RumbleFX Force Feedback Headphones Review RRP: US$60, Street Price $40 Reviewed by Ray "Falcon" Lee Review date: July, 2001

Overview and Description:

Gamer "interaction" and "immersion" is one of the marketing pitches for gaming companies, in their ongoing quest to attract potential buyers. So from the plethora of force feedback equipment currently available ranging from certain Steering Wheels and Mice, to the somewhat more extravagant entire seats that massage your rear end while fragging into the early hours of the morning, it was not too much of a surprise to see another initiative taken into Force Feedback Headphones.

RumbleFX, part of Evergreen Technologies, has developed the RumbleFX Force Feedback Headphones, which will let you “feel the sound” - literally. This is done by using a digital signal processor in the feedback control unit and transducers in each ear cup. The processor and transducers allow for the detection of extremely low frequencies in any audio signal and the translation of these frequencies to a vibration effect.
Technically this is not force feedback in the sense of replicating the direction of force caused by an in game object – i.e. In a game, while firing a machine gun it would be expected to vibrate and thus this would be converted to the joystick you are holding vibrating violently within your grasp. In a looser sense it is force feedback, whereby for example an explosion nearby could cause a force against you, to be felt locally around the ears through the vibration. It is however, completely dependant on the frequency of the sound signal and not necessarily by any force caused by an in game object interacting with you. The two are often linked though - earthquakes, explosions cause low frequency sounds and therefore can be detected and replicated through the processor/transducers.

What you get for your money:

90 day warranty

Headphone Specifications:

Driver Unit: Diameter: Impedance: Sensitivity: Max Power Handling: Frequency Response Power requirements: Cord: Stereo Plug:

40mm (1.57”) diameter dome 57mm (2.24”) diameter actuator 32 Ohm 102dB S.P.L @ 1khz 500mW 5-28k Hz 3 V Approx 4m (13ft) 3.5mm (0.14”) diameter

The headphones are built sturdily but are still flexible enough to fit comfortably without feeling flimsy, and in addition are lightweight (13.5oz) and nicely padded.

These headphones are somewhere between an open and closed design. Their construction allows in/lets out less sound than typical open design headphones, but a low volume of sound can still be heard from outside. (A closed design means inside sound stays in and outside sound stays out. Good for keeping the surrounding environment totally quiet and for you to avoid distraction from outside noises - unless you're expecting an important call).

The RumbleFX headphones have the same features as any typical headphone set, except with the additional transducers and control unit.
Installation is simple; the headphones require 2xAAA batteries (provided) in order to power the transducers that vibrate within the earpads. For those of you suggesting perhaps using a USB port, the downside to this is that it would have limited the use to PCs only, and would not be usable with other home or portable equipment. Remember that the 3.5mm stereo jack can fit into any standard audio output – consoles, portable music players, PC setups, etc. The cable only connects to one (the left) side of the headphones.

Along the 14’ cable connecting the headphones to the sound output (s/card, music player etc), there is a small control unit containing the DSP, which will allow you to place the batteries, control the volume, and set the force feedback/vibration level – from off to 1 and 2 (low/high).  The force feedback unit is independent of the volume control, and therefore you can listen to music/sounds normally without the vibration. My only gripe about this setup is that the unit is somewhat close to the headphones and a slight jerk could cause it to fall into your lap or start dangling from your headphones with a noticeable weight.

Onto the performance evaluations and conclusion