Headphone random conversation

[neogunhero]

Proprietary and flimsy? Why the heck would you make a proprietary headphone cable when they have been standardized for years?

Corporate greed probably. You must use our proprietary connectors, but we'll stop officially making them only years after the headset comes out. Makes no sense.

It's a great headset for gaming, I think audio is very clear, bass and treble are both crisp and punchy, it's extremely comfortable, but stuff like this upsets me. Just use a normal aux cable.

 

[Colif]

Proprietary and flimsy? Why the heck would you make a proprietary headphone cable when they have been standardized for years?

Especially if you don't sell the replacements yourself, or stop selling them.

Shame Hart Audio cables don't make replacement cables.

They not only ones who make hard to replace cables. Some headphones need deeper insertion, or they lock into place

The HyperX Cloud 3 S Wireless is the headset I may buy one day, highly recommended... though the cable thing is a worry I guess. Not if they are wireless lol... hmm. I almost bought them 2 weeks ago, when I didn't know what I wanted to buy next and needed something for Xmas gifts from family...

 

[Zed Clampet]

Corporate greed probably. You must use our proprietary connectors, but we'll stop officially making them only years after the headset comes out. Makes no sense.

It's a great headset for gaming, I think audio is very clear, bass and treble are both crisp and punchy, it's extremely comfortable, but stuff like this upsets me. Just use a normal aux cable.

@Colif

Before I tell my story about HyperX cables, I just looked at Amazon to see which HyperX that we'd had, and the HyperX Cloud II is on sale for $46, and the Cloud III is currently $62. I don't know the difference between these and the alpha, but AI says:

The HyperX Cloud Alpha excels in build quality and neutral, precise sound, while the HyperX Cloud III offers modern features like DTS Spatial Audio, USB-C connectivity, and a stronger microphone. If you value durability and balanced audio, Alpha is better; if you want immersive surround sound and app-based customization, Cloud III wins.

At least yours had a detachable cable. I got my son a headset from them, the HyperX Cloud II, and the cable wasn't detachable. What is weird is that I bought two of them, the other one was for my daughter, and it did have a detachable cable.

Naturally, my son's cable messed up 7 months later (I'm looking at my Amazon orders page, and that was when I got him a new headset. This was in 2021). I got him a wireless version.

 

[neogunhero]

@Zed Clampet The detachable cable is a must for me. I can't tell you how many times I've bought headsets with extremely long cables just for me to end up accidentally running them over. Or in the case of my current cable, they just become frayed inside over time and stop working.

I am seeing some cracks around the connectors where the cups and headband meet. I should use some adhesive to hold them together longer. I'm treating these headphones like they're the last I'll ever buy. I've replaced the earcups with nice fabric padded ones and the headband has zipper cover over it. I've had these for about 5 or 6 years now and I hope to get at least a few more years out of them.

 

[Zed Clampet]

@Zed Clampet The detachable cable is a must for me. I can't tell you how many times I've bought headsets with extremely long cables just for me to end up accidentally running them over. Or in the case of my current cable, they just become frayed inside over time and stop working.

I am seeing some cracks around the connectors where the cups and headband meet. I should use some adhesive to hold them together longer. I'm treating these headphones like they're the last I'll ever buy. I've replaced the earcups with nice fabric padded ones and the headband has zipper cover over it. I've had these for about 5 or 6 years now and I hope to get at least a few more years out of them.

Um, this is the headphone thread. You have to buy at least half-a-dozen headsets a year to post here.

I used to have a serious headphone problem (like I have a game problem now), and I couldn't guess how many headphones I have. I've only bought one this year, though, so I'm getting better.

 

[neogunhero]

Um, this is the headphone thread. You have to buy at least half-a-dozen headsets a year to post here.

I used to have a serious headphone problem (like I have a game problem now), and I couldn't guess how many headphones I have. I've only bought one this year, though, so I'm getting better.

I've had a lot over the years but anymore these days I'm starting to have a "if it ain't broke, don't fix it, and if it is broke, fix it before replacing" type of mindset.

One brand that I used to buy a lot that seemingly isn't around anymore is Plantronics Gamecom headphones. I don't know why but I really liked them as a kid. I don't remember the exact ones I've had, but I remember one had a button on the left earcup to active "digital surround sound" or something that wasn't true surround. At the time I didn't know much better and thought it made games sound so much better, these days it's probably similar to what Windows Sonic is. It was completely unique to me back then. I was really obsessed with video game audio, so playing BF3 with that surround sound mode and War Tapes enabled in game sounded like I was standing in the middle of the war.

Over the years I'm less interested in achieving the highest end audio. If it's good enough then that's fine to me. As long as it sounds crisp and the EQ sounds balanced then that's perfect for me. I don't like too much bass or too much treble, only when listening to music but I usually set a custom EQ for my audio player. What I like the most out of everything with the Cloud Alpha is the build quality, it seems super sturdy for gaming headphones. Lots of metal, minimal plastic, I really like that.

 

[neogunhero]

https://www.newegg.com/black-plantronics-gamecom-780/p/0TH-000R-00020?srsltid=AfmBOooswCdzy8zz65CtBODpBie8EZq0S5TyNVGdbr2qdFvRDBVbAGwR

Plantronics GameCom 780. These were my favorites back in around 2012.

That little button there to turn on the surround sound, amazing. Unlike anything I've ever used at the time.

 

[neogunhero]

Coming up 7 years, geez.

 

[Zed Clampet]

https://www.newegg.com/black-plantronics-gamecom-780/p/0TH-000R-00020?srsltid=AfmBOooswCdzy8zz65CtBODpBie8EZq0S5TyNVGdbr2qdFvRDBVbAGwR

Plantronics GameCom 780. These were my favorites back in around 2012.

That little button there to turn on the surround sound, amazing. Unlike anything I've ever used at the time.

They need to really refocus their efforts on gamers, because AI customer service agents don't need headsets. I called Walmart customer service the other day, and I got, "Hi! This is Jennifer, an AI, what can I do for you today?" and she actually did what I needed her to do. Pretty soon there won't be human staffed call centers.

The whole thing was a little surreal. She sounded as natural as a person. I would have never guessed she was an AI.

 

[neogunhero]

They need to really refocus their efforts on gamers, because AI customer service agents don't need headsets. I called Walmart customer service the other day, and I got, "Hi! This is Jennifer, an AI, what can I do for you today?" and she actually did what I needed her to do. Pretty soon there won't be human staffed call centers.

The whole thing was a little surreal. She sounded as natural as a person. I would have never guessed she was an AI.

One look at their website and yeah, they're not going to last much longer if the only products they sell are enterprise comms devices. Their design is very outdated too, if you showed me photos of their products without me knowing them I would have thought they were all released back in 2010. They were never very popular for gaming peripherals, for some reason my local shop at that time had them in stock. Something about the fabric earcups and that surround sound button really showed me how important a nice set of headphones are, even if those themselves weren't all that great.

Customer service representatives are listed as some of the most vulnerable positions to be taken over by AI. It just makes sense as most of them are just there to reroute your call to someone who actually knows some stuff anyways. I've worked those positions before and you really aren't required to know much, most of the time you're scanning some informational resource wiki to find a solution to their problem. If it's too much for you to handle, reroute to someone who's more knowledgeable. This is stuff AI could easily do.

 

[Colif]

Before I tell my story about HyperX cables, I just looked at Amazon to see which HyperX that we'd had, and the HyperX Cloud II is on sale for $46, and the Cloud III is currently $62. I don't know the difference between these and the alpha, but AI says:

reason those are on sale is because there is a new one... the S model.

Below is an audiophile channel, they generally don't cover headsets. This was good enough to catch their attention. That review caught my attention.

You have to buy at least half-a-dozen headsets a year to post here

Seems I broken that rule already... so far no headsets and thread 3 years old.

IEM: I was slack this year, only one IEM. I don't have any idea what next one would be.
Over ear: I have more than I use... I don't see need to buy any more right now.