Roccat Kave Solid 5.1 Headset

Here, I'll give my 83% retarded, over biased OPINION;)

(Keep in mind, I've never attempted writing a review before)

1st of all Packaging/Presentation:

Unless your buying second hand, this will be the first thing that captures your attention. As with all their products, Roccat has done an outstanding job in terms of presentation. The headset comes neatly packed in a semi-transparent, glacier themed box.

Bundled along with the headset is:

1) A setup brochure
2) A CD (PDF manual as well as 5.1 surround sound demo, and low production value Inari video clip)
3) And an unnecessarily thick "Case: Inari" booklet containing a Roccat membership card.
At the time of writing,the purpose of this membership card is still unknown. (thus rendering it pretty much useless)

My one gripe in this department is the lack of ANY bundled software. Logitech walks all over Roccat in this regard. However, where Roccatt products excel, is in terms of presentation. I have never come across a brand which takes this much pride on first impressions. Roccat products seem to ooze a certain coolness which other brands can only envy. The way the product is presented, makes you WANT to buy it.

Let me illustrate:

Would you rather buy this:

G35Boxf-big.jpg


or THIS:

dc8cdc75dc21a1b66ed7c8f2be0e8d81.jpg


Catch my drift?

Now lets move on to the Headset itself.

Calling this headset dull, would be an understatement. While the matte finish is a nice touch, the headset is only available in a dark grey. The benefit here, is that it should match with almost any modern pc's colour scheme. The Kave's headband is among the most comfortable on the market today. Three small hand stitched pads fit snugly on your head, supporting the slightly higher than average weight of the headphones with ease.

The ear cups are also hand stitched, and while larger than usual, provide optimum comfort. The ear cups also fit around the ears, rather than on the ears.This provides you with prolonged gaming sessions, minus the irritation. This is truly among the most comfortable headsets available today.

The total length of the headset cable(s) is 340cm, of which 200 cm is from the remote to the pc. The remote is surprisingly weighty for its size, and allowing it to "hang" from the headphones is not recommended. The remote allows you to adjust front, rear, center, and sub/vibration levels as well as general volume control. The gaming/movie mode completes the remote adjustment options.

Keep in mind that the Kave is 5.1 and thus requires a plethora of audio connections.

1) USB connector for power/bass/vibration
2) line-in 3mm (green),
3) centre/sub 3mm (black)
4) mic 3mm (pink)
5) back 3mm (yellow)

Come on Lee do the review please? What I'm really interested in knowing is if these bad boys will work with my Xonar Essence ST sound card?

(I hope this answers your question.)

The headset can also be used in stereo mode with vibration.

Now on to actual sound testing (drums please...)
I've only had the headset for 6 days, so my experience with it has been limited. But this hasn't hampered me from using it extensively within this short space of time. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 was my first test subject. The problem is, the game has among the best sound design ever witnessed by the human ear. But in 5.1, this is taken to a whole new level. Now I'm no audiophile, but if ever I've experienced an audio orgasm, this was it.

The level I chose was the saw mill/jungle. Every footstep, bullet and voice was crisp, loud and defined. More subtle elements such as radio chatter and even background effects like a saw grinding away at wood only added to the mix. Explosions, when coupled with the bass/vibration mechanic were nothing short of memorable. Every sound was unique, some louder, some softer, behind, in front, left, right etc.

Starcraft 2 was just as impressive, with the squishy like sounds from the Zerg stealing the show.
The 5.1 worked to great effect.Even while panning around the map with my eyes closed, I had a clear idea whether I was North-South, East-West of my base. (or any combination thereof)

Movies on the other hand, was hit or miss affair. Angels and Demons had a strange "hollow" effect. Kinda like Tom Hanks was speaking from inside a large pipe. Or as if I was hearing him while I was under water. Quite a few other titles had the same or at least, a similar effect. Switching to stereo mode eradicated the problem. Other movies like Transformers 1-2 (Blu-Ray), Sherlock Holmes, 2012 had no issues whatsoever. But tweaking the various channels on the remote can be tiresome.

Overall, I must concur, this is the best headset I've ever set atop my ears. And for a price starting at below R800.00, you're unlikely to find better value for money.

( Keep in mind, I have absolutely nothing against Logitech. This review is noot meant to be a comparision between the Kave or G35, and I am in no way declaring that the G35 is an inferior product )

All criticsm, fanboyism, opinions, input, grammar corrections, spelling rectifications etc will be highly appreciated
 
Last edited:
do i feel a bit bummed that i missed out on these? yes

but no so much as i love my g35's :D
 
I am thinking of getting one of these bad boys. My Cyber Snipa Stinger died :( I left it at the store, but they don't seem to have stock so I will be credited.
 
I am thinking of getting one of these bad boys. My Cyber Snipa Stinger died :( I left it at the store, but they don't seem to have stock so I will be credited.

go through list, i would however try computers only first ;)

whootware - they've about given up [url]
computers only - late march [url]
cyberrange - early, mid and late march [url]
digitalsaonline - late march [url]
sonicinformed - unkown eta [url]
ikonicit - unkown eta [url]
the pc shop - from next week somewhere [url]
 
I think I will love it. <3 :D :D

I have been playing with my speakers this past few days and it is not as enjoyable, and I end up dieing much more. For me to truly enjoy a game I have to in their and moving on my chair with the game lol. I wont go back to playing games without a headset!
 
a proper headset is freaking AWESOME!

if i had the cash and was a true tech whore i would've ordered a set of these aswell by now :P
 
Back
Top