Corsair HS1 and Sharkoon Xtatic SP Review

Soundcards and Speakers 106 Page 8 of 12 Published by

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Photography -- Sharkoon Xstatic SP

 

Speaking of, the Xtatic SPs USB puck is quite a bit larger than the HS1, but it also has a lot more to do.  The magic is driven by a Cmedia CM119A controller.  It is a lower cost version of the CM6302 in the HS1, aimed at VoIP phones and similar applications.  It boasts 16-bit, 44.1 KHz and 48 KHz for both recording and playback (ADC and DAC, respectively), as well as an analog input (presumably, bypassing the DAC), and separate volume controls for headphones and microphone.  In fact, the volume control is even separate from the Windows volume.

The magic box.

Your eyes don't deceive you, the USB puck is quite large.  It is about the same size as an ultra portable mouse. It is also solid and chunky with thick cables and pretty massive strain relief between them.

Voice volume, and controller cable input.

Here is the voice volume.  There's also a mute button on top, which is a lot easier to find fast when you're just about to let out a curse or two at a teammate who refuses to throw down some ammo cough or sneeze.

Mute on top, audio volume, and mode selector.

Here's the audio volume.  Fun fact: when you plug into USB without the cable, the Xtatic plays through the USB, but the voice volume controls the audio volume.  It ends up being very strange, indeed.

Thick plastic and held together with screws.

De-clothing the USB puck we find the chips and things that make it work.

I'll take rotary controls anyday!

 

Here's a close-up of the CM119A.  Cmedia doesn't publish much information about the audio specifications other than listing 'entry-level' applications.  I would hardly think that the Xstatic SP are entry level, but then again, this chip gets used a lot in these types of headsets.  These chips conform to USB audio specifications and generally won't require a driver to get working, but the downside is that they are pretty limited in what they can do.  The HS1 clearly has an advantage, even if you do have to install a driver to get it to work correctly.

CM119A USB audio controller.

The Sharkoon Xtatic SP are very well made, even over built in a lot of areas.  I like a lot of the little details like the plush earpads and majorly adjustable headband, flexible boom mic that reaches allll the way to your mouth, and lot of controls on the USB puck.  So, no worries here then, build quality is excellent and they should last a good long time on your head before ever needing replacement.

That's it for the photography section, let's dive into the drivers and games.  Next page please! 

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