Spec me a true 5.1 headset

Another review! We can't all be wrong can we?

Reviewing headsets is always enjoyable. Rather than spend ages replaying the same level or watching the same benchmark seemingly endlessly, we get a chance to watch some films, make our ears bleed with some music, and actually play games. It might seem small potatoes but when you spend month after month re-running the same bit of Crysis Warhead or driving around the same track, to get a chance to just sit and bash through something is a joy.

So what did we find out from the Roccat Kave?

Probably the most surprising thing was the actual surround. So often because of the, obviously, reduced airspace in a pair of headphones compared to a speaker setup it's nearly impossible to differentiate sound positioning. Anyone who has tried the Virtual Barbershop on Youtube will attest that a well recorded stereo setup can give equal sound direction as an average surround setup. However more and more games are finally catching up with films and giving proper surround. The Roccat Kave, with its separate speaker setup, handles these brilliantly.

Without a shadow of a doubt they give the most spacious surround sound this reviewer has ever heard. Everything from Sherlock Holmes to Up! came through with exceptional clarity and easy definition for our aural compass. Gaming in particular was a delight with the usual battery of OC3D titles, (Shift, Grid, Dirt 2, Crysis Warhead, Modern Warfare 2) being as good as we've heard them. As always our list of benchmark games is constantly scrutinised to find more suitable modern games to punish our hardware with and Battlefield Bad Company 2 shone to the point it's almost a cert to appear in future testing.

If you're looking for headphones for the surround, stop now because you've found them.

http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/audio/roccat_kave_5_1_headset_review/4
 
oh right we are doing the whole copy pasta review thing now? I knew I said the above would be my last post but posting reviews from crap sources like custompc etc doesn't prove your point that they are any good.

well i may as well provide some reviews from head fi which is a much better source for audio than the ones you have linked to

"Pros: Comfort, build quality
Cons: Sound
I had to use these at work for a while (which meant putting away my DT990 in a drawer).

Immediately I was impressed by the build quality, the weight of them instilled a high level of confidence.
On the head, they felt comfortable considering the heavy weight, but the clamping pressure was slightly too high. Not deal-breakingly so however.

Then I plugged them in and proceeded with various listening (music, video (youtube) and gaming).
At music they were just awful. Almost no redeeming qualities.
Video has a strange spacial quality to the sound that was rather distracting. Even after playing around with the 5.1/stereo settings it always sounded strange.

Treble was like mushy tin foil: Especially the 'rear' drivers sounded like the headphones you get on a plane.
Mid range was recessed, thin and lower resolution than a Koss PortaPro.
Bass was somewhat acceptable. There was no 'boom' or significant bleed into the mids and the extension was pleasing. Perhaps this was the only redeeming feature.

5.1 directionality for gaming was marginally better than my DT990, but with the reduced sound quality I absolutely couldn't stand gaming with these, as the sound quality/timbre changed drastically as sound moved from the front to rear speakers which was annoying to say the least.

This is an older headest, but I hope to prevent someone from thinking they're getting a good deal if they see these cheap for 2nd hand, thereby making the world a slightly better place for someone somewhere."

"Not sure if this is a live thread, but I'm one of the few people who've owned the Kave headphones. They definitely rumble and thump, but imo, the sound quality is just typical lackluster crap, like most 5.1 sets. I've had a lot of them: Triton, Razer, and the Kave's and all of them eventually disappoint. The Triton's were the best, but still not great.

Also, the Kave's are REALLY tight and hurt my head. The padding on the top band is pretty sad. I now own the DT770pro and an AKG702. Both are good in the bass department (yes, even the K702s when amped with my Little Dot MKii), but they don't shake your brains loose like the bloaty, farty Kave.

I'd go with a pair of beyerdynamics, either the dt770 or the dt990. Good bass with some nice thump, but with less bloat."

"I have the same problem with Roccat Kave, jsears31 :(
My head really hurts after only 15-30mins while using the headset.
It weighs too much and the sound isolation and quality is horrible.
Don't even consider buying them! My worst spent money, ever!"

"My experience with the Kaves was terrible. There was only a slight improvement in directionality in gaming, and most of the music and sound effects sounded very tinny in 5.1 mode so I ended up just using them as stereo headphones.

I'm not much of an audiophile so I can't really describe their sound signature very accurately, but to me they sounded extremely bright with huge emphasis on the treble and almost no bass. The vibration driver doesn't really add much to the listening experience in my opinion.

I personally wouldn't recommend the Kave to anyone unless you're only going to be using them for gaming, and even then there are probably better options out there that perform well in both gaming and music."

there you go multiple reviews on them from head fi


i've read up on these roccat kaves and basically they are good for competitive fps but the sound they produce is absolutely terrible. they cannot be used for music or movies at all because the sound is awful. for directional sound though they are good (picking out where it is coming from) but the sound being produced is terrible.

ask anyone who knows what they are talking about would you have a really crap set of 5.1 speakers or a decent set of 2.0 speakers and they would always pick decent 2.0 speakers 99 times out of 100. it's the same for gaming headphones too
 
Seriously the guy wants 5.1! why do you keep giving him audiophile information. Of course the 2.0 get great reviews you are comparing apples and pears!
i want an apple pie, pears taste nicer?
Seriously i want an apple pie,
Pears taste nicer

I WANT AN APPLE PIE, if i wanted pear i'd ask for it.

Slight exaggeration but thats basically what is happening .

I think 2 channel music sounds better as well but i want 5.1 for films and i find a balanced set of speakers all the same size gives a better sound overall than that of just good quality fronts, its a compromise i take on my music to get better 5.1. Because i cant afford 2 pairs of 1000 speakers but i could a decent set of surround sound.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/715922/review-roccat-kave-gaming-headset


These headphones have three drivers in each can, so they are not really 5.1 surround sound headphones, but don't let yourself be fooled by this, the surround sound on these is great! The sound as a V shape to it, very powerful bass and, if at high volumes, highs that stab your eardrums. Although the mids are almost non existent and not very defined.
-Conclusion:

I have mixed feelings towards this headphones. I love them for playing games (you know where everybody is, for several times I was banned from Counter Strike servers accused of using the wall hack cheat), but they become very uncomfortable after a while. For music it's simple, no way.
Would I recommend these to a friend? No, I would lend them mine for a week and ask them to use them for long periods of time and let the decide for themselves. That is the problem of reviewing Audio Gear it really varies from person to person and every single one of us has got their own preferences. My advice is to try them for a long time and decide for yourself, but PLEASE DON'T BUY THESE FOR MUSIC!
 
That above is from your beloved Head Fi

Like any other site some will hate them other's will love them, that dont mean there crap END off
You just tuck out post from people replying, lol am sure there is also posts you missed that people liked them.
 
shankly1985 said:
That above is from your beloved Head Fi

Like any other site some will hate them other's will love them, that dont mean there crap END off
You just tuck out post from people replying, lol am sure there is also posts you missed that people liked them.
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i wouldn't exactly say that review was brilliant, did you even read it? :p
 
shankly1985 said:
...highs that stab your eardrums. Although the mids are almost non existent and not very defined...

I have mixed feelings towards this headphones... they become very uncomfortable after a while. For music it's simple, no way.
Would I recommend these to a friend? No, I would lend them mine for a week and ask them to use them for long periods of time and let the decide for themselves.... but PLEASE DON'T BUY THESE FOR MUSIC!
Click to expand...

not exactly what I would want from a gaming headphone tbh ;)
 
shankly1985 said:
As for listening to music in 5.1 I use Foobar2000 with Plugin Channel Mixer
This will force music to output all channels and use the sub. work stunning.

http://www.hydrogenaud.io/forums/index.php?showtopic=29985
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the fact that pretty much all head fi reviews state that the sound being produced is terrible (albeit the direction it comes from amazing) and then you then state you use these for music means you clearly don't know what good sound quality is.

these do one thing very good which is tell you the direction a sound is coming from, however the sound being presented to your ears is awful. i think anyone looking for decent sound quality would agree that you should stay away from these.

it's like buying a car which is very good at turning corners but it's absolutely awful at everything else i think most people would buy a car which is on par or slightly worse at turning corners but also competent in all other areas rather than being absolutely awful in them.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
the fact that pretty much all head fi reviews state that the sound being produced is terrible (albeit the direction it comes from amazing) and then you then state you use these for music means you clearly don't know what good sound quality is.

these do one thing very good which is tell you the direction a sound is coming from, however the sound being presented to your ears is awful. i think anyone looking for decent sound quality would agree that you should stay away from these.

it's like buying a car which is very good at turning corners but it's absolutely awful at everything else i think most people would buy a car which is on par or slightly worse at turning corners but also competent in all other areas rather than being absolutely awful in them.
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Have you ever listened to yourself? They give 5.1 thats what all the reviews say but not good for music. NOT EVERYONE LISTENS to music!
Now shall we go a little deeper, say he goes for a 2 channel studio or reference head set great, then we find out all his MP3's Yes he has MP3's are all at 126kbps and heavily compressed. Then we need to get him to go and get all the apple lossless files for his music or rerip his entire CD collection to his pc. Or worse still he hasnt got the CD's he only has itunes and his collection is there and he really notices that they are below standard or worse still he doesn't!
Upon further investigation we find out actually he has all uncompressed music files and a massive audio fan, yet the music he listens to has been recorded really badly and then he is dissapointed in the music. There are no subtle midtones the bass is all fuzzy and not punchy like he wanted and the highs dont get me started on the highs!

Well that could happen, or you could give him some advice on the product he wants of a 5.1 headset because he wants to play games and watch films....


I did once buy a banana because i was told it was better than the Plasma i wanted to watch my films on.....
 
Psycho Sonny said:
the fact that pretty much all head fi reviews state that the sound being produced is terrible (albeit the direction it comes from amazing) and then you then state you use these for music means you clearly don't know what good sound quality is.

these do one thing very good which is tell you the direction a sound is coming from, however the sound being presented to your ears is awful. i think anyone looking for decent sound quality would agree that you should stay away from these.

it's like buying a car which is very good at turning corners but it's absolutely awful at everything else i think most people would buy a car which is on par or slightly worse at turning corners but also competent in all other areas rather than being absolutely awful in them.
Click to expand...

I dont listen to music that often on these, I was just pointing out that you can force 5.1 with music. You know OP might have a interest in trying.
And when I do listen to music mainly Pink Floyd they work very good.

You can go and get as meany bad reviews all you want I can do the same for good reviews.
Its each to there own.
 
nuzik said:
Have you ever listened to yourself? They give 5.1 thats what all the reviews say but not good for music. NOT EVERYONE LISTENS to music!
Now shall we go a little deeper, say he goes for a 2 channel studio or reference head set great, then we find out all his MP3's Yes he has MP3's are all at 126kbps and heavily compressed. Then we need to get him to go and get all the apple lossless files for his music or rerip his entire CD collection to his pc. Or worse still he hasnt got the CD's he only has itunes and his collection is there and he really notices that they are below standard or worse still he doesn't!
Upon further investigation we find out actually he has all uncompressed music files and a massive audio fan, yet the music he listens to has been recorded really badly and then he is dissapointed in the music. There are no subtle midtones the bass is all fuzzy and not punchy like he wanted and the highs dont get me started on the highs!

Well that could happen, or you could give him some advice on the product he wants of a 5.1 headset because he wants to play games and watch films....


I did once buy a banana because i was told it was better than the Plasma i wanted to watch my films on.....
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well you clearly have missed the point

any (not reference or studio grade) half decent set of stereo headphones will produce better sound quality with inferior directional capabilities.

if he wants directional capabilities on top then this can be had for as little as £30 (porta pros).

if he wants ultimate gaming cans they can be had for as little as £70 second hand (AD700) or even £95 brand new (Q701 mass drop deal).

wtf is your last sentence all about? buying a banana instead of a plasma? we are telling him to buy decent headphones instead of a crappy 5.1 headset both of which do the same job. i'm no rocket scientist but even I know a banana and a plasma tv don't do the same job.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
well you clearly have missed the point

any (not reference or studio grade) half decent set of stereo headphones will produce better sound quality with inferior directional capabilities.

if he wants directional capabilities on top then this can be had for as little as £30 (porta pros).

if he wants ultimate gaming cans they can be had for as little as £70 second hand (AD700) or even £95 brand new (Q701 mass drop deal).

wtf is your last sentence all about? buying a banana instead of a plasma? we are telling him to buy decent headphones instead of a crappy 5.1 headset both of which do the same job. i'm no rocket scientist but even I know a banana and a plasma tv don't do the same job.
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Again that word "Crappy" Just because you think so, means it must be?
 
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