Tritton AX Pro 5.1 Headset - Setup and Comfort

In the Box

The test unit came in black and included the following:

• AX Pro Headset
• User Manual
• Two AC Power Adapters
• XBOX Live cable
• PS3 / PC USB cable
• Optical cable
• PC / Audio Analog cable
• Feux leather pads
• Dolby Digital Audio Controller
• Ear cup cap removal tool

Out of the Box Setup

Without going through a step-by-step analysis of the setup required for the AX Pro, let me just say that it is a tedious process that is not for the faint of heart. If you had trouble getting a home theater set up and correctly working, for example, you are going to struggle with getting the AX Pro set up correctly. This is a kind of double-edged sword that comes with the versatility of the AX Pro – it can be used in a huge number of situations, but this makes it all the more complicated to set up and properly configure.

To start off with, both the audio controller box and the headset itself will need to be plugged into a power source using the AC power adapters. If your PC does not have a sound card equipped with an optical audio input, you will need to use the analog PC cable to connect the 4 analog connections to the appropriate inputs on your sound card. If your PC does have a sound card with an optical audio connection, you will still need to connect the USB cable to your PC if you are planning to use the microphone.

After getting all of the cables connected and testing that everything was working correctly, I still needed to go into the X-Fi software setup to configure my sound card. While this part may be easier for some other sound cards, I had to test and tweak for nearly an hour before I was happy with the sound coming from all channels.

The included 3-page user manual was helpful for getting the headset set up, but it was far from comprehensive. For example, I ran into issues because the color coding of the PC analog cable connectors was different than the color coding used for the inputs on my X-Fi sound card. I had to use trial-and-error to find out the correct cable to use for each of the analog inputs on the sound card. More detail about which connecting cables should be used for each application would have been quite helpful. A “FAQ” section or “How to Fix Common Setup Issues” section would also have been helpful, as it is easy to make a mistake during the setup process.

Comfort

The around-the-ear design of this headset will work well for most people, and for most people will provide a high level of comfort even if you play games for hours at a time. I liked the somewhat heavier feel of the headphones, which kept them firmly in place while I was gaming. I did not have to worry about the headphones slipping or sliding if I moved my head around. The headset is a bit heavier than others, but not so much that it bothered me during my usage.

Depending on the size of your ears and the size of your head, the headset may be tight fitting around your head. My head and ears are probably a bit on the large size, and while wearing the headset for extending sessions of 2+ hours, my ears started to hurt from the pressure. I found that I needed to take a few minute break to remove the earcup pressure from my ears.