Roccat Kave Headphones Review

Comfort

Unfortunately, as much as the effort has gone into making the headphones comfortable, I found them to be bulky and tight. Much like the Siberia V2 I had reviewed a few days back, the Kave too drills right onto the sides of my head, pressurizing my glasses on my nose and making them uncomfortable to wear. Even with the glasses removed, I could still feel the bulk surrounding my head. The three-piece headband is certainly noticeable, though I assume the hit would be less if you have a good mop of hair. But for us balding/balded folks, it will give us a tingle on the top.

Performance

The first time I tried the headphones with the manual-recommended channel settings, I immediately took them off. Wow, they are bad, I thought. It can’t be! The manual recommends that you keep the center, front, rear and subwoofer on the same level, and that’s possibly the worst settings to give to this headphone. There was no bass at all, voices sounded muffled and surround was non-existent.

The Kave needs a personalized touch. You will have to adjust the individual channels and find the sweet spot that sounds correct to your ears. We do not recommend the following settings, after all every ear is different, however straight out-the-box, you can give these a try:

Once calibrated, the headphones came into its own. And how. I immediately launched them into some gaming with Homefront and Crysis 2. Having completed a large part of Homefront with these headphones, I can honestly admit that the Kave made the game better that what it probably was (although, I did enjoy the game very much). Dull and subdued before, Homefront suddenly came alive – explosions rumbled in the distance, gun fire spattered around me, screams of pain and agony blanketed the war zone, and the music kept every action sequence exciting and energetic.

And to make things even more exciting, the Kave has a rather interesting feature up its sleeve, and since it is not explicitly mentioned on the box and hence, has no name, we will go ahead and call it The Kave Rumbler. Yes, the headphones rumbles. Unlike other headphones that have implemented such a feature before, this one here is not just a gimmick. It’s not over done or over used. It works when you expect it to and it definitely adds to the immersion. The rumble was most noticeable in Crysis 2. Throw a nade and the headphones will give slight ‘brrrr’ when it explodes. An LMG will make it produce a continuous thump. Going in and out of the suit modes will make you feel as if the effect is slithering of you, with a slight dud on the ears confirming the change. It’s truly fantastic, and I wish I had played Crysis 2 with these headphones on.

Coming to the lofty claims of real 5.1 surround sound, what better than the Virtual Barbershop to truly test the effect? As I got my virtual haircut, the Kave expertly worked its way to produce proper sound positioning when and where required – from the scissors ploughing through thin hairline to the trimmer clipping my ungroomed side locks. On my first hearing, I had flinched when at one point in the clip, the barber whisper-bombed in my ears unexpectedly. Even in Crysis 2, the surround was unmistakable. I could easily track where the salvo of gun fire was coming from, even before my eyes could decipher the visual cue.

It’s surprising what Roccat has managed to do here: produce a 5.1 surround field at such close quarters to your ears. Of course, it’s nowhere close to a true 5.1 setup, but it comes as close as any headphones have been.

Conclusion

Priced at a competitive 545Dhs (approx.), Roccat Kave is somewhat of a no-brainer for those wanting good surround headphones and full control over the channels. However, if you wear glasses, comfort can be an issue. Bar that, the Roccat Kave is exceptional in almost every way. It’s got sold build quality, excellent portability, and great number of features, and the performance that will just blow you away.