Medusa 5.1 Surround Headset

Page 7 - Seeking answers? Join the Tom's Hardware community: where nearly two million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.
$18.70. Looks like i remember a bit high.

Fine, if you want to refund me the cost plus shipping, as you originally agreed to, that is fine. i will look for headphones elsewhere.

ACCORDING to fedex, you have already received them. i have yet to receive my money. i will be looking for it in the next day. if i do not see it, i will be getting back with you. i expect the refund of my money to be treated with the same positive customer attitude that i have been treated with so far.

the way you part with customers shows a lot about how you work with them.
 
Sorry David my mistake.

The parcel was received in Arizona on 6th April but they were waiting for the new stock which only arrived on Friday before sending out your replacement. They had so many back-orders to get out on Friday that they have only just managed to get to your replacement today. I have now instructed them not to send a set to you and have just processed your refund back to your PayPal account.

Sorry things didnt work out between us.

Regards

Matt
 
$18.70. Looks like i remember a bit high.

Fine, if you want to refund me the cost plus shipping, as you originally agreed to, that is fine. i will look for headphones elsewhere.

ACCORDING to fedex, you have already received them. i have yet to receive my money. i will be looking for it in the next day. if i do not see it, i will be getting back with you. i expect the refund of my money to be treated with the same positive customer attitude that i have been treated with so far.

the way you part with customers shows a lot about how you work with them.

um, i have only been dealing with matt for a few days now and i must say that he has been very helpfull (hopefully it stays this way haha 😉 ) anyway, i dont think it is right to trash talk him when he is just trying to be sure what the problem is prior to issuing the refund. You cant blamer a retailer for wanting to learn why there product is being returned...
 
um, i have only been dealing with matt for a few days now and i must say that he has been very helpfull (hopefully it stays this way haha 😉 ) anyway, i dont think it is right to trash talk him when he is just trying to be sure what the problem is prior to issuing the refund. You cant blamer a retailer for wanting to learn why there product is being returned...

That was not trash talking. I was simply making an observation. If you look at my previous posts, i have said multiple times that matt has been good to work with.

EDIT: and again an example of me NOT trash talking matt:

matt, thanks for the refund, and of my shipping costs. i do regret this action, as i loved the way they felt on my head. i appreciate your professionalism.
 
I personally think making your entire business transaction public to "persuade" Matt to publicly reply to you is childish. It doesn't seem like you have tried to solve the matter appropriately in private prior to bringing everything here. Demanding your $18.50 (or whatever as I don't care to reread it or bother) in a public forum is silly.

As to the question of what's different between the pro gamer and the regular:

The pro gamer has an inline amplifier, so your volume controls have the amp inside them, vs the regular version that has an amplifier box that sits on your desk. The pro gamer is also able to be POWERED from usb instead of plugging it into the wall (for the amp). The benefit is, easy to transport, versatile to not have to plug into the wall (but capable of being wall powered) and having less cables...and the carrying case.


ALSO: I spoke with someone on the head-fi forums that has owned the medusa's for a long time, He recommended for enhanced base (read: VIB) to:
Turn all the windows volume controls to max (except the microphone)
Turn the vib to 10
Turn ON base redirection, set the treshold for ~100hz
Turn the medusa inline volumes down as needed (so my Volumes are all 2-4 on the inline volume control, and my vib is @ 10)

This made a nice improvement that I thought worthy to pass on, and contrary to some of the "do not have windows volume above 50%" information out there...Give it a try yourself.

-Brodyhill
 
^ thanks man,
is there any performance Increase or Decrease between them?

Also, with the ProGamer, can i have a set of speakers connected also like the amp box from the Regular 5.1


- Are there any OEMs from the medusa usa website? i remember when i was looking for headsets earlier this year that their were..

ive read in this topic no to have the windows volume above 50%, is it just for this headset or any speaker system/headphones, because ive always had mine at 100% 😀
 
I did notice more base coming out with windows stuff on max and the amp on lower settings. However, it also seemed to decrease the sound quality when listening to music. I tried decreasing the windows volume to around 80% instead and it sounded better. Maybe maxing out the volume is too strong so just scale it to 80% that way you still have a high amount of volume being supplied by the comp while not overpowering it? Just my 2 cents.

**I also just noticed that the ovepowering sound can be improved if you raise the redirection cutoff freq to around 150ish (maybe even max it?)
 
On the topic of gaming with 5.1:

I emailed this to matt earlier but thought it may be of use in the discussion on games sounding poor on these bad boys...

My thoughts are that it is EAX in games that is giving the lack of base in the rear speakers. I do realize that the rear speakers do have less base, but i dont know about anyone else but i am getting ZERO base and no depth in the rear. anyway, could it possibly be from games using EAX and trying to do their own 5.1 effect with the software? I disable it in windows but maybe games over ride windows settings. Anyway, interested to see what others think about it. I refuse to return these bad boys until i know there is no hope to solving my problem haha.
 
^ thanks man,
is there any performance Increase or Decrease between them?

See the spec page on the site, but none that i'm aware of.

Also, with the ProGamer, can i have a set of speakers connected also like the amp box from the Regular 5.1

there are no additional line outs from the inline amp...i have a set of 2.1 speakers connected using a mini audio splitter cable. so not directly but there are ways around that.


- Are there any OEMs from the medusa usa website? i remember when i was looking for headsets earlier this year that their were..

They announced no further OEM sales..I read it somewhere...Ask them directly for the official answer.

ive read in this topic no to have the windows volume above 50%, is it just for this headset or any speaker system/headphones, because ive always had mine at 100% 😀

I would direct that question to head-fi.org forums as they know more about audio than I ever will.
 
So I just got a pair of the Mesusa 5.1 Pro Gamer Edition, and tho I cant say that I've been dissappointed with them, I can't say that I have enjoyed them very much either.

I'm using an Audigy 2 ZS and I have noticed the sound coming from the front and the back sound very... odd

The sound is very hollow/empty. Not sure if anyone else experienced this. I went through the speaker configuration tool provided by Creative and in order to get my sound to output properly (full/immersive sound), I had to reverse my wiring for the speakers (polarity). Obviously I cannot do this easily on this headset. I looked on the Medusa website and they don't take refunds.

I'm really considering just getting a pair of Turtle Beach HPA headphones to replace these because they really do sound terrible. Especially when listening to regular music. I can even almost forgive the tinny rear speakers but the reversed wiring for the speakers is just very very annoying.
 
So I just got a pair of the Mesusa 5.1 Pro Gamer Edition, and tho I cant say that I've been dissappointed with them, I can't say that I have enjoyed them very much either.

I'm using an Audigy 2 ZS and I have noticed the sound coming from the front and the back sound very... odd

The sound is very hollow/empty. Not sure if anyone else experienced this. I went through the speaker configuration tool provided by Creative and in order to get my sound to output properly (full/immersive sound), I had to reverse my wiring for the speakers (polarity). Obviously I cannot do this easily on this headset. I looked on the Medusa website and they don't take refunds.

I'm really considering just getting a pair of Turtle Beach HPA headphones to replace these because they really do sound terrible. Especially when listening to regular music. I can even almost forgive the tinny rear speakers but the reversed wiring for the speakers is just very very annoying.

I dont understand, why do you need to reverse the wires?

On another note, try this to get better sound in games (not PERFECT but does help). Set volume on computer to 80-90%, in EAC controlls turn off cmss, in speaker controlls turn the subwoofer to max, set base redirection to ~150ish. then in COD2 for example turn it to EAX3 (yea i know the audigy 2 only supports EAX2 but si turned it to three and it kinda sounds a bit better, dont ask me why)

Oh, and for audio turn on cmss
 
I just joined today as I was searching for info on a new gaming headset. I currently have a set of eDiminsional FF headset. Well the mic just crapped out on me. I dont want a desktop mic. I found alot of reviews about these headphones being discussed and found none bad.

After reading this thread Im skeptical buying these for two reasons.
1. Is there a problem with the wiring
2. Will I have a problem setting these up

I am a casual gamer and know very little about pc's and setting things up. I know enough to install, play and maybe get a few kills here and there lol. The main reason for wanting to buy these headphones apart from the review is the customer support. I TOTALLY applaud Matt and Medusa for there efforts here (maybe Dice and EA could take some lessons from them). I know hardcore gamers and pc go'ers will recognize issues that the average person will not.

Will I have a hard time getting these set up with little knowledge about pc's? Regardless of the negitive post's here I would still like to buy because I will ALWAYS support a company that supports the people buying there products! I dont know if spending this kind of money is gonna be worth it as I was happy with my eDimisional's sound. Would there be a noticeable difference between my current and Medusa's? Thanks for any info/help.

Nice Job Matt and MedUsa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

p.s. Accident, was not a reply to Rhohan, hit wrong tab.
 
I say get the Medusa's. Yes i will admit at first they may be a hassle to get to work correctly (well they were for me haha) but if the steps to get them to work arent that technical and if you just read this message board it should have all the info you need. I just finished playing COD for about an hour and man oh man i love these bad boys. Although at first it feels as if the rear and center speakers sound horrible, after making the adjustments and playing the game for a while it really is a nice sound. The speakers still have little base in the back yet like i said, after the first 30 min or so of use, you really realize that its pretty damn nice set up they got.
3 days ago all i wanted to do was get rid of these things and go back to my 2.1 klipsch headphones, yet now i realize i will get rid of a set, yet it will be the klipsch ones i am getting rid of and here is the main reason:
Yea my klipsch pro3aa headphones have great depth to the sound, however, the medusa pr gamers have great depth to the left and right as well, yet they add on a whole new enviornment with the rear and center channel. So what if the rear and center aint perfect, if you dont like it, hey at lest you have bad ass left and right channels. (but trust me, you will like it)


Thats my 2 cents, hope it is somewhat coherent haah i tend to ramble...

Here are my setting i am running these puppies on:

Audigy 2 ZS gamer
Surround Mixer Settings:
Master volume = 90% (controll your volume through the amp, not the computer)
Bass MAX
All source volumes: MAX (except mic)
Advanced speaker controlls: all on max
EAX settings:
all off (no cmss or anything for games, yet if playing music, use stereo or cmss1, and 2 for movies)
SpeakerSettings:
Bass Managment: Subwoofer- MAX Bass Redirection-ON ~150Hz
InLine Amplifier:
From here controll your volume levels, mine are around 2-3 depending on how deff i want to go haha, and put your VIB from 5-10)
 
haha sorry to post a million messages but does anyone with the headphones like the fact that they are opened on the outside and a lot of audio "bleeds" out from them?? I personally find it a pain in the ass especialy when my roomates want to sleep and all they here is me killing Germans on COD2.

Is there an easy "ghetto" fix for this such as some kinda covering that will keep the escaping sound down?
 
then in COD2 for example turn it to EAX3 (yea i know the audigy 2 only supports EAX2 but si turned it to three and it kinda sounds a bit better, dont ask me why)

I notice that my audigy 1 seemed to support feature of EAX3 when using:

Rightmark 3dsound
(which is an awesome demonstration of EAX and positional audio and a FREE download)

After some research on creative labs's website, I learned that all audigy cards support at least EAX3, with the later models supporting EAX HD...so BUMP up that EAX setting kiddies.
 
I just received my Medusa 5.1's yesterday and spent the evening tinkering with them to get them working. I'm pretty sure they are now connected correctly, but I have the tinny rear speaker problem. I've read through this forum, the headset manual and the FAQ page on medusa-usa, which helped, but I still have the tinniness issue. I understand that they're designed to sound different, but they sound *bad*.

If I turn 360 degrees, stuff in front of me sounds great, and stuff behind me sounds like it's coming from inside a tin can. As many have observed, the bass is completely absent. This may be intentional, but it's far from realistic. I too suspect a bad component somewhere, or just bad design.

I've already identified and fixed a swapped rear - center/sub wiring (my mistake, not an internal wiring problem). I've turned on the bass redirection, cranked the vib/subwoofer, equalized the front/center/rears, turned off the CMSS 3d stuff on my X-Fi, etc. I thought perhaps it was just lousy 5.1 support in the game, but earlier in the forums Matt said some America's Army players said it all sounded just fine, and America's Army is what I primarily play that's sounding rotten.

It's at a point where I'm disappointed that they sound worse than my cheap speakers or stereo headphones, and I'm not hearing surround sound so much as I've learned that tinny sounding shots are supposed to be behind me.

The tinniness isn't as noticeable in the speaker check or white noise tests, but I don't find that all too surprising. It's completely distracting in games -- I have constant compulsion to go "fix" it, because the game sounds good and bad depending on which way I'm facing.

So anyway -- there's been enough chatter about whether or not this is "correct" behavior that I'm fuzzy on what the current verdict is. Is it possible they're defective or set up incorrectly, or are they *supposed* to sound tinny in the rears? "lower" by design, I buy, that should be adjustable to user preference by changing the invididual speaker levels. Tin-can tinny, I don't. It sounds exactly like a dead woofer, which is something you get fixed.

bp
 
The rear speakers deffinitely arent as powerfull as the side front speakers, however, to get the best out of them, make sure your windows volume is somewhere around 90% and then controll your audio on the headphone amp (mine is around 2 on the amp with vib to full. This i think ensures that windows outputs the most bass possbile. Anyway, yea the rears sound slightly off yet if you play long enough you actually start to really enjoy them. Give it a few days, if ya still dont like it then... i dunno haha.
 
I have to agree. After listening to the advice I received from head-fi.org on proper tunage of the medua's, they sound amazing. Just got done playing an hour of Cstrike source De_dust (woot for the new HDR lightning). When you have the windows volume up to 90-100% and the headphones @ 2-3 for rear,front,center and 10 for VIB the subwoofer really adds that extra effect to sounds coming from behind, you can steal feel a muffly sound on the rears, but this easily helps you realize that the sound is from behind...Try it, trust us!

I suggest that Matt recommed this method for all medusa owners, made a HUGE difference for me!

Credit goes to bangraman on head-fi.org for suggesting this to me.
 
Do ya happen to have the link to the specific forum posts? I think ive got everything tunned but doesnt hurt to double check.

Also...

" The film fan can enjoy the full cinematic surround sound experience without disturbing those around them or being disturbed himself" -medusa website

I was wondering if its normal that my headphones can be heard loud and clear by everyone around me while playing games and such, much more than any other headphones i have had? Like i have stated in some other posts, the sound "bleeds" a lot, most likely from the plastic/metal mesh outside of the headphone?
 
I am sorry about this, buy I am still unclear as to this tinny rear sound business.
It appears some people have a small problem in that they are not used to the sound behind them. Others have the problem I have which is that the rear speakers dont just sound bad, they sound TERRIBLE. Also, adjusting the VIB wheel on the headset lead makes no difference at all.
What i'm not sure about is whether all the people who have really terrible sounding rear speakers have faulty headset, or that they have set them up wrongly.
I have tried all sorts of things to get these headphones working, including adjusting volumes both in windows and on the amplifier and also trying bass redirection. None of these made any difference whatsoever.

At present I am unsure whether to send mine back to the place i bought them (overclockers UK) since if they are not fault, it will cost me in shipping and their time. :cry:
 
I am sorry about this, buy I am still unclear as to this tinny rear sound business.
It appears some people have a small problem in that they are not used to the sound behind them. Others have the problem I have which is that the rear speakers dont just sound bad, they sound TERRIBLE. Also, adjusting the VIB wheel on the headset lead makes no difference at all.
What i'm not sure about is whether all the people who have really terrible sounding rear speakers have faulty headset, or that they have set them up wrongly.
I have tried all sorts of things to get these headphones working, including adjusting volumes both in windows and on the amplifier and also trying bass redirection. None of these made any difference whatsoever.

At present I am unsure whether to send mine back to the place i bought them (overclockers UK) since if they are not fault, it will cost me in shipping and their time. :cry:

To test if the sub speakers are bad/not working put the sound card in 2.1 audio mode (both in the creative settings and in the windows speaker setttings) then plug the sub/center cable into the FrontLeft/FrontRight (usually green) jack on the sound card...Play some audio, adjust the VIB you should definetly be feeling the bass now...This will tell you wether the speakers are bad or wether you're setting them up wrong.
 
Do ya happen to have the link to the specific forum posts? I think ive got everything tunned but doesnt hurt to double check.

Also...

" The film fan can enjoy the full cinematic surround sound experience without disturbing those around them or being disturbed himself" -medusa website

I was wondering if its normal that my headphones can be heard loud and clear by everyone around me while playing games and such, much more than any other headphones i have had? Like i have stated in some other posts, the sound "bleeds" a lot, most likely from the plastic/metal mesh outside of the headphone?

#1. It was a response from a Personal message i sent him, I reworded pretty much everything he said and posted it above.

#2. I think their "watch movies w/o disturbing people" is a bit of an overstatement, yes they 'leak' sound, I'm not sure if this is designed this way to allow greater airflow for the subs or what...again ask on the head-fi forums. But yeah mine leak sound...obviously it sounds louder inside my headphones than outside them...which means I would be disturbing others less than if I had 5.1 speakers but yeah you get the idea.
 
Ok brodyhill I tried what you said by plugging the centre/sub input into the stereo out of the sound card and i could use the VIB wheel to get and control some good bass (although the headset hattles on the right hand side).
So i guess that means the bass part of it is working ok. I dont understand why the rear speakers should be so terrible (when using 5.1). Would you suggest I send my headset back? My worry is that the headset may not be faulty, since i dont think it is clear yet for everyone whether this common problem is a manufacturing problem or something else. If i send them back and they are not faulty, i will have to pay for shipping and for the site i bought it from to test it.

Like has been said before, i realise the rear speakers are not meant to be as loud as the front ones. However I just cant see how the front ones can sound so good yet the back are designed to sound terrible? I dont just mean they are quieter, they sound like tin cans.

Maybe no-one knows the answer :cry:
 
Some extra tips about defeating the tin-canniness. I've made a little
progress with the help of the others here.

On my X-fi card --

Turn OFF CMSS-3d.
Tun ON Bass Redirection, crossover freq cranked up to 200 Hz.
I don't enable the +15dB sub gain

Set the system volume to 90%
Set the dials on the headset cord:

Front: 2.5
Rear: 2.5
Center: 2.5
Vib: 10

This now seems to be working okay for me. I still had to get used to some
of the occlusion effects (not so much because of the headset as the new x-fi card) and the difference in the sounds behind me... initially I wanted them to sound exactly the same as the sounds in front of me, but wstcoaster is right, once I got the volume adjusted properly so that
it wasn't completely devoid of bass in the rears, the sound has grown on me.

I'm betting the crossover setting is a critical piece, btw -- that redirects low frequencies to the sub, so by design it should be making the sub support your rears, giving them some better bass.

bp