- 814
- Goes_To_11 GTP_GoesTo11
I found a deal for the AX720 on redflagdeals.com (great place to find deals on anything) so I picked up a pair. These are advertised as being surround sound (5.1) headphones even though they only have one driver per ear. They also have a built in mic and are compatible with PS3, 360 and PC/Mac.
Connections. The basic premise is that the headphones come with its own mixamp and you plug in an optical connection for the 5.1 surround sound and plug in the USB for the communications sound and mic. The headphones have separate volume controls for communications and system sounds. The optical and usb cables are rather short. This isnt an issue for most games with built in com support since the headphones have a long cable and you dont need to change anything on the mixamp for normal use (volume controls are on the cable close to the headphones). However this could be an issue for GT5P since you need to connect the optical connection up to your PS3 and the USB cable up to your computer. For my setup, this worked fine. The optical wire and usb wires are standard so you can easily buy longer wires if needed to reach your computer or PS3.
I first tested the surround sound on my laptop. The last two laptops I have had had an optical connection through the headphones jack. This requires a special adaptor that doesnt come with the headphones (the headphones do come with a normal optical cable). I used the gunfight on the roof scene in the Matrix to test the surround sound and I was quite impressed. I guess that in real life sounds coming from behind you sound a little different than those in front so the mixamp works by changing the sounds coming from behind you to make it sound like it really is coming from behind. Its not perfect but it does work really well.
Then I tested the surround sound on the PS3. Bioshock wasnt all that great for sound localization but that might just be the game. The uncharted 2 demo however was fantastic: it was quite easy to localize sounds. Killzone2 appeared to work quite well but I only tried that fairly quickly.
Finally, I tested the voice communications over Ventrilo for a GT5P event run by STVM event on Saturday. I had some problems running Ventrilo in OS X. It started off ok though my voice apparently had some static. Eventually Ventrilo stopped responding to my voice. I switched over to windows and that worked much better. Apparently my voice was much clearer. Communications from the other people on Ventrilo were always clear: much clearer than my Bluetooth headset ever was. The separate volume control for communications was great. My wife had the TV going at the same time and that didnt appear to trigger the mic on Ventrilo. Sound localization on GT5P isn't bad. when passing other cars it definately sounds like the sound of the other car is moving behind you. It is more apparent during replays when you don't have the engine noise from your own car making it harder to hear the other cars.
Overall sound quality was very good. Not as good as my stereo especially when there was a DTS signal and of course the bass wasnt as good as my subwoofer but the sound was still very good. One advantage that headphones have over a stereo is that it is easier to pick up some of the quieter sounds such as footsteps.
Im very impressed with the headphones. They seemed quite comfortable, have really good sound and allowed me to use the headset for both voice communications and game sounds. You could even use them for custom soundtracks through your computer if you so desire.
Connections. The basic premise is that the headphones come with its own mixamp and you plug in an optical connection for the 5.1 surround sound and plug in the USB for the communications sound and mic. The headphones have separate volume controls for communications and system sounds. The optical and usb cables are rather short. This isnt an issue for most games with built in com support since the headphones have a long cable and you dont need to change anything on the mixamp for normal use (volume controls are on the cable close to the headphones). However this could be an issue for GT5P since you need to connect the optical connection up to your PS3 and the USB cable up to your computer. For my setup, this worked fine. The optical wire and usb wires are standard so you can easily buy longer wires if needed to reach your computer or PS3.
I first tested the surround sound on my laptop. The last two laptops I have had had an optical connection through the headphones jack. This requires a special adaptor that doesnt come with the headphones (the headphones do come with a normal optical cable). I used the gunfight on the roof scene in the Matrix to test the surround sound and I was quite impressed. I guess that in real life sounds coming from behind you sound a little different than those in front so the mixamp works by changing the sounds coming from behind you to make it sound like it really is coming from behind. Its not perfect but it does work really well.
Then I tested the surround sound on the PS3. Bioshock wasnt all that great for sound localization but that might just be the game. The uncharted 2 demo however was fantastic: it was quite easy to localize sounds. Killzone2 appeared to work quite well but I only tried that fairly quickly.
Finally, I tested the voice communications over Ventrilo for a GT5P event run by STVM event on Saturday. I had some problems running Ventrilo in OS X. It started off ok though my voice apparently had some static. Eventually Ventrilo stopped responding to my voice. I switched over to windows and that worked much better. Apparently my voice was much clearer. Communications from the other people on Ventrilo were always clear: much clearer than my Bluetooth headset ever was. The separate volume control for communications was great. My wife had the TV going at the same time and that didnt appear to trigger the mic on Ventrilo. Sound localization on GT5P isn't bad. when passing other cars it definately sounds like the sound of the other car is moving behind you. It is more apparent during replays when you don't have the engine noise from your own car making it harder to hear the other cars.
Overall sound quality was very good. Not as good as my stereo especially when there was a DTS signal and of course the bass wasnt as good as my subwoofer but the sound was still very good. One advantage that headphones have over a stereo is that it is easier to pick up some of the quieter sounds such as footsteps.
Im very impressed with the headphones. They seemed quite comfortable, have really good sound and allowed me to use the headset for both voice communications and game sounds. You could even use them for custom soundtracks through your computer if you so desire.
