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Unlike most of our reviews which contain benchmarks and tangible results, the performance of the MMGear headphones has to be rather subjective and based on our personal opinions.
For the tests we used the following components
Computer: Shuttle SS51G with on board 'Avance LogicAC97' sound.
MMGear MCH-MMS100-B headphones connected directly to the motherboard
A set of Panasonic RP-HT237 standard stereo headphones
Creative Live 5.1 Surround sound speaker system
Firstly we found that the sound through the headphones lacked bass when compared to using a 5.1 surround sound speaker setup. This is quite understandable as there is no bass sub woofer. Many computer sound cards have the ability to vary the bass and treble tones though the driver or windows software, fortunately the on board sound of the Shuttle did have this ability and once the bass level was increased the sound quality improved dramatically. It is well worth checking that you can make these adjustments with your sound card before considering purchasing the MMGear Headphones.
Music
We started our evaluation with music and tested the sound quality with titles as diverse as Shania Twain, War of the worlds, Castles in the sky, Elgar and David Gray.
CD's and MP3's are only recorded using 2 channels (Stereo) so this test was not going to use the surround sound capabilities. The MMgear headphones produced a very credible sound when listening to various types of music. Clarity was excellent and matched the speakers. Even with the computer volume at maximum the quality of the sound remained crisp and un-distorted. In 4 speaker mode the sounds seemed to be further away from your ears when compared to standard headphones, creating the impression of being in a larger space. We felt that ambient, club and classical music were best suited to the MMGear setup. Rock and pop music came over as less dramatic and were better suited to the stereo headphones.
Films
DVD playback was quite another story. The boat chase in 007, The World Is Not Enough is quite superb, the closest to cinema sound I have ever experienced using headphones. Listening to the sound track of the latest Harry Potter film enables you to pick up all the details from scenes like 'Car finds Hogwarts Express'. The MMGear headphones were far superior to the standard stereo ones. All of the sound details were there; in fact we picked up more detail using the headphones than with speakers, probably because the speakers are so close to your ears. The effects of action taking place all around you was recreated very effectively. You really do feel as if you are part of the scene. There is no question of these headphones replacing the feel and quality of a good surround sound speaker system, but when privacy is needed, the MMGear headphones make a very good second choice for movies.
Games
We expect this product to find its niche with computer games rather than for listening to music or even films. Connecting the headphones to a television set or other non computer device is far more complex than just plugging the two wires directly into your computer.
Many modern computer games have sound as an active part of the game play, it is as important to hear where an opponent is in relation to you ,as it is to be able to see him, in many third person games. The volume must be loud and speakers well positioned for a quality game of UT2003 and 5.1 surround sound provides the perfect solution.
There are however many occasions where it is just not possible to have loud sound. At night, when the family are asleep or at a LAN party where you need to hear your own sound, not sounds from the 20 or 30 other rigs around you. Many LAN parties actually ban speakers for that very reason, so just when you need the best sound so that you can compete, it's missing.
We tested the MMGear headphones with Unreal Tournament 2003, Return to Castle Wolfenstine, Soldier of Fortune and Serious Sam II.
In summary we were very impressed. It would be misleading to say that the headphones were as good for game play as a set of speakers, but they do provide some ability to identify the location of an assailant.
Initially we found no difference between using standard headphones and the MMGear. After a short while our ears became accustomed to listening for the slight differences in sound from the front and rear speakers and we found that it was possible to tell where a shot emanated from. Because the speakers are so close to your ears the hardest thing to identify is the distance behind you an attacker is.
There was a definite improvement in game play using the MMGear headphones compared to a standard set of headphones. Even my mediocre scores showed a moderate improvement, but they are most definitely not a replacement for speakers.
Every serious computer game enthusiast should have a set of these headphones for those times when speakers are just not usable.
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