Speedlink Medusa Problems..

[blizeH]

Got these through today, nice packaging and that, but that's where the joy for myself stopped, got a few queries for you Medusa owners:

1) Why did they put a two pin plug into the box without warning even though the product is being sold from within the UK?

2) Why is it my cheapo headphones I got in a DS pack work with my guitar amp but the Medusas don't?

3) Where am I supposed to plug my speakers in?

4) Is it just me or does one of the output channels occupy the microphone socket?!

[NicolasB]

Originally Posted by blizeH

Got these through today, nice packaging and that, but that's where the joy for myself stopped, got a few queries for you Medusa owners:

1) Why did they put a two pin plug into the box without warning even though the product is being sold from within the UK?

2) Why is it my cheapo headphones I got in a DS pack work with my guitar amp but the Medusas don't?

3) Where am I supposed to plug my speakers in?

4) Is it just me or does one of the output channels occupy the microphone socket?!

Are you using the USB version, or the one that plugs into analogue sound-card outputs? If the latter, are you actually using the supplied "headphone amp" or are you trying to connect the headphones to the source directly?

Assuming it's the (superior) non-USB version and you are correctly using the amp:

The headphones have two wires on them. One is the connection for the microphone (jack plug) the other is a proprietary connector that plugs into the Medusa amp. The microphone cable (probably via the supplied extension lead) plugs straight into your sound card microphone input.

You then have a triple stereo jack-plug cable which connects your soundcard outputs to the amp. You may need a little bit of trial and error to figure out which wire goes where, as the colour coding on the plugs doesn't match up to the colour coding on standard soundcard outputs. But there are three outputs on the soundcard that have to be fed to three inputs on the amp.

If the thing you're trying to connect to has phono (RCA) outputs rather than jack sockets, there is an adapter supplied.

You then plug your active speaker system into the remaining three jack sockets on the Medusa amp - all signals coming in are passed through to the speakers.

[blizeH]

Ahh, that's fantastic, thank you so much for the help Nicolas, much appreciated

One final problem though sorry.

I've got it set to:

'Rear Speakers connected to Line In'
'Center Speaker and Sub connected to Microphone'

When watching a movie now that has 5.1 sound, I often can't hear certain parts such as speach.

However, when I swap the cables around so that rear speakers are connected to the microphone socket and the center speaker is connected to the line in it seems to work out, but doesn't sound quite right, I assume it's missing the center/sub bit?

Also, why is it almost as loud from the outside as it is when you've actually got them on? Kinda defeats the object of headphones eh?

A bit dissapointed overall.

[extremelydodgy]

Clearly the problems are down to your soundcard as far as the connections are concerned. Re-examine the socket assignments in the Control Panel utility that would have come with your soundcard. Double-check the volume settings on the 'remote'.


Once properly configured, use Rightmark 3D sound to tune the Medusa.


Headphones come in two types: Open, which let in/out ambient noise, and closed which keeps sound in/out. The Medusa is an open phone.

[blizeH]

Many thanks for the reply, I'm downloading that program as we speak!

I've got a program called 'nvswap.exe' and it appears to be outputting to the centre fine, but there's no, "DUH!" if that makes sense. I guess it doesn't.

Whilst watching a scene from Star Wars using my mediocre (at best) speaker system with sub it sounds very powerful, lots's of duh duh duhh from the sub, but these headphones sound weak.

[extremelydodgy]

It does definitely sound like a soundcard connection assignment problem.