Turtle Beach acquired Roccat in 2019 as its catalyst into the PC gaming world. The company hosts a range of PC gaming accessories and recently released their top of the line wireless gaming headset – the Elo Air 7.1. The headset is unashamedly a gaming headset and boasts their logo in brilliant RGB lighting on the side of each earpiece. This headset caught my eye immediately, however it took some tweaking of settings before I realized just how good they can sound too.
The Look
The moment I put this headset on and hopped on camera for work, people immediately began asking what channel I stream on. To be clear, I don’t stream. If you want to look like a gamer, this headset is going to give you a professional gamer appeal. The quality is excellent, and the surrounding metal frame makes me feel like I am about to go head-to-head with some pro gamers.
The Roccat’s make me feel like I have arrived at my gaming pinnacle when I wear them. The microphone is detachable, but it feels a bit cheap and stiff. Overall, I prefer the stealth approach that allows for a hidden microphone. Turtle Beach uses the stealth feature on its console headsets.
The Feel
The Elo Air headset is comfortable and features vinyl ear cups that fit well over my ears. I can walk about and they do not shift in the least. I notice minor clunking sounds when I walk, which can get a tad annoying, but the freedom to move about doesn’t mean I will do it often and is forgivable. The best thing about them is they are designed with softer padding around the temples for those of us who choose to game with glasses on. This means they pretty much feel the same whether I am wearing glasses or not.
Adjustments for volume and power are located on the backside of the left earpad. The microphone mute button is large and easy to find, but I still find trying to control the headset from here awkward. The power button doubles as a button to enter into the “Superhuman Hearing” mode which is supposed to help hear the detailed sound for games where knowing an enemy location is paramount. I found myself accidentally turning the headset off while switching between modes, but over time it got easier to give it a single press. Overall, Roccat’s are quite comfortable. If I had to wear them for several hours in a row, I’d argue they are a bit tight, but this allows for more isolated sound.
The Sound
The headset delivers really good sound. Wired headsets will always win the day with higher quality sound, so if you are a purist or audiophile avoid these. The Superhuman Hearing mode is effective in First-Person-Shooter games, but it takes away from the deep bass sounds that I feel are necessary during gaming sessions. To make it more effective, a larger button should have been incorporated on the headset. It is awkward trying to find the small power button to toggle this feature. I prefer the Roccat’s for gaming due to the 7.1 surround sound they offer, however, I prefer wired headsets for listening to music. The microphone is detachable and while I don’t like the look of it, it is effective in communication and sounds clear on the other end.
Summary
For the price, the Roccat Elo Air 7.1 headset is an excellent wireless headset for decent surround sound. They are clearly designed for gamers and will certainly help you fit into the gaming crowd with the distinct RGB lit logo on the side. You can pair the device with other Roccat products to have the same RGB lighting across all devices which is really fun and looks great. If you want a great wireless gaming headset for PC look no further. If you want the best quality sound, I would still seek out a wired set. Happy gaming!
