Tritton AX Pro 5.1 Headset Conclusion

Audio Performance Testing

To fully test the AX Pro 5.1 headset, I used it for gaming on my PC, listening to MP3s from my PC and watching a DVD through my home theater. For the PC gaming and music listening, my computer uses a Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Edition sound card for audio processing. My home theater uses a Harman Kardon AV245 receiver, Emotiva LPA-1 5-channel amplifier and a Toshiba HD-XA1 DVD player.

Gaming

To start off with, I played a number of FPS games on my PC to test their performance with gaming. The few games that I spent the most time playing were Doom 3, Quake 4, QuakeLive! Beta and Crysis. I was immediately impressed with the level of detail and realism that are provided by the AX Pro. Footsteps can be clearly heard from all directions, and so it was easy to pinpoint attacking enemies in all of the games I played. I will say that I had a difficult time in some games with distinguishing between enemies approaching from above versus from behind me, but all other gunfire and sound effects were accurately reproduced. I really enjoyed gaming with the AX Pro and it makes it very easy to become completely immersed in the game you are playing.

The microphone was also a solid performing component, and all of the chatting I did while gaming was able to be heard by my teammates. The inline audio controller made it easy to mute the microphone when I was not using it, and the separate front/center/rear/subwoofer volume controls also made it easy to customize the sound to the game I was playing.

Music

The musical sound quality performance evaluation was performed using MP3 tracks and FLAC audio tracks stored on my PC. My overall impression of the AX Pro for music listening was positive, but with a few caveats. First - it should be made clear that the AX Pro was not designed for traditional 2-channel music listening. So, it was not entirely surprising to find that the soundstage produced by the headset was not as clear and accurate as other headphones I have tested, such as the Sennheiser HD280 Pro. Separation of the musical instruments was clear, but some notes seemed to come from either in front of me or behind me as I listened to the music. Changing my sound card settings to 2-channel headphone mode did help somewhat, but it was still not as seamless of a soundstage as I like to hear when listening to music.

Otherwise, the AX Pro does a fine job with both high and low frequencies. Bass notes were pretty sharp and did not sound muddy, and the high notes did not sound harsh or brassy. Tonal balance was good, although again not as great as other headphones I have listened to. Overall I enjoyed listening to music using this headset, which is a testament to their versatility.

Movies

Finally, I watched a number of action scenes from movies to test the AX Pro for 5.1 home theater performance. I watched scenes from a few of my favorites movies - 300, The Matrix: Reloaded, We Were Soldiers and Casino Royale. All of these movies include a 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack.

The listening sessions revealed that the AX Pro headset produces a very detailed and immersive movie watching experience. All of the action scenes contain a lot of audio information, and for the most part the AX Pro was able to handle it without issue. Gunshots, bullets whizzing by overhead and helicopter fly-bys were all reproduced accurately by the headset. I could hear a nearly 360 degree sound field produced, but did have some difficulty with sound effects that were supposed to sound like they were behind me.

Along with a the nice sound provided by the AX Pro headset, the two major issues I had while watching movies were:

1) Low frequency sound produced by the headset was not nearly as impactful as a powered home theater subwoofer. Low frequency effects were present while listening through the headset, but it is just not the same as a powered subwoofer. You just cannot get the same feeling of oomph produced by an onscreen explosion when listening with the headset.

2) The illuminated logo on the side of the headset is initially cool to look at, but I quickly tired of having a glow coming from the headset 24 hours a day. I had to use a separate power strip to plug in both of the AC adapters, and there is no power button for the headset itself, so the headset will continue to illuminate unless you turn off the power strip for the headset every time you are done using it.

Side View	Inline controls powered on	Headset Illuminated

Tritton AX Pro 5.1 Headset

The AX Pro is definitely a great sounding headset that provides accurate 5.1 surround sound. When paired with a capable sound card, it brings a new set of details and a new audio experience to gaming. It is comfortable for reasonably short sessions (2 hours or less) and being able to choose between the soft felt ear cups or the feux leather ear cups is a nice bonus. Another real strong point is the versatility it provides – as long as you are not expecting to hear audiophile level music reproduction, you won’t need to worry about buying another headset in the near future for any possible uses you could think of for a headset.

Aside from the few minor drawbacks that I mentioned previously, the difficult setup is really the only major sticking point. Since I expect that most of the users who will be considering buying this headset will be tech-savvy, this is probably not a serious issue. If you are willing to pay the $160-$170 USD street price, the Tritton AX Pro is a worthy choice for any gamer.

Pros: Excellent surround sound reproduction, very versatile for PC/console gaming and movie watching, comfortable.

Cons: Tedious setup and configuration, $160 USD price may be too high for some, bass and rear-surround effects are occasionally lacking, illumination cannot be turned off easily.

Rating: 4.0 out of 5

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