Testing and Usage
The first part to testing the headset was to install the provided software. Installation is a pretty standard task, but once you plug in your microphone a small headset logo should show up in your system tray; this is the software you’ll need. The software is using the Xear3D Audio Engine.
The main screen allows you to adjust the System Input, DSP Mode, and Output Mode. The Mixer tab allows you to adjust your microphone and speaker volumes.
The effects tab allows you to adjust your environment, environment size and your equalizer settings. The Karaoke/Magic Voice tab allows you to have a little bit of fun with your microphone giving you some interesting voice adjustments.
After playing around with the settings I started playing some Team Fortress 2. The audio quality seemed good and the mic seemed to work properly. I’m not really an audiophile, so explaining the audio quality probably isn’t the best for me. After an hour of play my ears started to hurt from the earcups. Whether this is due to me wearing glasses or having big ears, I’m not sure, but nonetheless it started to bother me.
While playing I did get annoyed by the bright blue LED on the driver box. It almost seems too bright for its purpose.
After testing it with gaming for a while I decided to listen to some music. I already had the music playing through my speakers when I decided to pop in the headset. I didn’t hear anything in the headset; I thought there was a problem. Typically when you plug in a headset, you want it to pickup any sound that was playing at the moment. It turns out I had to restart Winamp in order for the sound to be outputted through the headset. I’m not sure if the problem lies with Winamp, the USB driver or something else; either way it was annoying to having to restart a program when you wanted to use the headset.
Conclusion
Overall the ABS FX-7 provided quality sound for a gaming headset. While I was impressed with the sound quality and overall structure of the headset, I wasn’t so impressed with the comfortability of the headset. The headset became uncomfortable to me, but would probably suffice anyone looking for a decent gaming surround sound headset. It can be found online for around $39.99 which is pretty good for your mid range headsets. Overall ThinkComputers would awards the ABS FX-7 USB Light Weight Dolby Virtual 7.1 Gaming Headset an 8 out of 10 score.
Pros:
– Affordable gaming headset
– 7.1 Dolby Surround Sound
– Adjustable/Foldable Earcups
Cons:
– Bother ears when used for more than an hour
– Power LED is way too bright