Gainward Hollywood@Home SoundXplosion Pack Review - Movies and Video Games
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Going to the Movies
We tested this set with the following movies:
- Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Battle for Helms Deep)
- The Matrix: Revolutions (Battle for the Dock)
- The Last Samurai (Entrance to Yokohama Harbor)
Right off the bat, we began to see why what market these are really meant for, at least from the movie side of things. The most notable feature was the bass enhancement and force-feedback rumbler, which made battle scenes all the more enjoyable.
The surround sound in the various movies (especially Lord of the Rings) was very clear. Not as easy to follow sound as in a high quality set of 5.1 speakers, but I suspect that to be more a matter of biology and physical separation than of actual speaker limitation. (Not at all bad for a $30 set of headphones.) Higher frequencies weren't so much missed because they're not heard anyways. (Like a subwoofer, frequencies that high are mean more to be felt than heard.) However, the feel is something those yearning for a realistic experience will miss. This takes a toll on the immersion factor.
We were surprised, however, to find that we could head background sounds a lot more clearly than with other similar headphones. (Even high quality stereophonic headphones won't catch a number of these sounds.) This was both good and bad, since it filled the scenes with background "color", but became a bit distracting. Still, for those who like to totally envelop themselves in every aspect of a movie, this is a boon, and certainly looks good on Gainward's engineering team.
Video Games
If you're looking for 5.1 surround sound headphones, chances are video games are near the top of your list. Of course, with the addition of the Music2Go sound card, pretty much any portable device with a USB drive can become a 7.1 Surround Sound enabled device. (If you want to use the drivers and special features, however, you better be running Windows.)
We tested this set with Unreal Tournament 2004, Need for Speed Underground, and Halo, all of which are very surround sound intensive games. We observed both clarity of localization, and quality of sound for each, making sure to see whether we could, in essence, play the game with our eyes closed. We tested the games by turning down all non-localized sounds within the games (music, voiceovers, and sounds which would be consistently in the same location). For example, in Need for Speed Underground (NFSU), we turned off the music, the engine and tire sounds, and left only the sound effects on. Then, we ran the race, making sure to crash into whatever we could. [Author's note: For me, this came rather naturally for some reason.]
UPDATE (Sept. 16, 2004): The Music2Go supports EAX through the software driver.
We could sit here and harp on about the intricacies of each game's sounds, but all the games performed similarly. While the lack of a higher range was a little disappointing, since it diminished the sense of realistic immersion these games attempt to emulate, this is the first surround sound headphone set which we've tested which actually feel like surround sound -- at least for front sounds. Sounds originating from behind our ears were distinguishable from those originating from beside us, but weren't clearly behind us. This is due to both human biology and the design of the unit, which places the back speakers in vertical alignment with the center speakers. Still, for avid gamers, this is good news, since it won't put them at a disadvantage when using these as opposed to a regular set of surround sound speakers. Our surprise came at the level of superiority these headphones displayed over the more expensive Zalman 5.1 surround headphones. A smaller speaker, it seems, is a better choice for the task, lower range aside.
Next: Conclusions >>
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