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Games

Call of Duty WaW

Call of Duty World at War is one of the best games to test audio devices with, as the myriad of explosions and gunfire are some of the most enveloping sounds I’ve ever heard in a game; especially at high volume. With the Roccat Kave it was as good as any other audio receivers I’ve ever tested, with explosions and the chattering of machine guns being surprisingly nerve racking, in comparison to weaker audio devices, or good ones on lower volumes.

One of the things that anyone who’s tried higher end headsets or speakers will recognise, is that they are capable of holding their clarity even at higher volumes, and when it comes to doing that, the Kave does very well indeed. Anyone playing this type of game without a quality audio setup at high volumes, is sincerely missing out on a lot; it really takes you to a whole new level of immersion.

The only bit I missed slightly on the Kave compared to other headsets is that the bass isn’t quite what others have been. It’s not far off don’t get me wrong, and it still sounds fantastic, but a bit more of a deeper boom at the louder explosions would have been nice.

Demigod

Demigod is an epic RPG Strategy cross over title, that places you in the shoes of a battling offspring of a deity cast down by the elders. To find the new lord of all, his children must fight to find the champion to become the new God. Despite some saying it’s simply a DOTA clone with fancy graphics, one thing it definitely does have, is a fantastic audio track, with great music that feature many large orchestral pieces, along with excellent sound effects throughout.

Once again the Kave did a memorable job processing the myriad of sounds that Demigod threw at it. The music was suitably epic, and accurately portrayed by the headset, and I didn’t miss a battle sound not once. Here the bass seemed to be dead on, so perhaps it’s a certain frequency in CoD that didn’t translate as well as I liked. Demigod was perfect, I couldn’t recommend a better way to play the game than with a headset of this caliber.

Pirates of the Burning Sea

Pirates of the Burning Sea gives a slightly different game than the other two, less frantic, but it can be suitably epic:

Click to enlarge

Based in the 1700s in the Caribbean, you take control of your own vessel and fighting for country or pirate organization, you sail the seven seas engaging in large ship combat and swashbuckling actio
. While this is going on there’s a tonne of ambient noise, as well as combat sound effects, the clanging of swords, and the blasting of cannons.

Here again the Kave did a great job. The boom of my Light Frigate’s guns was fantastic, but it was trumped completely by the thunder and lighting that cracked across the horizon during an epic storm in one combat instance. Higher frequencies were also handled nicely, as the whistle of heavy shot being fired across the bow sounds exceptional; the 5.1 being brought into play nicely.

Movie

Death Race

This is a movie that I like to use to test audio equipment, as the opening sequence is just a cacophony of awesome sound, including huge explosions, a multitude of different machine guns chattering away, and the scream of tyres on the prison black top. For this, not surprisingly the Kave performed excellently, delivering a plethora of sound directly to my ears. During this test I had great fun playing with the volume control levels, tweaking the different axis of sound to be just right.

Music

To finish up the sound tests, I listened to several different genres of music to test the full range of frequencies that the headset can deliver. Once again I did notice a slight dip in the bass compared to the higher and mid frequencies, but at this level of quality I’m really beginning to nit pick. Overall, a very good sounding pair of cans.

Functionality

In terms of functionality the headset worked great. The microphone clarity was excellent, and I had no problem bending it to whatever position I wanted. When it came to the volume control I did think a few things could have been improved however. While I think the LED on it is well placed, it seems a little lonely on its own. By that I mean, that the controller looks a little bland with the bright blue light in one corner, and matt black plastic elsewhere. In realty, I’d have liked to have seen a miniaturized version of something like the Razer Mako volume control. This would also help with the fact that there is no indicator of volume on the controller.

The only other issue in terms of functionality that I think could do with addressing is the cable length. While the length from the volume control to the PC isn’t bad, from there to the headset it’s far too short. Unless you’re sitting close to your desk, the volume control won’t reach it, and you’ll spend half your time holding or attempting to find somewhere to put the damn thing; as it’s pretty heavy. Roccat, please increase cable length from volume control to headset.

Comfort

Comfort wise, the Kave does a fantastic job. The earphones are incredibly comfortable, though occasionally they do feel a little huge as they encase your ears, rather than sitting on them. The headband is probably the most comfortable I’ve ever used, spacing the weight of the headset nicely, without feeling like it’s cramping your head at all.

Cost

The Roccat Kave will retail for a not too bad, £79.99 which is comparable price wise to other high end gamer headsets like the Razer Barracuda.