Introduction

The Xbox has had an interesting ride over the past years, having many ups and downs in terms of quality of games being released. One thing that has always impressed me personally about Xbox games was the great use of the surround sound support that the console provides. But in order to get that great 5.1 you of course need a set of 5.1 Speakers. This is where Spherex comes in with there new Xbox 5.1 Surround Sound Speakers specifically made to match your Xbox. So does Spherex make a product that puts your Xbox's 5.1 Support to its greatest capabilities? You're going to have to read our extensive review of the Spherex 5.1 Surround Sound Speakers to find out now!

Features

• Mirage-exclusive OMNIPOLAR technology creates a realistic ratio of 30 per cent direct to 70 per cent reflected sound in a 360-degree dispersion pattern, allowing for trouble-free speaker placement.
• Approved by the Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.), it sets the 'reference standard' for video game audio.
• Apogee Technology's 300 Watt RMS DDX amplifier, eliminates signal distortion by maintaining a digital signal flow from the source to each of the 5 satellite speakers and subwoofer.
• MaxxBass from Waves - Acoustically extending the lower end of the bass frequency response to deliver a deeper, richer, more natural bass on each of the five satellite speakers and the subwoofer.
• And an Aureus Digital Signal Processor from Texas Instruments - Decodes all popular surround sound formats including Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic II and DTS.
• The Xbox 5.1 Surround Sound System also features multiple inputs for your - gaming consoles, DVD player, CD player, Satellite Dish, portable media player PC or many other current and future devices.
• Unprecedented value backed by a 10-year limited warranty with W3 Solutions.

Setup

For many people out there (including me not too long ago), buying surround sound speakers cannot only be a trick process, but a scary one as well. I remember being pretty nervous of putting together my first surround sound unit, but I kind of figured out pretty quickly that this was a lot easier then people made it out to seem. Now just as a small disclaimer I want you to know that you should use caution when putting it together, as carelessness could lead to many problems. Now let's get onto the installation of these speakers.

Alright, in the package you get really every cable you're going to need to install this set of speakers on whatever media device, but for our purposes we are just going to discuss the Xbox setup. Basically you take the Xbox audio/video input cords and plug it straight into the back of the Subwoofer (which acts as the central location for the surround sound setup). From there all you have to do is place the speakers in your desired positions around the room and you're basically done. One thing found in the manual is the optimal placement guide, which the manual calls balancing your system. By following a few very simple steps you can easily test out your system to see if the arrangements are the optimal settings for your gaming pleasure.

Overall, considering the step by step instructions given to you in the package that are pretty self explanatory on any sort of setup, setting these speakers up should be a very easy task. You just need to take your time setup the speakers "exactly" where you want them, test them out, and then you should be good to go from there.

Design

Although the design may not be the most influential factor in purchasing just your ordinary speaker system, with the Spherex Xbox 5.1 Surround Sound System the look is half the battle. You see when Spherex went to make this product one thing they were going for was trying to grab an "Xbox" look to the speakers, something they did exceptionally well.

When you take a look at the overall color scheme of the speaker system you really do get a sense of "wow", as the black and silver just seem to jump out at you. I am not sure exactly how to describe the whole speaker system except by saying that it looks amazing. Spherex didn't go cheap on the design, as you can see they used very high quality paint and went for a very distinct Xbox look that they did get very successfully in this 5.1 Speaker set.

Testing

Now we have reached the all important stage of testing the Spherex Xbox 5.1 Surround Sound System which is the most important part of the review. Testing of the Spherex Xbox 5.1 Surround Sound System requires vigorous (sarcastic) testing of all sort of different games to try and see if this truly was the ultimate Xbox 5.1 Surround Sound speaker set. Let's take a look.

Alright so the speakers are setup in the prime position, the Xbox is powering up with all sorts of different games. Now let's talk about the speaker's performance. Each of these speakers contain the "Omnipolar" technology, that was meant to really work in any environment as it uses the walls and such to bounce sound around in your room to get the full 5.1 Surround Sound effect. This makes placing the speakers much easier and the sound also seems to be just as good no matter where you put your five satellite speakers. To test this Omnipolar technology and the whole system in general, I used a few games including Halo 2, Need For Speed Underground 2, and ESPN NFL 2K5. I also used a few DVD's including Saving Private Ryan, Dumb and Dumber, and the Last Samurai.

To start with we are going to check out the Xbox testing and to be honest you can see why this system was made for Xbox gaming. If you didn't have surround sound before this, you are never going to be able to live without it now. The use of these 5.1 Speakers bring new life to games as they really bring forth the true potential of all three games tested. Especially for all of you Halo 2 buffs out there, as these speakers really capture the true greatness of the Halo 2 sound effects. From my experience with the Spherex system I found that the quality of the sound was magnificent, I was so impressed with how crystal clear it was and how even when I changed the setup of the speakers they still performed beautifully. It's hard to really put into words how much these speakers add not only to the sound of the game but also just the way you play the game as well.

When I went to the DVD's I was just as impressed as I was with the games, if not more. Going into the DVD portion of the testing I was skeptical but coming out of it I was very impressed with how these speakers handled all sorts of different movies. Whether it was a comedy or action the speakers really performed with precision and clarity that you usually can't find for a speaker set in this price range. All three movies that I tested out with these speakers performed beautifully giving you excellent 5.1 quality that left me with nothing to complain about.

Overall: 9/10

I went through everything with the Spherex Xbox 5.1 Surround Sound system and it really came back to me with great results. This unit retails for $500 and that is where my one and only complaint comes in regarding this unit. When I look at the Spherex Xbox 5.1 Surround Sound system I see a great system, one that has some amazing technology but just not one that should be priced that high. With that being said these speakers were set out for a specific audience in mind and if you are in the market to get some 5.1 Speakers for your Xbox console the Spherex Xbox 5.1 Surround Sound System is an excellent choice for you as it combines both a great design with great performance.