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Razer Tiamat 7.1 Surround headset review
8 years ago
Please take a moment to read this. Especially if you're an artist drawing for me
Many gamers have heard the brand, Razer, which is credited to creating very aesthetically pleasing gaming accessories such as headsets, mice, mouse pads, keyboards etc.
And indeed, they create some very pretty looking stuff.
However, this is not about the company, it's about one of their products, namely, the Razer Tiamat 7.1 surround headset.
First and foremost, for those of you who look for a short read instead of a long, descriptive one:
Worth buying or not?
110% NO! DO NOT BUY THIS HEADSET, EVER!!!!
For those of you who don't mind the why and how, here it is:
First of all, the design is deplorable. Not only is it ugly, it's also non-functional, and downright uncomfortable.
Firstly, there's the deal with the headband, observe this image: http://imgur.com/a/PSAII (highlighted in red). This band looks like the box shaped pads should be soft and squishy to support your head, right?
WRONG!!!
These 'pads', are nothing more than cheap, thin plastic made to look like pads. There's no give to them, they just sit there and dig into your scalp, giving the wearer a massive headache. It's so bad, I had to use a spare glove that has a hole in it to put ONTOP of my head BETWEEN it and my head to avoid those death stabbers of doom from sinking into my scalp. It's like a torture tool that PUNISHES you for wanting sound in your video games!
Speaking of sound, it's just as bad, let me explain:
7.1 surround means that instead of the standard 5.1 surround(5 sources, front(1), side(2), back(1), subwoofer(1) (=5. The .1 means that it's in ONE unit, I.E the headset itself), there are SEVEN speakers in one unit; diagonal front(2), side(2), diagonal back(2), back(1), and a built in bass, no subwoofer needed. Which is intended to increase immersion and give you a sense of being able to hear things behind you.
Of course, this would be great, if it worked for shit. Not only does the headset just have piss-poor sound with easily audible static in the background non-stop that gets maddening after a while, it's key feature, the 7.1 surround, doesn't function properly, and has incompatibility issues out the wazoo. For one, the front, and back speakers work fine, but the diagonal back speakers are INCREDIBLY low. For example, if I am walking in Skyrim with a companion behind me? If they begin to talk, I have to TURN AROUND 180 degrees and FACE them in order to actual hear what they say, otherwise, it sounds like they're 200 feet behind me and expecting me to hear them while they speak at a normal volume, all while ambient sounds are SUPER LOUD. No matter what I did, there was no fix to this, I checked everywhere, even asked Razer themselves(Who just gave me the average automated 'sorry for the inconvenience, you can replace it if your warranty's still valid, otherwise, go fuck yourself, we got your money now, HA HA HA').
Additionally, refer to this image real quick: http://imgur.com/a/o341E
See that huge brick attached to the cord, highlighted in red? Yeah, that thing is as long(correction, just checked, AN INCH LONGER) than my middle finger(which I raise in a hearty fuck you gesture to Razer for this atrocious product btw). It is HUGE, bulky, and awkward. It pretty much FORCES you to have it sitting on the table, cause it's so heavy that if it just hangs from your cord, it'll literally tug down on the right side of your headset, making it sit lopsided. This means the total length of cord available is CUT INTO A QUARTER(The whole cord is 9 feet long!!! This bulky ass brick that does nothing but change volume and mute your mic/speakers, will cut those 9 feet into 3 feet, since all the length BEHIND it is locked to the table, lest you want to have a weight hanging from your head)
Next up, we have the horrible quality, refer to these pics:
http://imgur.com/a/0vFQa . The Microphone is able to be completely retracted into the attached speaker, which is honestly pointless cause it's not in the way anyway. It is cheap plastic that gets looser and looser as you use it. After less than 5 months of average, common use, the stick made a light snapping noise, my mic suddenly stopped working, and just dangled loosely from its socket. My mic had officially died.
http://imgur.com/a/6MMFm . The ear muff pads, designed to let the headset rest AROUND your ear rather than directly on it like conventional earphones. These pads turn out to be cheaply glued onto the frame of the speaker, which failed and fell off completely after only 8 months of use. After 11 months, both pads have fallen off entirely(glue doesn't keep them on). I now have to put the headset on first, and then put each pad in place manually, lest I want my ears to cramp(didn't know my ears could cramp, BUT THEY CAN FROM THESE SHITTY HEADPHONES)
http://imgur.com/a/X46rM . The frame that runs across my head, ontop of that scalp destroyer of a *Cough*COMFORT*cough band, has snapped in two places(locations highlighted in red). The first snap happened when I simply removed the headset from my head after finishing a game. I heard a CRACK noise, and noticed that the plastic had snapped clean in half. Less than a week later, the second crack happened, this time while putting them on.
And to add insult to injury, this headset is INCREDIBLY COMPLICATED to attach to your computer.
It comes with 1 USB plug
AND FIVE(5) STEREO SOCKET PLUGS!!! ONE OF EACH COLOR!
( http://www.pcgameware.co.uk/images/.....onnections.jpg )
Except in my case, the socket colors don't match the ones given on the jacks on the headset cords, meaning I have no fucking idea exactly which plug goes where. I had to trial and error that shit for literally 15 minutes of plugging and unplugging all five plugs in random combinations until I got SOME level of sound. I've since tried 11 times to resocket them in all manners of different ways, pretty much every combination of 5 colors with 5 plugs that you can possibly do, and NONE of them work, except the ONE combination I found by sheer chance.
And lastly, a stupid ass, completely unnecessary bogus 'look how cool they are' attempt from Razer:
http://imgur.com/a/LGQ1w (highlighted in red)
See the little silver circles, one in each corner on the outside of the headset, flanking that clear plastic window in the middle? Those are there, to attach these: https://www.cravingtech.com/blog/wp.....7/DSC_0185.jpg
WHY!? I DON'T FUCKING KNOW!!!!
It serves NO purpose. There's NO rhyme OR REASON for them to be there! Yet Razer decided "Hey, wouldn't it be kewl @$$ al hel if we put four small magnets into each speaker on the outside, so that the wearer can decide whether to attach or detach these matte, thin, cheapass plastic covers that just end up being a nuisance when they fall off when you go to pick up the headset!? THAT SOUNDS LIKE A GR8 IDEA RIGHT GUYS!?"
And now, for the grand finale that you've all been waiting for....Drum roll please.....
The price of this grotesque, grossly poor quality, sorry ass excuse for a 'gaming' accessory that is built by a company with the slogan 'by gamers, for gamers'....
NOW, IT'S ABOUT THE COMPANY!!!
TWO HUNDRED(200) MOTHER-FUCKING DOLLARS($)
Do not buy this headset. Don't even look at it, don't even LOOK at the company, don't even go to their website don't even consider it! This company is a huge fucking scam that takes your money in HUGE quantities and gives you cheap-ass, poorly designed, poorly manufactured, shit tier quality products that fall apart at the seams within a year, WELL before the 'warranty' runs out, yet their high quality customer service reps(which are outsourced to india), are paid to sit and make up excuses as to why you cannot get a replacement. Here was their excuse to me: "Did you touch the microphone when it broke? In that case it is your own fault and your warranty has been invalidated, I'm sorry for the inconvenience, sir."
Razer Inc.
"By scammers with no pride, for gamers with money we desperately want."
And indeed, they create some very pretty looking stuff.
However, this is not about the company, it's about one of their products, namely, the Razer Tiamat 7.1 surround headset.
First and foremost, for those of you who look for a short read instead of a long, descriptive one:
Worth buying or not?
110% NO! DO NOT BUY THIS HEADSET, EVER!!!!
For those of you who don't mind the why and how, here it is:
First of all, the design is deplorable. Not only is it ugly, it's also non-functional, and downright uncomfortable.
Firstly, there's the deal with the headband, observe this image: http://imgur.com/a/PSAII (highlighted in red). This band looks like the box shaped pads should be soft and squishy to support your head, right?
WRONG!!!
These 'pads', are nothing more than cheap, thin plastic made to look like pads. There's no give to them, they just sit there and dig into your scalp, giving the wearer a massive headache. It's so bad, I had to use a spare glove that has a hole in it to put ONTOP of my head BETWEEN it and my head to avoid those death stabbers of doom from sinking into my scalp. It's like a torture tool that PUNISHES you for wanting sound in your video games!
Speaking of sound, it's just as bad, let me explain:
7.1 surround means that instead of the standard 5.1 surround(5 sources, front(1), side(2), back(1), subwoofer(1) (=5. The .1 means that it's in ONE unit, I.E the headset itself), there are SEVEN speakers in one unit; diagonal front(2), side(2), diagonal back(2), back(1), and a built in bass, no subwoofer needed. Which is intended to increase immersion and give you a sense of being able to hear things behind you.
Of course, this would be great, if it worked for shit. Not only does the headset just have piss-poor sound with easily audible static in the background non-stop that gets maddening after a while, it's key feature, the 7.1 surround, doesn't function properly, and has incompatibility issues out the wazoo. For one, the front, and back speakers work fine, but the diagonal back speakers are INCREDIBLY low. For example, if I am walking in Skyrim with a companion behind me? If they begin to talk, I have to TURN AROUND 180 degrees and FACE them in order to actual hear what they say, otherwise, it sounds like they're 200 feet behind me and expecting me to hear them while they speak at a normal volume, all while ambient sounds are SUPER LOUD. No matter what I did, there was no fix to this, I checked everywhere, even asked Razer themselves(Who just gave me the average automated 'sorry for the inconvenience, you can replace it if your warranty's still valid, otherwise, go fuck yourself, we got your money now, HA HA HA').
Additionally, refer to this image real quick: http://imgur.com/a/o341E
See that huge brick attached to the cord, highlighted in red? Yeah, that thing is as long(correction, just checked, AN INCH LONGER) than my middle finger(which I raise in a hearty fuck you gesture to Razer for this atrocious product btw). It is HUGE, bulky, and awkward. It pretty much FORCES you to have it sitting on the table, cause it's so heavy that if it just hangs from your cord, it'll literally tug down on the right side of your headset, making it sit lopsided. This means the total length of cord available is CUT INTO A QUARTER(The whole cord is 9 feet long!!! This bulky ass brick that does nothing but change volume and mute your mic/speakers, will cut those 9 feet into 3 feet, since all the length BEHIND it is locked to the table, lest you want to have a weight hanging from your head)
Next up, we have the horrible quality, refer to these pics:
http://imgur.com/a/0vFQa . The Microphone is able to be completely retracted into the attached speaker, which is honestly pointless cause it's not in the way anyway. It is cheap plastic that gets looser and looser as you use it. After less than 5 months of average, common use, the stick made a light snapping noise, my mic suddenly stopped working, and just dangled loosely from its socket. My mic had officially died.
http://imgur.com/a/6MMFm . The ear muff pads, designed to let the headset rest AROUND your ear rather than directly on it like conventional earphones. These pads turn out to be cheaply glued onto the frame of the speaker, which failed and fell off completely after only 8 months of use. After 11 months, both pads have fallen off entirely(glue doesn't keep them on). I now have to put the headset on first, and then put each pad in place manually, lest I want my ears to cramp(didn't know my ears could cramp, BUT THEY CAN FROM THESE SHITTY HEADPHONES)
http://imgur.com/a/X46rM . The frame that runs across my head, ontop of that scalp destroyer of a *Cough*COMFORT*cough band, has snapped in two places(locations highlighted in red). The first snap happened when I simply removed the headset from my head after finishing a game. I heard a CRACK noise, and noticed that the plastic had snapped clean in half. Less than a week later, the second crack happened, this time while putting them on.
And to add insult to injury, this headset is INCREDIBLY COMPLICATED to attach to your computer.
It comes with 1 USB plug
AND FIVE(5) STEREO SOCKET PLUGS!!! ONE OF EACH COLOR!
( http://www.pcgameware.co.uk/images/.....onnections.jpg )
Except in my case, the socket colors don't match the ones given on the jacks on the headset cords, meaning I have no fucking idea exactly which plug goes where. I had to trial and error that shit for literally 15 minutes of plugging and unplugging all five plugs in random combinations until I got SOME level of sound. I've since tried 11 times to resocket them in all manners of different ways, pretty much every combination of 5 colors with 5 plugs that you can possibly do, and NONE of them work, except the ONE combination I found by sheer chance.
And lastly, a stupid ass, completely unnecessary bogus 'look how cool they are' attempt from Razer:
http://imgur.com/a/LGQ1w (highlighted in red)
See the little silver circles, one in each corner on the outside of the headset, flanking that clear plastic window in the middle? Those are there, to attach these: https://www.cravingtech.com/blog/wp.....7/DSC_0185.jpg
WHY!? I DON'T FUCKING KNOW!!!!
It serves NO purpose. There's NO rhyme OR REASON for them to be there! Yet Razer decided "Hey, wouldn't it be kewl @$$ al hel if we put four small magnets into each speaker on the outside, so that the wearer can decide whether to attach or detach these matte, thin, cheapass plastic covers that just end up being a nuisance when they fall off when you go to pick up the headset!? THAT SOUNDS LIKE A GR8 IDEA RIGHT GUYS!?"
And now, for the grand finale that you've all been waiting for....Drum roll please.....
The price of this grotesque, grossly poor quality, sorry ass excuse for a 'gaming' accessory that is built by a company with the slogan 'by gamers, for gamers'....
NOW, IT'S ABOUT THE COMPANY!!!
TWO HUNDRED(200) MOTHER-FUCKING DOLLARS($)
Do not buy this headset. Don't even look at it, don't even LOOK at the company, don't even go to their website don't even consider it! This company is a huge fucking scam that takes your money in HUGE quantities and gives you cheap-ass, poorly designed, poorly manufactured, shit tier quality products that fall apart at the seams within a year, WELL before the 'warranty' runs out, yet their high quality customer service reps(which are outsourced to india), are paid to sit and make up excuses as to why you cannot get a replacement. Here was their excuse to me: "Did you touch the microphone when it broke? In that case it is your own fault and your warranty has been invalidated, I'm sorry for the inconvenience, sir."
Razer Inc.
"By scammers with no pride, for gamers with money we desperately want."
TalynSilverheart
~talynsilverheart
I personally had a pair of Turtle Beach P11s for the longest time, and those worked well for me. Got them on sale for... $60, if memory serves. It's not the best sound quality for high-pitched noises, but the bass is well-done. I can't count the number of times a TF2 Spy's footsteps gave him away while I was using these.
