Design & Build Quality
The first thing we noticed with the headset was the weight and size of everything, at 350g it’s certainly on the heavier end of the headset scale but it’s the general bulky, clumsy appearance of the entire assembly that was the most apparent.
Once you’ve got the headset on, however, the bulkiness makes perfect sense. It’s ridiculously comfortable with the thick padding around the ears, which are actually around the ears and not on them; that thick padding also helps to keep your ears away from touching the cloth inner, providing your ears don’t stick out too much. The cushioning isn’t limited to the earcups, it also extends to the headband. All in, the headset is lovely and comfortable, even for prolonged periods of time.
Adjusting the headset, however, is a different story. The extension mechanism on each side, that allows the earcups to be positioned squarely over your ears, doesn’t grip strongly enough. Every time I put the headset on, the earcups moved and I had to readjust it back to my head; this begins to get tiresome if you’re up and down from the computer, or console, often for drinks, snacks, beers or the call of nature.
Using the inline adjustment was super easy to learn, the volume wheel is weighted enough that it’s difficult to knock by accident but easy to turn if you need to, however, the mute toggle isn’t quite as straight forward, the slick, polished plastic makes it tricky to slide without getting a thumbnail involved and flicking it across; perhaps QPAD designed it this way but it doesn’t feel like they did.
Overall, the build quality is alright but it’s not great, contrary to what the weight and size of the headset might suggest. The slots into which the earcup brackets slot into the headband are a bit wobbly, which is likely linked to the adjustment issue with the earcups. The cable is also rubber, which never exudes an air of quality when compared to a braided counterpart, they’re also more likely to become damaged, tangled or dirty.
Audio quality
We gave the headset a good test out one weekend, including a few different games, some of our favourite songs and a catch up on some YouTube that we’d been neglecting. Overall the headset seems to offer a good quality soundscape but it leans towards the bassier end of the spectrum; though having said that, the highs and lows are still clear and easy to pick out, particularly when communicating over a voice service like Discord. For roughly £70-$75, the audio clarity is perfectly acceptable but won’t win any awards.
One big plus point is the headset’s ability to block out external sounds, allowing you a cleaner, more focussed sound. The plump foam cushioning is doing an excellent job there.
Below is a demo of the microphone quality:
