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Just as audio is the great neglected art of video production with too many movie makers focusing on the image and treating sound as subservient, so too do we similarly neglect our hardware. We?ll happily spoon out large sheckles for widescreen monitors but too often leave sound to a tiny set of PC speakers or cheap and nasty headphones.
While powered bookshelf audio speakers are the ideal for mixing your soundtrack, the truth is that many home studios are simply not conducive to such setups. Likewise the editor working from laptop can't very we'll carry speakers with them.
When it comes to watching movies, a home theatre setup might be optimal for many, but a thumping subwoofer in the lounge room may not be appreciated by partners and sleeping children. So with these scenarios, it is that most of us find ourselves turning to the humble headphones for our audio production work and quality audio listening experience. The new XFones from Hauppauge seem aimed at satisfying a very broad spectrum of user needs.
The XFones are full ear-shell multi-channel wireless, USB headphones with Dolby surround sound technology for virtual 5.1. Quite a feature set by any measure. Purists would assert that attempting to be all things to everyone is a recipe for mediocrity but the XFones attempt to prove that adage false.
As a wireless device, the XFones really couldn?t be any simpler or more effective. A small USB stick, much the same as a memory thumb drive, is the transmitter and the only hardware needed outside the headphones themselves. You simply insert the transmitter into a spare USB port on your computer or laptop; there is no special software and no driver to install, as the XFones simply appear to the operating system as a generic USB Audio device. All you have to do then is select the headphones as your default audio playback output and away you go. No mess, no fuss.
Based on a 2.4 GHz RF signal, there is a great deal of reliability in the wireless connectivity. The box declares a 10 metre range but in testing we were able to push this nearly fifteen metres out of the room and round the corner before losing sound.
The wireless functionality also includes a broadcast mode where multiple sets of XFones can be set to receive a single signal. With eight selectable channels, there?s certainly plenty of scope to keep a room full of listeners tuned in and not tripping over wires on their way to the popcorn bucket.
The downside for some of course is that the XFones are designed only for use on a computer via USB and cannot be connected to your regular TV. That said, with the rise of the media center computer as a primary TV device in the living room, this will increasingly not be such an issue.
Of course good wireless connectivity is for naught if the sound quality isn't up to scratch. Thankfully the XFones do really rather well. With good insulating ear enclosures, the headphone drivers are given a relatively clean state to work in. The audio tone was smooth and accurate across the range. High frequencies were maintained very well and deep bass was smooth and strong.
The XFones have a bass boost feature aimed at those like a good deep rumble but this was overkill for most audio, wallowing the sound into a muddy mire with some distortion. Turned off however, the sound was more than bass-rich, the human head itself is a natural resonator (one of the reasons sound production purists insist on speakers rather headphones for mixing) and no good set of headphones should 'need' a bass boost. The exception to this was PC gaming where the bass boost worked exceptionally well for the subwoofer bass tones in many action games.
Clear frequency response across a good pitch range coupled with ear-cups that insulate external noise well make the XFones a very good choice for video/audio work from a laptop. Being wireless certainly makes production in-the-field or aboard an airplane all the easier and less clumsy.
The XFones really come into their own however when it comes to surround sound DVD playback. Included in the package is the PowerDVD media player software, one of the most popular and feature rich software DVD players on the market. PowerDVD includes a specially licensed Dolby 5.1 headphone decoder that translates and simulates surround sound in stereo headphones.
The effect of simulated surround is really very simple; the human brain judges sound direction through the ears by calculating the minute time delay between when the sound hits one ear and then the other; the difference indicating to your brain the direction. Simulated surround sound works much the same by controlling the tiny delay between a sound hitting one ear and then the other to spatially position the sound.
Of course this sounds simple but the decoder which has to translate the 5.1 into this effect is highly complex. The effect with the XFones watching via the PowerDVD player set to the specific Dolby Headphone setting is truly outstanding. Clear and crisp the surround sound has a distinct and remarkably accurate spatial positioning.
When working with video software that can mix and arrange Surround Sound such as Sony Vegas and Adobe Premiere Pro, the same Dolby headphone decoding system is not present as it is from PowerDVD so there isn't the same precise surround effect. However, the very accurate stereo field with a pseudo surround effect placing a sound forward or back in the arrangement does result in about as good a surround effect as is possible from straight stereo headphones. It?s not ideal, but you certainly could knock up a half decent surround layout with the XFones working from a laptop if you're in the field or in-flight and needed to get a start on your sound design.
It's easy to take a purist approach to technology, especially sound, insisting on the best with your ear taking offense at anything less. You can spend upwards of $2000 on a top class vocal microphone or $5000 on near-field audio monitors. Or alternatively you could get a $200 mic and $500 speakers. Now, there's no doubt that the former will sound better but in truth this arguably isn't the issue. The real question to ask is whether the $5000 speakers are $4500 'better' than the $500 ones? The answer to this will almost never be yes. Better certainly, but by how much is often not in keeping with the price jump.
The XFones seek to strike a balance that is all too often over looked. The quality of sound is very good, the reproduction accurate and clear. The wireless link is very reliable with good range and the cans themselves insulate well around the ear and are comfortable to wear. There are better wireless headphones on the market but at not much more than $100 there are none that offer better value with such reliable quality. In particular, as an audio system free of wires for laptop production, the XFones are a superb option.
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Mike Jones is a digital media producer, author, educator from Sydney, Australia. He has a diverse background across all areas of media production including film, video, TV, journalism, photography, music and on-line projects. Mike is the author of three books and more than 200 published essays, articles and reviews covering all aspects of cinematic form, technology and culture. Mike is currently Head of Technological Arts at the International Film School Sydney (www.ifss.edu.au), has an online home at www.mikejones.net and can be found profusely blogging for DMN at www.digitalbasin.net
Related Sites: Digital Pro Sound , Oceania , CEN - Consumer Electronics Net , CEN - Audio , CEN - WiFi
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