eDimensional AudioFX Pro 5+1 PC headset by BenHeck
By Ken Bool
Don’t just hear the sounds, feel the sounds with 5.1 Surround sound and Force Feedback.
I was asked to write a review for The AudioFX Pro 5+1 headset and can honestly say, I really looked forward to it. I’m an avid gamer and listen to all types of music, but have never found the perfect headset for me and trust me when I say, I’ve tried a few! I’ve used Razer, Logitech, Speedlink, Plantronics, Sennheiser and Saitek but am yet to find the perfect headset for me. Have I just found it?.. Read on and find out!
The name of this headset is a very good place to start. Its made by eDimensional, who were set up in 2000 by a group of hardcore gamers dedicated to creating the most realistic gaming and entertainment experience ever. So, it’s made BY hardcore gamers FOR hardcore gamers! eDimensional have only been around since 2000 but are very well recognised within the gaming industry as being high quality and well respected makers of true gaming equipment. Now, Ben Heck. If this name means nothing to you, then I would recommend you do a bit of research into this guy and where else to start except his website where you will see exactly what he is all about. His real name is Bejamin J Heckendorn and he’s a professional system and acessories modder. Which means he enjoys making classic gaming consoles like the Atari Jaguar 64bit into a portable console, or an Xbox360 into a Laptop. This guy has many more tricks up his sleeve and is, with good cause to be, who every system modder wished they were!
So, onto the headset itself. Appearance wise, it will take time to grow on you, the tan-leather colour of the ear pieces and the headband isn’t the nicest and it is a big headset, slightly bigger than the Speedlink Medusa and alot bigger than any other headset I’ve used. But this means a solid and well made piece of equipment. The earpieces are designed for maximum comfort and external noise cancellation, and it’s USB 2.0 powered so is nice and simple to use. Just plug and play and away you go into the realms of everything sounding awesome!
The 5.1 surround sound in this headset makes a big difference when gaming. I play alot of First Person Shooters, Left4Dead, Counter-Strike:Source, Team Fortress 2, Call of Duty 4, Call of Duty 5, Battlefield 2, Rainbow Six, Unreal Tournament 3 and many others. The main things you need in these games is a steady hand, keen reactions and good quality sound. This headset definitely provides the high-quality sound. The sound quality in game is up there with the likes of the Razer and the Speedlink Medusa headsets (Stereo Sennheiser, Logitech and Plantronics options are not comparable) and cost-wise it’s better placed than both of them. The 5.1 surround sound is perfectly tuned to keep you aware of everthing thats going on in game, making the gaming experience easier and far more enjoyable.
With regards to the Force Feedback, this took me a little while to get used to. For starters, there are indicator lights on the outside of the earpieces that look nice, but in my opinion, they’re pretty pointless. The only use I’ve found for them is to let people know if they can hear you or not! Lights are on… I can’t hear you, lights are off… I can hear you! I won’t deny I’d had headsets in the past that had Force Feedback, but the Force Feedback in the AudioFX 5+1 by BenHeck is immense! It will make your head vibrate if a stun grenade goes off next to you! I won’t deny that once I got used to gaming with it, it was always on and set to full vibrate. There is an in-line volume control with which you can disable the Force Feedback or you can just soften it a bit, but being the Hardcore Gamer that I am… I’m obviously going to have it on full blast! I think its fair to say, I love the Force Feedback. It really helps you enjoy the game and you can feel it vibrate when people are steppping round behind you. BenHeck: Good work with the Force Feedback!
A bit more about the in-line control, its very simple. Big, Bulky, easy to find when gaming with 3 simple buttons and a slider. The Buttons are Microphone Mute, Volume Up and Volume Down, with the Slider for the Force Feedback settings. Theres also a nice little flashing light that means you can’t miss it when playing Left4Dead with all the lights off. A quick warning about the in line volume control… make sure its on Low before you start playing games, its a Loud headset and you will need to turn it down! There is software that comes with this headset that means you can position the sounds that you hear so everything isn’t all one sided… recommended you use this before using the headset
I think a good test for headsets like this one is to listen to music with the force feedback switched on and see just how much distortion you get. The Previous headset I owned which had force feedback would distort quite badly when you were listening to music, so you had to make sure you switched off the vibration. This AudioFX 5+1 headset on the other hand, has very little distortion even with the Bass up high. Obviously its going to leave your ears ringing for a bit and your head shaking for quite a while, especially if you’ve been listening to the Metal and Industrial Dance that I’ve been listening to recently, but needless to say, this headset is very good sound quality.
This headset is not perfect but to be fair, for the price they are asking for it, I wouldn’t expect it to be, but it is a damn good contender for the crown and title of ‘Best Gaming Headset’. The main thing that lets it down, in my opinion, is the Microphone. The microphone on this headset is fully roatatable so you can find that perfect position and has amazing sound quality.. but really does pick up on every single noise out there! I was using this headset on skype the other day and the person on the other end could hear the boiler in the next room switching on! This Mic is fantastic when its in game because its crystal clear… but be very wary about using it in a room where you have much noise.
So.. This headset will cost you around the £45 mark, but you will get £45 worth of use out of it. I personally would recommend it to anyone who likes to game and not get disturbed. I don’t know if its for everybody, but there is no denying that I love it!