ROCCAT is a new player in the US computer peripheral market, but they’ve been around on the European scene for some time. The company is looking to make a big statement with their initial US product lineup, and their first audio offering is the Kave 5.1 analog surround sound headset.
The Kave 5.1 headset is a true 5.1 headset in that it doesn’t rely on virtual surround sound voodoo. As such, it requires three plugs for its speakers (front, center/subwoofer, and rear channels), one plug for the microphone, and one USB port for power. To make plugging things in as easy as possible, each plug is color coded to the standard connection color. The use of multiple plugs is fine for a desktop, but most laptops do not have a full complement of audio jacks. This doesn’t mean surround sound is impossible on laptops though—bus powered USB sound cards supporting the standard array of outputs have existed for some time now and are reasonably cheap. Of course, if this isn’t a viable option, the Kave 5.1 can be plugged into a standard headphone and microphone jack and used as a stereo headset.
What comes with
The Kave 5.1’s audio cable holds an in-line control box containing a volume wheel, mute buttons for both the microphone and the entire headset, volume sliders for each channel, and a movie/game switch. The microphone is removable—it attaches by what looks like an RCA cable. A thin translucent ring houses an LED which indicates mute status; a bright blue light shows the microphone is muted. Once all of your settings are to your liking, the sliders and movie/game switch can easily be protected from accidental change by a small door that snaps closed over the controls.
In a nod to gamers on the go, the Kave 5.1 headset folds to a pretty compact form, only slightly bigger than one side of the headset. The removable microphone helps to reduce the travel profile as well as protect the microphone itself during travel. The cable comes with a velcro strip to help keep things organized when packed as well.
How does it do?
The Kave 5.1 headset is pretty comfortable. The circumaural ear cups sit nicely around the ears, and while the material on the cups isn’t cloth, there is enough ventilation in the headset to prevent overheating or sweating. The ear cups also swivel a bit, adding to the comfort level. The microphone is completely adjustable too, allowing placement as close to (or as far from) your mouth as you’d like it.
To test the ROCCAT Kave 5.1 headset, it was used during a variety of scenarios: gaming, music, movies, and Skype. The surround sound works well, and overall the audio sounds every bit as good as my Plantronics headset. No matter what the setting, the bass levels remained the same. Other than that, everything sounded great. The microphone was nice and clear during both gaming and video chat.
The inline controls are a huge benefit to the Kave 5.1. The volume control adjusts upward and downward in two percent increments per click, allowing small volume adjustments to be easily made. The large mute button for overall volume is in the center of the volume control. Thankfully it’s hard to hit accidentally while adjusting volume. The mic mute button is located on the front side of the box, and it’s just hard enough to press to require a grip on the opposite side. The only questionable thing about the controls is that the subwoofer control doesn’t really seem to do anything. No matter what the position, the bass never changed.
Value
At $119.99, the ROCCAT Kave 5.1 isn’t exactly a cheap headset, but you have to put it into context with the competition. Consider that there are six actual 40mm speakers for surround sound, where most sets have two and (software-based) virtual surround, the price begins to make sense. For comparison purposes, the Razer Tiamat 2.2 headset (two regular speakers plus two low-frequency speakers) is the closest in price at $99.99, while the Razer Tiamat 7.1 (another true surround sound set with a more comparable feature set) is far more more expensive at $179.99.
If the ROCCAT Kave 5.1 is any indication of ROCCAT’s other products—and after a brief hands-on experience at CES I suspect it is—ROCCAT will quickly gain a solid reputation among gamers in the US market. It’s a well-built, comfortable headset that sounds great, and represents a reasonable value.
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