The Red Dragon is back as we take a look at the Shock 3D 7.1 headset from Tt eSports, will this dragon take a bite out of that popular virtual 7.1 surround sound market?
Product on Review: Tt eSports Shock 3D 7.1
Manufacturer and Sponsor: Tt eSports
Street Price: UK: £55-60, US: $79
The Tt eSports Shock series of headsets has matured to offer good value for gamers in need of a reliable well built headset. Though not to be caught standing still, Tt eSports have been working behind the scenes to improve their stable and as of 2015 have added a line of refreshed products labelled ‘Bass Boosted’.
Today we take a look at the Shock 3D 7.1, filling an important role in the USB powered virtual 7.1 surround headset market. The stylised design of the earcups are quite bold in design, having a stretched pentagon come hexagon shape yet manages to be pleasing too. It features 40mm drivers, conveniently placed built-in controls for equaliser presets, enable/disable 3D sound and volume control.
Overview by Tt eSports
The SHOCK 3D 7.1 headset offers users true in-game immersion via enhanced 3D virtualized surround sound. Giving users one of the best spec’d headsets on the market. The 3D 7.1 virtualized surround sound technology is the first on the market to offer a 360° feel that most traditional 5.1/7.1 headsets can’t. 4 EQ settings offer a way to fine tune the sound for any game. The microphone automatically mutes when it’s pivoted up. LED accents further add to the gaming atmosphere of the headset.
Technical Specifications
Color: Diamond Black
Cable Length: 2.0 meters
Connector: USB plug
Driver Unit (mm): 40mm Neodymium Magnet
Channel: 3D 7.1 Surround Sound
Frequency Response: 20 Hz ~ 20 KHz
Plug&Play Microphone: Yes
External In-Line Controller: No
Mic Directivity: Omni-Directional
Mic Noise Cancelling: Yes
Mic Sensitivity: -35 ± 3dB
Mic Frequency: 100Hz ~ 10 KHz
Mic Impedance: 2.2k ohm
Impedance: 32 Ohm ±15%
Accessories: Carrying Bag x 1
Cable Length: 2.0 meters
Connector: USB plug
Driver Unit (mm): 40mm Neodymium Magnet
Channel: 3D 7.1 Surround Sound
Frequency Response: 20 Hz ~ 20 KHz
Plug&Play Microphone: Yes
External In-Line Controller: No
Mic Directivity: Omni-Directional
Mic Noise Cancelling: Yes
Mic Sensitivity: -35 ± 3dB
Mic Frequency: 100Hz ~ 10 KHz
Mic Impedance: 2.2k ohm
Impedance: 32 Ohm ±15%
Accessories: Carrying Bag x 1
Packaging & First Look
The box design is sleek and attractive, listing primary features on the front as well as containing a window to see the contained product inside.
At the back there is a diagram with a detailed breakdown of the features.
Included inside is the manual and a carry bag for on the move.
The braided cable is 2m long and the USB is gold plated.
The Tt eSports Shock 3D 7.1.
Closer Look
The Headband is covered with a soft breathable cloth and conveniently placed cushioning to provide extra comfort.
The earcup is large and relatively deep, which may be to aid in controlling that directional audio.
Each side can be extended up to an extra 30mm in 5mm increments to adjust to your ideal fit.
Keeping the folding design alive, it can be folded flat (ish) to fit inside the included carry bag for transport or storage.
At the side there is a garish red
The microphone automatically mutes when raised for convenience, and is flexible to fit into your desired position.
Software & Lighting
The software ‘looks’ nice and is easy to understand but seems to act more like a show piece rather than have any real function. The Equaliser is unable to be manually adjusted, and no profiles can be saved. The adjustment for the 3D audio appeared to do very little and the environment settings were uninteresting. The preset equaliser settings however do make up for this, each one subtly made worthy changes to the audio profile to which could be understandable if people developed a personal preference, for testing purposes we remained with the default ‘flat’ profile.
Something else worth noting is that this headset also allowed a 24bit 96KHz rendering which is a big plus for those who enjoy higher quality music playback.
The lighting is subtle but attractive, featuring the Tt eSports logo, IE. the ‘Battle Dragon’, which is audio sensitive and flashes in beat with whatever you are listening to which is pretty cool.
Performance Testing
Setup, Design & Observations
The advantage to a USB interface is the easy setup and reliable performance, where an analogue headset can vary greatly depending on what kind of soundcard you are using. The drivers are available to download from the product page and only take a short time to download and install.
The braided cable is quite stiff and at only 2M long, some may find it a little short and would likely benefit from an extra 500mm. The aesthetic is actually good, distinctively gamer esque without being garish or unpleasant. The headband is fairly stiff and doesn’t spring very well but also doesn’t squeeze too tight while becoming a little more relaxed if you extend the adjustable straps. The earcup is large in a strange way because it is quite deep yet an odd elongated shape. The dimensions as measured are Aproximately 65-75mm in length and around 35-50mm in width. The variation is due to the malleable shape where the length can lend itself to the width and vice versa. If you have large ears it could be annoying, but I had no issues and the protein leather and cushioning is very soft and comfortable, even while wearing glasses.
The headset controls are easy to access and the buttons click firmly, however the impression of the volume dial is actually the most grotesque part of this headset. Resembling a cheap plastic robotic nipple, at least it does what it meant to do, that is adjust the volume, rather than feed gamers their daily dose of calcium. What’s wrong with replacing it with a nice tactile rubberised dial or something that doesn’t break the attractive stylised aesthetic of the headset?
Multimedia
After spending some time listening through various tracks on soundcloud of different genres, I found that the Shock 3D 7.1 actually had a pleasing balanced audio signature, good bass, clear mids and well represented highs, while not quite reaching enthusiast level of precision, the performance was a breath of fresh air and competitive at this price point. The maximum volume is reasonably loud without being head-destroying and there was no major distortion recognised.
In games the balanced audio signature created an exciting and lively atmosphere, some may prefer a slightly heavier punch in the bass in regards to explosions, however we felt that the create balance made for a more natural sense of immersion and was very much enjoyed in the Witcher 3.
The virtual 7.1 or 3D sound was actually strange, yet good and is worth a whole passage to itself. At first, when enabling virtual surround, the audio barely seemed to change if at all, with the soundstage remaining as it was before, not particularly wide, but not suffocatingly close. In movies there was no real noticeable change, yet once I jumped into games (enabling multi channel output) I got a strange sensation unlike I have heard in others, while it wasn’t a directly an open or expanded spatial awareness which was still akin to stereo surround, it did however feel like there was more ‘clarity’ to direction? Considering there was no real detriment in audio quality and the change is subtle yet enjoyable it certainly makes a great plus for this product, especially compared to ‘bad’ virtual solutions which merely create a poor quality echoey sound rather create any form of useful stereo rendering of a multichannel output.
Microphone
The microphone is loud, clear and natural with no hiss or crackles, however it also picked up all background sounds and noises with the same quality, so reduce the sensitivity if you dont want others to feel like they are sat directly next to you.
Conclusion
The Shock 3D 7.1 has surprisingly good audio and comes in competitively in the virtual 7.1 market segment which may improve with time as the price may drop a little from the RRP. The interesting virtual surround approach is subtle and worth using, though may not live up to the expectations for those looking for a wide sounding directional awareness.
It becomes hard to summarise a product like this because generally speaking there is little to really pick up on as it will deliver an excellent gaming experience.
Though to represent our experience objectively, we need to mention the various little oversights we discovered. These include the rigid plastic frame which makes it feel like that YOU need to plug your head into IT, rather than the headset accommodating your head. Then there is the stiff braided cable; though it is 2M long I had it plugged into my front USB port, situated around 1M to my right, and the cable hovered directly in front of my chest impeding my hand movements. This could be easily remedied with a more supple cable and maybe an additional amount of length (2M seems too short 3M seems too long, but this is a situation of better to be with than without). The plastic volume dial seems like a terrible fashion mistake though unlike the supporting software, serves a purpose. All of these build to a sense that you either have to shut up and just put the damn thing on or you will end up having a fight with this headset.
The Shock 3D 7.1 is a great headset, while it could do with a little refinement to its form, that won’t stop it providing gamers with the features needed for immersive gaming and entertaining music playback.
Pros.
+ Comfortable
+ Good balanced audio
+ Interesting aesthetic
+ Foldable with included bag
+ Price
Cons.
– Rigid/ plasticky
– Software UI is mostly for show
– Overly sensitive microphone
+ Comfortable
+ Good balanced audio
+ Interesting aesthetic
+ Foldable with included bag
+ Price
Cons.
– Rigid/ plasticky
– Software UI is mostly for show
– Overly sensitive microphone
Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net.
