• Speed-Link Medusa 5.1 Surround Sound Headphones Review
• LG Electronics Flatron L1980Q LCD Review
• LITEON LVC-9006 DVD and VHS Recorder Review

Speed-Link Medusa Home Edition SL-8796 5.1 Surround Sound Headset

I hate sounding like a broken record. Often, as companies release updated versions of products there tends to be added defects or issues that make it not as good as the previous models. Medusa-USA brings us another of Speed-Link's surround headsets. This time the updated Home Edition. The ProGamer was a fantastic upgrade to the previous Gaming Edition. Does the new Home Edition improve upon its predecessor? Let's find out...

Company:

Medusa-USA, www.medusa-usa.com

Price:

$128.00 US at Medusa-USA.

Ratings

Price:
Install/Setup:
Usability:
Support:
Average Rating:

Pros:

• Fast, easy setup
• Headsets are soft and very comfortable to wear for extended periods
• Cables are long providing you with plenty of length to move around

Cons:

• No optical or coax inputs/outputs
• No new designs on the in-line volume controls

Getting Started

As always, when opening up the box with this new headset, you can't help but notice the care that is put into packing their products. The Home Edition comes packed with the normal retail packaging. When you remove that there is the heavy black box holding the headset. Upon opening this, there is the red satin ribbon holding things in place on top of the black satin box liner. Not once have I ever worried about the possibilities of pulling out a damaged or non working product from the Speed-Link Medusa line of headsets. The detail and care you see instills a feeling of quality that you can expect to get with your new purchase.

In the box, you will find the Home Edition headset, a newly redesigned Amp box, power supply, and plenty of cables to connect to various devises. Like the ProGamer edition, this model has the new removable microphone, but has the same in-line volume controls as the previous version. These controls are okay, but I would have liked to see something new here. At the same time, what is there is functional and works, so why change it? Check out our review on the previous model here.

The real changes with the new model come in updated cables and a brand new Amp box. With the previous model, the cables were okay, but you had to run front, rear, and sub channels along with a separate mic line. Now all 4 are integrated in one cable making it much easier to have clean, good cable management. Also included are several options for connecting non-PC based sound sources to the Amp box. As you can see in the picture below, the Amp Box has been totally redesigned. It now sports a much sleeker and just plain cooler design. The previous model worked well, but wasn't great to look at sitting there on your desk or shelf. This model fits in great next to an external HD, my Logitech speaker console and the various speakers sitting on my desk. The blue LEDs also add a nice look to the front panel.

On the back panel you will find new connection options. Now you can hook up two different sound sources and choose between the two from a button on the front panel. Many users have multiple PCs these days or at least one PC and a close tuner or other sound source they would like to use their surround headset with. I am probably a non-typical user with between 4 and 6 PCs I wish I could choose between using these Speed-Link Medusa headsets with... But I never pretended to be normal... :-) Also included on the back panel is an output option to move your 5.1 sound and mic to another device. I really like this feature. I can have two sources of sound coming into the Amp and a set of lines sending the sound out to my Logitech Z-5500 Digital 5.1 Surround Sound speakers. This makes it much easier to switch between headsets and desktop speakers without any hassle. Simply press the button on the front panel of the Amp box to switch. The only change I would make here (other than adding 2 more inputs to the existing 2) is to have the option of optical or coax inputs and outputs to transfer true digital sound to the headset and then out to my Logitech Z-5500s.

Click on picture to enlarge image

Usability

Setting up the Home Edition is as simple as it gets. You plug in your 3 channels and mic to your sound card, connect your power source, verify your soundcard settings, and you are ready. The ProGamer took a bit of time to fine tune the sound. But with this model, all I had to do was modify the volume on the in-line controls to where I like them and I was up and running with fantastic sound quality. To test it out I played my usual list of various music types, watched exerts from StarWars III, and played about an hour of Battlefield 2: Special Forces. When watching StarWars, I found myself adjusting the different channels and was amazed at the sounds that are in the movie on different channels. It was quite impressive to be immersed in the movie the way the Home Edition headset presents the sound. Equally impressive is the sound when gaming. You hear things not possible with a stereo headset. No wonder the CPL has banned the Speed-Link Medusa surround headsets from competition play.

Specifications and Features

Adding It All Up

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I love the Speed-Link Medusa Home Edition surround sound headset. The new design and changes just add to the quality and easiness of use. Although I will do my best to get Matt at Medusa-USA to find out how they will add optical or coax options to the Amp box, there isn't any real reason you shouldn't go by their site and order one of these today. As I've said before, do yourself a favor and treat yourself to one of these headsets. Your ears will thank you. While you are there, take a look at all the new products Medusa-USA has to offer.

Because of the excellent quality and good improvements over past models, we are awarding Speed-Link Medusa Home Edition SL-8796 5.1 Surround Sound Headset the UpgradAdvisor.com Recommended Upgrade seal of approval!!!

Need to search for a different product or additional info?

	Web www.upgradeadvisor.com