Saturday 10 November 2018

NOT-A-Review of X-Craft HP-5 Pro Headphones


Supposedly 7.1 Surround Sound headphones, but what it really does is simulate 7.1 speakers through its own software (comes in a mini-CD and also downloadable from their http://leapfroglobal.com website). The 7.1 effect doesn't really work unless the video or videogame supports 7.1 sound.

Personally I haven't tested any surround sound games with it. From tested videos(7.1, 5.1 and biaural), it seems to have some effect but it doesn't seem to do anything for rear speaker effects. Doesn't matter how I set up the 7.1 virtual speakers in the software. It just can't seem to fake rear speaker effects.  It's powerful enough to imitate subwoofers , and directional sounds coming from above/left/right.

The EQ isn't quite as detailed/customisable as some other free software players like Winamp. The "3D" effect seems to just increase the midrange frequencies, so it sounds louder and "brighter".

The "Effect" section is for simulating room conditions, but it mostly just adds too much echo.

The "mic" is pretty basic settings for the microphone attached. You can increase or decrease the volume or just mute it.

I assume the software only works with that specific HP5 headphones, as it can't detect headphones plugged in the standard headphone jack, and it will also refuse to work if the HP5 headphones are NOT plugged in before running the software.

There is no way to adjust the funky LED lights, which changes rainbowy colors gradually. The mic light is blue all the time.

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Trival bug: Initially after installation, the software tried to download a  certain  windows update but failed. The software still worked after closing and opening it up again.
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Without the software included, it would work as generic USB headphones, as detected on my Win7 OS anyway. It's still possible to get virtual surround if you have a Prologic audio receiver which works with USB headphones. On Win 10, you should be able to use it with Dolby Atmos, which also  fakes surround sound. Alternatively you could use Razer's free surround sound software, but that's made for Razer headphones. In my XP, Razer Surround seems to distort the vocals of certain songs giving them a weird "metallic" sound.

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The headphones' webpage
http://leapfroglobal.com/alcatroz/personal-audio/x-craft-hp-5-pro-2018.html

More info on virtual surround sound headphones and such...
https://www.howtogeek.com/295722/whats-the-difference-between-virtual-and-true-surround-sound-gaming-headsets/