Psyko 5.1 Gaming Headset Review

👤by David Mitchelson Comments 📅23-10-10
Performance

With the Psyko 5.1 headset being specifically designed for gaming its only fair that we observe its performance in the gaming environment. But although music and movies aren't its forte, these applications will also be considered to give a decent and profound assumption of the performance of our headset today.

Its good practise to compare the headset in question against other solutions too, so I will be testing the Psyko 5.1 headset along with the Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty as well as the SteelSeries Siberia V2. Both are recognised and leading gaming peripherals. It's also important to keep the testing on a fair plane so for the purpose of this examination, audio will be provided via the 5.1 onboard solution found on the ASUS Rampage III Formula. To get this headset setup within Windows 7, its important to alter the audio settings on your computer. To do this I did the following:

START > Control Panel > Sound > Configure Speakers > Set to 5.1 Surround


Gaming

Gaming headsets are generally designed with FPS (First Person Shooter) gamers in mind. So to give the Psyko 5.1 headset enough time to flex its muscles, I played Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 and Battlefield Bad Company 2 for a sustained amount of time - approximately 2 hour a piece.

During the testing I discovered the optimum setting for the direction/bass knob was exactly in the middle or slightly under half - in favour of directional. With the knob over the half way marker and using stronger bass tones there is an risk sounds are masked over with the severe deepness of tone. With the luxury of an AMP, its nice to have the option and variation of direction vs. bass. What I can say about the performance is the Psyko most definitely enhances sound within these games tested. Comparing to the other standard non-surround headsets, tones are richer. Noise is picked up in the exact direction it is found, explosions, gunfire, footsteps, vehicle noise feels that bit more atmospheric. If you want the edge, and you want to really enhance your games in the audio department the Psyko is certainly a good choice - locating sound is important.

Opening the windows on the Psyko headset whilst gaming does alter the tone of the audio - it tends to increase treble making noise sound tinny. So its good to have the windows open for a short time, but not sustained usage.

With the cushions along the bridge having speakers behind them noise can be heard by the person sat next to you. The capability of having 5.1 on the Psyko provides a great advantage to the user, but those nearby may not appreciate the noise. There are many reason for using a headset, one could be that sound is generally more realistic as its directed right into the ear, another reason might be to prevent disturbance to others. If you are using a headset for the latter it may be a problem. The noise isn't dramatically disruptive, but it can be heard so be warned!

You may have already guessed or be on the verge of asking. How comfortable is the Psyko 5.1 headset? Well, being such a large headset, with its bulky exterior it does weigh heavier than the other headsets there's no denying that. After a sustained amount of time the Psyko 5.1 headset does leave slight strain on the neck muscles. I can only imagine a 12 year old kid would struggle to play for a few hours with this headset on their head, perhaps there should be an age rating on the box! Around the ears, the cushions do an extremely good job of keeping the ears comfortable so in this aspect of comfort its a thumbs up.

Movies & Music

In the next phase of testing the Psyko is placed into an arena it wasn't specifically designed for. For this test I played a blu-ray movie (X-Men Wolverine) and varied music tracks.

Jennifer Paige feat. Nick Carter - Beautiful Lie
Milk Inc. - In My eyes
Linkin Park - Waiting for the End

For this set of tests the directional/bass knob is best set over the half way marker into the bass zone as the tones within both the tracks and the movie benefit from heavier bass tones. Again, what can I say - the Psyko headset reacts with its 5.1 surround sound. The movie was thoroughly enjoyed with sound arriving in the assortment of directions, action scenes are especially prolific with the inclusion of the 5.1 surround system in place. You wait for the next action scene to come because the sound quality is so pleasing to hear.

Sadly, the same can't be said for music. Whilst this isn't totally underwhelming it is noticeably different. Music in the Psyko 5.1 headset isn't as precise and clear as experienced with the other headsets used within this set of tests. I'm not saying the music performance is dire by any means - the Psyko 5.1 headset just delivers better audio quality in movies and even greater performance within the games arena.

Microphone

Bundled with the Psyko 5.1 headset is a detachable microphone. Testing this was quite simple, I used the Teamspeak client and spoke to a friend, referring to his feedback against the other gaming headsets. I can confirm that his feedback was positive, all conversation was crisp, clear and sharp. There was no noticeable difference between the Psyko microphone and the other microphones on other headsets in this test.

NOTE:
Anyone wishing to understand a little more about how the Psyko 5.1 headset works can watch the below video produced by Psyko Audio Labs:

[youtube]UHTSPCHWHgM[/youtube]



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