Razer Tiamat 7.1 True Surround Sound Headset Review

The Razer Tiamat  requires a 7.1 capable soundcard in order to receive the full surround sound experience, although it is possible to just use the headset in stereo (just the green audio jack). For the testing, we connected the headset in 7.1 mode to a Asus Maximus IV Gene/Gen 3, using the onboard sound.

Gaming

To check out the performance of the Tiamat during gaming, we fired up Left 4 Dead 2 and Counter Strike: Source because they both support 7.1. Whilst playing Left4Dead 2, the Tiamat’s true surround sound really showed just how good the headset is. It allowed pin-point positioning, which was perfect for spotting an ambush or a boomer hiding around the corner. We found the same whilst playing CS:S – the surround sound made it perfect for locating the enemy giving us the jump on anyone trying to surprise us – so much so, we were often accused of hacking because of all the prefiring we did. We also switched the headset over to stereo mode, that whilst it didn’t provide the exceptional audio positioning abilities the Tiamat had in full 7.1 mode, it still provided some decent positioning. The audio quality was flawless throughout both games, with deep rich bass, crystal audio clarity and decent high, mid and low tones.

Music

Bearing in mind the Razer Tiamat is designed with gaming in mind, we thought we’d just see how well they handled some of our music we blast out in the office. Lets just say the Tiamat can go VERY loud, so much so it’s like using speakers when the volume is set to the max. It reproduced the audio playback just as well as it did for gaming, with lovely deep bass for the dance tracks we often play. One really good feature we liked with the Tiamat is the ability to switch between our speakers and the headset at the push of a button on the control box, instead of having to unplug them – something we haven’t seen on any headsets yet.

Movies

Last up is movies, for this we used our bluray player to watch Transformers 3 which has a 7.1 native audio soundtrack. Would you be surprised if we told you it performed flawlessly and just as well as it did with the gaming tests, if not better? The bass really came into effect with this movie, giving it a great depth and realism. The positioning was spot on, and at moments, it actually sounded like they were in the room.

Mic

We also put the mic to the test by having a conversation using Skype and via Mumble. For Skype, the quality was 555 with either very little or no background hiss thanks to the background cancelling. In Mumble, the codec needed a little tweak, but this was because Mumble can be a pain to set up. The mic mute button was ideal for when someone else came in the room and we wanted to talk to them instead, with just a simple push and the recipient can no longer hear you.

Comfort

Throughout our testing the headset remained comfortable, with no noticeable aches or pains even after a 4 hour gaming session. They sat very well on our heads, although we did feel a little dubious when it came to pulling them placing as we didn’t want to flex the plastic too much in case it snapped, though this was easily overcome.

So this concludes our testing, take the jump to see what we think.