Mad Catz F.R.E.Q.4 Gaming Headset Review

A Closer Look

The headset its self is pretty much all blacked out. There are matte black bits and a slight bit of gloss in some areas, but otherwise, it has a very dark finish to it. That provides a very strong contrast for the chalk-white decals on the side, where you’ll also find RGB backlighting that you can customise through the downloadable software.

The old Mad Catz claw marks logo is on each side of the headband mount, that’s not RGB lit. However, the digital camo design is RGB lit. It actually reminds me of the design on some of the RoG stuff, but that’s no bad thing, it’s a cool design. As you can see, the headset is hard-wired with a USB cable. I do prefer a removable one, but at this price, it’s not a deal-breaker.

The cable runs up and through the headband too, so it’s only coming off of the bottom of the left ear cup.

The headset uses the classic twin steel headband design to keep it clamped to your head. However, there’s a padded inner headband that’s obviously a lot more comfortable.

It uses a tension system to auto adjust to fit, meaning you just pop in on your head and it’s ready to go.

The ear cups are mounted with a small pivot arm. It’s doesn’t move a lot but it’s enough to fit any slight off-angles when wearing it.

I like the exposed screws design as well.

The headset features a retracting microphone, which is a really welcome bonus at this price range. It’s typically just a fixed boom or fold-up design. Just pull it out and it’s ready to go. What’s also cool is that it has ENC, so if you’re wailing away on your noisy keyboard, it’s going to filter a lot of that out and keep your chat sounding much clearer for your teammates. They’ll thank you later.

The headset is pretty comfortable, and design the completely round ear cups, they still provided good around the ear coverage for me. Plus, you do get a really decent amount of soft padding here and some PU leather. Sure, it’ll make your ears sweat on the hot days, but it helps lock the sound in and the noise of the world around you out.

The 50mm drives are pretty punchy too, which is always a welcome bonus. It’s not the most refined sounding headset in the world, but at this price range, I wouldn’t say it was designed to be either. It sounds good though, that’s what matters really. There’s a good bit of punch for the action-loving gamers, music lovers and movie fans. A good, albeit slightly boosted mid-range sound, but that brings out a lot more detail while you’re gaming and the highs a really clear. They’re well suited to gaming and music most of all.

The 7.1 surround works pretty well, that tech has come along so much in recent years that it really does work. Just remember to turn it off for purely stereo sources or it’ll sound like trash. Throw on Shadow of the Tomb Raider in 7.1 and be blown away though, it’s fantastic.

The cable is a little chunky, but a little way down the cable you’ll find the handy controller. Here you can mute the microphone, adjust the master volume and turn on and off the 7.1 mix. As I said before, you don’t want the surround on for non-surround sources, so having that quick toggle is very much welcome when you go from gaming to YouTube, etc.

Again, I do think the cable is a bit bulky, but at the same time it does feel durable and like it’ll last without damage.

Overall, I do like the headset, but the overall design is a bit last week and the cable is cumbersome. Then again, if you route the cable under your desk, and have a headset hanger down the side, it’ll feel less intrusive. It’s clear Mad Catz retooled a much older headset with much more modern hardware to keep the cost down, and hey, it worked!