A question to fellow Razer Barracuda HP-1 Headset owners

[kodex]

I got my Barracuda headset for Christmas and, for the most part, I like it. However, I have noticed that the rear speakers on mine are very weak. They're quite a bit quieter than the fronts and they have absolutely no bass. I attempted to ask Razer whether or not if this is normal, but they just avoided the question (multiple times, at that) and offered me a RMA. So, are your rear speakers like that?

 

[erocker]

If they offered you an RMA they are pretty much telling you that they are broken. Return them.

 

[King Wookie]

Be aware that the back or surround speakers won't sound as loud in use,as 80% or thereabouts of the sound comes from the front.

Depending what sound card you have, you should be able to test individual levels, and adjust to taste. Also check to see if any sound processing is happening. With all the sound processing available, it can really screw things up.

Also, it helps to have the phones sitting a little forward on your head.

I find the headset great for gaming. Not so hot for movies though.

And the mic's too short.

 

[kodex]

Thanks for the replies. I have a Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer and the software that's bundled with it allows me to test the difference channels individually. The rear ones are completely flat with no bass whatsoever; has this been your experience King Wookie?

 

[erocker]

In many surround systems that is what you will get.

 

[King Wookie]

Remember if you are running 5.1, all low bass is sent to the sub channel (.1).
If you use the announcer's voice test, her voice will sound different.
If it sounds like a telephone, then either your sub cutoff frequency is way too high, or the back speakers are not well.

Try to keep the cutoff frequency at around 100 - 120 Hz, otherwise it will sound odd.
Also, you will have to adjust the channel levels as the sub level is way too low.

Try putting some tape over the controls once you have it set up, as they are ridiculously easy to bump.

The back channels do the least work in a surround system, so they don't sound as impressive as the fronts.
Having worked on 5.1 projects for movies and dvd, it's surprising how little is mixed into the back channels to make it sound good.

 

[nanohead]

I have the HP-1s and also the Extreme Gamer as well. I've found that overall performance is much better if you set the speaker settings to 4.1, NOT 5.1. I have no idea why this is, but someone else suggested that to me, and it works much better now.

Also, I had a pain of time getting the correct Razer phone plugs into the correct jacks in the XGamer after I reset to 4.1. I fiddled a bit with it and then they just came to life!!

Also, and very important, the volume knobs on the thing on the cable are extremely idiotic. It is nearly impossible to tell what is set to what unless you ZERO each one individually, then figure out what controls which area volume in the headset. This plus the switch that controls the amplification, seem to have a inconsistent relationship as well. It took me a good week of playing with it everyday to get them to sound good.

The sound is decent, but the controls are awful IMHO

 

[syncrod]

if your using CMSS set it to surround and not xpand

 

[Franklinwallbrown]

Well, it doesn't sound like I would want the Razor headset/

 

[imperialreign]

If you're using a Creative card, with Creative software while listening with a headset - you should have the software set to 'headphones' within the audio console. The card processes audio much differently for headphones than it does for multiple speaker setups.

Put it into headphone mode, turn on CMSS-3D, and give it a shot.

 

[Franklinwallbrown]

Good to know.

 

[kodex]

If I set it to headphones, won't it just make it stereo?

 

[imperialreign]

yes and no . . . it does set it to a stereo setup, but when you enable CMSS-3D the X-Fi processor will take the information from where that sound originates in game, and filter it based on that for positional audio. Even if your headphones aren't 3D "capable," you'll still hear the positional effect - but with the Barracuda HP-1 headset, it'll sound like a full multi-channel setup.

The specific thing about the headphone setting, is that it adjust sampling, volume, tone, and bass for reproduction on the headset speakers, which aren't as capable of the same dynamic audio range that desktop speakers with a subwoofer are.