Installation & Sound Quality

Installation

Installing the Speed-Link Medusa 5.1 was very easy. Just plug each plug into the corresponding color in the back of your computer. While the connectors are color coded, not every sound card has these colored plugs. Some high end cards make use of gold plated, metal connectors. Speed-Link has added little tags to every connector to make the installation as easy as possible. Make sure to plug the USB connector in as well, so the headset get the power needed. The USB cable is long enough to be plugged into any USB plug available on the back of the computer, no matter if it is onboard or on a PCI card.


As soon as the USB is connected and the headset power turned on, the red LED lights up.

Sound Quality

The most important part of any Headset is the sound quality. First off, let me tell you, the Speed-Link Medusa 5.1 is loud. Incredibly loud. The little speakers inside the headset are powered, so turning them up past "5" on the 10 point dials on the remote may be bad for your ears in the long run. Nonetheless, no matter how loud I turned them up, the sound was very clear. While the bass may not be as strong as with the use of a normal 5.1 surround sound system, this was to be expected from a headset. The mid and high range is very clear and sounds great.

Playing creepy games like FEAR or Condemned, become even more scary, because you can hear exactly where someone is running or breathing. Using normal 5.1 speakers may sound quite good, but you will still be distracted by outside noise. The Medusa 5.1 sounds great and not hearing anything except for the in-game sounds and music really adds to the gaming experience. Using this headset on a scary game will definitely make it even more so.

The only downside of the headset is the incredibly slight, but still noticeable "hiss" when the is no sound being played. Oddly enough, only the "rear" speakers in the headset emit this slight "hiss". As soon as you hear any sound, this hiss disappears, making the headset a joy to use.