Turtle Beach announces 5.1 sound Ear Force HPA2 gaming headphones

[mascaras]

Turtle Beach announces 5.1 sound Ear Force HPA2 gaming headphones


Elmsford, NY (PRWEB) April 2, 2007 -- Turtle Beach, a pioneer in digital audio and multi-channel headphone technology, today announced its next generation Ear Force HPA2 gaming headphones. Designed for the serious PC gamer to better discriminate from where audio cues originate, the HPA2 feature true 5.1 surround sound with front, center, surround and subwoofer speaker drivers in each ear cup, powered by a multi-channel in-line amplifier.

While most high-quality stereo headphones only contain a single 40mm driver, the HPA2 feature a 40mm front, a 40mm surround, a 30mm center, and a discrete subwoofer driver in each ear cup. These high-quality and large diameter drivers dramatically improve the positional cues that are crucially important during serious gaming.









"This new model represents a leap forward in discrete-speaker surround-sound headphone technology," said Seth Dotterer, director of marketing for Turtle Beach. "The design of these headphones is the result of listening to our customers - professional and casual gamers - and applying three-decades of audio expertise to deliver state-of-the-art technology at a reasonable price. Between the improved comfort and enhanced surround sound performance - it's hard to imagine any serious gamer ever wanting to use ordinary headphones again."

Since game audio does not have a pre-encoded subwoofer track, the bass of explosions, gunfire, etc... is usually played through front, center, or surround speakers, instead of being directed to a subwoofer designed to play the low-frequency portions of each sound. This flaw results in the bass of the sounds being not as powerful as a pre-encoded movie with a discrete subwoofer channel would sound. Turtle Beach engineers have solved this problem by adding bass enhancement - redesigning the amplifier circuitry to process low frequency signals from all inputs (rather than just the sub-woofer input) and routing it to the sub-woofer inside the ear cup, delivering explosive bass during dramatic episodes in the game.

The HPA2 builds on the innovative technology introduced in the original award-winning HPA, and in addition includes the following improvements designed by the Turtle Beach engineering team to dramatically enhance the surround sound experience:

- A new, acoustically enhanced speaker positioning array - which improves the directionality of front and surround audio cues to create pinpoint-accurate surround-sound positional audio effects.
- Redesigned deep, velvet, ultra-soft ear cushions provide maximum comfort during long gaming sessions.
- Increased tilt range of the ear cups improves the closed-ear fit to allow for different head anatomies.
- Improved removable microphone for game chat with a notched rotator and adjustable boom shaft for close-mouth positioning to enhance voice clarity and reduce room noise interference.

In addition to the in-line multi-channel amplifier, the retail HPA2 package also includes a bonus speaker cable splitter, allowing simultaneous connection of both the HPA2 headphones and external 5.1 speakers to a PC sound card. The HPA2 is compatible with any 5.1 channel sound card or motherboard audio system.

The Ear Force HPA2 has a MSRP of $129.95 and is available at retail outlets nationwide, as well as through the Turtle Beach website and direct sales center (914-345-2255).

For more information, visit the HPA2 Website.


http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=28697

:thumbsup:

[perkam]

The packaging makes it look like $10 headphones.

Perkam

[Nosfer@tu]

Originally Posted by perkam

The packaging makes it look like $10 headphones.

Perkam

Zalman 5.1 looks Cheap but I used it for a long time and still do.

3 years now, Im on 2. set
I Belive Fugger used them once 2.

[SparkyJJO]

The Ear Force HPA2 has a MSRP of $129.95

Umm... no thanks, way too pricey. About the same price I paid for my 5.1 logitech z560 speakers over 2 years ago.

My zalman 5.1 are strange looking and bulky headphones, but they work great. Wish they had a mic though.

[Ron 61]

$129.95 headphones in a cheap blister pack, wtf were they thinking?

[perkam]

This is how you pack $100+ headphones:



http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16826159050

Perkam

[Pinnacle]

Ahhh, turtle beach my old fav, I thought someone bought them?

[Kanten]

$74.99? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16826502008

[perkam]

Originally Posted by Kanten

$74.99? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16826502008

Whoa...not bad at all.

Perkam

[Metroid]

I hope they will make a 5.1 wireless headphones with an affordable price and also microphone included. That would be a killer headphones.

[syne_24]

Hmm..the whole design looks the same as the old HPA. And that thing hurts bad after long use. The speakers sound great tho, I just wish they fix the comfort level.

[One_Hertz]

its been long established that all those multi-speaker sets like the zalman 5.1s are really terrible and get horribly beaten by most "normal" headphones in their price range. I don't see how this is any different.

[Idaho]

Originally Posted by One_Hertz

its been long established that all those multi-speaker sets like the zalman 5.1s are really terrible and get horribly beaten by most "normal" headphones in their price range. I don't see how this is any different.

Independent subwoofer....?

[Kobalt]

Originally Posted by One_Hertz

its been long established that all those multi-speaker sets like the zalman 5.1s are really terrible and get horribly beaten by most "normal" headphones in their price range. I don't see how this is any different.

I've used the zalman's before and they're total crap. A normal set of headphones will give you excellent surround despite being "2 channels". With my HD580s I can tell exactly where someone is...below me, above, to my rear right, in front, etc. These surround headphones are pure bull.

[Miwo]

agreed, quality cans over "surround" headphones anyday. Sennheisers are so comfy and sound awesome. I love my HD595s, but lately been using my humble Athena setup a lot more

[STEvil]

Zalmans arent even 5.1 last I knew, though that was a couple years ago for the last review I read?

[Poodle]

I've tried the Zalmans and I didn't like them at all. I have a feeling that I won't like these either.

Nothing beats stereo and Sennheiser imo.

[QuietRiot]

I would be curious to see some 'science' behind the 5.1 headphones. They way they make it there's no way it can be worth anything.

[FUGGER]

Yep, I have the previous version of these and they are the best I have ever tested.

Gaming is not quite as demanding as Blueray or HD audio playback. When the music is mixed correctly the headphones really shine.

Trent Reznor NIN or Van Halen tracks are the best mixed to experiance high quality headphones with.

[ahmad]

I might have finally found a replacement for my medusa headset which have been awesome so far...

http://www.medusa-canada.com/medusa-...-v2-p-867.html

I have the older revision. Bass is ok and they have taken quite a beating and all 6 speakers still function and it comes with an amp

[Kobalt]

Real Headphones

[Pinnacle]

Originally Posted by Kobalt

Real Headphones

[ahmad]

Anyone try these yet?

[grudgelord]

Originally Posted by Kobalt

Real Headphones

Amen!

I've don't have much faith in these silly 5.1 headphones and I think they are just a gimmick. I really have to question the effectiveness of a 5.1 configuration in such close proximity to the aural canal. One of the problems lie in the poor physical separation of each discrete channel in the stage. Each channel dominates a large arc within the field and the overlap would be rather messy. I would also imagine that the waves would turn to phase-soup inside the can.

With a quality source (mixed or via dsp) a set of quality headphones are capable of providing excellent spacial imaging even with non-binarually recorded material.

In any case, I'm confident a set of these 5.1 headphones hold no candle to a pair of quality AKGs, Sennheisers or even Sonys.

[tommyshango]

I bought a pair of the first turtle beach hpa's. I was so excited when I got them thinking it was such a great thing. Then after 2 minutes it felt like someone stuck clothespins on my ears. The pain was so excruciating that I took them off. I looked and my ears were bright red. They were impossible to wear for more than a few minutes. I called the company and asked what was the deal. The lady who answered the phone said she uses them to answer the phone and she works with them all day long. ( I thought youre ing crazy lady). I asked if they had replacement pads because while I was talking to her both pads fell right off. I ended up taking rubber bands and wrapping them around to try to hold them on. Never worked. Gave up. They wouldnt refund my money. I ebayed them. I got sennheiser hd580s for about what I paid for those and I would never look back. The sound is way better and I can wear them for hours with only slight discomfort and thats just sweat from playing so long. I would NEVER buy another turtle beach product. Their answer to customer service is.. you were stupid enough to buy our product... tough ! Do not buy from this company it is a gimmick plain and simple. Their products are absolute crap.