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Creative to unveil World of Warcraft headset at BlizzCon
Creative Labs posted a World of Warcraft-related teaser yesterday, and today WoW.com is proud to deliver an exclusive reveal: they're promoting a brand new product called the Sound Blaster World of Warcraft headset. This will be a state of the art gaming headset available in both wired and wireless versions, complete with all of Creative's high end gaming audio technology, including THX TruStudio PC Surround, which they say is the "most advanced 'virtual' 3D surround" on the market today. Creative's CMSS is already recognized by many as the best virtual surround sound in gaming, and THX TruStudio PC is supposed to sound even better. The headset also features Creative's VoiceFX technology (so you can disguise your voice with a few different effects), and they say the wireless version of the headset will feature an uncompressed signal that sounds terrific as well.The headset itself is designed in coordination with Blizzard, and the ear cups (which are complete over-ear) actually feature lighted glyphs, available in Horde or Alliance flavors at launch (with other designs released eventually), and illuminated by programmable RGB LEDs. They have their own software interface, so you'll be able to choose from 16 million colors. Price isn't set just yet, but we'd expect it'll be in line with other high-end headsets, from $100 to $150 depending on what options you go with.The headset releases in November, but Creative also sent us the pre-prototype render at right, and they've updated their teaser with a picture of the Alliance glyph. Creative tells us they'll have the headset on display at BlizzCon, so if you're there this weekend, stop by their booth and check it out. And be sure to stay tuned to WoW.com -- we're working on a way to give you the chance to win one of these for yourself. BlizzCon 2009 is coming up on August 21st and 22nd! We've got all the latest news and information. At BlizzCon you can play the latest games, meet your guildmates, and ask the developers your questions. Plus, there's some great looking costumes.
Hands on with the Creative Xmod and the Mac
I'm in love with the Creative Xmod. It's this little white box that hooks up to your computer by USB. And it turns your plain ordinary headphones into a virtual 5.1 surround sound system. I used it to watch my copy of Cars. I tell you, those race cars were racing around and through my head. That's how cool the virtual localization was. The box works by creating virtual speakers that surround your ears. Yeah sure, your headphones only have two real speakers, but somehow the engineers at Creative have figured out how to localize sounds by using advanced digital signal processing that even takes the physics of your head and the shape of your ears into account. It wasn't exactly like being in a theater and really feeling the sound effects with your whole body, but it took the sound experience up to a whole new level of listening. The XMod hooks right into your Mac via USB. It then grabs any audio playing through the system and runs it through its built-in filters. You hook up a pair of earphones or speakers to experience the effects. The virtual 3D surround sound works particularly well with both movie playback and gaming.
