Featuring huge, 100mm wide earpads and a suspended headband design, COUGAR want gamers to experience high quality stereo sound in total comfort.
Product on Review: COUGAR IMMERSA gaming headset
Manufacturer: COUGAR
Street Price: UK: £39.99, US: $46.99
COUGAR have been a brand to watch for a while, offering high quality gaming peripherals backed by their impressive UIX unified software driver, so we were excited to hear about a new line of headsets. The IMMERSA, off-the-bat looks like it has remixed the suspension headband design as seen used by many other brands, and with its huge earpads it almost resembles the Siberia 800.
The main selling points found in the IMMERSA headset would be its lightweight design, the large omni-directional earpads for comfort and noise isolation, a retractable microphone, 40mm neodymium drivers, and versatility courtesy of a 4 pole connection and included splitter. At this point you could be forgiven for overlooking the price, something that even we had to look twice at due to the premium appeal and presentation.
Overview by COUGAR
Endowed with advanced 40mm Neodymium magnet drivers available on the market and the ability to produce high quality stereo sound with excellent bass and treble performance. IMMERSA will allow you to fully immerse yourself in gaming or delight your ears with crystal clear music, while its big ear pads will provide isolation from external noise.
Technical Specifications
Headphone
Driver: 40mm
Max. Input Power: 100mW
Sensitivity at 1KHz: 95dB ± 3dB
Impedance at 1KHz: 32 Ohm +/- 15%
Frequency response: 20Hz – 20kHz
Microphone
TYPE: Noise Cancelling Condenser
FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 100Hz to 16kHz
SENSITIVITY AT 1KHZ: -40dB +/- 3dB
IMPEDANCE: 2.2k Ohm
CONNECTOR TYPE: 3.5mm Phone Plug
Driver: 40mm
Max. Input Power: 100mW
Sensitivity at 1KHz: 95dB ± 3dB
Impedance at 1KHz: 32 Ohm +/- 15%
Frequency response: 20Hz – 20kHz
Microphone
TYPE: Noise Cancelling Condenser
FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 100Hz to 16kHz
SENSITIVITY AT 1KHZ: -40dB +/- 3dB
IMPEDANCE: 2.2k Ohm
CONNECTOR TYPE: 3.5mm Phone Plug
Packaging & First Look
The front of the box features a partial window to view the product inside, the rest of the front features non-cluttered information including a full image, the branding, and a list of features.
The rear side shows a diagram that points out the primary features, with the specifications listed in various languages.
Inside, the box contains a quick start guide and a braided 4 pole splitter.
The headset itself has large plastic covered connectors that likely channel the cables for the right-side earcup, and has a suspension leatherette headband. The long cable is braided and features an inline remote and a 4pole connector, enabling compatibility with smartphones, games consoles, PCs and more.
Closer Look
The headband is soft and squishy, but is relatively exposed. On other headsets we have observed a stitched finishing that helps protect the leatherette.
The top side of the headband features attractive COUGAR branding, finished in matching colours to the halo.
The sides feature an attractive laser cut COUGAR badge, surrounded by a metallic orange rim and gunmetal mesh. The result, visually is stunning and the quality matches how good it looks.
The large earcups provide plenty of space for your ears and are coated in thick foam.
The left side earcup features a retractable, noise-reducing microphone.
The careful use of materials creates a rather minimalistic, lightweight headset that is flexible. Some may prefer smaller headsets with more focus on portability.
Performance Testing
Setup, Design & Observations
The COUGAR IMMERSA is driverless, meaning there is no software needed to be installed. If your system has a 4 pole port (3.5mm), (normally featured on laptops, smartphones, tablets, PS4/Xbox One controllers, Macs) then you can connect directly using the 4 pole connector, however for a standard desktop you will likely need to make use of the included splitter.
Audio quality for analogue headsets will largely vary depending your audio processing, and can vary greatly depending on whether you are using integrated motherboard audio, a discrete soundcard or external DAC and so experiences can vary. Many systems do support higher sampling frequency and bit depth and by increasing these over the standard 44.1KHz 16bit, you can get a free boost in output quality.
The headset itself seems light, weighing approximately 320g, is flexible with an attractive aesthetic set in black and orange with gun metal mesh on the earcups. On wearing, the earcups fully enclose your ears and has a light clamp force ensuring comfort for long gaming sessions. The overall construction is rather minimalistic, using good quality materials that should be robust enough for general wear and tear, though on the flip-side you may need to keep an eye on your pet dog, specifically if they enjoy chewing human flavoured items.
The in-line remote features an oversized volume dial and microphone mute controls, the small design is non-intrusive and easy to locate.
Multimedia
To test the IMMERSA we disable all post processing effects in the audio software (where available) and start with some subjective listening. We use a various test tracks from different genres that are well known to the listener for comparison. The IMMERSA headset displayed a deep bass with a balanced mid-range and treble. The soundstage was more open than I expected and there was a good focus on detail, allowing the headset to reproduce good quality, enjoyable music playback.
In-game sound made real use of the deep bass, adding an enjoyable depth that gamers will appreciate. The finer details in game were apparent too, whether it is was the sound of passing conversation in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, or footsteps in CS:GO, the clarity felt, as the product name would suggest, immersive.
Microphone
The microphone is retractable and flexible, giving you the ability to move it where desired. At maximum sensitivity, it would pick up literally everything in the room and make the user sound a little ‘godlike’, but taking that sensitivity down to around 70%, the voice sounds clear and natural with a little warmth. At this level background noises are limited and non-intrusive, though still present.
Conclusion
The IMMERSA comes in strong and have left a lasting impression. Everything the IMMERSA does, it does well. It has awesome stereo sound that provides strong and precise bass that doesn’t muddy the mids or highs. The large padded earcups provide long lasting comfort. It has a retractable microphone that is loud and clear. Finally they look and feel fantastic, with no creaking involved. This shows that COUGAR made careful consideration to the gaming market and because of that, they have produced a phenomenal headset that hits hard, not just at this price point. In fact, at first we expected the IMMERSA to be a standard mid-range headset in the £60-70 price point, but its <£40/$50 price almost makes it a no brainer.
There are features that some may prefer, such as modular/removable cables and microphone. Though at this price there is little to complain about at all. You could argue that there are some ‘good’ generic, Chinese manufactured brands selling headsets cheaper in the £20-30 range; this is an argument that is ever present. There are various competing headsets around the same price point including the Bitfenix FLO that can be had for around £30. Despite its excellent value and sound quality, some will argue that the clamp force is high making it uncomfortable for long gaming sessons. The IMMERSA has no such issue with comfort. Another headset that may come up is the SteelSeries Siberia 200, as we have seen it on sale occasionally for around £45. Though the IMMERSA easily matches the Siberia 200 in all aspects and for less, so one would be choosing that on brand preference alone.
Overall it is hard to deny the incredible value the COUGAR IMMERSA is offering. They may not tick some boxes such as ‘foldable’, and they may be easy for your dog to eat, but these are things not even worth considering. In fact, I should just stop writing and finish with: WOW, these are good.
Gamers will want to pay attention to the COUGAR IMMERSA because it is a top quality and comfortable headset that won’t make your wallet cry.
Pros.
+ Attractive aesthetics
+ Long lasting Comfort
+ Retractable microphone
+ Good balanced audio
+ Multi-platform compatibility (4 pole jack)
+ Price
Cons.
– None
+ Attractive aesthetics
+ Long lasting Comfort
+ Retractable microphone
+ Good balanced audio
+ Multi-platform compatibility (4 pole jack)
+ Price
Cons.
– None
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