Medusa 5.1 Surround Headset

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Pruncr0c, You may be right, maybe it is an issue wiht the sound card. I would hate to think the X-Fi's have the same issue since I want to get one of them...

One thought, maybe you can remove your sound card and try the on board sound chip that is probally on the motherboard? If you have a recent board it most likely has on board 5.1 sound. If you don't know you can post the maker and model number of the motherboard and I can look it up for you.
 
Well funnily enough, thats why I bought an X-Fi in the first place. I actually bought the Medusa's first and tried the them with my onboard sound and it sounded quite poor. I assumed that it was the onboard sound that was at fault (with poor sound quality), not the Medusa's. Not to mention that the onboard sound couldnt cope properly with any kind of EAX effects (everything sounded like u were in a sewer pipe, or sound samples in games would continue looping indefintely). The rear bass with the onboard sound and the Medusas, as far as I can remember, was fine.

I bought the X-Fi because I thought I'd be doing the Medusa's more justice with a decent card. And apart from the issue with the rear bass, I have been extremely impressed with both products so far.

However, my recommendation to anyone considering buying a set of Medusa's who already have an X-Fi, or anyone who has an X-Fi that is considering buying a set of Medusa's - don't bother, at least until this issue is resolved.
 
Puncr0c, just wanted to say that your posts are spot on and I couldn't have said it better myself.

BTW: I have an Audigy 2 Value which probably explains why I’m experiencing these problems.
 
Puncr0c, just wanted to say that your posts are spot on and I couldn't have said it better myself.

BTW: I have an Audigy 2 Value which probably explains why I’m experiencing these problems.
Click to expand...

Thanx dude 😀

Out of interest, I wonder what type of Medusas (USB or non-USB) and what soundcard GunzHost and Alphamale have? It might help readers of these posts to know what specs people have where the Medusas do (or dont) work.
 
GunzHost

It appears you are lucky enough to have either a working set of these or a working combination of the Medusa’s and soundcard. Would you mind sharing your setup with us?

Also I’m not denying that these headphones will help you locate your opponents easier because I agree these headphones do provide excellent surround sound and thus would make it easier to locate you opponents etc. The point I’m trying to make is that although they provide surround sound, the sound produced is lacking in bass in some directions (namely from the center and rear).

Could you please do some kind of a test for us (the one I suggested would be great if you have access to UT2004, but if not something similar will do) and report back to us? I think all of us with this problem would just like to know there are users getting the same levels of bass from explosions etc no matter which way the sound is coming from.

Also perhaps to get a better idea of the problems we are facing, try unplugging the center/sub cable to your amp and then have something explode behind you. This is probably very close to the sound we are experiencing. If it is lacking in bass can you see how this would be unacceptable?

Your help is appreciated, cheers.
 
Nothing flash or complicated

Intel P4 2.4
Soyo Motherboard
GeForce MX440 Graphics
Creative X-Fi Extreme.
Medusa 5.1 8790 with amp.
1Gb DDR Memory
Windows XP SP2

I am by no means an audiophile, all I can report is that when I purchased these headphones back in Febuary I bought them so that I could get the best out of my 5.1 games and improve my chances of winning. To date I have not been dissapointed. The ability to hear what is going on around you is brilliant and has imporved my gameplay ten-fold which more than compensates for any 'lack of bass'.

In my view, so what if the bomb behind me doesnt sound like Mt Helena exploding and shake my head off, at least I know it was a bomb and it was behind me, and using these headphones instead of having the neighbours banging on the wall because my 5.1 speakers are too high is a godsend.

I for one would never be without my Medusa's now and would TOTALLY recommend them to anyone.
 
My setup is Pro-Gamer with Audigy2 ZS.

I am off college at the moment due to a bad leg and have plenty of time on my hands. I have used it today to do quite a bit of research on the Medusa. From the information I have gathered I have estimated that there must be at least 20,000+ sets in use worldwide and yet I was very hard pushed to find more than a handfull of people who complained about the sound performance. Of these about 80% had returned them and 20% either sold them or made do.

The problem with forums like this one is that you tend to find that only people with problems post on them which gives a very negative and one-sided viewpoint of the thing being discussed. It is human nature to strike out when things are not to your liking and what better place to start than a forum dedicated to the topic. My understanding of a User Forum though is that it is there for people to express their own personal experiences NOT to dictate world policy. Just because YOU do not like a particular product is it really fair to offer up comments like. 'dont buy this' 'steer clear' etc etc. Surely over 19,950 satisified customers cannot be wrong can they ? If you dont like the Headset then return it or sell it to someone else.

Like Keo I also purchased my set from Matt. I looked at his and about 6 other eBay sellers and page after page of feedbacks all extolled the virtues of the Medusa which is why I bought one in the first place.
http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback&userid=afthrscomputers
Unlike most review sites, which I am sure must take kick backs, eBay feedback is 100% un-biased. How can you honestly justify telling people to never buy this product when so many others say the exact opposite. If you dont like the Medusas Sound why not just ask your seller to take the set back and refund you, put it down to experience and move on.
 
Surely over 19,950 satisified customers cannot be wrong can they ?
Click to expand...

For me (and I guess for some others too), this is the main reason for following this thread. This thread was almost the only place I could find similar experinces than I've had with these headphones. You can imagine the feeling when there are so many positive comments and you are alone wondering why the set sounds so bad.
 
Alphamale

Personally I do not believe eBay feedback alone can be taken as a good measure for the performance of these headphones, this is for a few reasons, first and foremost you only get about 80 characters (can’t remember the exact amount, but it’s around 80) to give your point of view and I hardly think this is enough space to give a true perspective. Secondly a lot of feedback is really just to do with the transaction, i.e. ‘Product received’, ‘great seller, very prompt’, etc. Some people leave feedback before they have even really had a chance to test a product fully. I think this would definitely be the case with this product and other sound products. This is because most people would not at first notice the problems we are describing in this thread because most people have not developed the kind of acute ear for sound it would take to instantly notice a problem like this. This comes from direct experience. I have worked in the music industry for years and can tell you before this was able to take place I spent probably close to 5 years at approximately 10 hours a week practicing my trade and training my listening ability before my auditory skills were at the stage where I could manipulate sound at the advanced level required for public performance. So I can assure you that the difference between the average persons and trained professionals auditory ability is vastly different. So if most people don’t notice the problem straight away, is it not fair to say that by the time they do, they have already left feedback on this product? Hence the reason you find this information on forums like this, not in eBay feedback.

Now onto the point you raised about a ‘much more rounded viewpoint’, indicating that you felt my view was not rounded. Okay, I will admit that my post was highlighting the problems with these headphones and not covering any of their good features. This was really because there is more than enough good information about these headphones on the net and I didn’t really feel it was necessary to cover them off again in this post, which is after all to do with problems with these headphones, not how good they are. However just for you I will give a more rounded viewpoint to prove my un-biasness… But before I do, I have to ask. Why would you say that the review covered in you earlier post is ‘a much more rounded viewpoint’ and then in your very next post say that ‘most review sites, which I am sure must take kick backs’? I mean which way is it? Do you believe in this (and other) reviews or not? I’m sure only you can explain this to us.

So just for the record and to help alleviate your fears that I am unjustly giving this product a bad name here is my ‘more rounded’ opinion on these headphones. When you read this, keep in mind that my opinion is totally un-bias as I purchased and paid for these headphones with my own money. Also I have no affiliation with any company which has anything to do with these headphones. I am just your regular user who wants nothing more than to experience the awesome sound produced by the headphones so many others seam to have experienced.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Structural quality:

Excellent, these headphones are very well made and appear to be made out of quality parts. I can see these headphones providing you with many years of service.

Comfort/fit:

Excellent, these headphones feel great on the head and are adjustable to fit most too all head shapes. The velvet ear piece covers are a great feature which improves comfort and I would imagine help keep the sweat to a minimum during those long gaming sessions. I am unable to comment on how they feal over a long period of time, as due to the problems outlined below and in this post, I am unable to use them for any extended period of time.

Sound:

Mid and high frequencies: These headphones provide excellent surround sound from all directions (center, front and rear), probably better than any other surround sound headphone on the market, definitely better than any I have listened too. You will definitely be able to locate your opponents easier, hopefully improving your frag rate.

Low frequencies: This unfortunately is where these headphones may let you down. As described in this thread some users (including myself) are experiencing problems with even bass distribution. Sounds produced from either side of you are fine, they sound great and are full of bass, however unfortunately any sound produced from either directly in front or behind you, are greatly lacking in bass. This will significantly impact on your immersion in games.

MIC:

The location and flexibility of the microphone is fantastic, you can bend it to nearly any location. This will make sure it’s never in the way and as close to you month as you like it.

Summery:

Over all I would say these headphones have the potential to be the best and if all you’re after is headphones to boost your frag count, then these are probably the headphones for you. However if you want total game immersion (like I do), then until the problems highlighted in this thread are addressed and resolved, I would steer well clear of them. Because every sound produced (containing bass) by the same thing, will sound different depending on where the sound is located in relation to you. This for anyone who, as me, loves their sound, will be nothing less than unacceptable.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

I trust this will satisfy your ‘more rounded viewpoint’ requirements. Are we allowed to move onto finding a resolution to the problem now?

This thread is primarily about the problems with the Medusa’s and how they can be rectified. Not about how good (or not) they are. I will admit that I also used it to highlight to potential buyers the downside to these headphones. However I felt this was necessary because there is so little information available about the downside with regards to these headphones. I don’t really think it’s necessary to continually cover all the good points about these headphones though as there is already enough on this topic out there. So if you’re not prepared to assist with finding a resolution to this problem then perhaps this thread is not for you. Because even though you are welcome to put forward your opinion if your not part of the solution you are part of the problem and this is not what’s needed here at present.

Also onto your point about ‘dictating world policy’, mate, if only I was that powerful. Don’t you think if I was able to dictate world policy, I would just force Speed-link to fix this problem, rather than just highlighting it? Can’t you see I am by no means trying to dictate world policy? All I’m trying to do is highlight this problem (and hopefully help with a fix) and give the other side about these headphones to potential buyers. Because I can assure you I would not have purchased these headphones if I had known about the problems with bass distribution I now know about.

Lastly you have asked ‘is it really fair to offer up comments like. ‘don’t buy this’ ‘steer clear’ etc’. In answer to this I would ask, is it fair for anyone, including review sites, to recommend people buy this product? Because personally I can’t see the difference, I mean really it’s all just information anyone looking to purchase this product should be grateful to have, no matter which side it represents. People are going to make their own decision anyway, at least this way they have information from both sides about the product first and can feel they are making a more informed purchase. Besides, if by me recommending to people not buy these until the problems are corrected, is this not going to help put pressure on Speed-Link to resolve these problems? Thus producing a better product for all to enjoy? Personally I really don’t care if people buy these or not. But by not putting this information out there, I’m really just helping to perpetuate the problem. This is something I’m just not prepared to do.
 
GunzHost

First of all thanks for sharing your setup.

You make the point that these headphones are great just because they help you improve your frag rate and any problems with bass distribution should be over looked because it doesn’t detract from this fact. I guess this is fine if this is your primary goal (improving your frag rate). For me though and I’m sure many others, improving your frags comes in second to game immersion. Because although I love to make a frag just as much as the next guy, I am by no means looking to compete in competitions (at least on a regular basis) and thus don’t need to be too concerned with my frag rate. What I’m looking for is total game immersion and as I believe sound is a very important part of this I find my enjoyment level with these headphones is cut due to the ‘no bass’ issue described in this thread. Even George Lucas (who revolutionized movie theatres with the THX System) agrees with me on this one. He has been quoted as saying “The sound and music are 50% of the entertainment in a movie” and I think it’s safe to say that if he was a gamer he would say the same about games.

So if you read my last post you will see that I agree these headphones will more than likely up your frag rate, for me (and some others) this though is not as important as total game immersion, which is why we are looking for a solution to these issues. I mean wouldn’t it be great to have high frags and high game immersion? I think so and that’s why I’m going to these lengths, hopefully for the benefit of us all.
 
Excellent posts Keo.

You are right about the eBay positive feedbacks (or any other instant feedback). It wasn't until a couple of days of using the product that I realised that I had a problem with the rear speaker bass. When I first used the headset, I tested it out with MP3s and it sounded fantastic, so I too would have left positive feedback on eBay (if I had purchased them from there).

Since there is no resolution, have you tried some of the proposed workarounds in this forum thread? Although they don't solve the problem, I have found that they do help a bit. The best results I've found so far was trying the settings suggested by this guy...

...
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
...
Click to expand...

Now obviously that's using the THX setup that comes with the X-Fi, I'm not sure if the Audigy 2 ZS has the same type of options/tools, but if it has, its definitely worth a try.

The downside is that having the Vib (sub) on 10 means that close bass from the front sound source often ends up vibrating your neck!

Also Keo, is it worth putting pressure on Creative to try and come up with a solution? I still beleive that the problem could be solved with a patch to the soundcard drivers, especially considering that some people have compared the same set of Medusas from Audigy 1 to Audigy 2 and have observed the no-bass in rears on the Audigy 2 but not on the Audigy 1. I have tried posting on the Creative forums to get some support on this but have not received much response...

http://forums.creative.com/creativelabs/board/message?board.id=soundblaster&message.id=58602
 
The thing is, if you get the cable that goes into the rear input on the amp and plug that into a normal stereo source such as an mp3 player, the sound (only coming out of the rears) is terrible (for me). Surely this is the way to test if it is the sound card or the headphones themselves? If i then plug the cable that goes into the front imput on the amp into an MP3 player, the music sounds good.
Another way to test whether there is a problem with the sound card set up or the headset is to run a 5.1 program - e.g. a game like counterstrike sourse. Instead of using the medusa head set, use some normal stereo headphones or speakers and plug them into each output on the sound card. Then make sounds come from different places in the game (such as with a grenade). For example, throw a grenade infront of you and have the stereo heaphones plugged into the front output on the sound card. Then plug the headphones into the rear output on the sound card and made a grenade go off behind you. If the sounds are similar and the rear sound doesnt sound crap then that suggests the pc soundcard set up is ok, its just that the medusa headset is going wrong.

If anyone has tried any of this please post here to let us know.
 
I would like to address the tiny sound from the rear spekers.

I think Speek-Link should increase the size of the rear/center speakers, maybe even to 40mm like the front, that would get rid of the tiny sound. BUT, because these are headphones, maybe they purposedly made them smaller to compensate for the fact that the rear speakers aren't directly behind you, but to the rear-side of your ear. In real life things do sound a little tinnier from behind than the front/sides, but not a huge difference. And in a standard 5.1 system (ex. Klipsch Promedia 5.1) all the speakers are the same, and the rear speakers are directly behind you, thus they will sound tinnier than the fronts even though they're identical speakers.

Maybe they only sound tiny due to the bass issue...or maybe Speed-Link made the center/rear speakers TOO small and tiny sounding. I don't know, just something I thought of.

EDIT: It seems to me that since the Medusa has 1 Sub-woofer speaker in each pad that if an explosion goes off behind or in front of you, you should hear where the explosion is coming from, and the sub-woofer speakers should produce the bass. Is this not the case?

Also the X-Fi may, or may not be at some fault here as some of you mentioned.
 
Excellent posts Keo.
Click to expand...
Thanks buddy.

Yeah I have tried similar settings (Audigy 2 does not have the THX setup but has similar settings available) and was not able to get the bass from the rears or center to what I felt was and expectable level. Remembering I have my Zalman’s too tie me over until this problem is resolved, so if I can’t get the Medusa’s working perfectly I’m not really interested in using them.

Also Keo, is it worth putting pressure on Creative to try and come up with a solution? I still beleive that the problem could be solved with a patch to the soundcard drivers, especially considering that some people have compared the same set of Medusas from Audigy 1 to Audigy 2 and have observed the no-bass in rears on the Audigy 2 but not on the Audigy 1. I have tried posting on the Creative forums to get some support on this but have not received much response...

http://forums.creative.com/creativelabs/board/message?board.id=soundblaster&message.id=58602
Click to expand...

For sure, I don’t think there will be any complaints from all concerned parties if this can be resolved by a simple patch. I wasn’t aware there are people who had done a test from the Audigy 1 to the Audigy 2 and have noticed the lack off bass began to occur after the upgrade. Could you please post a link to this info if available? However I am still a bit sceptical about this being a soundcard issue though as if you check out my initial post (page eight) you will see there is someone who has tested with a different soundcard (hercules) and they still experienced the same lack of bass issues. But you never know, the more possibilities, the possible solutions…
 
i got a new set of medusa 5.1's. i can not get them working correctly with my x-fi.

* i did get them working flawlessly with an audigy 1.
** i have read over the medusa-usa.com/support.php page and followed their x-fi setup


the rear channel does not want to work correctly. they sound very very quiet, and without bass. I have a pair of zalman 5.1's that work fine, so i am not sure what the difference is with these medusa's.

any help would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

...from earlier in this thread (msg 79).
 
Hi.. I have a problem.. that I am pretty sure you guys can help me with..


I have a A sound blaster Live! Soundcard.. and there are 5 holes in the back... But and there are 3 holes in the back of the medusa amp.

front.. rear and Center/sub..

which holes in the back of my soundcard do i connect to in the back of the amp?

My soundcard has a ... Rear .. a font.. a mic hole... a line in hole.. and a digital out hole..... None say center or anything like that... yeah 🙁 hahah yeah i am stupid
 
If they work "flawlessly' with an Audigy 1, but not the X-Fi, that tells me the X-Fi is the problem.

I e-mailed Creative support about this issue. I doubt they'll be much help.

This sucks, these headphones seemed perfect untill I read this thread. Now I don't know what to do...I need a great pair of 5.1 headphones that emphasise total game immersion rather than just focusing on positional audio.

I wish I had these headphones because it just so happens that I have an X-Fi XtremeMusic and an Audigy 1, but no Medusa's to test.

I wonder exactly what kind of improvements have been made to the new "Medusa 5.1 Home Edition" over the ProGamer Edition, as far as the no bass issue is concerned?
 
EDIT: It seems to me that since the Medusa has 1 Sub-woofer speaker in each pad that if an explosion goes off behind or in front of you, you should hear where the explosion is coming from, and the sub-woofer speakers should produce the bass. Is this not the case?
.
Click to expand...

This I believe is correct, the sub woofer speakers should produce bass no matter which way the sound is coming from. Unfortunately the problem we are experiencing is that no (or little) bass is produced from sounds when they are directly in front or behind you, either side of you is fine however.
 
Hi.. I have a problem.. that I am pretty sure you guys can help me with..


I have a A sound blaster Live! Soundcard.. and there are 5 holes in the back... But and there are 3 holes in the back of the medusa amp.

front.. rear and Center/sub..

which holes in the back of my soundcard do i connect to in the back of the amp?

My soundcard has a ... Rear .. a font.. a mic hole... a line in hole.. and a digital out hole..... None say center or anything like that... yeah 🙁 hahah yeah i am stupid
Click to expand...

Do you have a manual? Can you give me the exact card model? I'm sure I can help; I just need to know what I’m working with first.

Also before we even try to work this out, just so you know, if your planning on playing games with this soundcard in 5.1, I don't think you will be happy with the sound produced. At least I wasn't (I had a Live and had to upgrade to an Audigy 2). I don't believe this soundcard has "hardware acceleration", this means it won’t have enough grunt to run EAX etc in games. Movies will be fine, but games, no.
 
Well, I use an Audigy and the ProGamer edition, and tried out the grenade test you did keo in UT 2004, but in Battlefield 2 instead, using OpenAL.dll (ver 6.14.357.11). There are no specific 5.1 settings in the menu though, at least to my knowledge, but I got exactly the same result as you... Great sound to the left and right, but weak and tinny especially from the back. I can accept the sound being weaker from behind, "lower in output" as Matt wrote, but with less bass? No, and especially not from the front as is the case.

Wouldn't the best thing be if someone could record a session, for instance with a grenade test front/left/right/back, post the files here and also send it to Speed-Link/Creative? Preferably with samples compared to another headset, such as the Zalmans, as some say they have proper bass all around, or from people with Medusas that don't behave like this.

This would accomplish several things:
Firstly, Speed-Link could confirm to us if that's the way it's supposed to sound, the way they want the design to work or if something is wrong with the sound picture.
Secondly, everyone on the forum could understand what the problem is, and as it seems that some say they don't experience the lack of bass, they could listen to the samples.
Thirdly, and best of all, we can all can agree on what we're discussing and that would give us a common platform to continue the disussion from: design or incorrect behaviour?

I mean, when you talk about image quality you usually post a picture to show graphical anomalies; the corresponding thing with sound anomalies should be sound samples, shouldn't it? I could do it - if I had the recording equipment, but I don't, so I pass on the task to someone brave enough to boldly go where no man has gone before... :wink:

/m

PS Also, I played Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault set to 5.1 and EAX 3, and just out of fun turned 360 with an engine humming nearby - the sound from the engine totally disappeared when it was at the back of me. I would have tried Q4 as well, but unfortunately, at the moment I don't have space enough to install it. But I wasn't bothered by this issue in Q4 as I am in BF2. Maybe it's application dependent?
 
Hey all. I've been over at Head-Fi reading up on 5.1 headphones and decided they're not a good buy.

After much reading I decided an excellent pair of stereo cans for gaming/movies/music would be the ultimate solution. It looks like these are probably the best, for the price: Audio-Technica ATH-A700. Can be had for about $130.

They have a large soundstage which is great for pinpointing sounds, plus if you use an X-Fi you can use their CMSS-3DHeadphone feature which works pretty well. And Dolby Headphone is also another good solution, watch/listen to their racing demo.

Well this is the conclusion I came to. I was very content on 5.1 heaphones, but after some extensive reading, I have changed my mind.
 
Hi All,

Just wondering, does the Medusa 5.1 ProGamer Edition [SL-8793] come with an amplifier box etc... like the Medusa 5.1 Original Single User -OEM [SL-8790O] has? I'd like to know as I might buy the ProGamer if it does.

Thanks.
 
Hi All,

Just wondering, does the Medusa 5.1 ProGamer Edition [SL-8793] come with an amplifier box etc... like the Medusa 5.1 Original Single User -OEM [SL-8790O] has? I'd like to know as I might buy the ProGamer if it does.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I think so...

Convenient Control via the In-line Remote

The volume of the individual speakers and the subwoofer can be adjusted using the in-line remote. Fine-tuning of the microphone volume and audio playback volume should be carried out using the Windows audio controls. In addition, the in-line remote also houses the amplifier.

Look Here

But I wouldn't recommend them because of the bass issue posted here.
 
Here's the response I got from Creative Labs:

Thank you for contacting Creative Technical Support.

It is my understanding that you have a Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic
and are unable to hear a definitive bass signal when using your
Speed-Link's Medusa 5.1 ProGamer headphones.

I have taken the liberty of forwarding your feedback to the appropriate
department. I cannot make any promises that your suggestion will be
implemented, but I do recommend periodically monitoring our website for
updates and/or subscribing to our Creative Newsletter, by clicking
below:
http://us.creative.com/contactus/subscription/

This is good news, sort of. I explained the problem to them and asked that they send it to someone that could fix the problem.
 
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