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Though the OK800 headphone has 8 speakers, the optimum setting that should be chosen in the USB 3D Sound Configuration utility is 6 speaker (5.1) output. This is because the two center speakers and two subwoofer speakers are always synced. All of my testing was done with the 6 speaker output setting.</p> <p align="center"><a href="atruereview/okgear_headphone/sc1.jpg"><img src="atruereview/okgear_headphone/sc1th.jpg" width="350" height="304" border="0" alt="OKGear OK800 5.1 Channel Surround Sound Headphone"></a><br> <font size="-1">Click on image for larger picture</font> </p> <p>I first tested the OK80 headphone with the two provided 3D sound positional programs. Based on those results, I would say the headphone provides noticeable surround sound. However, surround effects sounded very narrow and closed in. Though, I was able to distinguish between sounds in front of and behind me, it sounded like they were very close in front or behind my ears. This has to be mainly attributed to the fact that the speakers are simply to close to each other; the front and rear speakers are only about 2.5 inches apart.</p> <p align="center"><a href="atruereview/okgear_headphone/16.jpg"><img src="atruereview/okgear_headphone/16th.jpg" width="175" height="250" border="0" alt="OKGear OK800 5.1 Channel Surround Sound Headphone"></a><br> <font size="-1">Click on image for larger picture</font> </p> <p>When listening to movies, the OK800's sound quality was surprisingly well. Dialog was very clear and base was more than sufficient. But again, the surround sound effects were only lightly noticeable.</p> <p>Gaming with the OK800 headphone was pretty nice. Though slight, I was able to distinguish between sounds in front and behind me. For gaming, this is always an edge.</p> <p>Music quality on the OK800 was not very good. Listening to music on the headphone sounded like listening to FM radio. The frequency range sounded very narrow. Overall sound was muddy and shallow. Trying out various Equalizer settings on the USB 3D Sound Configuration utility improves music quality substantially, but different equalizer settings work for different types of music and constant adjustments can become tedious.</p> <p>The OK800's sound quality when using USB to 3.5mm adapter was even worse. At least when the headphone was plugged in to the computer to listen to music, all the speakers are active. When using the 3.5mm adapter, only one speaker from each earpod is used and sound quality is just plain bad.</p> <p align="center"><a href="atruereview/okgear_headphone/12.jpg"><img src="atruereview/okgear_headphone/12th.jpg" width="250" height="221" border="0" alt="OKGear OK800 5.1 Channel Surround Sound Headphone"></a><br> <font size="-1">Click on image for larger picture</font> </p> <p>The included microphone fits very snugly into the left earpod and has a flexible neck. Unfortunately, the microphone was not long enough to get in front of my mouth. Still, this is a very nice design as it allows the headphone as a headset for gaming or other headset related computer tasks. The recording quality is pretty good and the mic picks up my voice very well. You need to keep the blue led light on to keep microphone working properly. Once you press the button to disable, then again to enable, the microphone will not work and you will need to unplug and plug in the USB to get it to work.</p> <p>A glitch the headphone has is that ever so often the sound would just cutout and stay out. I have to either unplug and plug the headphone back into the computer or press the white button on the headphone twice (to turn off and back on the USB mode) to get sound again. What is worse is that most programs or games will also have to be restarted for them to use the OK800 as the sound output again. </p> <p> OK800 headphone was very comfortable to wear. The soft earcups were big enough to fully enclose my ears and the thick (1/2 inch) padding was very comfortable. Equally comfortable was the headband padding.</p> <p>Lastly, another positive thing about the OK800 is that when it is plugged into the computer and no sound is being transferred, there is absolutely no background static noise at all. It sounds almost as if the headphones are off.</p> <p><strong>Vs. Zalman Theater 6:</strong></p> <p> A review on a pair of surround sound headphones is not complete without a comparison to the pioneering surround sound headphone, <a href="http://www.atruereview.com/theatre6/index.php">Zalman's Theater 6</a>. Ergonomically, both headphones have large comfortable padded earcups that will completely enclose most people's ears. The Theater 6's headband; however, is more narrow and stiff compared to the OK800's headband which is wider and more flexible. As a result, Theater 6 presses more tightly against your head while the OK800 exerts only a very light amount of pressure. Because of this though, I would only say the OK800 is just slightly more comfortable.</p> <p>One ergonomic factor the OK800 has a clear advantage, which is that it is much lighter. The Theater 6 is quite heavy for a pair of headphones. However, an advantage for the Theater 6 is that the headphone cord only extends out of one earpod (the left one) whereas the OK800 has headphone cords extending out of both earpods.</p> <p> Another design advantage (or disadvantage, depending on how you see it) of the OK800 is that it has a built-in sound card. This means it can be used with any computer (desktop or notebook) with a USB port. Additionally, the OK800 also has a USB to 3.5mm adapter so the headphone can be used as a regular stereo headphone (though I do not recommend it). The OK800 is also able to become a headset by adding the included microphone (though I was unable to get the microphone to work).</p> <p>At the same price, Theater 6 does not feature a built-in sound card nor does it include an external sound card. Zalman offers a separate external sound card (which also uses C-Media components like the OK800). Of course, that adds to the overall cost. The disadvantage of Theater 6 having no sound card is that the headphone will only work with computers that have a 5.1ch or more sound card. The potential advantage is this allows you to use the Theater 6 with a high end sound card like the Audigy 2 for potentially better sound quality. </p> <p>Finally, for sound quality (with the Theater 6 using the Zalman external sound card), both headphones are not meant to be used to listen to music as they both sound horrible. For movies, the Theater 6 has a hollow sound mid-tone while the OK800 has had much cleaner overall sound. I think this is due to the fact that the Theater 6 uses one set of speakers to handle both center and subwoofer signals while OK800 uses two sets of speakers to handle center and subwoofer signals separately. While OK800 has a cleaner overall sound, Theater 6 has better surround sound separation, which means the surround sounds sound much wider and distant.</p> <p>For games, both headphones do a great job. Again, the Theater 6 exhibits a wider surround sound atmosphere though the OK800 is more comfortable to wear for longer durations.</p> <p>In my opinion, I feel that the OK800 headphone is best suited for watching movies and playing games in surround sound on a notebook computer. The OK800 can be folded to a very compact form for easy portability and its built-in sound card is very convenient for laptops.</p> <p><strong>Conclusion:</strong></p> <p>OKGear's OK800 headphone is an interesting approach at personal surround. Though it succeeds at being a very inconspicuous (it looks like regular stereo headphones), convenient (built-in sound card), and comfortable to wear; the OK800 also has narrow surround performance and mediocre music sound quality. Furthermore, it is riddled with glitches such as random cutoffs and an unusable microphone. With all that said, I would only mildly recommend the OKGear OK800 Surround Sound Headphone for any laptop user looking for surround sound on the go.</p> <p>A thank you goes out to Xoxide for providing us with the OkGear headphones. You can pick up the OkGear headphones at <a href="http://www.xoxide.com/okgear-surround-headphones.html">Xoxide.com.</a></p> <p><strong>Pros:</strong></p> <ul> <li> Looks good</li> <li> Built-in sound card</li> <li> Very comfortable</li> <li> Lots of software options</li> <li>Microphone attachable</li> </ul> <p><strong>Cons:</strong></p> <ul> <li> Bad music quality</li> <li> Sub par surround performance</li> <li> Occasionally cuts off</li> </ul> <p><strong>Ratings:</strong></p> <table width="227" border="0"> <tr> <td width="105">Esthetics:</td> <td width="183">Excellent</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Packaging:</td> <td>Good</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ergonomics: </td> <td>Excellent</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Performance:</td> <td>Fair</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Price: </td> <td>Good</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Overall:</td> <td>Good</td> </tr> </table> <p>(Ratings Possible: Terrible, Very Bad, Bad, Fair, Good, Very Good, Excellent) </p> <p align="left"><a href="atruereview/okgear_headphone/headphones.php"></a> <a href="okgear_headphone/headphones.php">Previous (Description & Software)</a></p> </div> </td> </tr> </table> </div> <div id="footer" class="clr"> <div class="rk-1"> <div class="rk-2"> <div id="the-footer"> <script type="text/javascript"> var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? 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