 |
|
Mark Muschett puts Evergreen's Force Feedback Headphones to the test |
|
|
|
|
|
| Sound News | Press
Releases | Archives | Week In
Review | Editorials
| Articles | |
|
|
|
||||
|
|||||
|
|
Mark Muschett - Last updated April 3, 2001
Introduction
Evergreen’s press material claims an incredible range of benefits come with using the RumbleFX headphones. You can have a look for your self at the full list in the press release. I am not going to list them all here. Instead I will run through the real world features and performance to help you decide if the RumbleFX headphone should be on your wanted list.
Detailed Overview and Performance
Overall pure sound quality (without force feedback) is quite good, but certainly not nearly as good as Evergreen’s PR material claims (they say it matches many $100-$169 units). In addition to the very slight bass deficiency the midrange is a bit rough compared to the $125 list price Sennheiser HD525. Overall they are not nearly as smooth as the HD525s, but given the significant price difference that should come as no surprise. In fact, if you were to shop around for a set of $60 headphones without force feedback you will be able to exceed the quality offered by the RumbleFX unit, but there would of course be no ‘force feedback’ effect. Taking that into consideration, I think the unit offers a good price / performance ratio. The other comparison that I think is worth noting is that the sound quality of the RumbleFX is considerably better than what you would get from a typical $60 list price 2.1 speaker system and will even match or beat many $100 2.1 speaker systems. On top of that, the 3D audio imaging offered by the headphones in the non-force feedback mode is good. The bottom line is it's all relative, and for many people the quality they offer will be a step up. With a 32 ohm impedance rating the volume, when plugged directly into an unamplified output such as typical sound card line output, it’s comparable to both the Sennheiser HD525s and Takstar units. I find the level just fine when plugged directly into a Sound Blaster Live but I know that some people complain that volume is not enough to satisfy. The solution, other than enabling the force feedback, is to use a headphone amplifier such as the Boostaroo ($20) or one that Evergreen Technologies will soon be releasing (expected by the end of April).
So on to the force feedback overview, testing and conclusion
|
Speaker Reviews Altec Lansing ADA880 Dolby Digital Cambridge SoundWorks FPS2000 digital Cambridge SoundWorks 2.1 Digital Cambridge SoundWorks DeskTop Theater 5.1 DTT2500 Cambridge SoundWorks DeskTop Theater 5.1 DTT3500 Cambridge SoundWorks MegaWorks 510D Diamond Audio Technology ProMedia 3205 Klipsch ProMedia 5.1 Initial Review Logitech SoundMan Xtrusio DSR-100 Philips MMS305 4.1 Initial Review Yamaha TSS1 Dolby Digital / DTS 5.1 Sirocco Crossfire vs ProMedia v.2-400 Evergreen RumbleFX force feedback headphones Jazz Speakers DE-005/DE-006 Digital Audio Decoders Boostaroo Headphone Amplifier / Splitter |
|
|
|
On March 26, 2001 Evergreen Technologies, Inc., a leader in PC performance
upgrades since 1989, launched its new RumbleFX force feedback headphones for a list price
of $59.99. These headphones are the first in Evergreen's new RumbleFX line of consumer
electronics products.
Lets start with the more mundane component of the headphones. They use a
padded adjustable headband and a soft cushion ear cup in a closed format that keeps the
inside in and the outside out in terms of acoustics. Something else worth noting is the
earcups are mounted with a natural (back) tilt and offset from the headband center. The
end result of this ergonomically designed fit is the RumbleFX headphones are quite
comfortable. For what it’s worth they are a fair bit more comfortable than the cup on
the Takstar force feedback headphones sold by Xitel but not quite as comfortable as the
cup on the lighter, open format Sennheiser HD 525 headphones that I normally use. Because
the RumbleFX headphone uses a closed instead of open format you will be less likely to
disturb anyone else in the same room and it also does a better job of shutting out the
outside noise compared to open format units. The trade-off is closed cup models tend to be
a bit warmer for long term use. Having said that, I had no trouble wearing the RumbleFX
headphones for a long time without discomfort. Closed format phones are often a bit more
bass heavy than open but that turns out not to be the case with the RumbleFX phones when
the force feedback is disabled.
All content, design and work is ©
2001 - 3D Sound Surge Please respect the copyrights of the articles and writers herein. All copyrights are enforced by 3DSS.