eDimensional Audio FX Headphones Review

A little while ago I got a package with a free pair of headphones to review on the site. The headphones sported a Force Feedback “Rumble” system that promised to immerse you in games. Eh…. Yeah, I was definitely sceptical. But, since I did get the free pair of headphones I decided to give them a try anyways.

While the headphones sport a microphone ready to play games in teamspeak such as Counterstrike or your other favourite shoot-em-ups, I decided to use them with the game I’m hopelessly addicted to, Everquest 2. I hooked up the headphones to my laptop through the speaker jack and connected it to the USB as well to enable the rumble. I turned the dial on the headphones to max vibration and fired up EQ2. This was definitely an interesting experience. Right away, I felt very immersed in the game. Compared to my laptop speakers (obviously) this was a world of difference. What really amazed me was what happened 30 seconds later. I approached an enemy and cast a spell. The usually mundane sound effects and explosions were not so mundane anymore. A big explosive noise caused the headphones to rumble. Between the headphone’s strong base and the vibrations in my head, the fight actually turned exciting. I found myself casting different spells and trying different attacks just to see how the headphones would react to the noises. It definitely made fighting in the game a lot more fun.

While the headphones help provide a much more interactive and immersive experience, there are some bad aspects to it. The main drawback I noticed has to do with the rumble itself. After about half an hour to an hour of rumbling fun, I found myself with a very mild headache. This can perhaps be avoided by not turning up the vibrations to the max and lowering the volume a bit, but it’s hard to do as I always find myself tempted to crank up the vibrations “just a little more”. Additionally, while the headphones provide a very good sound for gaming, I wouldn’t say they give the most balanced experience for listening to music. While it might be cool to listen to your favourite song a couple of times to see how it feels with the rumble, after the novelty is gone, you’ll want to stick with regular headphones for that.

Overall however, if you want to be immersed in an online game and need an integrated microphone, the eDimensional Audio FX headphones are a good solution at $50. Go to http://www.edimensional.com for more information.