HARDWARE
Group Test
2
Nari Ultimate
RAZER £150
No matter where you
stand on the polarising
debate of haptic
feedback in games, I have to
applaud its first proper
execution in a gaming headset
with the Razer Nari Ultimate.
Showcasing the company’s new
HyperSense technology, this
headset – which feels like you’re
wearing a pair of subwoofers on
your head – is best experienced
for yourself. Sure, there’s an
expensive point of entry, but it
really is worth the money.
Since it features a wide gamut
of haptic frequencies rather than
just one static mode of vibration,
the Nari Ultimate exhibits one of
the most true-to-life rumble
sensations I’ve ever experienced.And because support for it isn’t
programmed at the software
level, every game is compatible.
But it’s more than just haptics. In
fact, the sound quality on the Nari
Ultimate is a considerable
improvement from Razer’s
phonic endeavours of the past.
Unlike the bass-heavy Kraken
series cans, this one adds a
healthy balance of highs and mids
to the mix as well. The wireless
connection is a rock-solid one,
and the overall comfort of the
headset is excellent.Hapticfeedbackworksinitsfavour
Balanced sound quality
Limited wireless compatibility
No support for noise-cancellingVERDICTSPECS WIRELESS: YES / DRIVERS: 50MM NEODYMIUM / CONNECTIVITY: USB WIRELESS, 3.5MM ANALOGUE /
FREQUENCY: 20HZ-20,000HZ / FEATURES: UNIDIRECTIONAL MIC, LOFELT L5 HAPTIC DRIVERS, THX SPATIAL AUDIOrctis 7
EELSERIES £97
What I like best about
the Arctis 7 is that you
can easily forget it’s a
less model while you’re using
here’s none of the muddiness
udio artefacts that have
orically ruined the party for
less headsets – it sounds just
ood as the best wired models
tested at this same £100
e point. The extraordinary
ery life clocks in at over 20
rs out of the box, and after
ost a year of heavy use that
re’s hardly dropped off. You
keep playing while you
ge, too, simply by connecting
headset to your PC with a
Bcable.
The Arctis range’s distinctive
oggle headband is effectiveat keeping the weight of the
headset away from your head,
and even after playing for hours
I’ve never felt it digging in.
After a year of daily usage, the
headband does slacken, which
makes for a looser and slightly
less comfortable fit, but the
bands themselves are
replaceable and sold for under
£15 on the SteelSeries online
store. A functional but slightly
quiet and muffled mic is the
only dent in its otherwise
formidable armour.Great battery life
Comfortable ‘ski goggle’ headband
Headband can slacken over time
Average micVERDICTWIRELESS: YES / DRIVERS: 4 0MM NEODYMIUM DRIVERS / CONNECTIVITY: WIRELESS VIA USB, 3.5MM WIRED /
ENCY: 20 HZ-20,000HZ / FEATURES: RETRACTABLE NOISE CANCELLING MIC, DTS HEADPHONE:X, 7.1 SURROUND2 HOW WE TEST
We recently put more than 60 headset
units through a $50,000 testing setup to
produce empirical data we could use to
quantify our picks. We’ll endeavour to make
use of that setup again in future, but we
haven’t given up on testing by ear.
Each headset that we test we use daily
for at least a week. We record a sample of
our voice in Audacity and compare it to
previous recordings from other models,
then head to Discord to get some feedback
from our friends on how we’re sounding.
During that week, we aim to test each
headset in a number of different game
genres – shooters, battle royales and racing
games make for good scenarios, since the
former tends to test the low-end and reveal
muddiness and distortion, while PUBG et al
are great for positional audio tracking.
Finally, good racing sims feature a very
particular mix designed to help you hear
brake lock-up and tyres losing traction.
It’s not just about gaming, though: we
wear the headsets while we work, listen to
music, watch distracting videos and
everything else that crops up while we’re at
our desk. Finally, we compare a few lossless
music tracks by listening through our
BeyerDynamic DT770s and then the test
sample. The 770s have a really flat EQ that
makes them great for music production
and critical listening applications – hearing
another headset immediately after them
really brings EQ peaks and dips into focus.1
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