Features of the Turtle Beach Ear Force HPA Headphones
Internally the Ear Force HPA headphones have four speakers in each ear cup. You get a front, rear and center speaker as well as a subwoofer. This speaker setup is what allows the realistic surround sound experience with the headphones. The mic used on the HPA headphones is interesting is that it is completely removable so when not in use it won't get in your way.
The built in amplifier gives you control over each channel of the sound, rear, front and center and has its own volume control. The connectors Turtle Beach choose for connecting to the sound card in your system are also great. They allow you to connect both your external 5.1 speaker system as well as the headphones at the same time thanks to handy "Y" connectors for each channel.
The headphones are adjustable to fit multiple noggin sizes and use a automatically adjusting head strap making the initial fitting fast and easy. The Turtle Beach Ear Force HPA Headphones require an external power adapter to power them and require a 5.1 capable sound card for use.
Gaming with the Ear Force HPA Headphones
Short of gaming with an external 5.1 surround sound system, the Ear Force HPA offers by far the best gaming and movie watching experience you can get on your computer. Actually, the surround sound quality is better than some external surround sound speaker systems. The only thing that rivals the sound quality the Ear Force HPA headphones puts out that I have used is my Klipsch Pro Media Ultra 5.1 system, and those will cost you much, much more than the Ear Force HPA's go for at under $100.
Most surround sound headphones lack seriously in the positional audio quality they are able to generate. The speakers tend to be so close to each other that it is hard to distinguish between sounds in front or behind you. I am happy to report that the Ear Force HPA headphones have superb positional audio quality. Serious gamers without the money or the space for traditional surround sound speakers, you now have a serious and viable alternative to stringing wires through your living room.
My sole gripe with the HPA headphones is the amount of cushioning on the ear cups. For my ears the cushioning was too thin and allowed the speakers to touch my ear, which was a bit uncomfortable with long use. While certainly not a big enough issue to keep me from using the Ear Force HPA headphones, I did wish for a mere 1/4 inch more padding for more comfort.
If movie watching is more your bag, the HPA's excel for that task as well. The bass is abundant and the sound reproduction is awesome. Now you can watch your movie as loud as you want in full 5.1 surround sound without having your wife, girlfriend or roommate yelling for you to it turn it down. Simply put, the Turtle Beach Ear Force HPA headphones are hands down the best gaming and movie watching headphones around.
