x-fi related sound oddities

[imported_Field]

Re: x-fi related sound oddities

hey i had these people on overclock.net tellin me "Field be smart and get the senheiser pc350's you will not regret it" and then i go and get them and they are bad its kind of like what am i supposed to beleive?

because i heard the virtual 5.1 on the gamecoms and THAT was what i wanted to be hearing from a headset.

[=98=]

Re: x-fi related sound oddities

If they sound right for so many people, but not you, then I suggest it probably isn't the headsets issue.

All i'm saying is don't waste your money on some gimmick ridden headset. You get much better sound quality from a 2.1. Sound positioning might be a little worse, but nothing awful.

I went from a 5.1 Speedlink Medusa to some Sennheiser HD555's. I know which one I'd much rather have.

But, buy whatever you like as I don't want to be the whipping boy if you get some and find they don't suit your tastes

[RanCorX2]

Re: x-fi related sound oddities

If you want the game to sound awesome;

crystalizer = 100%
EAX = Off
SMV = Off
CMSS-3D = Surround / 50%
EQ = Rock
Vol settings = 58% , bass 67%, treble 60%

If you have a 2.1 etc or higher = bass redirection on / 80Hz / 55%

also to fix X-Fi Hardware mode audio glitches look here, http://forums.electronicarts.co.uk/b...io-option.html

[Lolyn]

Re: x-fi related sound oddities

Yet they probably wouldn't, they'd probably be some stupid, overcharged, gimmicky things.

Just do yourself a favour and get some HD555's... seriously. Don't mess with this stupid 5.1 setup that will provide no real world benefit.

Those Tritton ones you posted above look god awful. Read some reviews, do your maths and stop being taken in by rip offs.

LOL @ the Alex anti-5.1 crusade. Actually, YOU should read some review before you pass off every 5.1 headset as a gimmick or rip-off.... You've had a medusa headset and didn't like it. Fair enough, I had one too..., in my view it was ok, although I was fully aware that because it was a CHEAP 5.1 headset, it would definitely not perform to the same quality as a similarly priced 2.1. I did help it out a lot by manually adjusting the speaker settings and positions, and I guarantee I probably got mine to sound one hell of a lot better than yours. But admittedly still, not as good as a similarly priced set of senns -don't get me wrong I'm a staunch sennheiser fan... BUT....

Went to sharkoon v3 (which is basically the tritton AXPRO) and it's an immense step up from the medusa's. Ask me if I'd go back to 2.1 and I'd run for my headset, hug them, then stick a switchblade between your eyes for daring to suggest a different world. You just have to be prepared to spend the money to get the quality. Same with anything.

Field - read reviews from people with experience. You're always going to get pillocks who offer their 2cents when they haven't even sampled the upper-echelon (the amount I found whilst I was googling through reviews of headsets was funny). However I would say that the tritton AXPro's offer little/no benefits over the sharkoons - and the sharkoons are cheaper, and you can also get the sharkoons as analogue only, without the decoder. Also, vista + xfi + USB decoder sometimes causes problems when running 2142 (due to more than one sound device in device manager). If you're just looking for something for gaming... then maybe look for a high end analogue 2.1. If you have a collection of blue ray Dolby digital movies/uber high quality music, then the decent 5.1's make their mark there.

The real world benefit with my 5.1 set up? Whenever I put on a movie to watch, listen , really loud, in dolby digital... with all the sound being projected directly into my face from a properly calibrated set up, I make this face :: - and sometimes have to change my trousers.

[RanCorX2]

Re: x-fi related sound oddities

Lolyn, I recently switched my 2.1 speakers for a 5.1 set and am amazed by the sound quality in games, music & movies. I too make a face :P

[=98=]

Re: x-fi related sound oddities

mmm... I wouldn't mind a 5.1 pair of speakers. That would give me a face!

Some Z-5500's would go down well.

@lloyn, my tirade was comparing similar priced 2.1 and 5.1 headsets. To get the same quality of sound in both, you'd have to spend more on the 5.1 headsets and I believe that a good 2.1 set can actually emulate positional audio just as well as a 5.1 set can deliver it (unless we are talking really high end).

I have no grudge against 5.1, but I do believe a good 2.1 set would suit Field's needs rather than spending a lot, lot more on a 5.1 set.

But, that is just my opinion, I could be wrong.

[Lolyn]

Re: x-fi related sound oddities

Well if you put it that way, then fair play - but your earlier arguments just seemed a bit more biased :P

You're pretty much right when it comes down to 5.1/2.1 at anything less than £100. Spend more than that and the 5.1 positioning does make itself inherently more obvious and well produced. It's just as you say, difficult to justify that expenditure, and whether Field can justify that to himself is only something he knows I guess. Sub that price range you are, as you say, going to be better off going with a good quality 2.1 set.

Oh, and get z5500's... had them for 3 years so far, still amazing quality with no problems. Just... do your neighbours a favour and let them know you bought them.

[imported_Field]

Re: x-fi related sound oddities

what im going to do is try and borrow the pc350's back from the guy i gave them to for $50 because i sliced the paddings out with a razor, then im going to give them another shot and see how they sound with meh sound-Kard. If i can get them to sound super excellent and at least 20% clearer/better/nicer sounding than my audio 770's i will maaaaybe go and get the HD 555's or maaaaaaaybe the HD 595's

one issue i am having here is yeah like if i REALLy wanted to i could spend a giant wad on those astros and flat up know FOR SRS that i have something reallly nice because they could realisticly last me for years and years but idk like i was saying before i was kind of wondering at what point would your soundcard limit the potential of your headphones. its like 'oh your headphones are realllly good but to get the most out of them you need a beTTer $ound card'

personally my first thought was to get the sharkoons your talking about but then im not sure how that would work out since they are not in the US(?) maybe i would have to pay quite a bit more for them(?)

like i saw this review on youtube about the hd 555's and the first thing that came out of this womans mouth was "no bass on them" XD

but then i DO realize that its going to be a different story if you are able to wildly adjust what your sound output is like. but then with certain sound settings those 777's plugged into analog had a distinctly different sound than the audio 770's but yeah i really think i should at least sample the pc350's with this new soundcard

[imported_Field]

Re: x-fi related sound oddities

but then also with those astros i am paying for a case and a mixamp thing that i dont need

[Lolyn]

Re: x-fi related sound oddities

Ah yes... hadn't thought about the sharkoon to U.S thing... same with Astro's in the UK - you have to import and the price suddenly goes from ridiculous to just plain silly.

What you suggested is a good plan though, since the PC350 are normally given very good review (I liked what I heard when I tried them too), and the soundcard does make a fair bit of difference. As far as soundcards limiting headset performance goes... depends what soundcard and headset combo you have of course :P I'd say though, that since you have an X-Fi you're reasonably well covered for most headphones under "money-no-object" figures. I'm only really starting to use my sound cards full potential RE headphones now I've gone sharkoon.

Wai you perform surgeory on your old headset though? :P Oh, and if you're not really fussed on all the extra USB crap, then I'd be more inclined to lean more towards some special 2.1's. A lot of the "worth having" 5.1 headsets include them and if you're not going to use them... then I'd pass.

[=98=]

Re: x-fi related sound oddities

Hmmm... no bass on the HD555's. I'm listening to some Unicorn Kid at this moment which is very bass driven. I did have to fiddle with the EQ and raise the bass and treble otherwise it felt flat, but, apart from that, they sound fine.

Apparently, the only real difference between the 555's and 595's is the clarity of the bass. Not sure that justifies another £50-£60, but that is your call.

The no bass comment isn't correct, but it does take a little time with the EQ like any good setup should!

[TrooperJac]

Re: x-fi related sound oddities

The XFI is supposedly able to generate surround sound over headphones using HTRF (sic?) So using a Dolby Heaphone or similar headset should make no difference. I don't know what the sound is like from a 5.1 headset that has true seperate speakers for the channels but I still can't believe it will be as good as proper 5.1 or 7.1 speakers.

When I 1st got my XFi I tested BF2 and could get a sense of positional audio. I would stand near a flag and turn 360 degrees and could get a decent sense of direction. That seemed to go away when I moved to Vista and I still don't know what setting you are supposed to use to get 3d over phones.

I use true 5.1 speakers for the real surround sound.

[Lolyn]

Re: x-fi related sound oddities

I don't know what the sound is like from a 5.1 headset that has true seperate speakers for the channels but I still can't believe it will be as good as proper 5.1 or 7.1 speakers.

"Close but no cigar" would sum it up for me. With tweaking and tuning you can get the headset to sound exceptional as far as headsets go, but compared to speakers it just feels like it's missing the power and range. That and since headphone speakers have to be small and the distances between them... doesn't sound as natural as speakers do either. Sounds coming from behind you on speakers for example... REALLY DO sound like they're from behind you. You can imagine headphones aren't quite as representative no matter how many speakers are in them.

You just made me think about 7.1 though... I still haven't met anybody who's used it enough to warrant buying either components for a setup with it (headphones or speakers). Can't say I've encountered any games that directly support it either... would be interested to hear what it's like even though I don't plan on moving to it.

[imported_Field]

Re: x-fi related sound oddities

i added these to my list of possibles

http://www.turtlebeach.com/products/efhpa2/home.aspx

[Lolyn]

Re: x-fi related sound oddities

I read about turtlebeach, although they're not widely available in the UK as far as I know so I never bothered checking a review. They seemed quite highly rated though, maybe somebody on here has had experience with them.