Psyko 5.1 PC Gaming Headset
Dec 14th, 2010 | By JaredNo drivers or software are needed for the Psyko 5.1′s so it is just a matter of connecting the amplifier to the appropriate ports on your sound card.
Next you connect the headset to the back of the amplifier and hook up the power adapter.
Once you adjust the headset to fit and attach the microphone you are about ready to go. Following the instructions there are a few settings to adjust within Windows and then run a test to ensure all of the channels are hooked up right.
While installation is obviously a little more involved than a stereo headset, the most difficult part is ensuring you have the appropriate channels connected correctly. Here is where I wish there would be a standard that everyone adheres to when it comes to color coding the ports. This isn’t an issue only with Pysko, but across the board it seems that the color coding of ports seems to always vary making you have to break out the manuals anytime you need to connect any surround sound devices.
With everything ready to go, the following system was used during testing:
- Control
- CPU: Intel i5 760
- MB: MSI P55-GD65
- RAM: Patriot Viper II 2x2GB PC3-12800
- Video: HIS HD 5870 iCooler V Turbo 1GB
- Sound: Asus Xonar DX 7.1
- PSU: Ultra X3 1000W
- HD: WD 250GB SATA
- DVD-Rom: Lite-On 18x DVD Burner – SATA
- Case: Cooler Master HAF932
- OS: Microsoft Windows 7
Music and Movies
I’m going to preface this section that Psyko Audio is incredibly up front about the limitations of the Psyko 5.1′s when it comes to movies and music. These are first and foremost designed for gaming and more importantly positional audio in gaming. Due to this you just will not find the richness in sound to fully enjoy music and movies.
Games
Gamers are where the Psyko 5.1′s are squarely aimed and probably more importantly first person shooters where hearing where your opponent is can be a clear advantage to winning. It is in this scenario where the Psyko 5.1′s truly shine. To test them out I played Left 4 Dead 2, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Counter Strike: Source. In each of these games it was easy to pick out the direction of the sound and the Psyko’s provided the clearest directional audio I have heard in a 5.1 headset. Moving around an object that is making noise you can easily pinpoint the direction of the sound. For some games this may not be that important, but for first person shooters or even third person perspective games this can be a decisive advantage over your opponent. If you are looking for booming explosions and sound effects, you will want to most likely look elsewhere as the Psyko PC 5.1′s just aren’t built for that.
Usage and Comfort
Finally I wanted to make a few observations on general usage and comfort. When you first pick up the Pysko’s they have some weight to them which had me concerned about fatigue during long sessions of use but I honestly never experienced this. Since the drivers are all located at the top of the headset you really do not feel the weight of at all unless you tilt your head. Due to the circumaural design the earcups do not press down on your ears at all and are very comfortable. While I originally thought the vents on the earcups was sort of a gimmick, they did come in handy when I felt my ears getting a little warm. I could easily pop them open and let some cool air in which brought some relief. Keep in mind though that while the vents are open the sound quality is affected.
One concern I do have is with durability due to the use of plastic and the flexing of the entire headset, they don’t feel as if they could take as much physical punishment as other headsets I have used. This is a concern however with over a month of use I haven’ not had any quality issues with the Psyko’s at all.