Tritton AX360 5.1 gaming headphones

[Mxylplyx]

If so, what do you think of them? Mine arrive tomorrow. Official reviews are pretty positive. User reviews are rather mixed, leaning more towards positive. I have a feeling audiophiles probably arent too happy with them, though I am far from an audiophile. I'm hoping I'll be amazed since I've never played a game with 5.1, even if these can only reproduce half the experience of a true 5.1 setup.

So now that I've gotten my XBOX back, I had a chance to sit down and play BioShock for an hour with them. First off, I'm far from an audiophile, and I've never gamed on any kind of surround setup, so I'm not hard to impress.

I was very impressed with these headphones. Being enveloped in a sound field adds a whole new dimension to a game, especially those that are heavy on environment like BioShock. Hearing the various drips and moans and such all around you in Rapture really immerses you in the environment, and might even creep you out at first. The reproduction of the rear channel isnt perfect, which should be expected with headphones, but it's good enough, and you'll definitely know when something is behind you. The mids and highs come through very well, and deep rumbling bass is very nicely simulated by the vibrate feature on the headphones. Since bass is just simulated with rumble, any deep voices are going to sound rather shallow, which is why these suck for movies, but for games it's not a big deal. It's got a really long cord which should be big enough for any living room. The optical cable that comes with it is pretty cheap, and doesnt snap at all into the optical port on the xbox. It just sort of sits in there, so it's easy to dislodge. Might use a piece of tape or something to hold it in better. I havent tried getting on Live yet and using the microphone.

 

[hans030390]

How do those produce 5.1 audio if there are only two ear pieces?

 

[Mxylplyx]

4 drivers in each earcup, and a decoder box that induces delays and such to maximize the effect. Works quite well from what I've read.

 

[PianoMan]

I purchased the Razer Barracuda HP-1 5.1 headphones when they went on sale at my local BB, but returned them after a few days. They were pretty thin sounding, were a bear to calibrate properly, and just didn't sound as "right" as my Grado SR-60's. But I really wanted a good 5.1 headphone solution.

I looked at the Tritton's, but balked at the high price. I'm also leery at how much the "decoder in a box" of the Tritton's compares to the x-Fi or HD Audio solutions. When using the Tritton's you are essentially removing your sound card out of the equation when you use their outboard DD/DPL decoder.

I eventually purchased the Turtle Beach X52's, but was about to return those unopened (and go for the Tritton's) when I realized they were unreturnable via TigerDirect. :| The X52's directly connect to your soundcard (the Tritton can too, but not sure if you're getting your $$$'s worth if hooked up that way). To my amazement, after opening them, I found them quite good, and now use the X52's for gaming and moving watching.

I am curious to know if any AT'ers have a pair of the Tritton's and what your opinions are as well.

PM

 

[gizbug]

bump

 

[gregor7777]

I'll be interested to hear what you think of them.

I just purchased a set of Ear Force X2's for my 360, and my next set of headphones will be a 5.1 set. Hopefully they will have released a wireless version with a mic by then.

 

[Mxylplyx]

My 360 is getting repaired, so I'll report back in a few weeks. I tried it on a DVD of 300, and the surround effects were pretty good, and the rumble feature to simulate base was actually pretty believable. One of the problems with movies, and probably some sequences in games, which I expected based on other reviews, is the weak voice dialogue that comes through. The drivers in the headphones that reproduce the center channel are smaller than the main left and right channel drivers, and therefore dialogue sounds pretty muffled. I hear this isnt really an issue in games, but I would probably stick with stereo headphones for movies.

 

[PianoMan]

Interesting about the bit on vocals. U'd think that manufacturers would consider that a priority (good two channel performance) on ANY headphone...

PM

 

[Mxylplyx]

Originally posted by: PianoMan
Interesting about the bit on vocals. U'd think that manufacturers would consider that a priority (good two channel performance) on ANY headphone...

PM

I imagine if I fed the headphones a non decoded stereo signal, they would sound fine since dialogue wouldnt be routed to only the center channel drivers. I'm not sure if the headphones engage all 8 drivers, or just 2 when receiving a standard stereo signal.

 

[Mxylplyx]

updated with review