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"We're still not sold on the merits of \"5.1\" sets of cans, but Psyko Audio Labs is looking to push doubters over the edge with its incredibly heinous 5.1 Directional Audio Headphones. Supposedly, the company uses a special alignment technology that delivers accurate surround sound to each ear \"in a natural 3D sound field.\" In case you weren't skeptical enough, there's also a \"subwoofer\" in each ear cup, which sounds like a feat you'd truly have to hear to believe. Yeah, we guess the built-in amplifier -- which lets gamers \"customize volume and bass levels\" -- is pretty nifty, but for $299.99, they'd have to knock our equilibrium clean out of balance. Full release is after the break.Psyko Audio Labs Unleashes a Quantum Leap in Surround Sound Headphone Design Psyko Receives \"Best of Innovations Award\" for CES 2009 &amp;ndash; On Display at Booth # 25519Calgary, Alberta &amp;ndash; January 5th, 2009 - Psyko Audio Labs Inc., a leading innovator in PC Gaming headphone technology, got a big nod from the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show. Organizers awarded the Psyko 5.1 Directional Audio Headphone the CES 2009 Best of Innovations Design and Engineering for the headphone category.\"It's been decades since there was any innovation to headphones' core technology of simply placing a speaker at each ear\" remarks James Hildebrandt, CEO of Psyko Audio Labs. \"Essentially, all other headphone designs deliver left sounds into your left ear and right sounds into your right ear. We offer a fundamental break from this limiting paradigm. We accurately position each speaker in the headphone bridge and then, using our patent pending Psyko Waveguide Technology, we deliver every sound to both ears, with the correct timing, volume variations, and front and back flow directions found in a natural 3D sound field.\"Considered a revolution in headphone technology, Psyko 5.1 Surround Sound Headphones offer gamers an experience that transcends normal surround sound. They deliver the equivalent of \"A Perfect Room\", to give you the best audio experience. The perfect room is the highest goal for headphones or room systems.A perfect room is quite difficult to setup in real life; requiring perfect speaker placement, as well as sound absorbing and defusing surfaces to control things like echoes and dead zones common to most room setups. Even then, the resulting sweet spot is small. Psyko 5.1 headphones are acoustically accurate, placing a gamer right in the audio sweet spot where everything sounds perfectly tuned. Psyko 5.1's Directional Audio unique Features and Benefits include...  * PsykoWave Technology &amp;ndash; Psyko 5.1 gaming headphones work the same way a 5.1 room system does. Every sound is delivered to both ears with the correct direction, timing and volume difference between each ear.    * The headphone bridge houses 5 audio drivers (front left, center and right) and (rear left and right) with a subwoofer in each ear cup.     * Sounds from each driver carry throughout the PyskoWave guides to pass over the front and back of both ears, giving users natural, not simulated, surround sound.  * Simple and Accurate - Another significant advantage to gamers is the simplicity and accuracy of speaker setup. Rather than the normal compromises in speaker positioning typical to 5.1 room systems, all our speakers are in exactly the right spot automatically. You literally just put them on and you are in the optimal \"sweet spot\" of the 5.1 surround sound experience. Gamers will likely hear directional sound more accurately wearing the Psyko 5.1 headphones than they will with their 5.1 room system.   * Optimal Comfort&amp;ndash; Psyko 5.1 gives the user control to either block outside sounds, or open the ear cup to vent their ears for cooling and to hear conversation in the room during game play. The headset is fully adjustable and provides maximum cushioning using fabric rather than faux leather or vinyl which gets slippery and itchy with sweat. Marathon gaming sessions have never been so comfortable.  * Personalization &amp;ndash; An amplifier lets gamers customize volume and bass levels.Psyko is pleased to have received the CES Innovations Award in the field of Headphones from the Consumer Electronics Association. According to CES, \"The Innovations Design and Engineering Awards program recognizes the most innovative consumer electronics (CE) products in the industry's hottest product categories. Innovations has become a hallmark for the best designed products in consumer technology.\"Psyko 5.1 will be available for $299.99 in early 2009 and will be compatible with both PCs and Macs. For additional information, go to http://www.psykoaudio.com/"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/06/psyko-audios-5-1-surround-sound-headphones-actually-look-psycho/>