Medusa 5.1 Surround Headset - Page 6

I bought a set of Medusa 5.1 surround headphones just on a week ago.

I ordered them Friday night and they arrived Tuesday night. I live in Australia and they were delivered from the U.K. Sensational!
Great quality, couldn't fault anything at all.

I plugged them in, everything was fine until I started playing Battlefield 2 where I found the rears had almost no bass at all. REALLY disappointed. Even testing them with the Creative speaker settings applet that gives you a voice through each individual channel sounded tinny through the rear speakers IN THE HEADPHONES ONLY.
So I swapped the front and rear connections on the amp and the problem swapped from rear to front. I figured "must be the amp" because I have external Creative speakers connected to the Audio Out ports on the amp and those rear speakers sounded great. I used the Creative speaker calibration applet (Basic) which even allowed me to change the polarity of each channel. I'd read here somewhere that this might be causing the problem and that Creative speakers (like mine) were wired to compensate for the polarity reversal. Or something.
Still no improvement.

So I sent an email to Speed-Link support who suggested:

"please set in the Soundcard Software the Bass Redirection to Enabled. Does this not help it can be a faulty Headset, please change it then there you bought it."

I'd tried that already by using the Support page on both the Speed-Link and Medusa websites.
Then I installed the kx Project package as suggested elsewhere in this thread, along with RightMark 3D sound for testing. The rear sound was marginally better in BF2 but other channels were getting 'choppy' and slowing the whole game down. But, the rears started working fine through the headphones when I tested them out in RightMark.
Figured I was on to something.
So, I un-installed the kx Project drivers and un-installed all of the Creative and Soundblaster Audigy programs I could see in the 'Add or Remove Programs' Control Panel applet then rebooted.
I then went to creative.com and downloaded/installed the:

Creative Sound Blaster Audigy unified series Beta driver with OpenAL support 2.08.0002. Here's the link:
http://us.creative.com/support/dow [...] Windows+XP

Now, these drivers are beta and aren't supported by Creative etc. etc. so install them at your own risk. You know the drill.

I went to Control Panel, Sound and Audio Devices, then 'Advanced' under the Speaker Settings section (down the bottom) and made sure '5.1 Speakers' were selected.
BF2 now works as well through the rear speakers as through the fronts.
I sh!t you not. TOTALLY IMMERSIVE.
It's like night and day compared to what they were like when I first plugged them in. I was CONVINCED that the amp was the problem but I persevered with it. All I can say is that it was well worth it.
I don't care that I don't have all of the Creative applets chewing memory and getting in the way, I'm just stoked that these fantastic headphones work as well as I'd been led to believe seeing many reviews on many different websites, including Tom's Hardware.
How to go about fixing X-Fi problems I couldn't say but try looking into the soundcard drivers to see if that fixes the problem.
I haven't tried installing the current latest Creative drivers again as I'm frightened they'll mess up the headphones again.
Hope this helps someone.

Strangest thing. I just posted a reply to this front centre speaker not working, went to the creative speaker connection wizard, ran it, made no changes, and presto, when i went back to thx testing , the front speaker worked. No idea why.

I made some progress:

The issue is not with the Xfi and not with the medusa:

I was desperate so i decided to rollback my soundcard to the audigy2 i was working with the last year.

To my surprise, when i installed the audigy in my new PC it didn't work neither!!

I then reverted to software mode instead of hardware acceleration to test. Front speaker was working there with 5.1. So next I put hardware acceleration (control panelsounds and audio devicesvolumespeaker settings advancedperformancehardware acceleration) to "basic" and it worked! However, with "standard" and "full" acceleration it doesn't work.

Could you do me a favour and check the hardware acceleration settings on your machine? I'm interested to know if the front works with "standard" and "full" acceleration.

Thanks in advance!

Where can I download this wizard? Can't find it. Need to try this out since i need full harware acceleration.

Thanks

I made some progress:

The issue is not with the Xfi and not with the medusa:

I was desperate so i decided to rollback my soundcard to the audigy2 i was working with the last year.

To my surprise, when i installed the audigy in my new PC it didn't work neither!!

I then reverted to software mode instead of hardware acceleration to test. Front speaker was working there with 5.1. So next I put hardware acceleration (control panelsounds and audio devicesvolumespeaker settings advancedperformancehardware acceleration) to "basic" and it worked! However, with "standard" and "full" acceleration it doesn't work.

Could you do me a favour and check the hardware acceleration settings on your machine? I'm interested to know if the front works with "standard" and "full" acceleration.

Thanks in advance!


Hardware acceleration is "full"

Where can I download this wizard? Can't find it. Need to try this out since i need full harware acceleration.

Thanks

It is part of the x-fi software

start/all programs/creative/soundblaster x-fi/creative speaker connection wizard

no guarantees, have no idea why it is working now



I lost the front centre again, tried the wizard, no result, happened to try moving the headphone jack on the front of the medusa amplifier and it worked again. I think the connection on the jack is suspect. May have led you down the wrong path.

This made me try something:
When plugging the center/sub jack halfway in, instead of completely, i get sound but not at full volume. Definitely an improvement but still unusable. I tried both sockets on the medusa amp. I'm just baffled...

EDIT: still, can't be jack because i used another for center/sub with same result.

** Please Note:- The above Post originally contained the following line...
"Do NOT buy from them, their customer service is as POOR as their Quality Assurance!"
That is what sparked the response and the reply below. **


Noiruuk

I am very surprised that you felt the need to post on here with regard our transaction together. The problem you were experiencing although unfortunate could quite easily have been cured within 24hrs and at the most would have cost an additional $4 leaving you with a fully working brand new set.

From ZIP Code 857** To ZIP Code 852** Priority Mail® 1 Day(s) $4.20

We have never tried to hide our return and support policies and they are on full view prior to anyone ordering from us.

Returns

We do not offer items for sale on a trial basis. Returns are accepted on faulty goods only and under the terms of the relevant warranties.

In exceptional circumstances non-faulty goods and/or goods not confirmed as faulty by the manufacturer are authorised for return but only on the understanding that all shipping fees including the fees in the original purchase are non refundable. A Re-Stocking fee of 15% would also apply to cover our overheads.

If you are experiencing problems with any item you have purchased please visit our support page.


Support

Medusa-USA are approved North American re-sellers of Speed-Link Headphones, Game controllers, Game Console equipment, Computer and Multimedia Periphery. Medusa-USA are not the manufacturers.

Speed-Link products are guaranteed for two years from the date of purchase in respect of workmanship and all built-in components. For the initial 12 months, Medusa-USA look after warranty issues and, for your convenience and peace of mind, have set up a warranty return centre in Arizona where in the unlikely event of a component failing and, on the authorisation of Speed-Link, returns can be sent to and replacements are issued out from. This saves you the worry, inconvenience and expense that would ensue in having to return it back to us here in the UK or to Speed-Link in Germany.

If you are experiencing installation, technical or compatibility problems with your Speed-Link product please read the FAQs below to see if your problem is covered there. If not then please call Speed-Link support on +49 4287 125 133 or visit their support site here..: -Speed-Link Support Centre- with as much detail as you can regarding the problems you are encountering and they will endeavour to offer a fix or workaround for your problem. If Speed-Link are unable to effect a fix and advise you to return the product to the original seller for replacement please complete the -RMA Request Form if you are a customer of Medusa-USA or contact your own re-seller if not.

If your Speed-Link product has a quite obvious fault, i.e Broken Earpiece, Rattling Amplifier, Cracked casing etc and you purchased from Medusa-USA then you do not need to contact Speed-Link prior to completing the RMA Request Form as we can accept warranty replacement requests direct on those.


From the RMA Request Form

Please Note:
Whilst we employ every resource to ensure that your item is replaced promptly without hassle, Medusa-USA do not pay return shipping costs for defective merchandise. We are not responsible for product defects as we do not manufacture the products we sell. However, we will split the shipping costs with you. If you pay to send the item back to us we will replace the item and ship the replacement to you at no charge.



I think it only fair that as you have brought our Customer Service skills into question I should give the full details of our transaction which includes dates and times so that the potential customers that you are trying to put off using our services can see just how well and quickly we respond to problems which were out of our control when they occur.


From: noiruuk@***.com
Sent: 15 June 2006 15:50
To: Medusa International
Subject: Re: Order Update


Hi Matt, I'm IMPRESSED with the speedy delivery! I guess it helps to live only 100 miles from you guys. I have a problem, though...One of the speakers in the headset sounds to be broken. It gives off a "fuzzy" type of sound.

What do I need to do?

-kris


------Reply sent within 2 hrs ---------------------------------

From: Medusa International
Sent: 15 June 2006 17:56
To: 'Kris'
Subject: RE: Order Update


Depends what the fuzzy sound is. If it is there constantly then have a quick look at the FAQ's on the support page regarding interference. If not and only sounds odd when sound is played through it, it may be a defective set which would mean sending it back to us. Sorry.

Let me know the answer.

Matt

---------------------------------------

From: noiruuk@***.com]
Sent: 15 June 2006 20:20
To: Medusa International
Subject: Re: Order Update


It's not there all the time, it's only when I get sound in that particular speaker. And it's only happening in the one speaker from what I can tell.

How do you handle returns? Will you send me a replacement pair with a pre-paid shipping sticker?

-kris


--------Reply sent within 5 minutes ---------------------------------


From: Medusa International
Sent: 15 June 2006 20:25
To: 'Kris'
Subject: RE: Order Update


Hi Kris

Please visit http://www.medusa-usa.com/supportrequest.php to complete the RMA process.

Cheers

Matt

------------------------------------------

From: noiruuk@***.com]
Sent: 15 June 2006 20:39
To: Medusa International
Subject: Re: Order Update


So, you guys don't pay for return costs? So by getting shipped a broken headset (which Medusa should screen for), I have to pay another $5-10 for an already very expensive headset? That's a low level of service that I didn't expect, considering all the praise I read, and the quick shipment. That's very disappointing.
-kris

------------------------------------------

From: noiruuk@***.com]
Sent: 15 June 2006 21:15
To: Medusa International
Subject: Re: Order Update


Matt, I have given it some thought, and have decided to ask that you either:

1) pay for the shipping costs both ways on a replacement headset, or 2) refund my money upon return of my current broken headset.

I went from ecstatic at your prompt service and your personal reply to my initial question, to severely disappointed that I was sent a defective headset that I now am expected to pay for return shipment. I have dealt with many online vendors for my multimedia equipment in this last year, having spent thousands in populating my previously vacant computer room. This is the first time I've been asked to pay for a defective product's return (and it isn't the first defective product I've received, unfortunately).

It may be only a few dollars in shipping costs, but to me it's more about the principal of the matter...I was sent a broken headset, and I should *not* have to pay any amount for a lapse in QA. I will pay enough in the way of having to wait longer without a functional headset, and the hassle of having to replace it.

If you won't pay for return costs on the defective headset, then please refund my money. I am the type of consumer who would gladly pay more money for better service.

-kris


-------Reply sent within 15 minutes -----------------------------------


From: Medusa International
Sent: 15 June 2006 21:36
To: 'Kris'
Subject: RE: Order Update


Hi Kris

Not a problem in returning for refund. Full value of the Headset will be refunded to your PayPal account on receipt of the parcel.

Kind regards

Matt

-------Product returned 7 Days later !!! -----------------------------------

From: noiruuk@***.com]
Sent: 23 June 2006 07:09
To: Medusa International
Subject: Re: RMA Request from Medusa-USA


Matt, this was put in the mail to return to you. Will you be contacting me upon receipt? Also, how long until I should expect to see my refund reflected on my PayPal account?
regards,
-kris


--------- Reply sent within 8 hrs (waiting contact with AZ office) ---------------------------------


From: Medusa International
Sent: 23 June 2006 15:33
To: 'Kris'
Subject: RE: RMA Request from Medusa-USA


Hi Kris

Once AZ office confirms receipt your refund will be made instantly.

They had major problems yesterday with both phones and internet access unavailable so I have had no contact for 24hrs. If you can let me have the tracking number you used I can confirm on-line if it has been received.

Regards

------------------------------------------

From: noiruuk@****.com]
Sent: 23 June 2006 20:41
To: Medusa International
Subject: Re: RMA Request from Medusa-USA


Shipped via UPS, the tracking number is:
1Z62263W03465*****


--------Reply sent within 4 minutes ----------------------------------


From: Medusa International
Sent: 23 June 2006 20:45
To: 'Kris'
Subject: RE: RMA Request from Medusa-USA


Hi Kris

Just checked UPS site and parcel expected today but not arrived as yet.

Matt

------------------------------------------

From: customer.service@ups.com [mailto:customer.service@ups.com]
Sent: 23 June 2006 23:20

To: Medusa International

Subject: UPS Package Tracking Information

Tracking results provided by UPS: Jun 23, 2006 6:16 P.M. Eastern Time (USA)

TRACKING DETAIL

Tracking Number: 1Z 622 63W 03 465*****

Status: Delivered


-------- Refund processed within 5 mins of delivery confirmation ----------------------------------


From: service@paypal.co.uk [mailto:service@paypal.co.uk]

Sent: 23 June 2006 23:35

Subject: Your refund has been sent

Dear Medusa International,

You have sent a full or partial refund to noiruuk@***.com.

Note to Buyer:

Parcel arrived. Full refund for value of headset as agreed.

Regards - Matt



=======================================================

I am truly sorry that your headset had a fault straight out of the box. Speed-Link do employ end enjoy excellent Quality Control procedures but as with all electrical / PC type items occasionally a fault can get through un-noticed.

As CEO of Medusa International I believe that I offer a fair and very quick resolution to any problem that arises but I can only do this when items are in my possession. How the item is returned is left to the discretion of the customer and unfortunately not something I can be financially responsible for which it would seem is really your only complaint against our Company.

I do thank you for the opportunity to serve you and am just sorry that the small matter of $4 was not acceptable, albeit on principal, to you.

SO HOW BOUT THIS EVERYONE.... I just bought the Xfi card myself, if the Medusa headset is having problems... and nobody can get a stable fix.

WHAT HEADPHONES SHOULD I BUY??? with games specifically in mind (BF2, CS:S).

Noirruk

No personal information is present.

The only identifier has been *** out and it is totally impossible to trace you with the info present.

You brought my Company into disrepute so it is only fair, and legal, to qualify the transaction so that the people you are attempting to put off can now make their own informed decision now that the FULL facts have been presented.

I am a very calm person, and not usually childish, but will not have anyone drag my Companies name down as a result of them not reading the Terms and Conditions prior to purchasing and then trying to warn others away because our conditions do not fit in with their requirements.

Matt

I just bought the Medusa 5.1 ProGamer headphones yesterday after my old Zalmans died, and while I would be satisfied with everything else, the headphones generate a highly annoying hissing sound that has been noted in this thread a couple of times already.
The noise is very apparent even when I'm playing a game and / or listening to music: it reminds me of the time when I had a pair of wireless headphones, and annoys me to no end.
All my previous headphones have been free of any additional sounds of their own, so this constant background hiss was an unpleasant surprise. I tried the adapter that came with the set to see if it'd fix or at least lessen the problem, but the hiss is still there; the adapter even adds its own metallic chime to it, making it worse. Making note of what was said about interference in this thread, I tested the adapter + headphones in several other rooms away from the computer, my cell phone and so on, but the hiss remained unchanged. Since the hiss seems completely unaffected by the sound cables, I'm guessing that the problem lies with the USB cable.

I'd take the set back and replace it for something else, but the shop I bought it from wants to check returned products for flaws and only grants a refund if the product is found faulty -- if no technical flaws are found, they charge extra for the unnecessary work. :S
I guess I'm stuck with these hissing headphones of mine: having read this thread I'm kind of thinking that it's not a matter of me having a defective set, it's more like this is the way the headphones were set up in the first place. I guess it's not a bother if one is used to the hiss of wireless headphones and doesn't like to play quiet games such as Thief, but the hiss sure bothers me.

In the interest of fairness I have to say I really like my home edition medusa headphones I received recently. I would also like to say the customer service from Medusa was exceptional. They answered questions almost immediately and when the US and Canadian postal system didn't deliver the package for 10 days Matt was going to ship a new set with the only provision that I would e-mail him if the previous set came in. It came the next day by the way. Trials of being at one end of the country I guess. I'm very happy with the fairness and service.

first off all please stop annyoing everyone here with trying to do harm to medusa, you had your say now stop please

anyhow i dont even know why you are pissed at paying shipment costs (i'm european), here its pretty normal you have to pay for it

Hey, I found these that were just release the beginning of this month. Anybody ever heard of them??

TRITTON AX360 GAMING HEADPHONES

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6826235001

They were made for Xbox... but works with a 5.1 card with an adapter... anybody got some info on these?

Hi Bildo.

If you have X-Fi I'd stay away from Trittons. Why you ask? Because, as far as I know, they take digital inputs only and X-Fi cards are crippled outputting digital sound. X-fi SPDIF can only output 2.1:
http://forumz.tomshardware.com/har [...] 87002.html

Hence if you have X-fi like me you are pretty much stuck with analog minijacks for all of your surround stuff.

Edit: I stand corrected. It seems tritton provides and adapter to convert to analog minijacks:
http://www.trittonsales.com/products/TRIGA600.htm
In light of this I'd say try it and let us know how well it plays with X-Fi.

The thing with Medusa and X-Fi that I've found is that they still sound pretty darn good. After numerous adjustments I got bass down from fronts and back to a level where I can't discern the difference during a heated BF2 game.

If you are determined to get a different pair of headphones I'd suggest looking at Zalman's 5.1s - a number of people on this forums got them to work well with X-Fi.

Convenient you left this bit off...

""Postage and handling charges, both to and from our warehouse will be paid by you, the customer, and is non-refundable. At our discretion TigerDirect.com may reimburse shipping charges related to the EXCHANGE of DEFECTIVE products.""

Once again selective reading but I am sure if you cry enough they will change their MAY rules just for you.

From what I read on the previous page at least Medusa would have paid to get the replacement back to you.

but left off the bit that made it a worse one. Typical. Only show the side that suits your arguement.

Absurd... What a cheek. Your the absurd one going to all this hooharr over 4 bucks. What a muppet.

Nothing makes it a better policy until such time as you are advised exactly what MAY actually means.

You do understand that non-refundable is them not giving you money, right ?

Once you accept delivery of anything it then belongs to you. If you are not prepared to pay for shipping your own belongings then in reality why should anyone else. It leaves very few companies you can purchase off on the net. Why not stick to your local wallmart and then you can ring them and ask them to pop round and pick up the bit that is broken as you refuse to pay the gasoline involved.

BILDO,

All in all I figure it took about 4 full evenings to get it to a level where I'm content.

Read my earlier posts. Basically I tried the crossover described here, and worked my way from there. Since BF2 is pretty much the only game I play nowadays (Oblivion from time to time) that was the only game I tweaked Medusa/X-fi with. Current non-beta driver + High settings in BF2(not Ultra-high) works for me.

Good luck.

Sorry Matt I just thought that he was making a huge issue out of it especially when I saw the NEW thread he created specifically telling people not to buy either the headsets or from you just cos he had to pay for returning a headset that you could not possibly have known was faulty. I could have understood if you had asked him to send it back to you in the UK or the manufacturer in Germany, I would have been pis**d too, but not the same state.

I just received my Medusa 5.1 progamer a couple days ago and I'm quite satisfied with them. I had previously owned a set of Zalman's 5.1.

Here's my setup:

Dell Inspiron E1705 17in Widescreen Laptop
XP Media Edition
Duocore 2ghz
2gb Ram
Nvidia 7800go
Wolfclaw Type II Keyboard and Logitech G5 (Not important for this comparison, but they sure are some cool peripheals! )
External Creative Soundblaster Live 5.1 (This laptop does not have a PCMCIA slot or I would have gotten the PCMCIA soundcard)

For starters, I just don't see how you guys can stand to have the bass redirect all the way to the right. I have mine on about 86 and it sounds great! I listen to hip-hop, rap, rock, and country. Lots my tunes have some hard bass in them and it feels like the headset is going to bounce right off my head sometimes.

Between fooling around with the bass redirect and equalizer, I'm very satisfied with the way I have it sounding now.

As far as compared to the Zalman's...?

In the music and DVD category, the Zalmans don't have a chance against the Medusa Headset. The Medusa is by far the superior headset for listening to music and watching movies.

As far as gaming goes, I will say that the Medusa is a better headset than the Zalman's, but not by much IMO. It does have the integrated mic, which is nice. It's sound is marginally better. (To my ears) Other than that, I felt the Zalman's gave just as much positional awareness as the Medusa headset does. My game of choice is Unreal Tournament 2004.

All that being said, I am very happy with this headset and I plan on keeping it for awhile.

Lastly, the Medusa's have ALOT (read as a WHOLE LOT) more soundbleed than the Zalman's. This however is not an issue to me though it may be to others.

p.s. It sounds better with CMSS enabled to me. ymmv.

Wow, I've been following this thread for some time now, in my hunt for a good headset. I am totaly thrilled that Medusa has one of their CEOs on here as well, to personally offer support. BUT.... I'm abit confused on which pair to buy. I decided not to go with the Gamer's headset, so that leaves me with the Classic or Home Edition. Is there any differance/improvements between the two pairs? I've mainly been reading the first half of the pages of this thread, and rarely anyone posted what model they purchased.

thanks anthonybsd

I swapped Centre and Subwoofer but all that dopes is give me an 'empty' front centre section when I run the 3D audio demo, i.e. when it comes to the subwoofers turn to be the 'centre' it ain't there.

With it still swapped and in the Speaker Config test the headphone sound output is good when the 'Subwoofer' icon lights up (centre is redirected there) but of course when the 'Centre' lights up (redirected subwoofer) it does nothing.

I have also loged te poblem with ASUS. I don't want to pre-judge but I have read a lot about their bad response.

I had a reply from ASUS. "Update the audio drivers and try again". I did. No change.

Am I really going to have to send the ^%** thing back?

Just buy a cheap 5.1 sound card!

lol I've got one but I don't use it.

I just fixed the problem:

The AC97 on-screen connector panel image has a different designations for the audio sockets from the Manual. I found this out when I removed the mobo to see that nothing was amiss and in reading the manual for reconnecting various plugs I noticed the Manual jack designations were different. wtg ASUS!

I re-connected as the Manual and found I now had all six channels but Rear and Centre/Woofer were interchanged. I swapped them and then realised it appeared to bring them back to the on-screen setup !

BUT!
a. Did the on-screen designations change when it re-sensed the connections?
b. Was there something wrong before which refitting the mobo cleared?
c. Is the Medusa wired wrongly?

I haven't a clue, but it works

Thanks for the ideas.

Hi there. On their site they now offer both the headset and amplifier box seperatly on the "Accessories" page, but I'm not sure if the cables that are needed come with it. I guess this is their way of offering OEM products?

Hi Rick

Depends which country you are in....

USA
http://www.medusa-usa.com/medusa-5 [...] p-880.html

CANADA
http://www.medusa-canada.com/medus [...] p-860.html

UNITED KINGDOM
http://www.medusa-uk.com/medusa-51 [...] p-706.html

SOUTHERN IRELAND
http://www.medusa-international.co [...] p-707.html