in-ear stuff is generally worse imo (and prolly factually as well), because the sound is too close to your eardrums and might cause some sort of damage. plus teh sound quality doesnt seem as high, and you cant cancel out noise as well.

with actual headphones, you can have different types. there are ones that cover your ear and cancel out all other noise (theyre the best, so theyre more expensive generally), and there are ones that just rest on your ears. different grades of each one too. i prefer actual headphones because the sound quality seems higher, theyre more comfortable, easier to use (put on and take off), and seem "safer" in that theyre not all up in your ear, bursting your eardrums. i would vote for actual headphones over earphones.

i dont think earphones actually cause pain though. theyre just uncomfortable. some people like having stuff an inch inside their head, but i dont. try shoving a q-tip an inch and a half into your ear to see what theyll feel like... not very pleasant, but it wouldnt hurt.

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dix

been there, done that

Never buy in-ear headphones when you can use open\closed ones in the same situations, they're plain better quality wise and most importantly, do not make your ears hurt as soon. Only real use for them when gaming is probably when you're at a noisy tournament, putting them under big, sound canceling headphones.

in ear are far more comfortable for me than on/over ear headphones. theyre lighter too. and as for sound quality you dont need high quality headphones for quake. if you want headphones just for ql then you should get some in ear headphones. theyre probably cheaper and actually noise cancel too

the quality isnt as high unless you buy more expensive ones. $10 headphones > $10 earphones. they cancel out sound better, and the quality is usually higher. i guess comfort is more personal taste, but earphones are generally more uncomfortable. unless theyre some sort of specially designed ones...

Personal Preference
/Thread

Someone needs to make a website that answers all these 'What's the Best ....' threads on every gaming forum.

which is not what I'm asking for...

it's all preference like others are saying.

i'm partial to in-ear.

i use in-ears for comfort, sounds just as good as my old sennheiser earphones apart from less bass

in-ear + regular to isolate the sound

You dont need to do this unless you live in a war zone.

to play in a LAN is needed...

so you playing ql on lan, really?

everyone can tbh

that wasn't my question... are you playing ql on lan or why are you recommending a strictly lan-only setup to someone?

why shouldn't I?

'cos 99% of all people won't (be able to) play ql in a noisy lan environment, why recommend them something whose sole purpose is being able to play there?

there are (far) better options when playing at home.

they won't? lol why?
most gamers go to a lan (even if it's a small one) from time to time, not everyone likes to stay home all year playing mate! :D

what are you talking about?

how are 'most gamers' gonna be able to play ql on lan 'from time to time'?

hope you're just trolling me :<

wtf lol
even in portugal there's a couple of lans each week, minor lans ofc, but there's always ppl there

quakelive on lan?

read again. get it now?

if not, explain to me how those minor portugese lans manage to setup a ql lan server.

i'm talking about gaming in general... :/
but you can make lan servers, with the old quakelive version, guess everyone knows that already, there were even a few quakelive non-official online servers around europe

I run around with a bluetooth earpiece all day long at work for telephone, but id not like to game with it.
Quality seems much lower on the earpieces i've tried, and also not having something an inch inside your head is more comfy :>

If you will only play QL multi, there's not that much difference. However, if you also want to listen to music with the same setup..

Open headset for best quality when noise (both external noise coming in and flooding the room with your own sounds) is not an issue.

Closed headset for good quality when noise is slightly an issue.

In-ears with a closed headset for when you need to play in a wind tunnel/next to a machinegun range.

The sound spatialization is way harder to get with in ears. And if you play team modes on vent, you'll hear yourself talking with the in ears - which is a bit disturbing. (like you hear yourself breathing, or your footsteps when you walk with them etc). Every vibration on the ground will be transmitted too, like somebody moving his chair (had a horrible lan due to that :D)
I'm using a hd555 @ home and jays d-jays @ lan.

Anyway, don't buy siberias but something from a good audio brand, that isn't marketed for gaming.

Search the forum for headphones advises, there are a lot. (Both in opened and closed headphones)

I've always bought sennheiser. Tried various models, the one i've been using for the longest is Sennheiser HD457 they are just lovely <3

I don't like that kind since they're resting on the ears, that's not really comfy to wear.
Next ones I buy should be the Audio Technica ATH A-900, but that's another budget.

I have the AD700's and they are literally the COMFIEST headphones I have ever worn. You'll love it.

Those are opened headphones and still you played at lan with ? :/

Yep! :F Didn't use them on the stage though, had the 600euro ESL headphones! To be fair it's not like sound is that important until finals and those are usually quieter.

1. Never make an interest check thread without mentioning your budget.

2. In-ear-monitors are the chosen method of differentiating between sound quality. Their biggest advantage is portability and you'll hardly ever see people carrying around the Supra-aural headsets with their mp3 players.

3. It's a myth that the sound quality is bad and that they don't give you noise isolation. Don't go for skullcandy or some stupid brands. Ultimate Ears Triple Fi 10 Pro, Klipsch Image S4i, Creative EP 630, EP 830, Sound Magic PL30, PL50, PL11, nuforce NE6m/7m are some of the best names among the IEM lovers.

4. Low cost IEM's would include the Klipsch Image S2, Sennheiser CX300, Denon AH-C360 and Etymotic ER6i.

Good IEM's would include the Jerry Harvey JH5's and JH5 Pro. The list is endless.

You first have to decide whether you want supra aural or circum aural headphones or IEMs.

Edit: They're comfortable and most of the IEMs come with 3 pairs of earbud attachments. Use the ones you find the most comfy.

in ear monitors? you mean like my 20" CRT monitor, because that would be really damn uncomfortable

I've used in ear for years (cause i can't decide on open ear headphones and money issues)

It cancels out the noise very well. I seriously can't hear when people are talking next to me. I also don't feel any pain or discomfort when wearing em. I wear them ALL day. Mine sound great, but i could do better.

Totally agreed. I've used IEM's for years now and keep upgrading to better brands each year, plus they're so comfy.

For open ear headphones, I'd suggest nothing but the Grado SR60i or SR80i. They're specifically good if you're into rock/metal or any of their sub genres. Another worthy mention is the Koss PortaPro (not to be confused with the lower end Sporta Pro). Sennheiser PX100 could also be on your to-do list :)

Klipsch Image S4 in-ear headphones is the best thing i ever bought, then lost, then bought another pair. Music quality and base is so good I could not compare it to any open headset's i've owned before. It will transform your music.Isolation is SO good it fully cancels a crying baby by Boeing 747 engine.

Simply amazing product, and cheap for it's quality/brand.

Haven't tried quaking in it. Since it's full contact in-ear buds you can hear all wire frictions. But i imagine they can take my quake sound to another level as well. Gotta try.

having used a £30 pair of sony IEM's and Senn CX300 & 400's (physical quality was awful on the 400's) - i have just upgraded to a set of ultimate ears superfi 4's - while not top line they are pretty decent a definately a step beyond those listed above, sound great on mp3 player...

However i only use these on the move, my sony v600's i use at home still piss all over these (personal taste of course) - dispite now being a good few years old, am looking for reseller to get another pair 4 years on from buying my original set

http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?q=so...CgQ8wIwAg#

Like I said, the list is endless and not everyone has the same set of ears. Anyone who's pampered him/herself with studio grade monitors wouldn't bother much with IEM's.

in-ears = no valuable microphone

i am a fan of aviation headsets :)

Many IEM's have in-built microphones. For example, the Nuforce NE7M.

and they suck.

whats these IEMs your talking about? would like to have a look, im using sennheiser cx300's atm

In ear headphones are actually called In-ear monitors. Just terminology and nothing fancy.

Here's a JH5 (Jerry Harvey 5) that costs $400. For those who don't know, Jerry Harvey was the audio engineer for the famous band Van Halen and also did mixing and audio set-up for Kiss, Morrissey, the Cult and David Lee Roth. The isolation is simply outstanding and so is the soundstage.

IEMs are placed directly inside the ear canal, while some in-ear headphones (earbuds) are placed outside the canal, merely providing a cover, which means less protection from outside noise.

in-ear monitor != in-ear headphone

Sound engineers at apple don't know what they're talking about, but you do.

http://www.apple.com/ipod/in-ear-headphones/

The term itself is an oxymoron - in-ear - HEADPHONES!!! They're therefore called in-ear monitors because they're worn differently from the regular earbuds. The conventional ones are called earbuds and anything in-ear is a monitor. End of story.

In-ear headphones is a general term encompassing _both_ earbuds and IEMs, and are used as a general term to differentiate between in-ear and aural devices.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headphones#Types_of_headphones

Just because group B is a subset of group A, does not follow that B is the same thing as A.

Your source of information is as ridiculous as your argument. But let's put an end to it anyway.

http://www.nuforce.com/hp/products/ne7m/index.php

The CX300 is an IEM as well :)