can occur for sure. I like roasting people with gaming headsets, just ignore that part

[nullable]

Originally posted by jumbograpes:

Could headphones be damaged by what just happened to me or am I just being paranoid?

If they can what are some indicators that my headphones were damage by this incident?

I just got these headphones and I'm disappointed that I'm already worried about their well-being. This is sorta killing my first time experience of owning a good quality pair of gaming headphones.

You're probably being paranoid. Simple test is, do the headphones still seem to function and sound fine? If the answer is yes, what damage are you worried about? Even if you wanted to argue some technicality, if you can't perceive a problem, is there a problem?

I mean I understand the sentiment and the worry, that expensive hardware needs to be taken care of because it's nicer. And because it's needs to be cared for that somehow translates into fragility on some level? I dunno, it's just something people tend to do. It's usually mental gymnastics though.

And the way to look at it is this; it's just noise and the headphones don't really have strong opinions about the noise they're playing. It seeming awful to you probably doesn't matter to the headphones. They can play sounds loud enough to damage your hearing and not be damaged.

And you might want to look up how hard is to destroy speakers/headphones and how QA testing is done. That would take it out of my crackpot rambling and give you some objective facts instead of opinions.

[Cereal Milk]

Originally posted by christmaS:

Originally posted by jumbograpes:

I heard that steel series made some pretty good ones and apparently the ones I got were pretty good for their price range. They were even on sale so there's that.

Anyways, how would headphones being connected via the PC prevent potential damage from what I just experienced? Just curious.

There isn't enough voltage in the motherboard audio jack to damage the drivers, if it's plugged into an external amp that's more powerful, damage can occur for sure. I like roasting people with gaming headsets, just ignore that part:taloslol:

Alright that makes sense. Reading this is definitely making some of the doubts I had go away.


lol I use to think that way too when it came to hardware such as keyboards, mice and headphones that were branded towards gamers. I could never take the hardware seriously due to how they always seemed over-stylized.

These headphones however, don't give me that impression, they just seem like a good pair of headphones.

[Komrade]

Originally posted by jumbograpes:

Originally posted by christmaS:

There isn't enough voltage in the motherboard audio jack to damage the drivers, if it's plugged into an external amp that's more powerful, damage can occur for sure. I like roasting people with gaming headsets, just ignore that part

Alright that makes sense. Reading this is definitely making some of the doubts I had go away.


lol I use to think that way too when it came to hardware such as keyboards, mice and headphones that were branded towards gamers. I could never take the hardware seriously due to how they always seemed over-stylized.

These headphones however, don't give me that impression, they just seem like a good pair of headphones.

Keyboard and mice branded towards gamers are actually what you should buy for gaming, as mechanical is big advantage over membrane and gaming mice have better sensors. Headphones however, if sound quality is a priority stick to regular ones.

[Cereal Milk]

Originally posted by Brockenstein:

Originally posted by jumbograpes:

Could headphones be damaged by what just happened to me or am I just being paranoid?

If they can what are some indicators that my headphones were damage by this incident?

I just got these headphones and I'm disappointed that I'm already worried about their well-being. This is sorta killing my first time experience of owning a good quality pair of gaming headphones.

You're probably being paranoid. Simple test is, do the headphones still seem to function and sound fine? If the answer is yes, what damage are you worried about? Even if you wanted to argue some technicality, if you can't perceive a problem, is there a problem?

I mean I understand the sentiment and the worry, that expensive hardware needs to be taken care of because it's nicer. And because it's needs to be cared for that somehow translates into fragility on some level? I dunno, it's just something people tend to do. It's usually mental gymnastics though.

And the way to look at it is this; it's just noise and the headphones don't really have strong opinions about the noise they're playing. It seeming awful to you probably doesn't matter to the headphones. They can play sounds loud enough to damage your hearing and not be damaged.

And you might want to look up how hard is to destroy speakers/headphones and how QA testing is done. That would take it out of my crackpot rambling and give you some objective facts instead of opinions.

I probably am being a bit too paranoid haha. I tend to be alot more careful when it comes to hardware like this.

The headphones do sound pretty fine as is. The only time I hear static is when i'm changing the volume on Youtube with the in video slider or when I change to another video without pausing the one i'm currently watching.

When I change the volume using the slider built into the headphones there is no static to be heard.

Thank your comment , l appreciated you sharing your logic and reasoning.

[Komrade]

Also make sure the headphones are plugged in the rear of the PC, not the front. The front i/o isn't shielded and can cause noise interference.

[Cereal Milk]

Originally posted by christmaS:

Also make sure the headphones are plugged in the rear of the PC, not the front. The front i/o isn't shielded and can cause noise interference.

Thanks for the concern, these headphones have always been plugged into the rear of my PC via the motherboard.

Also on that topic, I forgot to mention that these headphones are plugged in via USB. Would that be a concern since a USB might draw more voltage than a audio jack port?

[Komrade]

Originally posted by jumbograpes:

Originally posted by christmaS:

Also make sure the headphones are plugged in the rear of the PC, not the front. The front i/o isn't shielded and can cause noise interference.

Thanks for the concern, these headphones have always been plugged into the rear of my PC via the motherboard.

Also on that topic, i forgot to mention that these headphones are plugged in via USB. Would that be a concern since a USB might draw more voltage than a audio jack port?

Nah, you're still good. USB will use the headset's own built in DAC, and not the motherboard, USB to power them.

[Cereal Milk]

Originally posted by christmaS:

Originally posted by jumbograpes:

Thanks for the concern, these headphones have always been plugged into the rear of my PC via the motherboard.

Also on that topic, i forgot to mention that these headphones are plugged in via USB. Would that be a concern since a USB might draw more voltage than a audio jack port?

Nah, you're still good. USB will use the headset's own built in DAC, and not the motherboard, USB to power them.

Thanks again man