Voyetra Turtle Beach Ear Force AK-R8 (06/09/2007)

1. Manufacturer's description
2. Product summary
3. Editors' review
4. Users' opinions
5. Blogs

Manufacturer description

Product summary

Editors' review

• Editors' Choice: No
• Reviewed on: 11/01/2007

Plenty of PC headphones and audio cards offer a "headphone surround-sound" mode, but it's often little more than a sophisticated reverb mode that uses psychoacoustics to trick the mind into thinking it's hearing something beyond a stereo (2-channel) source. That's why the Turtle Beach Ear Force HPA headphones were so impressive. The full-size headset included four actual drivers in each earcup (center, front, rear, and "subwoofer"), effectively strapping a full 5.1 speaker system to your head. The result, unsurprisingly, was some of the best headphones-based surround effects we've ever heard. The catch was the HPA's design: it required four minijack connections to a PC audio card, and it actually needed its own AC adapter to power its built-in amplifier. Thankfully, Turtle Beach went back to the drawing board and now offers an alternative: the Ear Force AK-R8. The new headset ($150 list) utilizes the same multidriver earcups as the HPA, but it connects to PCs with a single convenient USB plug.

Each earcup on the AK-R8 has four discrete drivers, effectively delivering real channel separation for each ear.

The Ear Force AK-R8 is a full-size over-the-ear headset, with a self-adjusting, over-the-crown headband and ear pads made of soft leatherette and lined with felt material. Despite its relative bulk, it's comfortable to wear for extended periods. The aforementioned four discrete drivers in each earcup provide a more directional surround-sound experience than you'll get from a standard set of headphones, which have only a single driver for each ear. The removable boom microphone, 7 inches in length, is highly flexible and can be used for IM chat, Voice over IP (VoIP) communication, and online PC gaming. The AK-R8 also features an inline remote module, dubbed the Audio Advantage SRM (AASRM), that sits between the headphones and the PC. Additional control and options are available via the included software interface.

To reiterate, the Ear Force AK-R8 is a big step forward in terms of connectivity and convenience from the preceding HPA and HPA2 models, both of which required external power supplies and a tangle of connecting cables. Instead, the AK-R8 needs just a single USB connection to your PC, which handles both audio and power. As such, it will also work with computers that lack sophisticated surround soundcards, such as laptops.

The inline remote (which Turtle Beach dubs "AASRM") offers additional connectivity options, but you'll only need a single USB cable running to the PC.

The AASRM module is extremely light, no wider than a credit card, and a little over a half-inch thick. The proprietary headphone connector cable and USB cord, when plugged into the module, are a combined 8 feet in length. The module includes both line-in and line-out connectors for recording and playing digital audio with an external source; analog minijacks and (via the included adapter) S/PDIF (optical) connections are accepted. The module also features 1/8-inch stereo headphone and microphone jacks. (All of those connections are simply optional and intended for advanced users who need more functionality; everyone else can stick with the single USB link.) The volume dial on the module also doubles as a mute control when pushed inward. Built-in stereo microphones on the module can monitor outside noise when wearing the headphones and can record voice, music, and other sounds. Note, however, that only one of the three mics--the snap-on boom, the ones built into the AASRM, or the module's external input--can be used at any given time.

Setup is simple, but requires installing software and drivers specific to the headphones. Pulling up the Audio Advantage software console reveals four tabs: Speakers (configuration settings, individual speaker volume controls, and advanced master control settings), Equalizer (with eight presets and 10 sliders for refining the audio experience), Effects (you can customize the environment from 27 settings as well as adjust the level of surround sound and speaker positioning), and a Mixer (for adjusting volume for playback and recording, including a microphone mute control). You can even customize and save your presets for easy recall. Note that the software--and by extension, the headphones--only works with Windows 2000, XP, and Vista PCs.

The only notable design misfire on the AK-R8 is the connector between the headphone cable and the AASRM module. It isn't easily clear how the round multipin connector fits into the corresponding jack, so you could easily bend one or more of the pins.

To put the headphones through the paces, we started with a couple of movies that are action-packed with loud weaponry and fight sequences. First on the roster was 300: Although it took some time to adjust the settings--balancing the dialogue and ambient backgrounds without distortion or loss of quality--the fight scenes were intensely clear, vibrant, and as violent as the movie itself. The sound of swords clanking, the bombardment of arrows falling into the ground and hitting against objects, the grotesque sounds of dismemberment, were all vivid. We then switched to the more artillery-laden Transformers, using the same settings. The first battle sequence, where sonic waves were thrown across the military base, were both heard and felt, and the surround sound was prevalent from beginning to end.

We also found the directional audio in most PC games was surprisingly accurate. Call of Duty 2 provided distinctive firefights and grenade explosions, easily traceable to their sources and weren't distorted or faint. Facing explosions from different angles got the appropriate directional responses you'd expect. The same was true with F.E.A.R. and Ghost Recon 2: Advanced Warfighter. However, with Quake Wars: Enemy Territory, there was too much going on to properly ascertain exactly where shots were fired from.

Using the headphones' detachable microphone during gaming, teammates came in very clear and vice-versa. The packaging states that late-night gaming won't disturb others, but we found otherwise: If the volume is set higher than about 30 percent, the 'phones leak something fierce.

Last, but not least, is music. Whether you want to feel the rhythmic pulse resonate in your ears or hear the crescendo of a concerto, the 'phones did a great job of delivering lavish sound. Using a personal preference preset, drum-and-bass-heavy songs actually made our ears vibrate--thanks to the power of the dual subwoofers--making us long for the club days. Haunting melodies of Gregorian chants and chamber music came to life, and the dulcet tones of classical and new age songs were very inviting and distinctive. We were equally impressed with the oh-so-cool-sounding percussions of jazz and big-band songs such as Take the A-Train and Sing, Sing, Sing.

With a list price of $150 (though available for less online), the Turtle Beach Ear Force AK-R8 may seem a bit pricey, but not by much when compared with other USB-powered gaming headphones such as the $135 Razer Barracuda HP-1 (which also features the same sort of multiple discrete drivers as the AK-R8). That said, Turtle Beach provides a simple USB solution, an easy-to-use and robust interface, comfortable headphones, and great sound; but you're still anchored by the software that is unequivocally necessary for the device to function. If Turtle Beach can devise a solution with onboard memory or a built-in LCD screen that can be configured without drivers, then the company would have itself a potential industry shaker. In the meantime, while no headphones can compete with the true 5.1-channel surround-sound effects that standalone speakers can give, the Ear Force AK-R8s come pretty close.

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