Tt Esports Shock One

Taiwanese firm Thermaltake is perhaps better know for making Xazer PC tower cases, heatsinks and power supplies than gaming peripherals. However, under the guise of Tt eSports, the firm has now released a whole range of accessories for gamers, including mice, keyboards and the Shock One headset.

Design: Not So Comfortable

This is a chunky, bulky headset that can't exactly be described as discreet due to the huge light-up logos on each earphone and on the in-line remote. These features are certainly attention-grabbing but, thankfully, they can be switched off. The headset seems fairly sturdy and doesn't feel flimsy. In fact, with its steel headband featuring click-out size adjustment, chunky padding, massive hinges and semi-rigid retractable microphone, this headset feels like it'll stand the test of time. That's especially good news since the folding design makes the Shock One headset a portable product—a carry case is even supplied. The rectangular headphones come with interchangeable earpads—one set in a fuzzy velvet-like material and the other in leatherette. Plus, in spite of its imposing design and build, this headset is actually pretty light.

Once on your head, the Shock One stays in place quite well. However, you're not likely to forget you're wearing it, as the headband padding pushes own on your head quite heavily. What's more, both pairs of interchangeable earpads make your ears get quite hot, and you'll probably find that your ears doesn't exactly nestle neatly inside the earphones due to their rectangular shape. All in all, it's fine for watching a film or for a gaming session, but you wouldn't want to wear the Shock One for long periods of time.

Software: Not So Useful

A software package is supplied along with the drivers for this USB headset. It features an equaliser for controlling different frequency bands and preset modes for different types of games (FPS, RTS MMORPG)—more on those in the Audio section below! Thermaltake has also included a DTS Neo:PC surround sound function (DTS Surround Sensation - not compatible with Mac OS) which we didn't find particularly useful.

Other less interesting functions let you choose your acoustic environment ... just in case you wanted to make it sound like you were gaming underwater! There's a timer for keeping an eye on how long you've been gaming and, strangely, you can check whether the logos on the headset are lit up but you can't actually switch them on or off!
 

You can even check if the 'Tt' logos are illuminated or not!

Audio: Not so Neutral

In the Shock One headset, the heavy bass overpowers medium and high frequencies. Although the bass frequencies are reasonably well controlled, they can become quite unpleasant with more imposing game soundtracks. Spatialisation is reasonably accurate, and it's quite easy to tell where sounds like gunshots and footsteps are coming from. In theory, the Shock One has closed headphones but we found that they let sound filter out like a sieve. That can be really quite annoying, especially since it's more than just a slight leak. In fact, the headset swamps the surrounding area with sound due to its over-powerful output. Anyone who's in the room with you won't be impressed!

The headset is fine for listening to music with, although it'd be even better if the bass and the power of the output (volume) was controlled more effectively. In films, dialogues are easy to hear and to follow but, here too, the heavy bass can be annoying.

Although the microphone is fixed in place, it picks up conversations clearly, even when there's loud background noise. However, it's a bit harder to make yourself understood when speaking quietly, (when gaming late at night, for example) as it doesn't pick up whispers very well. Voices are reproduced well, if not quite perfectly.

In the end, the Shock One isn't perfect, but it's suitable for gamers who don't mind heavy bass. Considering it's one of the firm's first audio products, this Thermaltake Tt eSports headset could have been a lot worse. In fact, we'll be keen to see what's in store in upcoming models.