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One of the key features of the Gamdias Hephaestus headset is the combination of surround sound and significant vibration creation. While not exhaustive, there are a few ‘fan sites‘ on the web which list games that support this kind of user experience. If you know of a better one, please feel free to share it with us over on Facebook.
Users can access special wallpapers etc on a dedicated Gamdias Hephaestus page, complete with the latest ‘Hera' software pack here.
Getting a ‘Software could not be verified' message was a little disconcerting, it means that Gamdias has not fully registered its software. Strange.
Slightly stranger was getting an AVG ‘Medium Level' alert when the Hera software installed.
A quick check online shows that some other companies can flag similar ‘false positives' with their installs, but it's still something that we would rather not see at all.
Once installed, we put the headset through an extensive series of trials, from music to gaming to home entertainment.
Our jumping off point was the Dolby demo page, which offers a broad range of interesting tests for any kind of surround sound system – and an interesting way to use up several gigabytes of download data.
The Gamdias Hephaestus headset does a reasonable job of sending tingles down your spine when you turn on the vibration system and use the right content. While the separation might be a little clearer than the Meduza NX, the vibrations were of a similar magnitude and we can't easily say that the ‘directionality' of spatial noises were better or more realistic.
Separation during entertainment testing came via Star Trek: Into Darkness on BluRay. It was clear and with decent depth, but certainly not overpowering.
We have to say that when in use, in a dark place, the Gamdias headset looks damned attractive with its integrated glowing bits.
The headset, shot in cinema conditions, is on the right.
By this point, we'd had the headset on for a while and our ears were pretty comfortable.
The air vents and integrated aluminium heatsinks definitely seemed to make for a slightly cooler experience which helps if you are prone to sweating.
We then moved onto music, putting the headset through a variety of trials, including Motorhead, Emeli Sande, Disclosure and Patricia Kopatchinskaja's attack on Bartok (because we know that some of you like nothing better than reliving your Apocalypse Now fantasies – gaming with classical tunes in the background).
While the audio reproduction for music was OK, there simply wasn't enough volume at times. The Medusa NX can rattle your jaw and make your flatmates complain about the noise, even when they're sitting across the room. The Gamdias Hephaestus is more refined, but also quieter.
Lastly, we used the headset for in game testing, to see if the adding ‘intelligent spatial vibration system' made us more effective killers. Overall, the experience was good, but not significantly better than the opposition.
One other point, not directly related to the headset itself, is the remote control. The time it takes to raise/lower volume is too long and the result is that it feels sluggish. On the plus side, we were able to use the mic to control a Windows PC with little effort – so it's more than capable of carrying your screams to other team members during battle conditions.
