- Nov 18, 2005
- 28,799
- 359
- 126
A+++++ would buy again.
So I was looking for a good headset (w/mic), and stumbled upon this while researching what was out there. Dug up some reviews, determined it at least was accepted well, and seemed to fit what I was looking for... problem was, it covered my needs and offered way more than I needed.
Then I contemplated the reviews some more, and specifically looked further into the 7.1 Surround Sound feature.
Because in the end, I'm satisfied with my Sennheiser cans.
and yet...
The 7.1 is amazing. It is definitely better to use virtualization processing in this case Dolby Headphones, and Dolby provided assistance with the software or engineering or something, unless that was BS... but I don't care, because it is Dolby Headphones versus using separate drivers in the headphones. It doesn't work right.
The 7.1 sounds amazing in racing games (iRacing and Shift 2 Unleashed), haven't tested in other games yet. I imagine some will sound better in stereo, but regardless, this will definitely be used for all gaming, the experience feels richer in that regard. Plus the easy capability to use voice is nice.
And for gaming, and multimedia roles in general, it's nice to use. The left-ear controls are easy to feel for, with quick switch between stereo and surround processing, volume scroll/wheel, mute button, and 3 keys that can be assigned different tasks in the control panel.
Music recorded in a surround format, and played in surround, is a treat (I used Pink Floyd's Animals in .dts format, and is in 5.1 surround). Like the handful of games that might be a problem (a few reviews mentioned specific examples), I expect some music just won't get translated well when processed into surround. I have listened to some different mp3s and enjoyed the soundstage in surround. In stereo, most music seems to be lacking somewhere. I can't tell where, which is weird. Those same racing games had a good sound in the stereo mode, and both types of media sounded full and complete in surround. It'll ultimately be up to personal preferences, but I think if I had the mindset to listen to stereo audio in true stereo, I'll default to my Sennheisers. I'll have to try videos with a 5.1 track. I'd imagine a user intent on listening to stereo material only would likely be more satisfied with standard cans for stereo media playback only.
The mic seemed to have a good sound quality when doing basic testing in WavePad, and is easily manipulated with a flexibility that seems to suggest long-term durability no matter how much you alter the position of the mic.
Build quality feels slightly flimsy in the hands, but that both remains to be seen and also appears to be a strange illusion. Instead of flimsy, I might rather say loose. And this almost seems to be a good thing. It sights light and comfortable, and has three swappable pads that sit on the top of the skull so you can adjust for comfort of the main band. But I can wear this and game and talk comfortable, for awhile. The looseness gives it a good amount of self-adjustment capability as it sits on your head and will settle again comfortably if you adjust it slightly. If it's not sitting right, the ear pads might bother you a little, as the foam surrounds don't provide a large amount of hollow space. But you still won't know it until you've been wearing it awhile, so it definitely has a nice comfortability level I really like.
Now, there are only a few minor negatives. They might not be so minor for some, but I don't even have a gripe with them.
The processing is entirely software, and this headset is a USB device. After installing the software, the headset becomes an audio device. I've actually set the headset as default device, so when it is plugged in, it gets the audio without me having to fuss with anything; my speakers are the default when the first default is absent.
This headset will never interact with your soundcard audio, some might prefer to utilize their soundcard for their headphones and mic.
In short, if you feel like it is what you are looking for, then it probably is what you are looking for. It does what it is supposed to do very well. In the majority of uses, the surround sound is very enjoyable, and it's comfortable. It's a little pricey but it's not you're standard headset. On that note, it's also very good at blocking most noise from the outside world. That might be something that some people do not want, so keep that in mind if all else still sounds like a good deal.
So I was looking for a good headset (w/mic), and stumbled upon this while researching what was out there. Dug up some reviews, determined it at least was accepted well, and seemed to fit what I was looking for... problem was, it covered my needs and offered way more than I needed.
Then I contemplated the reviews some more, and specifically looked further into the 7.1 Surround Sound feature.
Because in the end, I'm satisfied with my Sennheiser cans.
and yet...
The 7.1 is amazing. It is definitely better to use virtualization processing in this case Dolby Headphones, and Dolby provided assistance with the software or engineering or something, unless that was BS... but I don't care, because it is Dolby Headphones versus using separate drivers in the headphones. It doesn't work right.
The 7.1 sounds amazing in racing games (iRacing and Shift 2 Unleashed), haven't tested in other games yet. I imagine some will sound better in stereo, but regardless, this will definitely be used for all gaming, the experience feels richer in that regard. Plus the easy capability to use voice is nice.
And for gaming, and multimedia roles in general, it's nice to use. The left-ear controls are easy to feel for, with quick switch between stereo and surround processing, volume scroll/wheel, mute button, and 3 keys that can be assigned different tasks in the control panel.
Music recorded in a surround format, and played in surround, is a treat (I used Pink Floyd's Animals in .dts format, and is in 5.1 surround). Like the handful of games that might be a problem (a few reviews mentioned specific examples), I expect some music just won't get translated well when processed into surround. I have listened to some different mp3s and enjoyed the soundstage in surround. In stereo, most music seems to be lacking somewhere. I can't tell where, which is weird. Those same racing games had a good sound in the stereo mode, and both types of media sounded full and complete in surround. It'll ultimately be up to personal preferences, but I think if I had the mindset to listen to stereo audio in true stereo, I'll default to my Sennheisers. I'll have to try videos with a 5.1 track. I'd imagine a user intent on listening to stereo material only would likely be more satisfied with standard cans for stereo media playback only.
The mic seemed to have a good sound quality when doing basic testing in WavePad, and is easily manipulated with a flexibility that seems to suggest long-term durability no matter how much you alter the position of the mic.
Build quality feels slightly flimsy in the hands, but that both remains to be seen and also appears to be a strange illusion. Instead of flimsy, I might rather say loose. And this almost seems to be a good thing. It sights light and comfortable, and has three swappable pads that sit on the top of the skull so you can adjust for comfort of the main band. But I can wear this and game and talk comfortable, for awhile. The looseness gives it a good amount of self-adjustment capability as it sits on your head and will settle again comfortably if you adjust it slightly. If it's not sitting right, the ear pads might bother you a little, as the foam surrounds don't provide a large amount of hollow space. But you still won't know it until you've been wearing it awhile, so it definitely has a nice comfortability level I really like.
Now, there are only a few minor negatives. They might not be so minor for some, but I don't even have a gripe with them.
The processing is entirely software, and this headset is a USB device. After installing the software, the headset becomes an audio device. I've actually set the headset as default device, so when it is plugged in, it gets the audio without me having to fuss with anything; my speakers are the default when the first default is absent.
This headset will never interact with your soundcard audio, some might prefer to utilize their soundcard for their headphones and mic.
In short, if you feel like it is what you are looking for, then it probably is what you are looking for. It does what it is supposed to do very well. In the majority of uses, the surround sound is very enjoyable, and it's comfortable. It's a little pricey but it's not you're standard headset. On that note, it's also very good at blocking most noise from the outside world. That might be something that some people do not want, so keep that in mind if all else still sounds like a good deal.
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