Lost-Cauze Linx Audio Gaming Headphones Score: 100% Developer: Able Planet Device Type: Audio Compatible With:

Function: There have been studies about "noise pollution" and its effects on society, but, in a very real sense, unwanted and distracting noise is something you can experience at work, at school or without even leaving your home. The ability to hear what's going on in a game is only getting more important, as games are getting better at directional audio and many games are played online with others, making communication key. If you're looking for clarity and want to focus on your game, you need Active Noise Cancellation. Enter the Lost-Cauze Linx Audio Active Noise Cancelling Headphones.

Performance: I have to say, I didn't know what to expect when my Lost-Cauze headphones arrived, but I was quite pleased to find just how well the Active Noise Cancellation functionality worked. Even without the ANC turned on, the design of the headphones helps to muffle the surrounding background noise. The Active Noise Cancellation takes this a step further by capturing the ambient sounds around the wearer and creating a sound that counteracts the ambient noise. This effectively reduces - or eliminates - ambient background noises and adds only a slight white noise (or hiss) to the audio. If you use the headphones without any audio signal, you can easily hear this hiss, but if you are listening to some audio with the headphones at any reasonable level, you're unlikely to even hear this hiss. One cool feature about the Lost-Cauze Linx Audio Active Noise Canceling headphones is that the noise cancellation feature is completely separate from the headphone feature. If you are in a noisy environment and you just need to be able to hear yourself think, you can put the headphones on and turn on the active noise cancellation without any audio signal and simply enjoy the reduced volume of the world around you. In fact, the audio cord can be unplugged, so you don't have to have an unused audio cord hanging down from your headphones when you're not listening to anything. Likewise, if your headphones' batteries go dead, you can still listen to music, you just can't use the active noise cancellation feature.

Features: Featuring Award-Winning LINX AUDIO Technology State-Of-The-Art Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), to Reduce Undesirable Sounds and Background Noise Operates as Normal Headphones when ANC Function is Turned Off, or if Batteries are Dead Lightweight Adjustable Headband Provides Superior Fit Full-Size Ear Cups with Soft Cushions Swivel for Maximum Comfort In-Line Volume Control Enables Easy Adjustment to Safe Listening Levels for Hearing Preservation 6' Extension Cord to Add Length for Gaming or Watching TV For Use with Interactive Computer Games, or Listening to your Favorite Music Includes Adapters: 1/4 Phono Adapter, Airplane Adapter Includes Carrying Case to Store Headphones and Accessories

Drawbacks & Problems:: The first and most obvious problem with the Lost-Cauze Linx Audio Active Noise Cancelling Headphones is that your friends and co-workers are going to want them. When I walked into my day job wearing these around my neck, the receptionist first made fun of me for bringing such large headphones to work (most people use small headphones or even ear-buds where I work), and then wanted to try them. Once she listened to them, she insisted that she borrow them and get them to me later. I did get them back, but for the rest of that day when she saw me, she asked me when I was going to give "her headphones" back to her. This must be why they include the carrying case... to hide your Lost-Cauze Linx Audio headphones from co-workers. The only actual problem I noticed with the Lost-Cauze Linx Audio Active Noise Cancelling Headphones was that on the rare occasion, the process that was supposed to cancel out sounds would actually reinforce sounds that were in very low frequencies. In fact, my tests (which were far from scientific, mind you), seemed to indicate that what I was actually hearing may have been infrasonic frequencies that were being manipulated and transposed upward into the low bass range. I only encountered this effect twice. Once was when my wife closed the door of her shower, which I had earlier noted to resonate naturally at a low bass note. This effect was easily repeatable, and the bass sound that I heard was very low, to the point that it seemed more like I was "feeling" it, rather than "hearing" it. Additionally, it was very directional; the way I was facing, my right ear was oriented towards her shower, and it felt almost like someone had tapped on the headphones' right ear cup. The other time I noticed this effect was when the garbage truck was driving around. I heard the garbage truck rumbling closer and took my headphones off to get up and go put some additional garbage out, only to find out that, without the headphones on, I could no longer hear the garbage truck. I put them back on and, yes, I could hear it again. I turned off the ANC feature and the sound was gone. This doesn't happen a lot, and, quite frankly, I thought it was kinda cool. It's a detractor for making things quiet and for listening to audio, but it was interesting that it was letting me hear things that I, otherwise, wouldn't have heard. All-in-all, the problems are far outshined by the features and performance. All of my co-workers were impressed by the headphones and then impressed all over again when they found out that the Lost-Cauze Linx Audio Active Noise Cancelling Headphones retail for $149.99 USD. If you're looking for some good ANC headphones and you don't want to spend all of your cash, the Lost-Cauze Linx Audio Active Noise Cancelling Headphones are a no-brainer. Go get yours today.

-Geck0, GameVortex Communications AKA Robert Perkins