Creative Wrath.
Hi Guys
We currently have some great pricing on the fantastic new Sound Blaster Tactic3D Wrath Wireless headset from Creative.
I have been lucky enough to get my hands on a pair of these to do some play testing on. Whilst the launch of this headset was a few weeks before Christmas, it seems that there hasn't been a great deal of review coverage on the set. I was keen to get my enthusiasm for this superb headset across to you guys because it seriously impressed me even in early testing stages.
The Wrath was presented to me in early engineering sample form a few months ago where the early model was still in development. The sound quality was decent but the headband felt flimsy. I expected the finished article to be much improved which is why I have taken the time to really get a feel for the set over a longer testing period.
After the retail launch of the Wrath headset, Creative allowed us to do a long term test on a retail example of the set which ould really show the product off properly.
The Box:
The packaging for the wrath is the typical creative affair, well presented with plenty of information on there. This doesn't matter ordering too much from an on-line store like OcUK but for retail it clearly serves a purpose. Opening the package you find the following
Warranty Sheets
Instructions
Headset
USB Transmitter
USB Charging Cable
Detachable Mic
Headset
Software:
Installing the headset was a piece of cake, literally plug and play. The set I was sent was sealed and worked out of the box with no charging required [it lasted well over 2 hours of constant use before it ran out and needed charging].
Putting the USB receiver into the computer, Windows 7 64 picked it up and it worked immediately. I was keen to try the extra features and not just run on standard windows drivers so I hopped onto creative.com to grab the latest drivers for the Wrath
The drivers were around 80mb and took a few seconds to download. The drivers installed quickly and took a restart of windows to get running.
Opening up the control panel for the headset really offers a fantastic level of customisation to the set. It is far from perfect but for most users it will be good enough and it is certainly presented well enough. An option to switch to the more subtle windows skin would have been welcome but that is just a minor niggle.
The ability to change EQ and THX settings are really useful and make music and gaming a lot more enjoyable when you have a profile you like with them.
you can also save profiles and export them to share with your friends, I have uploaded mine here just in-case anyone wants to try it out
Controls:
The headset has the controls on the left cup for mute, and volume up and down as well as the power button and the charging jack point. They are all well laid out and easily accessible. However, I must compare them to the Logitech G930 which was the last wireless set I used. The Logitech set has the ear cup button layout nailed. Whilst the Wrath does it well it could be laid out better by having the buttons on the face of the earcup rather than around the edges. I see why they didn't do this as it would ruin the aesthetics of the unit.
Lights:
The side of the headset lights up when turned on. Most people will not be fussed about this but it adds a cool look to the headset as the rings on both sides of the ear cups glow a subtle red colour which looks quite nice. I thought I wouldn't like this, but it is well implemented and doesn't look all 'gamer' and in your face.
Wireless:
I really like wireless headsets, the freedom to roam into other rooms whilst on voice chat to a few friends is really great. the wireless range on the Wrath is fair. The quality does not distort through walls which is cool and the wireless works around 10 meters away from the transmitter regardless of walls or floors between. Any further away and it just simply cuts out until you are in range again.
I was comfortably listening to music in my living room whilst my pc was playing the tracks upstairs. As the headset has a detachable microphone, it means that you can use the set as a set of wireless hi-fi headphones which is a bonus as they don't look too 'gamer' either.
Mac & PC:
Installation on a Mac was just as simple as the PC version. Getting Mrs rjk to let me use her Mac to test them on was about the most difficult part of the installation. Again, a very plug and play affair similar to the PC setup using Snow Leopard. The creative software for Mac was similar again and can be grabbed here at a tiny 20Mb.
THX:
THX is Creative's big selling point at the moment with all of their new gear being firmly aimed at flaunting this license. THX is arguably a decent addition. I used the similar omega headset which was similar in design fundamentally to the wrath and it did lack good sound positioning. The THX studio section of the Tactic 3D software is really simple to use. I found that setting the surround sound intensity to around 85% allowed for a great all round experience especially in music and movies. The familiar Crystalizer setting cranked right up to 90% made for crisp sound reproduction and was not far off what I am used to from a high end sound card and headset combo.
Bass was excellent across my testing, it was powerful but not overpowering. You do need some changes to be made to get it like that though. I set the EQ to the Rock default in the Tactic 3D software and was happier with the output.
Sound Quality:
Surprisingly there was no hiss, the wireless headsets that I have trialled previously have been a nightmare for this. The Wrath was not out to disappoint and once set up was excellent across a broad spectrum of music tracks and movies.
Battery Life:
The box states a battery life of up to 8 hours. after my initial few charges, I managed to get a 7 and a half hours out of the set. which may improve over time as it is a li-ion battery.
Sturdiness:
The early sample we were shown by Creative whilst the Wrath was in development was disappointing. The headset has been heavily improved now for retail launch with an exceptional build quality and overall presentation. This feels like a £100 headset now. It is weighty and feels well built. The headband adjustable strap is reinforced by brushed aluminium supports which not only look sleek but give a really clean appearance for those of you with larger craniums [like my good self]
Music:
Music sounds good on this headset. I had my itunes rolling on shuffle whilst typing this lot out and have been presented with a vast scale of musical genres that the Wrath dealt with very well. I was particularly impressed with dance/dubstep tracks that cropped up as the headset did a good job of presenting them well.
Some acoustic tracks sounded a little flat even after messing with the EQ a lot.
Gaming:
Gaming was a breeze with the Wrath. This is a headset designed for gaming flat out and it doesn't disappoint. Battlefield 3 has arguably the best in game sounds of anything released recently and the positional sounds were exceptional for a wireless headset.
I could tell where enemies were easily and could hear my team-mates on Ventrillo easily. The Mic was great and team-mates commented on its clarity. There were some times that I felt the Wrath lacked in gaming which saddened me slightly as they are great all around but the sound was simply not as immersive as a wired set in conjunction with a sound card.
Still, if wireless is your bag, then I couldn't suggest them strongly enough to you.
Extended Use and Comfort:
At first, I was quite disappointed with the comfort of the Wrath. Then I turned it around and put the cups on the correct ears.
Initial play testing took some getting used to and at first the headset was not for me. It took around two hours for me to get used to it. The weight of the set is very different to my usual Sennheiser PC-350 set-up which is very light in comparison. However, after I got used to the set it was fairly comfortable for long periods of time.
The set was on my head for a good three hours before I took a break and I wasn't in any discomfort whilst wearing it.
I like being able to get up and move around easily with the set on, the only drawback I had was that the top of the headband put a lot of pressure on the top of my head. I get this with a lot of headsets so it is very much a subjective thing, but I thought I would mention it in the interests of being unbiased.
In Summary:
I expected this set to be decent. I was looking at our wireless range a while ago and thinking that there needed to be an affordable wireless set but the market simply did not have any options that our enthusiast customers would consider.
The Wrath enters a market crying out for a wireless set at this price point and I am surprised that it has taken Creative this long to get in on that gap.
They have done a great job with the Wrath, it offers a lot of value for money and the features and performance are there.
I would give the Wrath 9/10 based on its overall performance and 8/10 for its gaming performance.
Pros
Cons
Thanks to Valkia for his time taking photos for the review
The Wrath is currently on our This Week Only special offer for another 24 hours.
Creative Sound Blaster Tactic3D Wrath Wireless Headset @ £97.44 inc VAT
Was £99.98 inc VAT
Only £97.44 inc VAT
ORDER NOW
Hi Guys
We currently have some great pricing on the fantastic new Sound Blaster Tactic3D Wrath Wireless headset from Creative.
I have been lucky enough to get my hands on a pair of these to do some play testing on. Whilst the launch of this headset was a few weeks before Christmas, it seems that there hasn't been a great deal of review coverage on the set. I was keen to get my enthusiasm for this superb headset across to you guys because it seriously impressed me even in early testing stages.
The Wrath was presented to me in early engineering sample form a few months ago where the early model was still in development. The sound quality was decent but the headband felt flimsy. I expected the finished article to be much improved which is why I have taken the time to really get a feel for the set over a longer testing period.
After the retail launch of the Wrath headset, Creative allowed us to do a long term test on a retail example of the set which ould really show the product off properly.
The Box:
The packaging for the wrath is the typical creative affair, well presented with plenty of information on there. This doesn't matter ordering too much from an on-line store like OcUK but for retail it clearly serves a purpose. Opening the package you find the following
Warranty Sheets
Instructions
Headset
USB Transmitter
USB Charging Cable
Detachable Mic
Headset
Software:
Installing the headset was a piece of cake, literally plug and play. The set I was sent was sealed and worked out of the box with no charging required [it lasted well over 2 hours of constant use before it ran out and needed charging].
Putting the USB receiver into the computer, Windows 7 64 picked it up and it worked immediately. I was keen to try the extra features and not just run on standard windows drivers so I hopped onto creative.com to grab the latest drivers for the Wrath
The drivers were around 80mb and took a few seconds to download. The drivers installed quickly and took a restart of windows to get running.
Opening up the control panel for the headset really offers a fantastic level of customisation to the set. It is far from perfect but for most users it will be good enough and it is certainly presented well enough. An option to switch to the more subtle windows skin would have been welcome but that is just a minor niggle.
The ability to change EQ and THX settings are really useful and make music and gaming a lot more enjoyable when you have a profile you like with them.
you can also save profiles and export them to share with your friends, I have uploaded mine here just in-case anyone wants to try it out
Controls:
The headset has the controls on the left cup for mute, and volume up and down as well as the power button and the charging jack point. They are all well laid out and easily accessible. However, I must compare them to the Logitech G930 which was the last wireless set I used. The Logitech set has the ear cup button layout nailed. Whilst the Wrath does it well it could be laid out better by having the buttons on the face of the earcup rather than around the edges. I see why they didn't do this as it would ruin the aesthetics of the unit.
Lights:
The side of the headset lights up when turned on. Most people will not be fussed about this but it adds a cool look to the headset as the rings on both sides of the ear cups glow a subtle red colour which looks quite nice. I thought I wouldn't like this, but it is well implemented and doesn't look all 'gamer' and in your face.
Wireless:
I really like wireless headsets, the freedom to roam into other rooms whilst on voice chat to a few friends is really great. the wireless range on the Wrath is fair. The quality does not distort through walls which is cool and the wireless works around 10 meters away from the transmitter regardless of walls or floors between. Any further away and it just simply cuts out until you are in range again.
I was comfortably listening to music in my living room whilst my pc was playing the tracks upstairs. As the headset has a detachable microphone, it means that you can use the set as a set of wireless hi-fi headphones which is a bonus as they don't look too 'gamer' either.
Mac & PC:
Installation on a Mac was just as simple as the PC version. Getting Mrs rjk to let me use her Mac to test them on was about the most difficult part of the installation. Again, a very plug and play affair similar to the PC setup using Snow Leopard. The creative software for Mac was similar again and can be grabbed here at a tiny 20Mb.
THX:
THX is Creative's big selling point at the moment with all of their new gear being firmly aimed at flaunting this license. THX is arguably a decent addition. I used the similar omega headset which was similar in design fundamentally to the wrath and it did lack good sound positioning. The THX studio section of the Tactic 3D software is really simple to use. I found that setting the surround sound intensity to around 85% allowed for a great all round experience especially in music and movies. The familiar Crystalizer setting cranked right up to 90% made for crisp sound reproduction and was not far off what I am used to from a high end sound card and headset combo.
Bass was excellent across my testing, it was powerful but not overpowering. You do need some changes to be made to get it like that though. I set the EQ to the Rock default in the Tactic 3D software and was happier with the output.
Sound Quality:
Surprisingly there was no hiss, the wireless headsets that I have trialled previously have been a nightmare for this. The Wrath was not out to disappoint and once set up was excellent across a broad spectrum of music tracks and movies.
Battery Life:
The box states a battery life of up to 8 hours. after my initial few charges, I managed to get a 7 and a half hours out of the set. which may improve over time as it is a li-ion battery.
Sturdiness:
The early sample we were shown by Creative whilst the Wrath was in development was disappointing. The headset has been heavily improved now for retail launch with an exceptional build quality and overall presentation. This feels like a £100 headset now. It is weighty and feels well built. The headband adjustable strap is reinforced by brushed aluminium supports which not only look sleek but give a really clean appearance for those of you with larger craniums [like my good self]
Music:
Music sounds good on this headset. I had my itunes rolling on shuffle whilst typing this lot out and have been presented with a vast scale of musical genres that the Wrath dealt with very well. I was particularly impressed with dance/dubstep tracks that cropped up as the headset did a good job of presenting them well.
Some acoustic tracks sounded a little flat even after messing with the EQ a lot.
Gaming:
Gaming was a breeze with the Wrath. This is a headset designed for gaming flat out and it doesn't disappoint. Battlefield 3 has arguably the best in game sounds of anything released recently and the positional sounds were exceptional for a wireless headset.
I could tell where enemies were easily and could hear my team-mates on Ventrillo easily. The Mic was great and team-mates commented on its clarity. There were some times that I felt the Wrath lacked in gaming which saddened me slightly as they are great all around but the sound was simply not as immersive as a wired set in conjunction with a sound card.
Still, if wireless is your bag, then I couldn't suggest them strongly enough to you.
Extended Use and Comfort:
At first, I was quite disappointed with the comfort of the Wrath. Then I turned it around and put the cups on the correct ears.
Initial play testing took some getting used to and at first the headset was not for me. It took around two hours for me to get used to it. The weight of the set is very different to my usual Sennheiser PC-350 set-up which is very light in comparison. However, after I got used to the set it was fairly comfortable for long periods of time.
The set was on my head for a good three hours before I took a break and I wasn't in any discomfort whilst wearing it.
I like being able to get up and move around easily with the set on, the only drawback I had was that the top of the headband put a lot of pressure on the top of my head. I get this with a lot of headsets so it is very much a subjective thing, but I thought I would mention it in the interests of being unbiased.
In Summary:
I expected this set to be decent. I was looking at our wireless range a while ago and thinking that there needed to be an affordable wireless set but the market simply did not have any options that our enthusiast customers would consider.
The Wrath enters a market crying out for a wireless set at this price point and I am surprised that it has taken Creative this long to get in on that gap.
They have done a great job with the Wrath, it offers a lot of value for money and the features and performance are there.
I would give the Wrath 9/10 based on its overall performance and 8/10 for its gaming performance.
Pros
- Nice Bass and superb THX Features
- Sturdy design
- Quality overall feel with lots of nice touches
- Great quality microphone
- Comfortable for long periods
Cons
- Took some getting used to the headset initially
- Wireless isn't a requirement for me personally
- cannot use in conjunction with a sound card although it is better than onboard sound.
Thanks to Valkia for his time taking photos for the review
The Wrath is currently on our This Week Only special offer for another 24 hours.
Creative Sound Blaster Tactic3D Wrath Wireless Headset @ £97.44 inc VAT
Was £99.98 inc VAT
Only £97.44 inc VAT
ORDER NOW