http://www.maximumpc.com/tags/tritton used for category lists, takes arguments en http://www.maximumpc.com/article/tritton_axpc_headset <!--paging_filter--><p>We reviewed Tritton’s Audio Xtreme 360 headset in our July issue. As you can tell by its model name, that device is aimed as much at console gamers as it is movie watchers and PC gamers. The AXPC is a little simpler, better suited to PC users, and nearly $50 cheaper. But it sounds just as mediocre.</p> <p>The AXPC shares its stablemate’s 5.1-channel surround-sound speaker design—four 30mm drivers in each earpiece—but it doesn’t have a Dolby Digital decoder module. It also doesn’t have the Xtreme 360’s ability to host a second set of phones, but neither of these factors are shortcomings for PC cans. The fact that this headset relies on your PC’s USB port, on the other hand, is a negative for anyone with a dedicated soundcard. The AXPC offers only EAX 2.0 support—not very impressive when you consider that Creative has taken EAX to version 5.0.</p> <p>Tritton, however, did improve the detachable microphone in every respect: The flexible stalk attaches via a threaded mount (as opposed to the thin wire and plug on the 360), it delivers superior voice quality, and it’s far better at rejecting extraneous background noise (an important advantage if your PC has noisy fans).</p> <p>While testing with the included helicopter demo (as a crudely rendered helicopter circles your head, the sound of its engine is supposed to follow), the AXPC was very effective at fooling our brains into believing that the helicopter was actually behind our heads. The effect was marred, however, by severely abrupt transitions from the front to the side and from the side to the back—the sound just cuts out from one speaker and resumes in the other.</p> <p>he AXPC’s “rumble” effect drove us nuts, and there’s no way to defeat it other than to switch the phones to 2.1-channel mode. The rumble isn’t force feedback, in which specific events in the game cause physical effect; the earcups simply vibrate in response to low frequencies. Bleh!</p> http://www.maximumpc.com/article/tritton_axpc_headset#comments Hardware Headphones Reviews From the Magazine September 2007 hardware headphones reviews surround tritton usb headsets 2007 Wed, 26 Sep 2007 17:07:00 -0500 Michael Brown 1433 at http://www.maximumpc.com http://www.maximumpc.com/article/tritton_audio_xtreme_360 <!--paging_filter--><p> Tritton’s headset delivers true surround sound, just like the Turtle Beach Ear Force HPA2 we recommended in June. It also offers a feature that the HPA2 doesn’t: a powered Dolby Digital decoder module with optical and coaxial digital inputs, plus a port for plugging in a second set of Tritton headphones. Cool! </p> <p> This feature renders the AX360 useful for watching movies on a DVD player or gaming on a console system, but it doesn’t do much for PC use. Tritton provides an analog adapter cable, so you can plug the headset directly into your soundcard, but the AX360’s mic isn’t as good as the HPA2’s, and it’s leagues behind theBoom Quiet in terms of rejecting background noise. The Tritton also can’t match the HPA2 in terms of audio fidelity in music, movies, and games, but it sounds far better than the BQ and the utter waste of plastic that is the Genius. </p> <p> Surround-sound support is a welcome feature, but the Turtle Beach product bundles it in a better package. </p> http://www.maximumpc.com/article/tritton_audio_xtreme_360#comments Hardware Headphones Reviews July 2007 From the Magazine consumer electronics hardware headphones michael brown reviews Sound tritton 2007 Thu, 26 Jul 2007 15:28:23 -0500 Michael Brown 1229 at http://www.maximumpc.com