Tiamat Elite 7.1 Gaming Headset

Amazing Headset. I highly Recommend this Razer Tiamat Headset. This is the short review, the simple "Buy these and you will be happy review" Now for the Detailed Review. My Biggest Complaint with Headsets these days is the Build Quality, the wiring/soldering is terrible, the structural integrity is a joke, they all break at pivot pins and the screws on the headband just fail. In the Last 5 years I have gone through 1 Logitech, 1 Alienware (logitech made) and 4 Turtle Beach Headsets of all different models, they all broke in the same spots, right on the bottom of the headband and the pivoting hinge. And Every single Turtle Beach Headset Ive owned needed structural reinforcing out of the box and for me to fix the soldering and wiring in multiple places. My Last Headset, that I just replaced with the Tiamat was a CM Storm Sirus, true 5.1 Surround sound, with 4 speakers per Earcup that cost me $69.99 after %30 off. They were the best headphones for comfort and sound quality I ever had, other than the Bose Studio Headphones I listen to music on. They were certainly the best gaming headphones I have ever had (until now) But they are discontinued and Collermster didnt replace them with a comparable model :( So I went looking and found the Razer Tiamat. There are very few "discreet" surround sound headphones on the market (discreet surround sound means multiple speakers, REAL SURROUND SOUND) But the Razer Tiamat has 10 individual speakers, so 5 per earcup providing amazing sound quality and 3d positioning for gaming. The Sound quality is incredible, the speakers and the connections are very high quality, they sound fantastic, and they put out more volume that you can handle. As a whole package the speakers are fantastic from very deep bass to very high pitched sounds, they all come through independently and clearly without any distortion or washing eachother out like with digital surround. Like I said I have a very expensive pair of professional Bose headphones and the difference in sound quality is very hard to discern, if its there at all, Its hard to tell because this is a 10 speaker headset and the Bose Headphones are Stereo. But to my ear they both sound equally amazing. But the Razer and the CM Storm (both true surround sound setups) bring music and movies you have seen and heard a thousand times to new life. I can never go back to Stereo headphones and digital surround sound. There is so much you miss in music, movies and especially games with only two speakers. The 3d positional Audio is also outstanding, playing games you can easily distinguish between very subtle changes in direction and elevation, so with your volume set up properly you can easily hear if someone is behind you on the same level or above or below you very easily. The 3d positional audio is also seamless, there is no distinct transition between channels like on some surround sound systems, the changes in direction and volume of people running or cars passing is incredibly lifelike. This is where the Razer Tiamat is better than the CM Storm Sirus. on that headset when stuff went from behind you to your side there was a distinct shift in position and volume when someone moved from your 5 oclock to your 4 oclock position or vice versa. Even though they were keeping the same distance there was a distinct shift in position and volume even though they barely moved. But thats the advantage of 7.1 surround over 5.1 those two extra channels really bring peripheral 3d positional audio to life So Overall Sound quality 10/10, cant get any better. The in-line Control Module The In line sound control module is very clever, there are 3 buttons, one mutes the microphone, one allows you to switch from surround sound to stereo surround on your headset, Im not sure why you would want to do that but its there. The last one allows you to switch from headphones to surround sound speakers. There is an adapter cable that is included, that has all of the necessary 3.5mm analog plugs for surround sound, that converts down to one USB mini plug that connects to the in line sound control box. By pressing the button, the box cuts the sound from the headset and puts it into the speakers. There are also two dials on the in-line control box, one is very large and that is the volume control, there are 15 settings and they are easy to feel and see, there are lights around the outside of the knob showing where the volume is, and there are distinct tactile and audio indicators that tell you when you have gone up or down a setting. The mute button is incorporated into the volume knob, pushing down on it mutes the headset and the microphone. The small knob on the control box has 6 positions, one for each of the 5 channels, so you can fine tune the sound level for each channel individually. There is also one position that in "main volume" that allows you to control all the channels at once. This knob also has tactile and audio feedback when you change a setting and each individual channel is marked on the control box so you know what speaker pair you are controlling. The in line control box is a little heavy, it weighs a little more than my Galaxy S4 mini and its about the same size too, its a little shorter and wider, but overall they are pretty similar, I dont like it just hanging there when I stand up, So I have to take them off If I want to get up to do anything. That is one thing that I really dont like. But the Ability to switch to speakers with the press of a button makes up for it in a way. One last thing thats a minor irritant about the volume control box, any time you press mute or one of the other buttons there is like a 1 second delay. It mutes the sound and mic automatically, but If you un-mute it takes a noticeable amount of time to re-activate the sound. Its certainly not a big deal but it was something I noticed. Overall the In Line Sound Control Module gets an 8/10, the size and weight are what really let that thing down, Its very well done but I think they could have streamlined the thing a little bit better. The headset is pretty comfortable overall, its not too heavy it feels solid and has a comfortable weight to it. its not too tight either, ive had someheadsets that squish your head until they get broken in, this one slides on like it was made for me. The headband has a weird adjustment system, there is no mechanical adjustment, the headband is like a suspension system with two overlapping flat thin plastic "leaf springs" that slide under the headbands padded leather cover. Its a very ingenious system that automatically adjusts to your needs without creating a weak point with hinges or sliding adjustments that can and do break, or that constantly fall out of adjustment. Its a nice system I like it. The earcups are a little small in my opinion, I have normal sized ears and they barely fit within the earcup, they touch the bottom and the top just a little bit. I also find the earcups are a little "shallow" meaning the outside of my ears touch the very inside wall of the earcup and after wearing them for a long time I can feel that part of my ear start to get annoyed. Its something that all headphones do (except my CM Storm Sirus, those fit me like they were custom made) Its not at all painful, or irritating but it does merit mentioning. If you have large ears or if they stick out, that might bother you more than it bothers me. So overall the headset for comfort gets a 9.5 out of 10. If the earcups were a little larger on the inside and, maybe if they provided another set of earcup pads, one cloth and one leather that would be nice. Ok I have only had these Headphones for 2 days but I am going to take a stab at durability. The wiring is massive si the individual wires for the speakers are massive, and if the quality of the knobs and the sound are anything to go by I dont think I will have any issues with bad soldering or anything stupid like that *cough Turtle Beach cough cough* The structural quality looks decent but to be honest there are a few spots that I am concerned about, the hard part of the headband is a "ladder structure" and I can see that there are flat metal strips in there providing rigidity and strength, but right at the pivoting hinge where the headcups meet the headband there are a lot of little screws that are very shallow that only have plastic to bite into. As a Precaution I have already thrown 8 mini zipties around the points that concern me, I have had these lime green ones for ever and never wanted to use them one anything because of the color, but now I can. I cant say for sure that these headphones will hold up well, I do expect to get a solid year out of them before I get any structural Issues. I know I am not the easiest on my headphones but I also know alot of people that say 3-6 months is all they get out of their Turtle Beach Headsets. And ive had my Bose Studio headphones for years and they are fine. And my CM Storm Sirus Headset lastem me a year and a half, An I broke it at the end, So I am using that as a benchmark. I should get at least a year out of these. And for damn near $200 I dont think that is unreasonable. I will keep you guys posted on any structural and wiring issues but for now I will give them a 7/10 on structural build integrity/quality and a 9/10 on wiring integrity/quality Onto the Design of the Headset itself, the whole thing has a very attractive appearance, with a bright neon green and black color combination, the green is just accents, like the stitching on the headband, and the earcups have clear sides to them so you can see the speakers, and the speakers have the same lime green accent on them as well. There are also two magnetically affixed solid black plastic covers that came in the box, they are optional and are for the outsides of the Earcups, the covers go on top of the clear plastic that exposes the internals of the headset. The Covers also come with some bright green Razer emblem stickers you can attach to them. The magnetic covers hold on pretty well, I did however just notice one fell off at some point, and I didnt notice until I took the headset off to look at it closely for this review. So I am on the fence about them. The headphones come in fantastic packaging, its almost like a necklace jewelery box where it opens up with a set of doors revealing a standing headset. The packaging lends itself well to the quality, and attention to detail you will find with the product that you have just bought. Packaging isnt "important" but its nice to see a company put their quality goods in a quality package. So Appearance and Styling ill give a 9/10 they are attractive but not flashy so I like them. And the packaging is 10/10 very well done, I will keep the box for anytime I take this headset with me anywhere, its a well made box that is obviously meant to be re used. Hope this helped some of you make up your mind on this headset. Going to true surround sound, is an amazing step up from Dolby Digital, Listening to Music like Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and other very intricate and multifaceted music with true surround sound is like hearing it for the first time all over again. there are so many subtle nuances and things that get washed out by stereo and digital surround. I will never go back to digital surround sound. If you are on the Fence about price, All I can say is spending $80-$120 on a Turtle Beach headset is not "saving you money". I will never give that company another penny they are made cheaply they sound terrible and they dont last even with light use. I hear the Logitech G33 and G35 headsets are good from people I play online with. And if You can Find a CM Storm Sirus, or Sirus S for sale buy them they are fantastic. They cost a little less than these, and the 3d positional sound isnt quite as good but they are still fantastic.