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The Chatterbox => Computing => Topic started by: NewF on May 13, 2011, 07:48:14 PM

Title: Audio question.
Post by: NewF on May 13, 2011, 07:48:14 PM
Going back to December of 2010 - Remeber when I bought the Tritton headsets and they sounded like shit? Well -

I'm kinda deadset on getting a headset. Been using them since day 1, and I've always favored them. perhaps I'll try the psyko and get a better soundcard.

And thats what I did.

....Now this is where I start getting pissed off....I went and got the SoundBlaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champ1ion edition soundcard, and the New Psyko Carbon headset. Problem is....It sounds like shit. What the fuck am I doing wrong for it to sound so crappy? it sounds as if I'm standing in an empty hallway, and its really hollow sounding. Can't turn up the volume too loud because I get lots of terrible distortion. I mean...I spend $500 on this stuff...And compared to a $20 headset I had before...The $20 one is reigning supreme....What am I doing wrong and how can I fix this stuff to make it sound perfect?
Title: Re: Audio question.
Post by: Spectere on May 15, 2011, 01:32:33 PM
I don't remember if you still have it or not, but what happens if you try the $20 headset in the X-Fi?  If you don't have it (don't remember if it was broken or not), get a headset that you know sounds good and plug it into the X-Fi.  Additionally, try the Psykos on a different device that you know is a-okay.

One issue that I have with Creative Labs is that they like to include a lot of settings that "improves" audio.  If it still sounds off on a known good headset, jump into the Creative Audio Control panel and set the mode to "Audio Creation Mode" in the mode tab.  This turns off all of those effects automatically.  I'm not sure if there's a major difference between the modes outside of certain settings being completely disabled in some modes, but if everything sounds okay after you switch to audio creation mode, change back to one of the other ones and check the following settings:
Title: Re: Audio question.
Post by: NewF on May 19, 2011, 01:00:54 AM
The $20 one was a USB headset. I actually called the guys of Psyko audio today, and they helped me tweak it, and it's ridiculously good. I'm glad I got this headset because it sounds effin' amazing now. All that extra shit in the X-FI control panel needs to be turned off and the eq set a certain way. Sounds bomb diggity. The 5.1 surround is awesome in it too. So yeah, thanks for the help! But problem solved! :D
Title: Re: Audio question.
Post by: Spectere on May 19, 2011, 01:29:53 AM
Yeah, the X-Fi is a pretty nice card and has a great audio processor in it, but Creative consistently bungles up drivers and enables a bunch of things that makes your audio sound like crap.  When I first installed my X-Fi, everything sounded horrendous until I went in and turned all of the audio processing junk off (I keep the "crystallizer" on slightly when I use my speakers, since it makes the highs and lows sound crisper with those speakers; I turn that off with my headphones, though).  The end result is that it's noticeably better than the onboard sound.  It's kind of silly that it actually sounded worse than onboard when I first installed it, though.  Way to go, Creative.

It's pretty awesome that the guys from Psyko actually took the time to help you get things sounding good.  It's good to see companies that actually give a damn about their customers.  I'll have to look into them next time I'm looking for a set of headphones.
Title: Re: Audio question.
Post by: NewF on May 19, 2011, 10:47:20 AM
Yeah man. The thing is with the crystalizer, since the speakers on the psyko headset are on the top of the headband, they're already "overdriving" I guess you would call it, and the crystalizer actually makes it sound worse because the speakers are already pushing a lot out. But all in all, I find the headset sounds great now. If I have any other problems the guy said I could call him back at anytime and he'd help me out with anything, so thats a plus :D