Had this forwarded to me yesterday – a video review of the Audio FX Pro 5+1 Headset.
I believe we’re going to be in CompUSA stores soon, so if you’ve been thinking about getting one, or lining up your holiday presents list, why not give it a whirl? You can visit edimensional.com for more details, and we’ll keep you up to date on future announcements, reviews and appearences.
Some of you have pondered on my forums what projects I might be working on. It shouldn’t be any secret that a 3rd Xbox 360 laptop is coming – quite soon actually, I fired it up last night – and is Halo 3 inspired in theme. We’re also working on a production model of the single-handed controller, which I will talk more about soon. It’s quite different from the earlier models and has been one of my larger projects this year.
So stay tuned, we’re still all about more than just podcasts!
Wait a third one? i thought you said no more after number two?? did i miss this announcement?
Can’t wait to see what you did with this one. should be fun, are you making how tos or anything? cause mkII i couldn’t find your instrustions, i could for the first one though, pretty sweet getting that all together man, mad props to ya.
I might get one of those when I have more money, but that reviewer should stick to writing.
What the…
Cangrats! You’re no longer Ben HECK. You’ve graduated to Ben HECKENDOM!
Might as well just start calling yourself Ben H.
Okay. That guy in the video sounds a bit spastic.
At this point I should point ot that the headset in question is also available on TigerDirect.com
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3261744&CatId=2382
Thats the link to the super sweet awsome headset, made by non-other then the great Ben Heck.
i cant wait i wanna get one for css and ventrilo hope they hit stores quickly 🙂
This headset really isn’t that great, due to the pack of lies about directional awareness. Stereo isn’t surround sound. Also the cord isn’t secured into the ear cup, resulting in you being able to pull/twist the wires inside from the outside. The lights only activate on extremely high volumes, so if you expect to impress people in a quieter setting, you have another thing coming. It also cracks really easily in the headband area.
By the way, regarding my comment on stereo there, I opened mine up and there is only one speaker per side, so it is only stereo. The LED’s don’t light up according to direction, other than stereo, either. The headset’s device signature even says that it’s limitations are stereo. This is quite tha false advertising, I think.
Wow, I was actually considering getting some. Thanks for the info Chris. By the way, I believe it simulates 3D sound via software somehow.
Tiger Direct. I just love their old school Office Depot – include the rebates in the advertised price with an asterisk marketing skilz.
I like New Egg.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826504004&Tpk=AudioFX%2bPro%2b5%252b1%2bHeadset
Congratulations Ben!
B Heck just got in there.
Ben, I dont know how to contact you so im doing it this way. Could you send me the instructions on how to make that XBOX360 labtop cause I love it. If you dont want to thats fine but just try and get back to me.
Marco, first of all he has an email address, and second of all, if you don’t already know how to make a 360 laptop, then you probably lack the skills necessary. No offense, I don’t have the skills either. But if you want to start portablizing, get his book and start with an Atari. It’s a good value.
Im going to try to get one when I get the cash
Chris – It is surround sound. The decoder is in the unit.
What are you expecting, a helmet with five drivers in it? That sounds like a great mod for the HALO 3 Master Chief Helmet. Maybe Ben wants to work on that. The oxygen supply unit you’d need might make the sound worse in the 3 – 10 khz range, though.
Try to remember that you only have 2 ears, and you’re wearing a headset. The smaller the driver, the better the dynamic range and frequency response you can reproduce. Its totally within reason to expect the two drivers in a headset to reproduce the entire range of the 5.1 content. The only reason you have separate speakers to do a surround sound setup outside of a headset is to compensate for the poor acoustics in most rooms
All they did was include the 5.1 decoder in the unit and mix it to the two drivers. In a headset, that is the only solution apart from using multiple drivers. The headset is a sound device as well as a set of transducers.
In my opinion, multiple drivers per ear is definite overkill in a headset.
Yes, there is a 5.1 decoder ( just the DECODER ) in the headset, and for that matter, when I am told on a video review like this that I can pinpoint the exact place using the built in surround sound, I expect to at least ahve a few speakers in there. ( http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2708 ) is one example of how a simulated surround sound headset can be made.
I know that this sounds like I don’t like this headset. I really do like it, it’s just that the cracks and surround issues dissapoint me. Overall, I’d give it a 4-4.5 out of 5.
Oh, and “Chris – It is surround sound.” It isn’t. At all. It is stereo. It gives no different output than a common set of desktop speakers
OK, I will grant you that the signal output is going to be technically be stereo, because it is output to two speakers. I guess I disagree with you on semantics.
The rear channel content is audible, because there is a 5.1 decoder device in the headset and the channel information is mixed to the same two drivers.
I say that it is surround sound, because you are still receiving the discreet signal content in the mix and can hear direction. Its not simulated surround with delay chips, it is rear channel content from the 5.1 material. People can only hear in stereo, unless you have more than 2 ears.
I don’t think its proper to say that the headset is not a surround sound headset because you didn’t split the sound amongst 6 drivers in the cups. That sounds like marketing genius, though.
The more drivers you add, the higher the likelyhood of noise. In a headset, that would be bad.
The reason that a separate subwoofer and rear channel speakers are employed for speakers is due to limitations in room acoustics, and the limitations of speaker drivers of that size. Headset drivers can reproduce a much broader range of sound and have much more agility than even the most expensive set of surround sound speakers, because the throw of the driver is so short and the volume and energy levels required to reproduce the sound are so much lower.
Here is how some one on another forum explained it to me:
“Imagine there is an object making a tone in front of you. That objects moves slowly around to the back. As it goes around, the shape of your ear actually makes the sound a little different as the object is in different places. Now imagine the sound of say, an airplane in a game or movie. As it goes by, the software alters the sound the same way your ear would, making you believe it is actually going around you. It isn’t a 100% perfect imitation of true surround, but it really does work. “
i already have it. but i didnt buy it for the pc i brought it for the ps3 cause ben said it would work for the ps3 also. but i have one statement. it is not fully compatible with the ps3. cause first of all the headphones is loud as hell and all the fuctions but mute dont work. so i cant turn the damn thing down. so i have to play wit one ear off.