Gadgetory

what's up guys welcome back to hardware I'm box I'm your host Matt and today I'm gonna be taking a look in new implementations of 2 knots and new technologies by creative back when I looked at Cortez Boyd's round head said I thought it was pretty nifty the little USB soundcard can be used with any stereo headset to create a virtual 7.1 experience and thought that would be pretty handy for anyone with a stereo headset they already really liked but simply wanted to add virtual surround sound - well creative for obviously listening and if since produced the sound blaster xg1 a small and extremely portable 7.1 gaming sound card hitting two birds with one stone I'm also gonna be checking out the new ivana anc active noise canceling headphones from creative which are primarily designed for commuters to tune out all that annoying background noise I'm planning to be doing a lot more travelling soon so they should come in really handy ultimately I'm gonna see how these two products from completely different product ranges pair together to test just how dynamic the g1 really is first let's take a look at the g1 itself there's not a lot to it it's a small thumb drive looking USB device that's shaped like a tiny version of Sound Blaster X's g5 with an illuminated SPH logo and all at the front end is a braided cable that's a couple of inches long and ends in a USB male connector for plugging directly into your PC laptop or console at the back side there's a simple gold-plated three-and-a-half millimeter jack for connecting your headphones the g1 supports headphones anywhere between 16 and 300 ohms and would deliver high resolution 24-bit 96k kilohertz 7.1 positional audio perhaps with the g1 is most powerful is in its ability to enable you to control your sound through creative blaster ex acoustic engine software I've covered this software in detail before but the highlights include the ability to use creatives pre-made custom profiles for different sound situations powerfully create your own profiles using creatives proprietary sound processing effects enable Scout mode to highlight enemy sounds and first-person shooters change your voice with voice FX and a few other advanced settings now let's take a look at the or vana ANC's these headphones a very purpose-built for commuters and I really like that they come in a hard carry case that's excellent in its own right unzipping the lid you'll find a little zip compartment that contains your cable and plane adapter and could also be used to store other small attachments this can be moved around and cleverly velcro backed on the right hand side is a removable and velvet-covered insert designed to keep the headphones in place it is a nice touch and here you'll also find the headphones themselves the first thing I noticed was just how light they are which is really important in terms of comfort of course they feature a simple and thin extendable headband that's wrapped in memory foam and a soft leather hat this extends down to the ear cups which are on the small side though they are considered over ears the ear cups are also padded with a soft foam and leatherette and they're definitely comfortable enough although I personally would have preferred they were a little larger the inside of the ear cuffs is labeled iron owls you know which is which and they swivel 90 degrees to be able to sit flat around your neck on your desk or in the carry case on the right ear cup you'll find the battery compartment which takes a single triple-a battery and thankfully with the ANC's batteries are included on the thin braided one-and-a-half meter cable you'll find an inline remote in my but strangely volume can't be controlled here whether this is a limitation of being active noise-cancelling headphones I'm not sure but if it isn't then it seems like a strange oversight instead we're left with a single button that's used to play or pause skip tracks when double or triple pressed as well as answer and hang out phone calls this sound from the ANC's was pretty good they aren't super loud though they are loud enough and paired with the active noise cancellation they're able to make my recent flight to Sydney quite a lot more comfortable the active noise cancellation works really well for constant droning sounds like you find on an airplane and this is where they're absolutely perfect in fact I'm disappointed I didn't get on to active noise cancellation sooner instead of the deep loud drone you only hear a faint a higher pitch sound that's easily forgotten and drowned out by your music the actual sound from the headphones was good too and they're suitable for a broad range of sounds the low ends are there and they aren't overpowering at all but the strong winds and clear hires are the best aspects of the ANC's sound now time to use these devices together clearly vo ivana answers are not designed for gaming and in their analog format they're obviously limited to stereo sound I connected them through the g1 and I wasn't really sure what to expect as I mentioned earlier being able to use the acoustic engine software as a huge bonus and I instantly switched over to the music profile preset to listen to some tunes and things sounded pretty great already this wasn't the true test for these devices in tandem though the true test was surround sound instantly was enabled and I didn't have to do anything to set it up I simply jumped into black ops 3 and started playing around now the surround sound does work but using these headphones it was nothing compared to the experience and soundstage offered by the Sound Blaster XH 7s or the logitech g930 3s for instance next I tested them with the H 5s and the surround sound was much more impressive in fact I found them almost indistinguishable from the h 7s so those that only H 5s already and have been considering an upgrade to the h 7s could possibly save some money and just grab the g1 instead overall I think the g1 is a really cool little product that will enable lots of gamers with stereo headsets that they already like to upgrade to surround sound without breaking the bank at 50 US dollars the g1 isn't yet available at retailers in Australia and I could only find it for purchase on eBay for a ridiculous $134 but I expect once it's more widely available it might be around the 70 to 80 dollar mark which would make it a reasonable by the O Vanna ANC's are a great travel companion and I'll certainly be using them myself for my upcoming trips they're especially awesome on the plane the carry case is a great touch the noise cancellation works really well there are 130 US dollars on Amazon and currently listed for a $250 on creatives Australian website like the g1 I heard prices are a little lower once they're available in Australian retailers and online stores thanks for joining me again I'm your host Matt as always and I'll see you guys next time you