Roccat Kave Gaming Headset

   Being a fan of online FPS games, I involuntarily sharpen my desktop for them, starting with the fact that “under the hood” and ending with the peripherals. Today we will talk about the gaming headset Kave from the little-known Russian campaign Roccat in Russia .

   One of the conditions for defeating a virtual adversary is his timely detection, and hearing helps the player in this. For several years, I used the Razer HP-1 Barracuda headset and decided to change it to something more modern, because the old woman is completely frayed (but continues to properly perform her functions).
   The main selection criterion was iron multichannel. Although I understand that I have two ears and two speakers in the headphones should be enough, I can’t feel all the delights of surround sound in ordinary “ears”. Therefore, I do not feel much confidence in new-fangled usb headsets, maybe I'm old-fashioned, but it seems to me that SB x-fi can handle sound processing better than a usb sound card for a few bucks. Well, the support of all sorts of nice technologies like EAX also pleases the ear. Because of this, the top solution from Razer - Megaladon has disappeared , but maybe not fair.

   After a long search in RuNet, several options were found from different manufacturers, but not one completely suited me. Fortunately, I came across a description of this headset on one of the sites, although it was not available. But ebay helps the afflicted, and I ordered it from England. It turned out to be more profitable (including delivery), when compared with the price that was indicated on the website of our online store (~ 4100r against 4500r). The best part is that she got from England to Moscow in 12 days (they sent it on the 10th, on the 22nd I took it by mail). Apparently the piston of Russian mail has benefited.

On clothes meet

   The headset is packed in a large cardboard box with a transparent window and a plastic insert inside. The headphones themselves are mounted on a plastic base along with the remote control, it is pulled out of the box entirely.

Specifications:

• Center / Front / Rear speakers

  Frequency response:	20 ~ 20,000Hz
  Max. rel. signal / noise at 1KHz:	114 ± 3dB
  Maximum power:	100mW (30mW)
  Speaker Diameter:	40mm

• Subwoofers

  Frequency:	20 ~ 100Hz
  Maximum power:	1000mW
  Speaker Diameter:	30mm

• Microphone

  Frequency response:	20 ~ 18,000Hz
  Sensitivity at 1KHz:	-36db
  Resistance:	2.2Kohm + 15%
  A type:	multidirectional
  Diameter:	4x1.5mm

• General

  Headset 5.1
  Connectors:	4 X 3.5mm Jack
  Input impedance:	10Kohm
  Length of cable:	3.4m total (2.0m Remote> PC)
  Between the headphones and the remote	140cm
  Between the remote control and the wire splitter	180cm
  Between Separator and PC	20cm

Included are:

• earphones with remote control
• Roccat Club booklet and registration card
• Instruction manual
• a disk with a multi-channel audio demo and all sorts of things (instructions in PDF, pictures, etc.)

   The headset itself is assembled efficiently, covered with something like soft-touch, which gives it a stylish look, but at the same time greasy fingerprints are visible on it. The coating is not very reliable and is easily scratched, scuffed areas begin to shine.



   Both cups bear the campaign logo and model name, but they are not highlighted, as on the Razer. They have several degrees of freedom and should lie on the head of any shape.
   The handle is attached to the cups through aluminum parts, which, according to the manufacturer, assures an extended service life. At the same time, the reciprocal part of the cup and the handle itself are plastic. But in general, the design gives the impression of being reliable and does not “play” in the hands. The handle can be adjusted in length, the step-by-step adjustment mechanism, with 10 positions for each of the cups, on my relatively large head, I had to put them forward by 7 divisions.



   So there is a margin, but perhaps it won’t fit on a motorcycle helmet. Roccat is written in large print on the top of the bow. From the bottom on the arch there are three “contact pads” that should rest on the head, unfortunately, not everything is as smooth as the manufacturer would like.



   On my, not at all an egg-like head, the main load fell on the central platform, which with prolonged use leads to unpleasant sensations, similar to the sensations of standing on my head - as if this place is numb and begins to ache, despite the fact that we platforms have a soft finish similar to ear pads. In this view, the HP-1 was much more comfortable, its belt was completely not noticeable and did not interfere with prolonged use.



   The ear pads are made of leatherette, which is probably more hygienic than velor, but, unfortunately, the skin under them begins to sweat, while the ears themselves are quite comfortable. The ear pads have an anatomical shape and fit comfortably to the head, without exerting much pressure due to the large contact area. During operation, the user's ears are inside the ear cups and are not pressed by the speakers - there is enough space inside, in any case, not protruding ears. Inside the speakers are covered with fabric and a decorative cross. The speakers themselves are located at an angle, which is why I don’t know, but the guys from Roccat separately pay attention to the fact that the speakers are installed at an angle of 12 degrees.



   There are 4 speakers on each side, 3 for 40mm - on the central, side and rear channels, plus a separate one for reproducing low frequencies at 30mm. This is based on the manufacturer’s description, as I couldn’t disassemble the cup correctly, but I didn’t want to break it.
   The microphone is located on the left cup, it is attached via a tulip-type connector, i.e. it rotates freely 360 degrees and can be completely removed, but no plug is provided for this case - a hole with contacts remains visible. Around the connector, a blue ring glows constantly (with power). The microphone itself is flexible and bends very easily, which may not be very convenient when you accidentally touch it, but you can arrange it as you like. The length from the axis of the connector to the tip is 150mm. The microphone is conventional multidirectional. At the end of the microphone is a blue diode that lights when the microphone is turned off, which is very convenient, because it gets into the field of view, and due to the low intensity of the glow, it does not interfere at all with work even in complete darkness.



   The second main part of the device I am is the remote control. It controls the entire headset. On it is the volume control - a rotating ring, and a mute button in the center. The ring spins freely, the response is clearly felt like mouse clicks. The mute button is pressed clearly and hard, while there are no backlashes. Next to the volume ring is a diode that lights a steady blue light when the headset is on and blinks when you turn off the sound (mute). On the side wall of the remote control there is a microphone mute button. As you can see in the picture, there is a cover on the remote control under which there are hidden channel analog volume controls - sliders, and a game / movie mode switch. The lid snaps into place to prevent dust from entering. There are rubber stickers on the underside so that the remote control does not slide on the table.

   The headset is connected to the computer with 4 jacks and a usb connector. What was pleasantly surprising - each of the audio plugs had its own protective cap, and each of them is color-coded.

Using

   Now a fly in the ointment, the fact is that the volume ring, mute button and microphone mute button work (attention!) Via USB and control system parameters. Those. volume and microphone are controlled / muted via the system mixer. What was the reason for this decision - I do not know, but in my opinion it is inconvenient, although it worked without problems in Win7 x64. I would prefer that the remote control only control the headset and leave everything else to my discretion. Moreover, the system mute / mute / microphone events are not always processed correctly by him (the diode operation mode does not correspond to reality, if, for example, you turn off the sound from the remote control and turn it on from the keyboard). To the credit of the developers, this does not always happen, and nitpicking in this case. However, adjusting the headset volume, like on the HP-1,
   Also, when switching the operating mode, the difference is not particularly noticeable, the manufacturer promises that the voices in the “film” mode will be heard more clearly, maybe it is, but I left the game in the mode and I’m not going to touch it.
   The sound, in my opinion, is very high-quality, quite comparable to the mid-range models from Beyer Dynamic, Koss. Compared by ear with the Beyerdynamic DTX 900 (semi-open monitor type) and Koss iSpark (plug type plugs). Clear with deep bass and clear treble. There are no rattles. But then again, I'm not a musician. The best part is that listening to music in them is no less cool than watching a movie / playing. In this aspect, the HP-1 was absolutely not usable, because the sound was disgusting.
   In games, it also showed its best side, the sound is intelligible and clear, the positioning is at a high level, but it cannot be said that it is much better than in the old one, it was also very good. The explosions and shooting bass carry the brain out. In BF: BC2 you can clearly hear where they are shooting from the machine gun, where the tank is currently traveling and where the helicopter flew. In TF2, you can tell by ear that a scout is running through the sewers, a soldier jumps onto the balcony, and an uber came running from the doctor's back. In general, I liked the sound in games more than the old Razer.
   In films, the sound is also on top, though from 5.1 I only had a dubbed “I am a robot”, I watched several episodes with pleasure, but I did not notice a special thrill from positioning. Maybe you should watch some horror movie with creaking floors and howling wind.
The ability to chop off a microphone helps when communicating through ventril or skype.

Diagnosis

Pros:

• Sound quality
• Build quality
• Functionality
• Appearance
• Price

Minuses:

• Heavy
• Soft Volume / Mic Control
• Microphone handle too soft

   I would recommend this headset to those who want to hear the usual games and movies in a new way and to those who are fond of this pastime. If you are a musician and a headset is needed only for skype - it makes sense to look for something else, because the functionality of this one is many times redundant, and the sound can hardly be called reference.
   Well and yes, the effect of the “pilot of an airplane” is available, on the head it looks solid.