Gainward Hollywood@Home SoundXplosion Pack Review - The Sound of Music
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We first tested these headphones with straight, stereophonic music, using a number of formats and ranges, including WMA, MP3s, and CD audio. We included the following genres for testing:
- Electronica (Deep Forest, Deep Forest)
- Classical (Itzhak Perlman, Bach's Partitas and Sonatas for solo violin)
- Rock (Evanescence, Fallen)
- New Age (Enya, Only Time)
- Rap (Eminem, Lose Yourself)
- Jazz (Arturo Sandoval, Hot House)
What was striking was the flexibility with the Music2Go's USB 3D Sound Configuration tool lent to the headphones. Where using the basic stereo headphone pre-set, the sound was distant and cold, yet by using the basic configurations in the Main Setting and Effect menus, we were able to attain a wide range of crisp sounds. Although the advertised range for the headphones is only 17KHz (as opposed to the average 20KHz for stereophonic headphones costing the same), the headphone speakers were clear throughout the entire range, although the frequency limits became somewhat obvious in certain game and movie scenes. Obviously, those looking to buy 5.1 surround sound speakers are looking as much for flexibility in usage as they are for quality, and although I wouldn't really recommend these for anyone looking to use these solely (or mostly) for music, the sound produced by these is not bad at all, and would satisfy most listeners.
Throughout our music tests, we found the sound to be pretty clear. While listening to almost all selections (especially the jazz and classical), we missed the high-end feeling of the violins, trumpets, and other instruments. Additionally, no matter how much tweaking we performed, a number of the channels didn't should up particularly well. For example, in Evanescence's "Bring me to life", a number of the vocal parts were somewhat drowned out. We tried to tweak the settings to rectify this, but we couldn't get much accomplished. This was the only major weakness we could really spot. (This tends to happen a lot with lower-end speakers.) Luckily, bass, drums, and other low sounds were pretty well represented, rounding out the music rather nicely throughout all of the selection.
Users should remember that in order to attain the best sound from this combination, they should get familiar with the USB 3D Sound Configuration tool and both the Effect and Main Setting menus. Those using these will find that although they might get spectacular sound from a certain setting with their jazz or new age selections, switching music styles will deliver drastically different results (more so than we've noticed with other headphones and sound cards). Where one will sound full and complete, another will sound like its being played inside the barrel of a cannon filled with water.
In short, unless these are meant to be used with video games and videos, we're not sure that users would be justified in spending $30 for these headphones. That said, the sound card certainly does its job, and does it well.
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