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(More customer reviews)I've worked in studios and have demo'd TONS of audio gear over the years. I know what a good DAC (Digita-Analogue Converter) sounds like, and I know what a crappy one sounds like. Music is probably the hardest source material to be objective about when it comes to the listening experience -- everyone has their opinion, but almost nobody but studio rats really "get it" in terms of true flat response. Do these have perfect response? No. It's just not hyped sound -- there's no built in "smiley face" EQ or any nonsense coloring the sound. Well, actually, there is, but it's made to flatten the output as well as it can -- and it does. People complain about "harsh highs" listening to music with this headset...THEIR SOURCE MATERIAL IS LOW QUALITY! Of COURSE an over-compressed MP3 file is going to sound TERRIBLE on any halfway decent DAC. Throw in a good recording of something recently done on a CD or something of equal quality (nice M4A at 256kbps or equivalent) and you're golden.
That's just music. I mention this first because that was my ONLY CONCERN buying this unit. I read review after review of "harsh highs" and "not enough bass" which makes me sick. The bass is there, it's just instead of anything past 500hz was normally smeared all down the spectrum making it indiscernible from the rest of the noise your noggin was bogged down with all these years.
The problem I have with this headset is all that dolby headphone simulation stuff sounds HORRID. Any time you turn it on its like it takes the beautiful bits sound and turns them into bigger, less precise blocks of noise. Yes, it DOES sound like its in a bigger room, or directionally correct based on how you set it, it just sounds horrible. Leave it on 5.1 or 7.1 surround with none of those buttons turned on and it sounds GREAT! Even for stereo source material -- it just processes it better. Another thing you definitely want to do is go into your sound settings and set it to 24 bit audio 96khz output -- the converter is actually decent at these rates.
The mic does a decent job of filtering out noises without putting a hard and fast reducer algorithm so it still sounds natural, and you can hear noise in the room, its just lower. You can set that to 16bit 48khz, as well.
Theres TONS of volume on this thing -- just keep it at a reasonable level and it'll treat you right. Use the mixer on windows 7 to your advantage. Set the output on the programs (itunes, skype, video games) to max (or close to it) and mix the sound in using the control panel -- definitely the way to go.
I could go on (as you can tell), but suffice it to say, this is worth at least double the price in terms of usefulness, it doesn't seem like it will ever break, the audio is WONDERFUL (but you won't be used to its precision if you've never taken audio seriously before).
To the reviewer who said this was not for audio purists, I submit it ONLY suitable to audio purists, and to those not afraid to venture deeper into the audio world for extracurricular activities.
This is a great one-stop-shop for a laptop audio solution.
Windows 7 64bit, btw.
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The Gaming Audio Series HS1 USB Gaming Headset is designed for gamers who are serious about audio. Massive 50mm drivers deliver serious gaming punch, without sacrificing the sparkling sound quality you need to enjoy music and movies.Dolby Headphone surround sound gives you a competitive edge, and the noise-cancelling microphone ensures that your teammates and opponents hear you loud and clear. Extra-large earcups and fabric covered memory foam earpads provide a firm fit and excellent noise isolation without binding or pinching, so you'll keep your cool and keep your head in the game for hours of playtime.The extra-large inline volume and microphone controller is easy to grab when things get fast, and the HS1 is designed and crafted with high-quality materials for years of use.
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