Surround sound speakers have always given me a little thrill. Although
I can’t claim to be any sort of audiophile, the idea of
actually hearing an object in relation to your central person struck a
chord with me when I first experienced the sensation in the childhood
home of my best friend. His parents had purchased their first
“surround sound” system, and we played around with
it on any medium we could find.
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This bad boy
is one enormous piece of audio hardware.
But as an adult, I find that more and more of my time is spent with a
pair of headphones slapped onto my ears. Whether it’s to
appease my next door neighbors or to keep the baby from waking,
I’ve been religiously barred from having any sort of
overzealous sound escape my lovely set of 5.1 speakers. In terms of
audio, this has left me in a bit of a bind in the past few years.
With the progression of true 5.1 Dolby Digital headphones,
I’ve been able to keep up with my gaming and entertainment,
albeit in a much more confined medium. That said, most of the 5.1
headphones that I’ve gotten my hands on (either through
friends of as gifts) have been slightly lackluster and have produced
sound effects that emerge in my ear like a mass of audio rather than
the booming, individual speakers I get from my standard 5.1 set up.
However, all of my complaints came to an end when I was given the
privilege of reviewing the Tritton AX Pro gaming headset.
When my AX Pro’s arrived in the mail, I was amazed at the
sheer size of this audio unit. Although not a surprise considering the
fact that the AX Pro uses eight drivers: six 30mm drivers for center,
front, and rear channels, and two 40mm drivers for the subwoofer.
That’s four – count ‘em! –
total drivers per ear, which is certainly an enormous loud to put in
one ear cup.
That said, the result of having so many drivers in each ear is
incredible sound clarity and 3D functionality. Whether I was playing
Warhammer
Online,
target="_blank">World of Warcraft,
href="http://lotro.tentonhammer.com/" target="_blank">Lord
of the Rings Online or
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of
Conan, I was struck by the sounds that were clearly coming
from my
rear, left, right, or directly ahead. The subwoofer response was
equally phenomenal, and, as one of my major sticking points with
headsets, I couldn’t have been happier.
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Games that
utilize 5.1 sound really excel with the AX Pro.
Installation, on the other hand, will be a bit of a bear for the
standard headset user. If you’re still using
yesteryear’s sound card or onboard sound, you’ll be
using a standard set of analog plugs, but if you’re using a
sound card with “Optical Out” that’s
definitely the way I would proceed. The AX Pro utilizes a specific
audio controller that adjusts the sounds being exuded by your PC to
correctly input them into your headset, which basically means that
you’ll need to plug in a variety of different jacks into and
out of the controller.
On top of the audio plugs, the AX Pro uses two A/C adapters to power
this monstrous headset. Don’t expect to wear your AX
Pro’s on a plane anytime soon, because a power strip is
almost a necessity with these beasties. Once everything is powered on,
you’ll need to adjust your speaker selection to fit your
gaming needs, as each section – front, rear, center and sub
– can be individually molded to meld to your listening style.
Being a big bass kinda guy, I immediately cranked up the thunder and
wallowed in the richness.
All that A/C power is definitely needed when you crank up the volume
for the first time. Swords cuts, ambient sound, and character voice
overs are all amplified and projected exactly as if they were coming
straight from a set of THX certified desktop speakers. This spacious
sound is definitely an attractive sell for the AX Pro’s and
their ability to integrate into your Xbox 360 and PS3 are also nice
value-added features.
The stylization of the headset fits perfectly with what you’d
expect from a high-powered piece of audio equipment. On the ear cups of
the headset are a Tritton’s iconic “TT”
logo that glows with a nice, warm orange light when powered. The cord
for the headset is absolutely enormous – I could go to the
other end of my office without being disconnected – and the
silver plastic headset wrap definitely gets a nod of appreciation from
this editor. The entire set-up is certainly comfortable and provides
plenty of padding.
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Leading your
raid in WoW will still be possible with the AX Pro due to its
integrated mic system.
Despite being aesthetically pleasing, two of my biggest complaints
about the AX Pro’s are it’s enormous size and the
flimsy quality of the microphone. The typical gamer can endure long
bouts of ass time, but the Tritton AX Pro’s probably weigh
about as much as a slim-styled bike helmet. I doubt anyone will have
any problems keep it on their head, but you can definitely feel the
weight of the beast when you first engage with the creation. If
you’re the gamer that’s trying to attract someone
of the opposite sex, brandishing these puppies may get comparisons to
“my grandma’s earmuffs” as they are just
enormous. Even on my giant noggin, I received a number of strange looks
from my wife.
On the other hand, the microphone is perfectly adequate for conversing
with your friends or talking some smack in a PvP session, but it seems
grossly grossly undersized compared to the ear cups and the lack of
flexibility makes it seem lackluster compared to the headsets that
offer a
maneuverable metal mic.
To be honest, the Tritton AX Pro’s are definitely worth
looking into if you’re willing to spend over $170 for a
non-speaker audio solution. Even if you’re a gamer on a
budget, you may want to plunk down the two Benjamins just to nab a nice
5.1 speaker system without devoting extra desk space or waking your
sleeping significant other. But if you don’t care if you have
a 5.1 audio solution, there are definitely other headset options for
those gamers that are on a budget.
