For the first bolded part;- Like any surround speaker setup, whats really important is the source of the media being played (i.e games with 5.1/DVD 5.1/HD-Content 5.1) which has to be in the highest quality possible and not just some crappy recordings...Secondly, the Audio Processor (which handles the processing of effects) and the other components inside the soundcard circuitry has to be good enough to handle the 6-channels that are being transmitted to the output (in this case, the Roccat Kave).
The third bolded part; (yeah I know, we'll get to the second one later) is the most crucial yet often debatable subject amongst either those who owns them and those who just blatantly make up assumptions just because they read from this source and that source. However, my description is basically what I'm hearing everyday through my PC and using games, movies and not forgetting songs that I've listen to more than a thousand times over the past years.
Sonically, among the 3 drivers (which is actually the same in terms of type) only the Center is affected by the Mode Selector on the Kave's controller. Which in return makes the output sound a little bit funny (maybe because it is to give a more 'forward' positional effect) and for that, I think (and this is not a really a fact, only from my observation) the controller also acts as a digital pre-amp. Why do I say this you may ask?
Well for starters, without the power connection, the headphone is just another useless headband with funny looking earpads. And secondly, is the way the headphone drivers produces a screeching sound whenever you try to connect any of the connectors to a soundcard or amp or your Ipod if you want. If you are used to using headphones, you should know by now, that whenever a 'proper' headphone jack is removed or reinserted, the sound that will be produce is either close to none or a slight 'bebbb beebbbb bebbbb'... The Kave doesn't! It sounds like those loud 'paper squashing' sound that is not comfortable at all, which made me wonder, and again this is just a thought, that inside the Kave, are 3 little speakers which has a very low impedance much lower than those proper 'audio' IEMs or even headphones. The drivers specs, 20~20,000Hz isn't at all a great (when considering a good headphone), although even normal humans cant actually hear certain frequencies but just for the reference, a good pair of the usual 'audiophiles' or 'audio engineer' frequency range is around 5-30,000Hz. But lets leave the specs alone now shall we.
Low FrequencyThis is the boom boom part. The Roccat Kave excels on this part. Be it an explosion during Bad Company 2, the bass beat from Jay-Zs 'Can I get A' and even the road rumbling sound when a wheel is on a racetrack's kerb, the amount of bass is superb. Even the low E strings on a Flamenco song is perfectly reproduced.
The MidsWell, TBH, Kave ability in this area can also be describe as good. A bit harsh but not too overboard. I think the Closed-design ear cups made it too punchy towards the mid. Feels like the vocalist (male) is singing right beside my ear and that is not very appealing.
The HighsAhh, now, this is where the Kave's speaker starts to show signs of its inability to satisfy hi-fi sound lovers thanks to is 'small speakers' setup as compared to an average audiophile pair of headphone. The bells and high pitched coming out from both the Front and Rear drivers isn't what you called breathtaking, and the Center reproduction of the highs is even more muddy. Lacks the clarity and pitch that you would normally experience from a 'decent' pair of audiophile headphones. It isn't actually that muffled but only a slight muddy-ness, loosing some of those high frequency details. The 'zingggg' sound effect you usually hear upon firing a sniper riffle would sound even more 'better' on a pair of audiophile headphone compared to the Kave. So if you really need to hear the cymbals of the drum during a song, be prepared to be disappointed. Brightness sure is 'a bit dim' with the Kave.
SoundstageBeing a squashed 5.1 sound output, you cant really 'feel' or 'hear' the surround effects you'd hope if you crank up the volume. On on moderate volume can you hear 'some' surround or if the scene of a video is showing a slow or 1/2 speed gunshot. Also, thanks to the closed back and the fat earpads (to allow passive noice cancelling) makes sound stage even more worse. Every little detail of an Concerto playback (on a 5.1 DVD) 'feels' (be it the highs, mids, or even low), like they are trying to cancel out each other so to speak. On 2.0 or stereo, Mozart, Symphony No. 40, sounds pretty ok if you don't compare to an similarly priced 'proper audio' headphones lets say for example the Audio Technica AD500.
The second bolded part;Apart from the weak highs and the short cable from the headphones themselves to the Controller, the Roccat Kave is what I would buy if I'd be given a choice again between it and the ones from SS or even Razer (in terms of gaming). It isn't so tight but also isn't that loose on the head and the pleather pads looks good in terms of quality. Although for me, the idea of a small speaker inside a headphone cup is not such a good idea,
BUT because it does better in the low and mid section compared to other gaming headsets that usually focused on mid to high frequency alone (which isn't that spectacular either compared to you average audiophile headphones) I'm can gladly accept the idea on the Kave. The build quality, good sonic ability and comfort which is important for a gaming headphone is really a good value consider its cheap pricetag (where else can you get 6 speakers in a headphone, a vibrator, a mic plus a dedicated channel volume control knob for the same price?).
thanks for the comprehensive personal review! Really appreciated it. Now I would really like to test em myself one of these days. Currently I'm just using my ath-ad300 for gaming and entertainment use. And sometimes I'd steal my bro's vintage (w10-vtg... sadly It's already sold to a lucky and loving new owner
Sep 24 2010, 08:54 PM
Quote
quite a period of time..
huhuhu. very nice wireless mouse. hassle free setup and works like a charm. still adjusting the config to try emulate my kone's setup.. 
)
0.0481sec
0.22
7 queries
GZIP Disabled