Thoughts on NewQ 3379 equalizer thingy? Update: here's mine:)

[Jeff7]

I'm now considering getting one of these for my computer. How are they in terms of audio quality, usability, etc?


Edited to reflect the model that supports 4 speakers.



*added*
Just got it today. Installation went very easily - once I found the friggin drive rails for my case. That took about 4 hours. But once they were on, the thing slid right in. It has a daughtercard for all the connections, which is well-labeled. It includes small 3.5mm patch cables too; sound card output to daughtercard input, daughtercard output to speakers. Nice and simple. The daughtercard has 2 cables that go to the main unit - a ribbon cable for most of the interface, and one for the built-in FM radio. And there's a standard power connector on the main unit too. There's even a split-end antenna to connect to the daughtercard for better radio reception.
Usage: Lots of features; equalizers, different display patterns, different modes. It has options for adding reverb too - 5 presets. There's 2 extra presets for surround effects. The manual is pretty good at explaining how to use it. It has a nice thin remote too - lithium coin battery (CR2025) is included too. And you can do everything with the remote that you can do with the main unit itself.
My only complaint about the equalizer is that it's not one of those 7-band type things. It has a few equalizer presets - Rock, Pop, Classical, Norm. You can then change the Bass, Treble, Fade, and Balance on top of that then. Rock with Bas+10 really makes for some serious bass. Bas-10 and Norm will make it so that you can hear music, and not upset anyone else in the next room.
There's also a mic jack and a headphone jack on the front of the drive bay unit.
And it just plain looks cool with the lit vacuum display, with chrome and metallic blue buttons.

 

[watdahel]

They certainly look nice, but for the price, I'd rather get a Hercules GameTheather XP soundcard or and Audigy.

 

[Jeff7]

I know; I want it for looks and for the easy adjustability, rather than exiting a game to adjust the equalizer settings. Anyone here have one already? What do you think of it?

 

[Kali157]

Just bought one... the New Q e-Platinum(the external rack thing). Why? Cuz it looked really sweet... well that was the originally thought. I have a Hercules Theater XP and Logitech 560z. I got the external rack and not the internal one b/c my case sits on the floor and whats the use of the tight display if its on the floor? so here are the pros:
1. looks GOOD
2. Radio... it actually works well (thought it was gonna be crap).. now u can have radio stations through your great pc speakers.
3. it eliminated a Logitech 560z problem... if u have these, you will notice that at low volumes, sound comes out stronger from the left speakers than the right. This eventually evens out as the system gets louder, but it is annoying when u are just playing background music while studying. Well, this thing evens mine out.... I really dont know why, but it does. I have tried to balance t out on in the software of the GTXP but it never really worked. Hell, worst case senario if yours dont balance out, it has a balance thing inside.
4. It looks GOOD
5. I got it for $79 at Comp USA yesterday and it had a $20 rebate on the box (u send it somewhere in California... near me... so not somewhere in Korea where the product was made). So final price... $59.... oh, and try to find a friend that works at CompUSA... got me a discount too... hee hee...
6. It makes sound come clearer... i know that was not a professional statement... cuz i dont claim to be a professional sound guy... but try it out... it sounds 15% better to me. that aint much but ti is something. Hell if i noticed it, what mroe to dicerning ears... maybe... oh just trry it
7. it has all the cables u need
8. it doesnt require installation or software or any other crap... it cleans the sound outside the pc.
9. REMOTE... it has a cool remote.

now the cons:
1. its a little expensive for some.
2. all these were marked as clearnace in Comp USA... so they may not carry these in stock anymore soon.
3. it has this "special function" that auto mutes the damn thing after 1 min of no sound coming in.... then after an hour of auto mute it will shut down.... and there is no way to turn this off. Now this does not really bother me, but some people online have had problems with this thing turning off while playing music low. Honestly, I have been playing music low for a while not and i have not had this thing mute on me. So why amd i saying it? Well, just giving u a heads up on other peoples potential problem.... oh by the by, whens thing goes on sleep mode or even shuts off and u play music again, it turns back on...

I do suggest getting the platinum one, not the gold, just cuz the price isnt too far off and the newer one is better in the looks department. if you wanna see how it looks like go to newegg.com and look for this... they have pretty good pics.
So does it make ure sound waaaaay better? No... it improved it for me a little but try it to see if my improvement is for you. Should u get it? it was worth the price for me, (walked out with it for $62 something with my friend's discount... then i am mailing the rebate in). .... KNow what, get it ... why not? like the company's motto : you have it, they dont

Hope this helps

oh check out their site at newq.com

 

[Jeff7]

Cons 1 and 2 aren't a problem now. But 3 might be. I hate things that have auto-shutdown functions that can't be disabled. Does anyone know if this is the same with all of NewQ's equalizers?

 

[Kali157]

Well, the auto mute thing, it kinda helps actually. If I leave my comp on 75%, you can hear a small hiss... small, but noticable if u are near the damn speaker. When it mutes, this goes away. Also, when u play music again, it disables the mute by itself... there is no lag. As for the shut off after an hour... well if i am not putting sound through for a whole hour, then I stopped listening already... But it is annoying that they dont give u full control of that.

As for which models have them, I know both Platinum series (internal and external racks) have them, but dunno about the Gold series. good luck.
Also, I think the gold seriese is only compatible with a 2 channel sound card... well, i suggest looking it up.

Oh one more con i thought of... documentation. It sucks. well its very limited, lets say that. I had to go online to other reviews to see what the different features did.

BUt over all, after 4 days of having the unit, I am happy with it..... My computer looks like a car receiver

 

[Jeff7]

Ok, thanks; guess the auto-mute thing won't be so bad then. And thanks for bringing that 4-speaker matter to my attention. I have 4 speakers and a subwoofer and a soundcard to support it; would make sense for the equalizer to support them.


Oh, and maybe you can tell me the difference between the 3379 and the 3379E models; they seem to be the same thing.


Sigh, ok, so I was stupid on that count. Maybe, just MAYBE that "E" means External....

 

[Kali157]

yup... you got it... "e" is for external. I got the extrenal b/c one, CompUSA didnt have the internal (and the external was waaaaaaaay lower than prices of internal or external drives on the net), and two, it looks sweet, and my tower is on the floor... it would be a waste to have this on the floor.... it sits on top of my left awia shelf speakers (my center channel... i have one speaker on either side of my monitor).

 

[Jeff7]

Ok, well, guess I'll get the Internal 3379 Platinum model from Newegg; they have it for $86 plus $6 shipping.

 

[Jeff7]

Review added.

 

[VTBigBear]

nice review...

you should do that for some places.. seems to be well written



btw my newQ looks great also~~

 

[Jeff7]

My writing has earned me an accusation of plagiarism in my college English class already.