Arctic P531 Gaming Stereo USB Headphones, True 5.1 Surround Sound, Vibration Feedback - Black

Positives:The pads are cloth covered vinyl(vinyl is imitation leather). Other headsets have one or the other, or interchangeable between both. This is a better system you get the advantages of both all the time: sound isolation of vinyl/leather and nice soft cloth against the ears for comfort.True 5.1 surround sound. It has multiple speakers in each ear instead of trying to use software to emulate forward and backward sound. This is known as true 5.1. Tom's Hardware tested emulation vs. multiple speaker headphones. All users could point correctly to the sound direction using headphones of either design (hardware or software surround sound). So can I in tests I have run. BUT the sound is more slightly more clear and distinct as to directionaly when using multiple speakers. Its a small advantage (because both systems work very well), but still a perceptible one on all multiple speaker phones I have heard over software emulation of multiple speakers.Inexpensive: The least expensive true hardware 5.1 I know of.Good music fidelity and microphone fidelity.Very good volume controls on the plastic inline control box.Excellent software adjustments as to sound parameters. You can turn on DTS (virtual surround sound), move all speaker locations virtually. The voice altering controls for the microphone are great, instead of a lot of goofy sound schemes, you can alter your speaking voice in ways that are practical. Slightly raising the pitch (for better clarity), or lowering it a bit, etc.Will not overload nor distort on really loud bass sounds, even explosions.Cons:Good fidelity but not excellent fidelity like higher grade true music headphones (most or all of which are not surround sound phones). I have sennheisers RS180 (stereo, not surround sound) which have better music fidelity. For music I use those. For games I always use the Arctic P531 in order to get directional sound to hear from which direction sounds are from.Build quality is very good. But not excellent like higher price phones from the competition.No support. The website shows a picture of technitions at the phonebank. I see no listing for an actual phone number on that site nor in the manual in the package. I tried a test email to support: got no responses for a week.---------------------------------------------------------------demonstration virtual directional sound effectsDolby Digital, DTS, and THX:search youtube for 'Dolby Digital - HD Surround Sound Test'or google: watch?v=PvnlpPWAcZcTom's Hardware review of 5.1 and 7.1 phones:Google:Eight 5.1- And 7.1-Channel Gaming Headsets, Reviewedsurround sound test (and true 5.1 music samples)Google:The music of Bjorn Lynne-----------------------------------------5 stars because all in all, very satisfied indeed!Drivers here:[...]

The construction of these is very high quality. They are heavy and solid, no breaking little tiny hinges.I really like that I could simply plug them into my Windows7 system and they just worked - no driver needed. The system automatically switches back to speakers when I unplug them. I did download the specialized driver and found it very confusing. I spent an hour trying all different settings and never got what I wanted. I don't really care about the whole "make it sound like I am in a concert hall" stuff so I can't comment on how all that part of the software works.However...Physically I find them very heavy and hard on my ears. Apparently I have much more sensitive ears than some reviewers because I find they hurt my ears after only about 15 minutes. I end up pushing them forward so they don't touch the back of my ears. I find I just don't like themThe sound seems nice, I bought them primarily for gaming so the whole 24khz/48khz thing doesn't make any difference to me. They have a good sound - very loud and a lot of bass. So much bass in fact that they vibrate - like a vibrating phone. It is really distracting to have these giant headphones vibrating away on my head.My last thought is a dissapointment due to my faulty expectations. I specifically purchased 5.1 headphones so I could hear sounds BEHIND me, but in fact 5.1 - despite being labeled as "surround" actually only has front and side. You need 7.1 to hear behind you. So the primary purpose was to have headphones where I could hear someone sneaking up behind me, and these do not offer that.So they do what they are designed to do, but are big, heavy, vibrate and hurt my ears. They work great but I am moving on because they are not right for me.

Like a lot of people, I don't always have a lot of money. That's why I look for "bargains" or "cheap" versions of nice things. My gaming computer is Frankenstein living off of used and cheap parts, with the exception of the CPU. My favorite gaming headset, the Turtle Beach P51, has had the right side stop working, unless I endlessly jiggle the wire and hope it comes back on. Not ideal, to say the least. I had to resort to wearing two pairs of headphones, on with the mic, the other without, just to hear and talk at the same time. It was pretty bad.I looked all over for a nice replacement, and this time I wanted to go a step further. If possible, I wanted to go for surround sound. And thank whatever religious deity you believe in, I found these.First off, not only are they 5.1 surround sound, they are TRUE 5.1 surround sound, meaning they actually have all the speaker in each side that make up the surround sound experience, rather than simulating it like other cheaper headsets. Now, I've never used surround sound headsets before, but I have used nice quality stereo headsets, and these can compete very well. The bass is rich, and sounds like it's really all there. The surround is also very nice. Again, while I haven't used other surround headsets before this, I have used surround sound speakers, 7.1, and these sounds very close, and crisper since it's right by your ears.I'm using Windows 8, and while the box doesn't have Windows 8 support on it, these do work with it. The reason is, these came out before Windows 8, but if you go to the Arctic website, you will find Windows 8 drivers, which are a MUST download. I mean it. These won't work like you expect them to without them.The software is very helpful. You can tweak the EQ to your preference, configure where you want the speaker sound and how much of it, and even toggle 7.1 virtual surround sound, which is a bit hit or miss in quality. (In games that don't support 7.1, you won't hear some sound effects. I recommend just keeping it on 5.1 unless you're for sure the game or movie you're using supports 7.1)After some tweaking, you'll be impressed with the sound. Again, rich, deep bass, great speaker quality, and great surround sound. The mic is also good. Not great, but good. I've recorded myself, and used the Skype playback feature, and it sounds clear and picks up your voice very well without picking up the popping sound when you use Ts or Ps in words like my Turtle Beach mic did. There is also noise cancellation and voice modulations in the software that you can configure.These headphones do have some weight to them. Personally, they are the heaviest I've ever used, however it's not too much that they are uncomfortable, it's just a bit off-putting when you're not used to it. They also have very nice cushions for your ears, and grab onto your head snuggly. Some people may not be able to wear these for very long periods of time though. Either the weight, or the way it fits may cause a little strain to people who aren't used to it after some time of use.Music sounds beautiful. Games sound realistic, and the headset even vibrates in times of explosions (though I only notice it on the right side. not sure if that was on purpose, or if my left side isn't working correctly)I honestly didn't expect such great quality out of these for its price, especially since it used True 5.1 surround rather than virtual. I'll update after I give them more use in case I notice they don't last very long, or any complications arise later on. For now, I certainly recommend them, like many others on here have.EDIT: It's February of 2014, about 4 months later, and they still work just fine. To be fair, I've tried to be delicate with them, but I have dropped them a few times (since they are heavy, they have fallen off my head when I've had to sneeze), but so far that doesn't seem to have caused any damage. They still sound just as good as when I first got them, and the mic still works. I even got my younger brother a pair since I've liked them so much, and he does as well. The vibration feedback in games like Battlefield 4 is pretty amazing. If I ever need to replace these in the future, I know I'll miss having that. Overall, I still have no real complaints other than its weight. The cord however has started to show signs of use, as it tangles up and bunches like many standard cables do. Also, I've really come to hate the control box on the wire...it tends to get in the way a lot, and can add some extra tension to your head if you don't have it laying on a surface.EDIT 2: 5/20/2014 So in November, my brother got a pair of these for his birthday. Well, about a month ago, they stopped working. The one side slowly faded out, and the mic no longer worked. As for mine, that I got two months before his, are still working just fine. It all depends on how you treat them. My brother wasn't exactly delicate with the cord, so that could be what the problem was. However, he wasn't that rough either, so while these headphones are nice, they seem to be a bit fragile depending on how you take care of them.

Very heavy!!!! not for hardcore gamers.

Le ho usate per diverso tempo, e devo dire che queste cuffie, a mio parere, rasentano la perfezione: oltre all'indiscussa qualità audio regolabile finemente in ogni minimo dettaglio, la comodità è qualcosa di inusuale per cuffie che si poggiano sull'orecchio e non lo avvolgono: anche ore di gameplay sono perfettamente sostenibili con queste cuffie. Anche la qualità del microfono è altissima! Unica pecca è la mancanza di un adattatore usb-jack, ma è qualcosa a cui si può facilmente soprassedere e, al limite, si prende a parte.

Dieser Kopfhörer macht ordendlich Dampf und hat auch einen super Bassbereich.Leider sind die Ohrmuscheln sehr klein, dodaß sie das Ohr nicht umschließen und daher nur aufliegen.Dieses ist für Brillenträger auf die Dauer sehr unangenehm, zumal der Bügel auch sehr fest anpresst.

Le cuffie sono molto buone come qualita' audio per il loro prezzo.e' un vero 5.1 settabile anche a 7.1 virtuale.ma il problema non sono le cuffie in se, quanto il microfono.parlando con i miei amici in skype,teamspeak,steam chat ho notato lo stesso problema."e' come se avessi una mano sopra la bocca".terribile,mi auguro sia solo un mio problema

Too heavy and painful on ears, audio is pretty good though.