Tt eSPORTS Shock Gaming Headset

Introduction

Tt eSPORTS is the brand that Thermaltake uses for their line of gaming accessories. They produce accessories like gaming mice and keyboards along with gaming headsets and mouse pads. Thermaltake is known to make some pretty high quality products, so we will see if their gamer oriented division can live up to their standard. Today we will be looking at their Shock gaming headset. In our review of the Shock we will be looking at a few key areas.

Build Quality Comfort Sound Quality Microphone Quality

As this set of headphones is intended for games and not for audiophiles we will be testing and reviewing it from that standpoint. The Tt eSPORTS Shock is a mid to low end pair of headphones with a price tag of ~$50.  A quick check of other gaming headsets on the market shows the average price is closer to $75 – $100 with high end sets placing closer to $200.  The included features of the Shock place it in a higher category than its price tag would initially lead you to believe now lets see how they sound.

Before we jump into that, lets take a closer look at the product and its packaging.

A Closer Look

The outside of the box looks stylish with the black and red color scheme. The graphics show off the headset nicely, with a window on the front and side to see that you’re actually getting what you paid for. The back breaks down the feature set and can help you brush up on your foreign language skills.

Inside of the box we find the headset wrapped around a plastic insert. We can see that in addition to the headset you also get a nice draw string carrying bag for the headset. This is nice for when you travel to LAN events and don’t want the cords getting all tangled.

Build Quality

The Shock features a foldable design which makes it easy for storing and transport.

The head band is made of metal and feels sturdy. The headset has a bit of heft to it, but nothing extreme. Even though the Shock has a pretty good grip on your head, there is still a decent amount of sound leak at higher volumes. That is something to keep in mind if you’re trying to be courteous to other people in the room with you. The cord connecting the headset to the computer is 3m long (about 10 feet), this should be more than enough to reach your audio port, even if it’s on the back of your tower. The cable also comes with a velcro cable wrap to help take up the extra slack so it won’t get tangled during extreme gaming sessions. On the cable you will also find an in line volume and microphone control box. I think it’s a nice touch and makes it super convenient to quickly lower the volume and turn off the mic when you need to talk to someone in the same room with you. The 3.5mm connectors for the headset are gold plated to help get the best connectivity. Because the headphones are not USB, you won’t find any voodoo software magic to enable virtual surround sound out of the box. On the other hand, this also allows the headset to be used with many other devices besides a computer.

Headphone Specifications

• Driver unit: 40mm
• Frequency Response: 20Hz~20KHz
• Impedance: 32ohm
• Sensitivity: 114 dB +/- 3dB
• Max. input: 100mW
• Cable length: 3m
• Connector: 3.5mm plus x2

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Comfort

Comfort is always a big concern when buying gaming headphones and headsets. This is something that you will probably have strapped to your head for extended hours at a time. Comfort in these cases is a must. I’m glad to say that the Shock headset is quite comfortable. I used it for a complete play through of Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

One thing to note is because of the material that lines the ear cup, it can make your ears sweat after prolonged usage. I personally didn’t have this problem, but other people that tested it did.

Sound Quality

The Shock is powered by a pair of 40mm neodymium drivers. It also boasts a bass enhancement that is supposed to make games sound better. The first sample in the sound test is a few of my favorite songs, things I listen to often and can hear subtle differences caused by different sound systems. The bass enhancement adds an interesting dynamic depending on the genre you’re listening to. It does have the effect of muddling some of the higher frequencies. These are no studio headphones after all. The same effect is noticeable in movies as well. It can sometimes detract from what’s happening on screen. On the flip side, the same effect seems to enhance a gaming experience. The techno rich world of Deus Ex: Human Revolution definitely benefited from the bass enhancement. Games work well for this because of their fast paced scene changes. This works for the Shock as it is marketed as a gaming headset.

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Microphone Quality

Microphone quality is seconded only by sound quality. You can’t lead your team to victory if they can’t hear your sage advice. The Shock features a boom type microphone that is attached to the left ear cup.

The design of the boom doesn’t allow for much horizontal movement. The boom does have some bend to it, which will allow you to move it closer to your mouth, but not much. At first glance it seems like this design would not be conducive to good mic performance. Fortunately the microphone for the Shock performs quite well. The bi-directional boom mic does a decent job of filtering out unwanted sound. When talking in Ventrilo and Skype, your voice comes in clear and crisp. The only way your teammates won’t hear your battle cry is if you accidentally flip the switch on the in line control box.

Microphone Specifications

• Directivity: Bi-directional
• Impedance: 2.2 k ohm
• Frequency: 100 Hz~100 KHz
• Sensitivity: -45dB +/- 3dB
• Test condition: 4.5V

Conclusion

If you need a decent gaming headset and are on a budget, the Shock is for you. Bear in mind the sound quality won’t beat out your $200 Sennheiser headphones, but they will stomp the iPod stock headphones that you’ve been using into the ground. As the Tt eSPORTS Shock can be found for under $50 it represents quite a value. Like I mentioned before, the bass enhancement can be distracting when listening to music or watching video, but you are buying gaming headphones, and they work well with games. You may be able to do some voodoo magic with your computer’s equalizer to make the bass not so apparent when listening to other things, but your mileage may vary. Overall this is a solid headset and definitely worth your money.