Using headphones while racing

Sarkazmo
Grado SR80e are open back so they don't isolate as well as a closed back but the soundstage is huge making it very easy to tell where other cars are without looking plus I can still hear my partner if she needs my attention.
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+1 on the Grados. I had a pair of these for listening to music and they sounded great. Comfortable too.
 
I use a pair of Hyper X headphones for gaming, but only for the sake of convenience.

Any chance I get (i.e. when the Mrs. is gone), I use the sound system, mainly for the vibrations from the sub woofer. It is extremely rare that I get to play video games like this though.

I don't find myself being any faster/slower, or more/less locked in with either one.
 
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Rinsky
I have the same pair and really like them. It's definitely a better experience with them on compared to coming through my surround sound.
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Hmmm.
Never tried headphones... I've got a fairly nice 7.1 system... might have to try headphones... would likely make the Missus happy..

marcvic
I use a pair of Hyper X headphones for gaming, but only for the sake of convenience.

Any chance I get (i.e. when the Mrs. is gone), I use the sound system, mainly for the for vibrations from the sub woofer. It is extremely rare that I get to play video games like this though.

I don't find myself being any faster/slower, or more/less locked in with either one.
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and, you posted while I was typing... maybe I'll leave well enough alone...
99% of the time I play is at home alone... volume is typically not an issue...
Missus gets home from work and I either shut downt, or finish up that particular event then shut down.
 
banckzy
I use my wireless beats X the other day but found the sound to be quite muffled???
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That's Beats for ya. One of my other hobbies is headphones and stereos. I have 8 headphones currently. 3 headphone amps. Three turntables. CD player. iPods. Speakers. Tube amps. Other stuff, too. Beats just absolutely did nothing for me.
 
I use my headphones to literally get a better feel on the wheel and pedals...as a side effect of the wife not beating me about the head and yelling at me to turn down the racket while she or the kids are trying to sleep. :rolleyes:
 
I race with headphones so I don't annoy my wife. I was plugging them into my Sony Playstation 3D Monitor but it has a habit of blacking out for a few seconds every time that I play. So I bought a cheap DAC from Amazon and connected it to the optical out of the PS4 and switched to an Acer monitor that I have. So far it is working fine.
 
Sarkazmo
TV sound lag? Even with an HDMI Splitter in line I don't experience this, is it an issue with your TV or the HDMI cable or what?

Sark
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I have a very basic Samsung 4K TV. There’s a setting to correct it in the menu but it’s still far from perfect!
 
One of my hobbies is electronic music production so I already have nearfield studio monitors (speakers, not displays) on my rig, and I feed these via a DAC/Preamp which is connected to the optical out on the PS4 Pro. Works great.

I don't disturb anybody else on the house as everything is in my man cave.

The only time I use headphones (or IEMs I should say) is when I use the PSVR.
 
Mr P
I got 2 sets of these a couple of years ago.. his and hers but she never uses them :P now I charge one set whilst using the other etc.. can't go back tbh headphones make the experience so much better 👍

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And I race with the background music playing when running TT hotlaps only... for a race it would be off also :cheers:
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I have those sitting on my bonce as I type. Love the virtual surround sound in GTS, you can really tell where another car is when it's right behind you.

Unfortunately a few months ago I feel asleep with them on & awoke to the right earphone swing arm being snapped off. Glued & tapped up, just can't fold them up anymore.

Yes, I always use headphones. When I go to my friends & the audio is through the TV, I struggle.
 
Headphones do improve your driving I really find because you coming out of corners you can hear your tires lose traction and/or the engine suddenly reving much faster than normal. I think it’s very helpful especially if you’re not using assists.

Having said all that, I rarely use headphones! I wear them enough playing Overwatch and other shooties :lol:
 
I use headphones all the time now, helps to zone out from all the distractions. The PlayStation (Golds? I think I have) are decent enough for gaming.

I have my Rokits for music, Beats headphones are bad, just marketed very well.
 
Glad to hear other people praise the Grado headphones, I use a pair of SR80e's myself. You can hear exactly where the cars are on your side so you don't have to use the radar. In off road you can literally hear pebbles and rocks hitting your car as the other car gains on your flank.

My audio setup runs the digital audio output (Optic Cable) to a Digital Audio Converter Box (DAC) into my vintage Rotel receiver and out to two vintage Yamaha NS30t speakers. If it's late then I run it to my Grado SR80e headphones. This keeps the audio off of my bluetooth bandwidth eliminating controller lag.
 
I use a pair of Sennheiser HD 600's plugged into the DS4 when I'm not alone.

When I have the house to myself I use a Cambridge Audio Azure 571R running in 5.1 connected to Focal 816 & 714 speakers, I've had the grumpy neighbour banging on the wall a couple of times ;)
 
coryclifford
Great choice. I have those and the 419, 595, 650, 700 and 800. 600s have the most head time with music.
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Very jealous of that collection, you definitely have good taste in headphones. I auditioned quite a few different makes before settling on The 600's. The only others I have are a pair of very old HD 450's I use when the other half "borrows" mine, very nice they are too, if not as comfortable.
 
I've tried most Audeze, most Beyers, most Grados and a lot of others at headphone meets and there's something about the Senns I prefer. And apparently I had to have a lot of them!
 
I use the Marshall Monitor V1. I initially bought it in 2014 cause I compose music.
There is a female jack 3.5mm on both ears so I can connect a simple jack cable from a side directly to the DS4 and I connect the original Marshall cable (with mic) on the other side to my phone. That way, I can ear both the game and Discord conversations using only one headset without any additional material :)

Regarding quality, Marshall=premium quality.

Hey Ed, I've finally found a way to use only one headset for our series ahah :)
 
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I tried racing today with headphones instead of my regular surround sound. I didn't notice myself any faster or gain any extra perception. But I think that's hard to judge for certain.
 
I bought a pair of new HyperX headphones yesterday. Now I can't be distracted unless you physcially touch me! :lol:

How do I put this... I'm sort of underwhelmed tbh :( I keep hearing that with headphones or some nice speakers, the bass would make the cars truly alive. But honestly that's not the case. Sure it does feel more bassy, and the roars are deeper and have more... Hmm how do I put this... they have sort of more "completeness" in the sound. PD did a really good job of creating the new engine sounds, because from what I can tell by comparing it to youtube videos the sounds are pretty damn spot on. But the thing that PD failed to capture was the "soul" of the sound. The Ferrari 458 screams, sure, but it doesn't scream. You know what I mean? :lol:

Sorry this turned into a rant of sorts about sound instead of whether or not my racing actually improved. It's more immersive for me, but having headphones doesn't really change anything pace-wise
 
Alpha Cipher
How do I put this... I'm sort of underwhelmed tbh :( I keep hearing that with headphones or some nice speakers, the bass would make the cars truly alive. But honestly that's not the case.
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Biggest problem you will find is that the soundcard within the PS4 does not have ample power to properly drive most decent headphones. Run the phones through an external amp or receiver that has the power to drive them you will see a difference.

Bass is where the power is needed, takes very little to drive the treble.
 

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