Assunto: SteelSeries Spectrum 5XB Review Seg Set 27, 2010 12:07 pm
It's a sad time, at the time of writing I don't have Halo Reach quite yet so I thought the most constructive thing I could do would be to write the review I had been meaning to do for the latest SteelSeries product on the market, the Spectrum 5XB.
I did an unboxing when I first got the headset in last week (first on youtube I believe). Although unboxing videos may not be everyone's cup of tea and considered a little bit geekish, it gives people a chance to see the final retail product and how it's going to look when it comes through their doors if they do wish to buy it.
Unfortunately with the headset I had been sent there was a small defect in the AudioMix (more on that later) which meant when I plugged it into my controller there was a small buzz. Being a sample product and not the entirely finished it's no great shock to see small problems however after getting in touch with the very helpful Kim of SteelSeries he immediately organised a replacement, explaining this wasn't a problem he had encountered before on any of the other devices they had tested. Just my luck to get the duff one, regardless they have been more than kind and replaced it without hesitation, so my gratitude goes out to Kim and the guys at SteelSeries for awesome customer service that is rare in this day in age of mass consumer electronics.
The Headset
So let's get back to the headset, if you have seen the unboxing video I suggest skipping to the next paragraph. The headset itself comes in a clear box with the headset and AudioMix displayed with distinctive SteelSeries writing. Out of character for SS products they have added quite a bit of green colour into it and moved away from their usual discrete boxing, if they start selling this in shops I imagine this will only help sales.
Getting the headset out of the box it felt very light and well made. I had seen Kim in some interviews bending the headset and pulling the cable from the headset to test durability so I gave it a shot and was surprised I didn't break it even with considerable force put upon it. The headset looks good but I couldn't help thinking it just looked like a re-sprayed version of the SS 5HV2's, which in terms of design it effectivly is. Although this is part lazyness from the manufacturer having a 5H model that works directly with the 360 isn't a bad thing, let's just hope they can bring out some knockout designs in the future that seperate the ranges and bring something unique.
It's rubbish for a finger work out
The headset aswell as being flexible actually comes apart into 3 pieces, I found this to be easy to do and I found fitting it into a bag for travelling much easier than trying to fit the V2's in for example.
The standard pull out mic that has become a SteelSeries standard remains, however I liked this one a little better than the V2's and other designs as the colour matched the headset which made it look less cheap.
Putting the headphones on my head it was clear these weren't at all designed to block out sound and provided basically zero sound isolation, they were however probably the lightest headset I have worn to date and one of the most comfortable. I am actually wearing them now and after about 10 minutes you do kind of forget your wearing them. I often find with headsets that if you do wear them for a while you tend to get pretty hot but with the ventilation on the side of the cups and the cushion pads this really isn't a problem.
Overall design wise it's not revolutionary and the sound isolation is none exsistant, but they are damn comfy and extremely durable. Plus I think they look pretty damn good in all black with the fanboy Xbox green.
Next up is the all important sound test, used on a variety of equipment they faired very well and produced a similar sound quality to the V2's (which if you have read my review of it, is very high). I noticed an improvement while listening to music which was more of a crisp sound due to the air flow from the open nature of the headset. The crisp sound translated more into games with less bass and you could say it helped pick up certain sounds like foot steps, but the lack of bass felt like I was a little removed from the game itself and not as immersed as other headsets I've used, but it depends on how high you have the noise.
I first used the headset on the PC, which worked just like any other headset by plugging in the standard microphone and stereo 3.5mm jacks. Using a variety of methods I found the mic to be good for recording, again similar to the V2's but that is expected due to using basically the same mic. Listening wise it was good for videos, games and skype chats and the big stereo drivers allowed me to push the volume pretty damn high with only small distortion once I got really loud.
5XB Specifications; Headphones Freq. response: 16 – 28.000 Hz Impedance: 40 Ohm SPL@1kHz, 1Vrms: 110 dB Cable: 1 + 2 = 3 m / 9.8 ft. Jack: 3.5 mm Microphone Freq. response: 75 – 16.000 Hz Pick up pattern: Uni-directional Sensitivity: -38 dB Impedance: 2K Ohm
On to the most important part which is the Xbox, for this part I will introduce SteelSeries specialist bit of equipment;
The AudioMixer
This little device basically plugs into the bottom of your controller, has a lead coming out of it that connects to a USB (for power) and standard audio jack to plug into device such as audio jack or scart/vga port (it comes with a white/red 3.5mm splitter).
The device has a big mute button on the front that flashes red for muted and green for on. The 'LiveMix' button which we will discuss in a moment is located on the back and a volume rocker for volume and Xbox live sound is based on the left and right of device.
On the bottom of the controller is two ports for a standard 3.5mm audio and microphone input. This means you can use ANY headset that has these, which unless you buy a purpose built USB headset, is every single headset in the world near enough.
I found it very easy to plug into the controller although I wasnt sure if I had plugged it in far enough it seemed to fit pretty snug in the end, just be careful if your microphone port on your controller is slightly out of line as this may stop it fitting. The device itself doesn't feel in the way and although you might feel a little confused when you brush the tips of your fingers few times you will get used to it.
Starting up MW2 and Halo 3 the sound from it was exactly the same if I had plugged directly into my TV which is the basic stereo sound produced by the Xbox. I tried a few headsets and each worked well with it although this was expected, I didn't feel the 5XB had any kind of special optimisation to work with the AudoMix but alongisde the V2's and my Sennheiser 595's they worked very well, displaying the benefits stated above such as crisp sound quality.
A new feature this device comes with is known as LiveMix, which to be honest I am not a huge fan of due to it varying the game sound which at times was very disoreintating. What the device does is tries to balance the noise of your team mates with the game sound to create an equal balance. Instead what happens is when no one on your team is talking, the game sound is a normal level, then when they speak it turns the game volume down and your team mates effectivly become louder. Now the problem they didn't forsee was that each team mate will speak with a variety of pitch and level, which means it'll sometimes just reduce the entire noise of the game and the person you were meant to hear is clear because they are normally quiet, but then it'll sometimes have the game sound knocked down but then someone like Meekel or Loco will shout down the mic and blow your brains out. I found myself leaving the LiveMix turned off and instead adjusting the volume control with my fingers accordingly, the handy volume rockers on each side allowed me to do that without much fuss. Unfortunately this leaves the LiveMix feature basically redundant but for some casual gamers and those not that interested in game sound it'll be something they will use, I imagine a game like FIFA or similar sport title it would work well.
For those thinking this would be an Astro Mixamp beater or even rival, it's a completely different story and not at all aimed at the same audience in my eyes. The Astro Mixamp is a digital decoder, LAN daisy chain device and Xbox Live audio system all in one and priced at around £100. The LiveMix is something that is very handy for connecting PC headsets to the Xbox and a great quick to hand volume rocker that allows you to adjust the sound from your team mates and the game with ease, it retails for £35 but comes with the 4XB and 5XB headsets.
Scores and Summary for Live Mix and 5xB Combined
Design – 8/10 – An Xbox version of the PC 5Hv2's, they provide Xbox styling along with great comfort and durability. These are designed to last and you'll have to do a pretty good job to destroy them. It's a shame they don't have much sound isolation and this really lowers the mark in terms of competitive play, as anyone knows, using an open headset at LAN isn't great. The AudioMix has been designed to fit nicely into the bottom of the controller and provides you with great to hand volume rockers, not the nicest looking
Functionality – 7/10 – The headset works with any 3.5mm plug however the cables from it are a little short if your just using it for PC or Mixamp from a distance, it is still LAN compatable tho. The AudioMix unfortunately is just a stereo output and not a digital decoder and doesnt feature a daisy chain facility.
Sound – 8/10 - Headset sound is great and crystal clear. Even though you will be using it just stereo with the AudioMix it's pin point accurate on the right game. The LiveMix feature on the AudioMix isn't what I expected and simply doesnt work, thankfully you can turn it off and use the volume rockers.
Value – 9/10 – A top of the line headset with a £35 Audio mixing device included for only around £80 makes the high grade headset only £55, the price you'd pay for an awful set of standard stereo headphones which makes it a bargain.
Overall – 8/10 - A solid 8 out of 10, this is a great first go at an Xbox headset and mixer from the guys at SteelSeries. Although they used a design that's been around for a few years they pull off an impressive product that really shows that SteelSeries mean business with console. I liked the Xbox colours used and although the LiveMix on the AudioMix didn't work as expected they still provided a cheap and effective solution to the costly Astro Mixamp. I can't wait to see what SteelSeries have in store for us after this taster of what they can produce.
por FILIP_FB Qua Dez 05, 2012 11:20 am
