eDimensional collaborates with renowned modder Ben Heck on their newest headset. Is this the same story of slapping on lights and a moniker we’ve seen before, or is this a legitimate contender in the gaming headset market?

eDimensional has dabbled in motion tracking, gaming controllers, and 3D stereoscopic technology since 2000. Since then they’ve been releasing controllers and headsets with gamers in mind. If you haven’t heard of Ben Heck, you might have seen his work - he’s the dude who put an Xbox 360 (and later on a Playstation 3) into a laptop. Quality work, for sure - but unfortunately that doesn’t translate into this headset and I’m not so sure serious gamers care who Ben Heck is. Perhaps there are some out there that fawn over celeb endorsements, but as I’ve noted before they usually mean squat. The packaging is rather indicative of the product itself, cheap. For the price being paid, eDimensional sure made the headset feel like a toy. Getting the TeamSpeak logo on the box is great for noobs who don’t know any better, so kudos to the marketing staff on that one. Since this is just a headset, packaging is straightforward. There’s nothing else in the box beyond the driver CD and manual. While we emphasize peripheral reviews are subjective, we try to eliminate factors such as fat, oblong heads by testing the product on other gamers and testing in a variety of games.

Cheap feeling products are fine if the price is in-line, especially with the prices of newer headsets approaching the $300 range. However, the line has to be drawn somewhere. The first thing I noticed is the abundance of low quality plastic that makes the headset feel absolutely cheap and gimmicky. The headset is a just a tad bit heavier than most because of the extra tech packed in the cans, but even through a marathon six hours straight of Team Fortress 2 my ears didn’t feel like they were going to fall off. The design is conventional and the padding is sufficient to ensure comfort.

Sure my ears did get a bit hot and sweaty once in a while, but if you take normal breaks or occasionally prop the headset atop your head to let your ears breathe for a bit, it shouldn’t be an issue. The black plastic tends to show fingerprints and grime rather easily, but can be easily cleaned. Since this is a USB headset, you can choose to plug & play the cans or install the drivers for added features. I recommend just plugging them in especially if you’re traveling to LANs for consistency. The software itself looks like crap to put it bluntly, and appears completely unpolished and ugly so you’re better off avoiding it anyway.

The microphone is non-removable which is great since you won’t lose it, but if you prefer your microphone on the opposite side you’re out of luck. In terms of flexibility, the plastic prevents it from bending forcefully but you don’t really need to since the mic is angled perfectly. Microphone quality is above average, and no problems with static or any type of recording issues came up. Adjusting the headband is made easy by the numbered levels on each side. The eight LED’s are actually subdued compared to what you’d find on other competitors’ products, but do have the added effect of lighting up depending on the sound volume. The logo on the topside of the headband culminates the cheap factor by simply looking like a thick sticker that’ll eventually peel off.

Cord length is around 7′6″ and the in-line remote doubles not only as a volume control, but also as a force feedback adjuster. This is pivotal because if you want to feel the headphones rattle, you’ve got that option. Unfortunately the sound quality sort of demands you leave it on if you want any semblance of bass whatsoever. The mute button is easy to find, and thankfully eDimensional skipped on the dumb clip that so many manufacturers insist on.

Testing of the eDimensional AudioFX Pro 5+1 involves using the headset in a variety of popular first person shooters as well as third-person games that really do benefit from accurate, quality sound. No other genre benefits from accurate sound as much as shooters - so games like Call of Duty 4,  Team Fortress 2, Assassin’s Creed., and so on will be used extensively. As a gamer I want a headset that is simply accurate and sounds great. You might be asking yourself what constitutes great sound?

Great sound moves you, it impacts you the instant you put the headset on. The very first thing I noticed was how terrible the sound was. I’m amazed how anyone who has tried a comparable, quality headset in the same price range can say the eDimensional AudioFX Pro 5+1 headset sounds great. Let me put it like this, trying to listen to sound through this headset is like trying to hear something through drywall. Now it wouldn’t be fair to eDimensional to compare the sound quality to more expensive products, but comparing it to others in the price range of $50 to $90 leaves a lot to be desired. The sound really is terrible compared to other headsets we’ve reviewed here at FPSLabs. It took some time getting used to bad sound, and no one should ever have to downgrade in terms of audio quality.

The fact that it was 5.1 didn’t really make a difference; the included demo in the installation disc does a good job at showcasing the technology, but in real world situations it’s indistinguishable from any common stereo headset. That’s not to say all 5.1 cans are a fallacy, as prior 5.1 surround sound headphones we’ve tried actually manage to give the effect of directional audio (albeit not to the level of true 5.1 physical speaker systems) to at least some degree.

Highs sounded muffled and mids sounded way overblown, while the headset had practically no bass unless the force feedback was enabled. Obviously from this you can gather that the headset is not suited for movies or music at all. Many manufacturers understandably emphasize mids and highs and leave out any potential bass that could mask footsteps and other important sound triggers, but eDimensional took it a couple of steps too far. Another thing to note is that the headset is not properly shielded for EMI interference, so cellular devices will create interference problems.

Although we primarily test games, it’s important that headsets deliver an immersive experience. Dropping bass altogether leaves you with a sense of longing not only when playing games non-competitively, but in your favorite tunes as well. If you have a decent sound card you probably should look for something with standard input and output jacks since this headset bypasses your sound card completely.

Unfortunately the eDimensional AudioFX Pro 5+1 is simply not a good headset. These are easily some of the worst headphones we’ve ever reviewed at FPSLabs. Despite the unique retro look the headset gives off, it all means jack if I have to get used to the subpar sound it emits. Really, the majority of the time we review headsets here at FPSLabs they are not perfect and feature a couple of things we wished they would have done better, but could still be useful to many of our readers.This headset is just so cheap, that masquerading it under the name of a modder no one cares about is just a ploy to get you to buy the low-performing product. Our readers are not dumb, they know what good quality sound even at lower prices ranges sound like. To tell you this headset is worthy of your consideration would be a disservice. Amazingly, the eDimensional AudioFX Pro 5+1 were originally priced around $90 USD which is laughable but nowadays you can find this headset from around $50 to $60. Trust us when we say you can find better. Skip these.

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