Psyko 5.1 Gaming Headset Review

The result of over 8 years of engineering by Psyko Audio Labs. We take a look at their one and only product. Psyko 5.1

Product on Review: Psyko 5.1 Gaming Headset
Manufacturer and Sponsor: Psyko
MSRP: £200 / $300

The product we will be taking a look at today first made its appearance at CES in 2009 and caused quite a stir. Psyko Audio Labs is a Canadian based technology group focused with the sole intention of giving the gaming community new and innovative surround sound solutions. Their one and only product the Psyko 5.1 Gaming Headset is the result of over 8 years of work by head-man, inventor and mastermind James Hildebrandt.

The Psyko 5.1 Gaming Headset hopes to replicate the same sound properties as a typical surround sound system would via speakers. Even from just taking a first glance at the Psyko 5.1 Gaming Headset it will strike you as something totally unique amongst any audio solution currently available to the gamer.

Psyko Audio Labs take:

This is a quantum leap in headphone technology. The Psyko 5.1 PC Gaming Headset System creates 3D sound in exactly the same way a room system does – with 5 speakers plus the subwoofer positioned accurately around you. You hear precisely where every sound originates, the way you are supposed to. You get naturally immersive sound with no hassles, no latency, and no limits to where and when you want to play.

Features
• Patent Pending Psyko WaveGuide™ Technology for precision directional audio
• You are always in the audio “Sweet Spot” for enhanced realism

Zero Latency and Instant Positional Awareness
• Hear directional sounds instantly and more accurately
• Improves game performance through faster reaction times and higher kill ratios

Simple and Accurate Setup
• Just plug the Psyko 5.1 Amp into your 5.1 sound card, adjust your Control Panel settings to 5.1 and play
• All speakers are automatically in the right place

Custom Sound Control
• Adjust volume and bass levels on the Psyko 5.1 PC Amp

Comfort
• Patent Pending ear cup vents pivot open and closed, allowing for open air flow to keep your ears cool and comfortable for those marathon game sessions. Open them to talk to others in the room, close them to block outside sounds.
• Fabric cushioning for extended play comfort

Packaging and Bundle

The Psyko headset comes in an exciting looking box, a large impression of the headset is clearly seen, there are no intimations as to the features or technology. This information is found on the rear of the packaging.

Psyko 5.1 Gaming Headset box

Opening the box up, all items are secure in the well packaged enclosure. What you get inside are the following items:

• 5.1 headset
• 5.1 PC Amp
• Microphone
• Power adapter (for use with amp)
• Instructions manual

Included bundle with the Psyko 5.1

First of all we will take a look at the PC amp. Psyko Audio Labs leave little technical information on the details of the amp and the headset. They explain how the technology works but not what components are used and what is output. In regards to the amp, the front of this device has an LED lit diagram specifying at each position where the sound is hitting. When the amp is powered up and connected, if noise is to be directed through the left-front then the LF led will illuminate. On the front of the amp are two knobs, the first of these which is smaller in size allows for the direction and bass to be adjusted whilst the larger sized knob controls both the on/off functionality and volume management. Incidentally, the bottom of this amp doesn’t have any rubber feet or soft compound to give it any grip and because the outer shell is smooth plastic this is likely to slide about – especially as its rather lightweight.

The front of the amp unit

Around the back of the amp are 4 coloured coded audio sockets each representing the 4 audio channels – the headset has 4 cables running off it that correspond to these channels, each of the jacks are 3.5mm. At the far end of the amp is a cable that is already hot wired into the unit. This links all 4 jacks to the computer, so again running off this cable are a further 4 jacks that either slot into your integrated/onboard 5.1 ports or soundcard. There is also a requirement for an external power source to support the amp, hence the DC power socket.

The rear of the amp unit

All 4 cables running off the Psyko headset

Finally, with this product being called a ‘headset’ it therefore includes a microphone. This is detachable and simply plugs into the right sided earcup on the headset. This microphone can be fully rotated to swing closer to or away from your mouth.

Detachable microphone

Psyko 5.1 Gaming Headset

The Psyko 5.1 gaming headset is unlike any set of earphones you will have used or seen. They have a very chucky exterior and look very aggressive. Putting them next to any other headset and you are guaranteed that they will overpower them. The headset has a 3-tone appearance, red/orange, silver and grey. Without this colour-scheme the headset already has a lot of depth to it, but with this colour design the headset has even more depth and intesity.

An overview of the Psyko 5.1 Gaming Headset

The bridge that runs across each earphone is the focal point in this headsets assertion as a 5.1 solution. This bridge effectively imitates a typical 5.1 surround sound system. There are two channels that run around the front of the headset and around the back too. These channels provide directional sound – front and back and should support gamers by giving them better awareness of opponents. The individual speakers within this bridge provide directional sound such as front-right, back-right. The sound being output to these speakers flows through the WaveGuides. Each earphone you will notice has a channel running up the front and back – sound travels through these channels into the giving directional 5.1 surround sound.

The surface area of the bridge with foam for cushioning

An exterior view of the bridge

Each of the earcups feature a window that can be tilted to move them into an open or closed state. The idea behind this is that during gaming sessions you are able to open the windows with a quick touch making it possible to hear fellow gamers or even allow air to pass through if its getting particularly clammy in there. Opening the windows can also alter the audio tones.

The window on each earcup can open to allow those around you or allow air to pass through

Lastly, looking at the inside of the earcups – within the domes are dedicated subwoofers. Sound that travels down the channels (WaveGuide) ultimately is output here. On the outer earcup there is cushioning that provides a very comfortable feel. On most of the headsets we have reviewed at Vortez we have seen polyurethane used, or typically called ‘memory foam’ the Psyko headset doesn’t use this material sadly but instead a foam material is used covered by a soft fabric.

The earphones on the Psyko are fully adjustable, so whatever sized head you have – this headset will fit no problem. Each earphone slides up and down within the arches.

Softly cushioned earcups

Performance

With the Psyko 5.1 headset being specifically designed for gaming its only fair that we observe its performance in the gaming environment. But although music and movies aren’t its forte, these applications will also be considered to give a decent and profound assumption of the performance of our headset today.

Its good practise to compare the headset in question against other solutions too, so I will be testing the Psyko 5.1 headset along with the Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty as well as the SteelSeries Siberia V2. Both are recognised and leading gaming peripherals. It’s also important to keep the testing on a fair plane so for the purpose of this examination, audio will be provided via the 5.1 onboard solution found on the ASUS Rampage III Formula. To get this headset setup within Windows 7, its important to alter the audio settings on your computer. To do this I did the following:

START > Control Panel > Sound > Configure Speakers > Set to 5.1 Surround

Gaming

Gaming headsets are generally designed with FPS (First Person Shooter) gamers in mind. So to give the Psyko 5.1 headset enough time to flex its muscles, I played Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 and Battlefield Bad Company 2 for a sustained amount of time – approximately 2 hour a piece.

During the testing I discovered the optimum setting for the direction/bass knob was exactly in the middle or slightly under half – in favour of directional. With the knob over the half way marker and using stronger bass tones there is an risk sounds are masked over with the severe deepness of tone. With the luxury of an AMP, its nice to have the option and variation of direction vs. bass. What I can say about the performance is the Psyko most definitely enhances sound within these games tested. Comparing to the other standard non-surround headsets, tones are richer. Noise is picked up in the exact direction it is found, explosions, gunfire, footsteps, vehicle noise feels that bit more atmospheric. If you want the edge, and you want to really enhance your games in the audio department the Psyko is certainly a good choice – locating sound is important.

Opening the windows on the Psyko headset whilst gaming does alter the tone of the audio – it tends to increase treble making noise sound tinny. So its good to have the windows open for a short time, but not sustained usage.

With the cushions along the bridge having speakers behind them noise can be heard by the person sat next to you. The capability of having 5.1 on the Psyko provides a great advantage to the user, but those nearby may not appreciate the noise. There are many reason for using a headset, one could be that sound is generally more realistic as its directed right into the ear, another reason might be to prevent disturbance to others. If you are using a headset for the latter it may be a problem. The noise isn’t dramatically disruptive, but it can be heard so be warned!

You may have already guessed or be on the verge of asking. How comfortable is the Psyko 5.1 headset? Well, being such a large headset, with its bulky exterior it does weigh heavier than the other headsets there’s no denying that. After a sustained amount of time the Psyko 5.1 headset does leave slight strain on the neck muscles. I can only imagine a 12 year old kid would struggle to play for a few hours with this headset on their head, perhaps there should be an age rating on the box! Around the ears, the cushions do an extremely good job of keeping the ears comfortable so in this aspect of comfort its a thumbs up.

Movies & Music

In the next phase of testing the Psyko is placed into an arena it wasn’t specifically designed for. For this test I played a blu-ray movie (X-Men Wolverine) and varied music tracks.

Jennifer Paige feat. Nick Carter – Beautiful Lie
Milk Inc. – In My eyes
Linkin Park – Waiting for the End

For this set of tests the directional/bass knob is best set over the half way marker into the bass zone as the tones within both the tracks and the movie benefit from heavier bass tones. Again, what can I say – the Psyko headset reacts with its 5.1 surround sound. The movie was thoroughly enjoyed with sound arriving in the assortment of directions, action scenes are especially prolific with the inclusion of the 5.1 surround system in place. You wait for the next action scene to come because the sound quality is so pleasing to hear.

Sadly, the same can’t be said for music. Whilst this isn’t totally underwhelming it is noticeably different. Music in the Psyko 5.1 headset isn’t as precise and clear as experienced with the other headsets used within this set of tests. I’m not saying the music performance is dire by any means – the Psyko 5.1 headset just delivers better audio quality in movies and even greater performance within the games arena.

Microphone

Bundled with the Psyko 5.1 headset is a detachable microphone. Testing this was quite simple, I used the Teamspeak client and spoke to a friend, referring to his feedback against the other gaming headsets. I can confirm that his feedback was positive, all conversation was crisp, clear and sharp. There was no noticeable difference between the Psyko microphone and the other microphones on other headsets in this test.

NOTE:
Anyone wishing to understand a little more about how the Psyko 5.1 headset works can watch the below video produced by Psyko Audio Labs:

[youtube]UHTSPCHWHgM[/youtube]

Conclusion

The Psyko 5.1 Gaming Headset certainly stands out from the crowd, it offers superior sound to the traditional gaming headset by featuring quality 5.1 surround sound. It’s unlike anything currently on the market in looks and functionality.

Priced at around £200 ($300), the Psyko 5.1 Gaming Headset is surely not going to be a worthy purchase for the casual gamer. It’s to the avid gamer that this headset is really focused, those who want that edge within games. This headset does primarily have gaming as the ultimate forte but movies can also be enjoyed, of course many people do watch movies as a group so this type of scenario is perhaps infrequent, but nevertheless its there to be enjoyed.

The Psyko 5.1 Gaming Headset does suffer from some negatives though. There is no rubber on the underside of the AMP, so if like me you have a desk with a shiny surface there is a potential risk it will slide off the desk and smash, especially as its very lightweight. With such a chunky exterior, the Psyko headset does leave your neck feeling tired – as though you’ve been balancing a ceramic water pot on your head! Those who are particularly fussy when it comes to cables are not going to like the amount of cables running from the headset, to the amp, to the computer to the power adapter. With lots of cables lying around, there is a potential for things to look quite untidy and difficult to organise – especially if the unit is only used for gaming sessions and a speaker system is used for movies and music.

Pros
+ Superb 5.1 Surround
+ Innovative and unique
+ Enriches gaming experience

Cons
– Heavier than other headsets
– Lots of cables
– Music performance lacking