QSoundwas founded in 1988 and has a very
good reputation worldwide for delivering stellar audio enhancers such as (QXpander, IQ,
IQfx, QMSS). They also license their technology to manufacturers to incorporate into
soundcards, TVs, Stereos etc... You can check out more on these enhancers by
reading our very own QSound 3D Audio Technology Article.
First Impressions:
When gazing at the box, I see they mention
3Daudio. A few years back the term 3daudio was heavily misinterpreted. The box was
probably designed before any of the 3Daudio APIs started receiving exposure and
companies commonly marketed stereo expanders as "3d audio". The UltraQ is a
stereo expander. The sound source passes through the UltraQ which resamples it using an
algorithm that makes the sound richer and wider.
The UltraQ comes in a sleek (alien looking) design
which catches the eye, the 3 switches on the front indicate which type of setup you want
to use. Inside the white Styrofoam box, you get a small operation guide. You'll see the
extraterrestrial device lying on its side with an AC adapter and a dual phono to stereo
mini plug connection cable.
UltraQ InBox features:
7.25"d x 6.25"h x 3.375"w
Weighs 1.2 lbs.
stereo output jack
stereo input
Power In 12VAC jack
UltraQ features:
Mono-to-3D and Stereo-to-3D translation
modes
Detector Circuit indicates presence of
stereo input
Automatic or manual selection of translation
mode
Two 3D presets optimized for Music &
Games
High Quality audio with low noise and
distortion
Installation:
Installation varies depending on what you
are going to hook-up. When I connected the UltraQ to an N64 I had to reroute several wires
from the speakers to the sub. This can be confusing, since I have so many wires going from
the sub to the speakers and then into the UltraQ. If you have a standard pair of speakers,
then it will do just fine. The less audio wires you have running around your entertainment
area, the easier it is.
Compatibility:
The UltraQ is compatible with just about anything you want it to be.
All you really need is an average pair of speakers. The UltraQ can plug into
virtually any audio component in your home, but you might need to purchase a jack
converter for certain speaker sets. All the UltraQ requires is a Stereo or Mono
audio device that can accept a 3.5-mm RCA or phono plug.
Console:
One of the cool features included is the Qauto switch which automatically reads
the audio signal to determine if its stereo or mono and then uses its custom algorithms to
convert it to a wide stereo sound. When playing All-star Baseball 99 for N64, I noticed
during the music intro, the source would keep switching from Qmono to Qstereo and
resampling not too fluidly in the game.
Is this bad? Not really. If you know the game supports stereo... flip it to Qstereo.
Since the UltraQ was set on Qauto it detected which channels the sound/music were being
played at. If it's mono the ultra Q will switch its setting to Qmono, if it's in stereo it
will switch to Qstereo. You can leave it in Qstereo and wont notice a change in the sound
while a mono channel is being played. You wont be able to see the switching between modes
since there's no led display for any of those settings. Only possible way of knowing is
listening. All N64 games sounded richer and more exciting. The crowd in All-star Baseball
got wider and relatively clearer. Other consoles performed exactly the same way.
PC:
When setting up the Q next to the PC I used various CD audio tracks as well as
albums. From Quake2 style all through Forsaken. I was very impressed at the reproduction
of several instruments. First off, in Quake2 you will hear the distorted guitar (basically
what the whole CD soundtrack is composed of) louder and more pumped to a higher frequency
than the normal. Along with that it will expand to a wider resample.
Forsaken totally ripped me up when playing the first track! Depending on what
speakers you have... you wont always hear the low cued sounds do to cheap speaker
frequencies. I listened to the first track of Forsaken with the switch on bypass mode (no
UltraQ resampling). After the first track I replayed it in Qstereo. Sounds which were
undetectable were now very noticeable . Since forsaken produces several different
synthesized sounds, it will more likely enhance the listening experience as you hear
little beeps and drums from a wider range. One thing to note is if you have a
sound card you won't want to have the UltraQ process the audio from games like Half-Life
or Unreal that support 3D audio via A3D or DS3D.
VCR/TV:
The UltraQ operates with both TVs and VCRs the same way as with all the other setups.
The VCR I used had only a mono channel for audio connection and switching on
the Qmono greatly enhanced audio playback from it. You have probalby noticed
that many TVs now incorporate some form of wide stereo enhancement feature.
Models such as the ones listed below have unique wide stereo
enhancements.
So why would you want the Ultra Q if your TV supports a
wide stereo feature?
Having the RCA
- 25" XL 100 model in my home I tested the XS stereo. It impressed me quite
a bit, but it lacked features. Since TVs have very cheap speakers, you will not hear them
as loud and sometimes, they will not come with a bass/treble option. Your basically stuck
with XS(expanded) stereo and cant change any other options.
Well here's a list of reasons why UltraQ is a cool
product to have hooked up to your audio appliances.
UltraQ Adds The Following:
1. Heightened instrumental definition under Qstereo 2. Music setting enables slightly more bass. 3. Bypass switch bypasses sound to your normal speaker
settings from the UltraQ device disabled. 4. QMono generates a good amount of lows duo to the
sources going out to 1 discrete channel. 5. Widens sound source radius ('180) 6. Using your speakers with the UltraQ can greatly
increase the realism.
Most TVs which have build in audio enhancers will not heighten instrumental
definition in the same way as the UltraQ, nor can it render a mono stream into a a wider
feel. You simply have more options to play with on the UltraQ than you would on a TV with
a sound enhancement. A VCR with a mono channel or even a Classic Nintendo game which doesn't
support stereo would be widened by the UltraQ.
Summary:
If you have a TV which doesn't
support wide stereo or want to hear those ambient sound effects (which couldn't be heard
before) blasting out of your speakers go for the UltraQ, it will embrace tones
you've never heard before.
As for the small downsides of the UltraQ. A small small flaw with the UltraQ was the
design of the buttons. They feel as if they can loosen off very often or break any time
you switch them. I had to use crazy glue to keep those buttons in and they still seem
breakable. Qauto sometimes switches source from stereo to mono, and when it does the output will have a
sudden environment change which doesn't sound fluent to what's being played.
Although the price (69.95 -
without shipping included) is a bit high for a piece of hardware like this, it stands out
as a very good product and receives the Surge Of Approval with an 80/100
Overall score: 80/100
