[helmerkelps]

I just stumbled upon a suite of products by a company called SRS. They sell software plugins and audio adaptors that enhance digital sound. Has anyone heard about this technology and is it worth taking seriously?

SRS Labs - Surround Sound - Audio & Video Technology

 

[crimsonVoid]

If you feel like playing with it, I think there is an srs plugin built in windows media player. I've had this thing called srs WOW(without i), on my river mp3 player, and it seems it did more bad things than good. I had it turned off most of the time.

 

[qusp]

dont do it; the idea for great sound IMO is to have as FEW things in the chain as possible. adding something in the signal path is usually a bad idea

 

[helmerkelps]

I downloaded a trial version and it definitely enhanced the sound. When I switch ed it off the difference made the unenhanced version sound dull for a bit. But the enhanced version after a few minutes sounded bothersome. After turning it off it only took about 30 seconds for me to adjust bac to unenhanced and I certainly much prefer it. So, I also do not recommend this to anyone except those seeking a cheap thrill.

 

[Oublie]

I use the srs sandbox when gaming sometimes. It's nice to use if you want a wider sound stage and a virual surround experience but don't use it for music.

 

[moogoob]

On my Senn HD280s it was fun to play around with all sorts of stuff in the SRS iWOW. That's cause those phones can be EQ'd to hell and still not sound too bad. Still, I prefer the music without it, though on cheap cans or tiny speakers it may make up for certain missing things.

 

[HippieTom]

I think srs mess upp your orginal drivers. i have tried it many times and when i remove it it sound so bad. BUT when i format the HDD and install the orginal drivers again its just HEAVEN. So my teori is that it just messes up the soundcard drivers to make it sound good itself. IT DONT SOUND GOOD. Even if you think so. I get better sound from my calculator.

 

[sithlord32786]

I've got SRS WOW technology in my iRiver H10 20g mp3 and I really like it. It provides a different sound as opposed to just plain EQ but I do understand why some would not like it. You really have to play around with the settings and levels to find your preference. It's also good for some music, while terrible for other kinds of music, IMHO.

 

[krmathis]

I have not tried it.
Cause for some reason I prefer to play my music without anything interfering with it.

 

[Detritusdave]

Quote:

Originally Posted by helmerkelps /img/forum/go_quote.gif I downloaded a trial version and it definitely enhanced the sound. When I switch ed it off the difference made the unenhanced version sound dull for a bit. But the enhanced version after a few minutes sounded bothersome. After turning it off it only took about 30 seconds for me to adjust bac to unenhanced and I certainly much prefer it. So, I also do not recommend this to anyone except those seeking a cheap thrill.

Had the same experience with it... gets very fatiguing, very quickly

 

[Pale Rider]

I use the premium SRS iWOW plugin on my MacBook Pro for the sole purpose of its movie settings. Using those settings with my LiveWires does seem to add to the sense of movie three dimensional effects. I do not care for it on my music. Given the price of their iPod hardware add-on, I have been tempted to try it just for the fun.

 

[apatN]

I like my music 'untouched' but have tried the SRS free version of WMP some years ago. It's not worth it. If you really want to experiment with plugins download Foobar2000. There are loads of plugins (from crossfeed to tube-sound-fakers).

 

[dhaninugraha]

i've tried the iWOW on my iTunes...
personally I don't like the way it sounds; too artificial for my taste.

 

[moogoob]

It works well to get a bit more oomph from cheap laptop speakers. That's about it.

 

[dmort]

I'm using it with some PX100s and PX200 iis. I actually really like the sound that the plugin adds. I found that first setting up the equalizer in itunes to my liking, without SRS running, and then fine tuning SRS in custom mode really made my headphones sound more immersive and impressive. I find that the control feature in SRS that is most useful is the one that allows you to control the "subwoofer speaker size." I'm also very pleased with its affect on my maudio AV20s. I guess if you've spent a ton on an amp/dac unit and headphones a plugin like this might not be necessary. But it is cheap and fun to play around with! Plus there is a free download for 14 days available. Why not take it for a test run?