5.1 Surround Sound Headset questions

[jbubrisk]

Has anyone ever used any of the following, and can comment on their performance, ease of use etc? Comparison between these 3 would be awesome!

Medusa 5.1 Home Edition
Turtle Beach HPA2
Tritton AXPC

Also, are any of these "around the ear" headsets? I like the ones that don't actually sit on my ear, but around it.

Thanks,
John

 

[potato28]

Junk. Save and buy a good pair of stereo headphones, like the A-500's, HD-555's or DT-770's.

 

[jbubrisk]

CPU Magazine just had a review of these sets... and they don't seem to call them junk. Have you used one of these, or are you just guessing?

I think CPU magazine is a VERY reputable source on reviews and other tech info.

Scores in CPU Mag:
4.5 = Medusa 5.1 Home Edition
4.5 = Turtle Beach HPA2
4.0 = Tritton AXPC

 

[thecoolnessrune]

If I wanted 5.1 sound, I'd just get a home theatre system. I only have 2 ears.. Why do I need 5 speakers aimed right at them? Spatial algorithms in current games do more than enough to have your surroundings in modern games.

On the other hand, Digital out to home theatre + 5.1 enabled in game > *

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: jbubrisk
CPU Magazine just had a review of these sets... and they don't seem to call them junk. Have you used one of these, or are you just guessing?

I think CPU magazine is a VERY reputable source on reviews and other tech info.

Scores in CPU Mag:
4.5 = Medusa 5.1 Home Edition
4.5 = Turtle Beach HPA2
4.0 = Tritton AXPC

HeadFi is the place to go for headphone info.

Search for "surround" in the headphone area and read up.

Here's an example thread
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/...es-really-work-163428/

Short version:

The sound quality on a 5.1 set is not going to be as good as a regular stereo headphone set

The drivers are so close to your ears and only firing at one ear at a time (vs. two ears we use to localize sound in reality)

You can get effective simulation of 5.1 using surround processing to a regular set of stereo headphones

 

[montypythizzle]

HD485 and Zalman Clip-on mic FTW!!!