The 7.1 Air is the flagship headset offered by Roccat. Coming in at around $100, the Roccat Elo 7.1 Air offers some really interesting functionality and could be an option for PC gamers.
Let’s dig into the review and pick this headset apart.
The Verdict
The Roccat Elo 7.1 Air could make a great choice for your PC setup if you’re looking for a decent headset with a metal frame construction that comes decked with 7.1 surround sound.
The headset features wireless connectivity, nice punchy bass, and a decent microphone making it a convenient all-in-one package if you’re looking to game with friends. Not to mention some RGB accent lighting to boot.
The durable build is also nice if you are rough with your headset and are worried about breaking your equipment. I’ve twisted and bent this headset in everyway imaginable and it does not break.
The only downside is the bulky design can be off-putting to some and can look a little goofy.
The suspension-style design is not for everybody, but the one-size-fits all aspect does add to the convenience. Slap the headset on and you’re ready to go.
You can find the Roccat Elo 7.1 Air headset available on Amazon here.
In The Box
In the box, you get the headset itself (duh) along with a few other crucial components to get full use of the functionality.
- USB-C charging cable: A charging cable is included in the box so you can charge the headset in-between usage. Unfortunately, you can’t game on the cable connection, so you’ll need to use the cable strictly for charging purposes.
- Wireless USB dongle: The wireless dongle is how you connect the headset to your PC. Plug it in and turn on your headset and you’re good to go. Easy as pie.
- Detachable microphone: The detachable microphone allows you to choose when you plan on speaking to friends or not. Simply plug it in to get the full functionality. It’s also bendable so you can position it close or far away from your mouth.
- Setup guide: A simple set of instructions that walk you through the functionality of the headset along with how to connect it.
Build Quality
The build quality of the headset is where it really shines.
The metal band construction is something that is usually lacking in headsets and really adds to the durability of the product.
You can twist, bend, and pull and this headset will NOT break. It’s nice to see a headset that focuses this much on the actual build quality instead of just looking cool. So major props to Roccat in this department.
The ear pads and plush material on the headset are quite soft and seem attached to the rest of the build in a good way. The ear pads are removable, so you can replace them if they start to wear down after a few years.
Overall, the build quality is fantastic.
Comfort
The comfort of the headset is quite impressive as well. The suspension design of the headset makes it so all you need to do is plop the headset on your head and it self-adjusts.
No need to fiddle with different adjustment settings.
There is a downside to this style of design as well. You have a lack of control.
In some situations, the headset would rest a little too far down my head and I would have to manually reset it to fit properly. I could also see the band elasticity start to wear down over time making it sloop too low after a while.
The headset is also designed to be more comfortable while wearing glasses as the earpads don’t put as much pressure on the sides of the glasses. The design is effective and quite cozy.
Overall, I found the headset to be quite comfortable and have no major complaints in this department. Although the ear pads could be slightly thicker.
Style
The style is where this headset really lacks.
The suspension band and metal band stacked on top of each other looks rather bulky and can be a bit goofy. Of course, as a gaming headset you don’t usually plan on wearing it out in public or anything, but style still matters to some extent.
If they went for a more minimalist design and focused on a singular headband, I think the style would have looked much better. But of course, that’s my personal opinion.
The RGB lighting is a nice addition and isn’t too flashy which I really like, but it can’t make up for the rest of design.
The earpads can also be spun outwards, so if you want to wear the headset casually around your shoulders that’s also an option.
Sound Quality
The sound quality of the headset isn’t too bad. I like that it has the option for 7.1 surround sound and that you can mess with the EQ settings in the software.
Speaking of the software, I found Roccat Swarm to have lots of great options for customizing the sound output to your own preferences and it made the headset a more complete package.
The headset performs similar to most gaming headsets. The bass is punchy and highs and lows perform well. It only really lacks in the mid-range and those sounds tend to fall flat.
It makes sense for the purpose of gaming, as you want to accentuate the noises that are more important in-game while making the rest less vibrant.
Not the best for listening to instrumental music, but great for FPS games and Rap music.
Microphone
The microphone is decent as well. It comes in a detachable design that is honestly pretty standard for most headsets.
The removable feature is great for when you don’t plan on chatting, but it would also be pretty easy to lose the microphone when not in use.
After testing the microphone for a while, I found it struggled to pick up the hard “puh” sounds. That’s normal for most microphones, however, so I’m not too disappointed.
There are also options in the software to minimize the noise sensitivity of the microphone so you won’t pick up as much background noise.
With a control wheel on the bottom of the headset, you can control if you want to hear a playback of your own voice when talking to get an idea of the sound levels entering the headset.
While that feature may be useful to some, I found it to be distracting and hearing myself talk interrupted my train of thought as I was speaking.
Technical Details
The headset comes with two 50mm neodymium drivers, which means the surround sound is fully simulated by the software. The drivers get the job done nicely and this style is pretty standard for most gaming headsets.
The measured frequency is between 20-20,000 Hz which will pick up most, if not all, in-game sounds. Although the really high frequency noises won’t be picked up.
Conclusion
If you value build quality above all else, the Roccat Elo 7.1 Air will be the perfect headset for you. With it’s metal frame construction, this headset if dang near unbreakable.
Not to mention, the wireless functionality, RGB lighting, and 7.1 surround sound make this headset feature-packed and an attractive offer to some.
The only area where this headset really lacks is the bulky design along with some flat mid-range sounds that make this headset underperform when listening to instrumental music.
In the ~$100 range, the gaming headset offers are quite competitive, so I can’t give this headset a glowing recommendation when there are so many other great headset choices out there.
That being said, this headset is amazingly well-built and the software is quite versatile, so if those are features you value it could be a great pick.
You can find the Roccat Elo 7.1 Air on Amazon through this link.