Good things come in threes and you can’t tell me there’s a better way to start any three-way head-to-head review (I can keep going [“HAIL HYDRA”? – ed]). Today, we’re looking at three headsets from Roccat’s ELO range. Not actually a reference to the Electric Light Orchestra, ELO instead is a reference to competitive ranking systems, and so this line of headsets – like many out there – is targeted towards competitive gaming. But can everyone else join in on the fun too? The answer is an astounding yes indeedy.
Not all things being built equal, each headset has its own traits worth exploring and we sure will do just that, but there are also some features you get regardless of the one you go with.
All three headsets have an identical esports-forward aesthetic with small, rounded pleather earcups that don’t completely go over the ear, a medium-sized aluminium frame with auto-adjusting leather headband and detachable microphone, and a tight but firm fit that I would describe as comfortable enough in shorter bursts but maybe take a break and let your ears breathe if you’re doing an all-nighter, mmkay?
I think Roccat could have made this a little less clampy and a little more comfy by swapping the pleather cups out for the same fabric cups from the company’s Turtle Beach Stealth line of console-targeted headsets. It might also have reduced the seashell effect when the headset isn’t playing sound. A suggestion for future, perhaps.
The software experience here is impressive – especially given previously middling experience with Roccat Swarm – with options to tune EQ, voice clarity, bass boost (please leave this off), sample rate, and even voice modulation for those people who go to bed dreaming of sounding like Optimus Prime (it’s me, I’m people).
ROCCAT ELO 7.1 AIR – STUCK IN PLATINUM
At the premium end is the 7.1 Air, which comes with a USB dongle for wireless connectivity, and a Type-C USB cable to charge the old boy. There are on-ear dials for adjusting sound and mic-listen volume, and toggle buttons for mic mute and power. There is RGB on the cups, though it can be turned off to maximise the already-decent battery life that gave me a whole twenty hours of usage.
As expected from a wireless offering, audio quality on here was acceptable but not excellent, though certainly better than most other wireless offerings at this price point. The sound stage leans annoyingly towards being bass-y and hollow, but gratefully was able to be overridden using some EQ tweaking. Don’t expect a good microphone here, although that’s also true of any wireless headset.
I would also generally ignore virtual 7.1 on any headset, and sure enough it was a chaotic mess in practice here. Rather keep it off and stick to stereo.
ROCCAT ELO 7.1 USB – JUST HIT DIAMOND
Next up is the wired equivalent with the 7.1 USB, swapping out the wireless connectivity for a non-detachable braided USB cable, but keeping basically everything else. Despite being the heaviest of the three at 374 grams, this headset felt very light on the head, and would be my recommendation for those who don’t own their own audio setups or more modern motherboards.
Sound performance was slightly better than the 7.1 Air, though continued the bass-y hollowness that I had to EQ-tweak away. Once tweaked, the headset performed admirably no matter what I threw at it. Minor gripes here included the audible cable drag typical of using a braided cable, and the inability to completely turn off mic monitoring, meaning I often heard myself during Discord sessions and nobody ever wants to hear themselves.
Once again, virtual 7.1 is an option via software, but undesirable over regular stereo.
ROCCAT ELO X STEREO – GRANDMASTER
The biggest surprise for me was the X Stereo. The baby boy of the three entirely drops the 7.1 and RGB in favour of a non-detachable rubberised 3.5mm cable with its own detachable (!) splitter for PC connections. This results in a lighter, streamlined, no-nonsense headset that will perform based on the audio setup powering it. And so, because my audio setup is pretty alright thanks, this headset performed phenomenally.
I was astounded at the quality on offer here, this headset performed scarily close to much more expensive headsets I own, and I didn’t need to touch the EQ settings to achieve it. The only thing I would change about this headset is the non-detachable cable, so I could swap it out for a premium third-party one. Still, no cable drag thanks to the rubberised material is an absolute win.
If you’ve got the audio system to power it, this is the one. It’s no frills, no fuss, and I am still aghast at how well it performed alongside it’s more expensive, arguably more premium bigger brothers.