OmegaRED

I just ordered a pair of these but it's not easy to find decent trustworthy reviews of them, it would be cool if DH did a review

TRITTON AXPro True 5.1 Gaming Headphones with 8 Precision Speakers, Removable Microphone, Dolby Digital Certified




I ditched speakers in favor of headphones years ago and went through 3 pairs of the Zalman 5.1's (which are reviewed on DH) but I've held off finding a replacement until now because this looks like a quality 5.1 headset.

Just look at all the accessories! Makes my mouth water

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dj_stick

interesting, looks like that grey box is also a soundcard (judging from the USB cable) so you won't need to mess around with unplugging existing speakers

from the looks of it you can use analogue connections aswell (always a good option)

the faux leather pads will probably be more comfortable, but more prone to making you sweat when wearing them (my sony's are notorious for that)

looks like quite a nice package, but the most important thing is the one thing I can't comment on, I have no idea how good the audio quality is...

they also look quite heavy, so be warned

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Callandor

Review in 60 seconds, there ya go haha, Creative Fatality's here, awesome friggin headset's all I can say. Those Tritton's don't look bad though.

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OmegaRED

Based on user reviews primary I'd have to say it's not a very heavy headset though all the major complaints are that it can require 2 power adapters to use which is kind of ridiculous. I think I'll only need one just for PC gaming. I like that I can use the Optical connection on my X-fi or the Analog, I'll probably try both just to see which is clearer.

I want it mostly for 5.1 gaming and movies so I have no use for the mic attachment. Quite a few people commented how exceptional movies sound (one guy said as good as his home theatre) and I'll admit that pretty much sold me.

I was considering that headset or the next one coming out from Logitech but I figured I would go with something which has more options and supposedly high quality 5.1 reproduction.

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Zardon

They look nice, ill see what we can do.

OmegaRED

Got em delivered yesterday and tested them out briefly with Dark Knight BluRay, some music, GTAIV and Fear 2...looks promising. LOL, if I had some speakers or another headset to compare it with I'd have volunteered to do a review for DH but oh well...I'll post a mini review after a few days of use (think I found a major flaw but want to make sure before bitching).

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Zardon

found a flaw already. You could have potential at reviewing !

Mac Daddy

Yep Z is right noting flaws or positive design notes is a key to reviewing ... I usually start a fresh scrap of paper to note these as I go along.

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"My mom said the only reason men are alive is for lawn care and vehicle maintenance." - Tim Allen

OmegaRED

Here's my mini-review...just in case DH doesn't get their hands on a set of these.

Games tested:
FEAR 2, Grand Theft Auto 4, Call of Duty 4, Call of Duty 5, Fallout 3
Movies Tested: The Dark Knight (BluRay Dolby Digital), Lord of the Rings: Return of the King DTS

Setup: Analog 5.1 plugged into back of X-fi Titanium Platinum Fatality Professional. I don't have a game console so the processing box is not utilized in any of the testing nor is the included mic. Sorry

Initial impressions: The subwoofer is weak in these headphones with default settings and this will leave many users unimpressed or possibly dejected and wanting their money back. In both games and movies it's hardly audible. However, with some tweaking of the audio console panel I enabled Bass redirection, subwoofer gain +15db and set the crossover frequency at 80Hz with the subwoofer level at 50%. This causes a dramatic increase in overall sound quality and you'll get the OOMPH! to rival a home theatre. If you get these headphones this should be the first thing you tweak.

There is built in volume control on the headphones which allows you to adjust the volume of each channel independently. These buttons are LED lit and change color to match the volume. I found this to be more of a nuisance than a useful feature. Why buy a set of True 5.1 headphones, match them with an expensive sound card only to let the volume levels be adjusted by buttons? Also, what affect does this have on the sound quality? There is no documentation to make it clear whether max volume level is boosting the volume or simply giving you 100% of the volume coming out of the sound card. I found there was a noticably louder hiss when any of the speakers were set to max volume so I dropped them all 2 notches to medium and increased the volume of my sound card to compensate; this leads me to believe it is boosting the signal but I have no way of verifying that.

Comfort level has acceptable but if you intend to wear these for an extended period of time you'd better not have a big fat head or Vulcan ears; with the faux leather or default ear cups there is quite a bit of pressure on your ears. It would seem these were designed for children.

Gaming Use:
At default settings I found gunfire in all tested games lacked the punch that even my Sony stereo headphones delivered but with the subwoofer tweak mentioned above the gun play became a cinematic experience.

Before purchasing these headphones I had read some user complaints about "dead zones" of sound which became noticable in Call of Duty during artillery. Perhaps this was an issue when connected via the optical connection to an Xbox 360 because I did not experience it with the analog inputs. I even went through some of the levels backwards so I could isolate the rear channels and spin around during combat to judge the surround field; at no point did the sound completely drop out. My only complaint is that the rear channel sound is noticably quieter than the front but I could not say if this is normal for 5.1 games since I do not have a 5.1 speaker set to compare. It does seem unnatural when a character is talking to you and you turn around only to have their voice drop considerably even though the distance is unchanged. The bottom line is that all the speakers performed well and the overall sound effect is quite impressive.

Movie Usage:
I would absolutely recommend these headphones for movie watching. In both movies I tested the sound quality was phenomenal and with the bass boost the subwoofer roared into action during the Jokers attack on the Police swat vehicles or the Battle of Pellanor Fields in Return of the King. I did notice a slight tinny echo during the most intense explosions it was very minor and otherwise the sound is clear. These headphones (and all other 5.1 headphones that I know of) will not be able to replicate the effect rear channel speakers provide when sounds are behind you. The speakers are simply too close to your ears for that kind of immersion.

Music Usage:
The weakest element of these headphones has to be the music performance which is expected with gaming headphones but they performed decently enough. You will have to switch your speakers to 2 channel mode to get the best sound quality although I stayed with 5.1 mode.

Overall Impression:

If you need to watch movies or game without disturbing anyone around you then these headphones are a must have purchase. The fact that you can hook them directly to a PS3/Xbox 360 or PC is a huge plus. They can also be hooked up directly to a DVD player. If you already have a good set of 5.1 speakers then these probably won't be worth purchasing especially since they are rather expensive (~160USD, 185-200CDN). If you plan on using them for console gaming you will need a powerbar with space for 2 large plugs, one for the headphones and another for the processing box. Once you've got them connected it does not get in the way.

In the days I spent gaming with these headphones I was constantly adjusting the volume in different games so expect similar adjustments. If I had to pick a main gripe that would be it. I have used the Zalman 5.1 headphones in the past and they did not have a dedicated subwoofer like these do and it makes a huge difference.

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comp_ali

Great review Omega , It seems you started applying your Idea of Users review , btw where is the digg button ?

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SeraphicSorcerer

Sounds like you just made your own review. Post it!

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Mac Daddy

Nice first review Omega and not on an easy piece of hardware either since there are no real tests or benchmarks for headphones

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"My mom said the only reason men are alive is for lawn care and vehicle maintenance." - Tim Allen