Roccat Kave Solid 5.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset

Well here it is my first review of anything!

I've been using hand'me'down headsets, and finally decided to buy my own. What a total nightmare trying to find a 'good' headset based on all the reveiws. Theres will always be those 'biggin' a headset and others putting it down! After many weeks of reading, I finally took the plunge and bought these.

Well, what can I say, very nice...Solid build and good sound from them, they're definitely on the heavy side (for me, prob as Im used to the cheapy £20 kiddy headsets). The pads on the head band could have been 'flexible', but they're stiff and dont move to the contour of your head, so after a while I get a dull pain. Readjust them and back to normal!

I was primarily looking for a headset that would be able to deliver good bass, which this does in a weird way, it sounds full and with depth, but it has a slightly annoying 'rumble' which cannot be adjusted/turned off. Dont get me wrong its not a bad thing as it adds to the bass effect, but it takes some getting used to and adjusting to get the right mix.

I primarily listen to music, but watch movies and game just as much. And it seems to do a fairly good job at all of them (when you have fiddled and got all the settings just the way you like them).

The control pad is a god send, nicely thought of, putting some of the much needed and changed settings at arm's length. The only problem I have is that the cable between the headset and control pad is too short, another 25cm would have been nice.

Cant say much about the mic, first thing I done after unboxing the headset was disconnect the mic....I dont need or use it, simples :)

As for durability, my 2year old has already given it the seal of approval. If they can survive being hammered on a desk several times, then I dont know what others are doing with theirs!

I would say, dont expect to be able to use these headphones to their full potential using onboard sound. You will struggle to get depth of field in games and the volume is seriously lacking, I had everything cranked up and still nowhere near as loud as I'd like. So got a Xonar DX and its made the headphones shine!

Overall Im happy with the headset, worth every penny. I may not be an 'expert', but to me they tick the boxes and put a smile on my face when the bass kicks in :)

Deej

Thought I would write my first review on Amazon for this set of headphones.

I received them in the post very quickly from Amazon however it wasn't frustration free packaging from Amazon but Roccat's own packaging which had various cable ties and such which made it hard to actually get them out of the box.

After plugging them into my soundcard and plugging the USB into my Computer I was ready to go, no more setup!

The controller is possibly a little on the large size however looks very stylish on my desk and the volume wheel is probably a bit loud when clicking round (but I am being seriously picky).

I've used the headphones regularly for long periods of time (currently up to 6 hours solid of wearing them during) and are extremely comfortable, they haven't yet started to hurt or irritate my head at all. They are reasonable heavy which makes them feel nice and sturdy and not like they are going to break quickly. The foam on the ear pads are nice and squashy and comfortable, also they are large enough to fit over my ears without pressing them.

The microphone is very clear has been regarded as excellent when speaking to various people over VOIP, I also like how it lights up when you are muted which gives you that extra reassurance, the sound quality is fantastic and the bass holds it's weight and I have yet to bottom it out, the cabs are mounted well and there is no vibration noise from them rattling.

I would fully recommend anybody to purchase these headphones without a second thought. I cannot comment on their relevance as 'gaming' headphones as I have yet to play a game in order to comment on this aspect, however for general VOIP and watching 5.1 AAC Movies they are amazing.

After coming back to PC gaming after a stint on consoles, I tried to get by with my Turtle Beach X41 headphones for a while. And all though they did work, it was too much messing about with audio output settings and microphone extension cables each time I wanted to use them. This quickly stopped me bothering with them so I decided on a dedicated set of PC gaming headphones. These seemed to fit my requirements, and also looked very reserved in their design. I liked the simple matt black look.

I liked the idea of trying real 5.1 sound instead of psychoacoustics (like my X41 have), and the build quality and sound quality (from the reviews) seemed to be ahead of the asking price so I decided to buy them. I read the negative comments with as much attention as I did the positive ones, so I was ready for what to watch out for.

I was impressed with the build quality when I got them out the box. I knew they were going to be heavy, but I was happy to accept that as a caveat to wanting multiple high quality drivers per can. A total of 6 high quality drivers is going to add some heft. All seems to me made to the typical high standard we could expect from a German company. I like that the hinges are made out of aluminium instead of plastic for example. It looks and feels built to last.

As I was using on-board sound, I was ready for some cross talk interference. When I first plugged these in, that is exactly what I got in abundance. It was alarmingly loud. But after a reboot, it all went away so don't judge these until you have plugged these in, let Windows do it's auto driver thing and then a re-start. If with your setup this still leaves you with noise, I recommend a cheap USB 5.1 sound card. A quick search on this web site for just that will quickly find you one. I bought one in haste when I assumed that I was going to need one. The cheap blue one you will find works perfectly well.

The sound is nothing short of astonishing. It took a little while fettling with my output settings to get the balance and levels right, but once achieved I was grinning from ear-to-ear playing Planetside 2. It is now so much easier to locate the direction of approach of an enemy Scythe (dirty Vanu scum *spits*) so I can more quickly get a lock on him, and send his purple hyde into oblivion. Incoming tank rounds fizz past my head, and have on occasion actually made me duck! The directional qualities of the X41s was good, but these are on another level.

Far Cry 3's jungles squawk, growl and buzz with activity I simply didn't know was there before. Even when you first load into your `home' in the game, there is an effect of a fly buzzing around your room. I just stood in the middle of the room and listened to it buzzing about. This actually served as a better 5.1 demo than the heavily over-produced demo you get on the cd with these headphones. Guards positions are now easily determined by their random statements about their urinary infections. While that only serves as a bonus to the absurdly easy `spotting' feature this game has, it is definitely very handy for avoiding a toothy death at the jaws of the local wildlife. This isn't always so easy to spot, so being able to get an early warning of a Tiger or Komodo Dragon closing in has definitely given me an edge.

So I suppose considering the tone of this review so far, the next bit might surprise you: I am considering sending them back. I am willing to accept the odd design flaw here or there, but there is one I simply cannot live with. Discomfort. It is such a silly design flaw too. The top of the headband has only three, rectangular pads to sit on top of your head. Furthermore each "pad" is only padded around the edges! What happens when you apply pressure on a small and narrow edge? How do knives work? Come on Roccat. You can't possibly tell me these are comfy to wear for more than half an hour? All that weight that I mentioned earlier rests on only the top centre pad, right on the top of your head. After about 15 minutes I find myself constantly shifting the headband about to ease the discomfort on the part of my skull they have been pressing on. No amount of headband adjustment relieves it. It was most certainly form over function. Very very un-German.

Add to this the leather ear cups that make my ears sweat like a race horse, and I am missing the comfort of my Turtle Beach headphones now. Their light weight build and foam ear cups made them a joy to wear for hours on end, even if their surround sound wasn't as precise as these.

I am going to persevere with them, as I am looking at improving the padding myself somehow. I don't feel I should have to, but I like the sound so much I'm willing to give it a go. But for that reason two stars have to go from the rating. It was so easily avoided if they had just followed every other manufacturer of headphones for the headband. There is a reason they ALL go for a large continuous padded band across the top; to spread the weight. Maybe if you have a very fluffy hair style to add extra padding you'd be ok.

Edit: Thanks to a very helpful tip from someone commenting on this review, I have since put the discomfort issue to bed. I ordered some Junior Seatbelt covers. They are padded Velcro cushions that just about fit around the headband. Very comfortable to wear now.

So far only had these a week so I can't speak for longevity. I'll give it a few months and if mine also break like the other reviews here I'll report back. If they last I might consider adding a star back, but sorry Roccat, it's 3/5 for now.