Introduction

I finally had it with my crappy TV speakers and installed my surround sound speakers. I purchased a Samsung 5.1 home theater setup 2 years ago and had used it in my last apartment. Ever since my wife and I moved into the new house, the setup had been sitting in boxes in the basement. I was going to wait until we purchased an entertainment center to install everything, but this past weekend, I just couldn't take watching HD movies on TV speakers anymore. Since the Bears/Giants game was a bust,  I had some free time available.

There are always issues when choosing to go with a PC surround sound setup, the most important being space and configuration. Some people have odd shaped rooms and setting up can be aggravating, as you need to position each speaker correctly. This requires wall mounts or shelves, tons of wiring, and a creation of a sound "zone." Then an audio program is needed that can properly configure each channel for optimal sound. The next problem is the sound itself. If you live in an apartment, or a house that doesn't have sound dampened walls, you're limited on how loud you can go, as other people will get aggravated, especially with games or movies that have explosions, gunfire, and crashes. This is where enclosed surround sound headsets come into play. They have no significant setup time and limit the sound experience to the user.

The Arctic Sound P531 is a fully enclosed 5.1 surround sound gaming headset. The Sound P531 comes with 4 drivers on each earpiece offering front, center, and side surround channels. The P531 has integrated vibration units that add an extra experience to gaming. Arctic also used a USB interface, which limits distortion and offers digital audio. There is an in-line volume control for on-the-fly adjustments.