Review: Tt eSPORTS Level-10M Gaming Headset
By: Christopher “Synther” Wilson
Anyone that knows me, or anyone that has read many of my
reviews, knows that I’m a huge fan of ThermalTake and Tt eSPORTS. Say what you will about it but the fact
remains that they make quality gear that is both aesthetic and functional. Their partnering with BMW Designworks has
been both profitable and a boon for gamers.
The latest creation of this partnership is the furthering of the
Level-10 line with the Level-10M Gaming Headset.
Headsets are a difficult beast to review because everyone
has their own personal audio taste and there are literally hundreds of
different sound cards out there that will affect the overall tone of a headset. Everything from external virtual surround
devices, like the Tt eSPORTS Bahamut, to virtual surround software like Razer’s surround sound will change how a headset performs. For this review, and for everyday use, I use
the built in external audio card on the MEKA G-Unit Mechanical Gaming Keyboard,
which I have reviewed here.
As I have stated in that review, yet many still don’t know
about, the MEKA G-Unit has its own sound card.
This sound card will show up in your device list as a HOLTEK USB PHONE. It is a simple stereo output on the back left
side of the keyboard, with analog jacks for headphones and mic. The sound offered by this card is
fantastic! Headsets will get a boost in
power and the bass response is quite good.
Most gaming headsets have a rather extreme bass
response. In reality, this can be both
good and bad. It’s good because you get
that “wow” effect whenever there is an explosion or you light someone up with a
full auto shotgun. It’s bad because it
isn’t realistic at all. Low bass
response usually means there is a sacrifice in the mid-range to high end and
that means you’re going to get someone sneaking up on you because you couldn’t
hear their footsteps. It’s also bad if
you want to listen to something other than your games. Movies may find that the center channel isn’t
as bright as you would like and thus you can’t hear conversations as well over
the booming explosions. In music, you
may find some of the instruments drowned out by the lower ends. Because of this, audiophiles generally avoid
gaming headsets like the plague.
The Level-10M has a slightly flat response and avoids the
excessive bass levels of most gaming headsets.
They use 40mm Neodymium drivers and offer a response range from 10hz to
22Khz. This means that you’ll still get
a good “boom” when there is an explosion or you fire that shotgun, but you’ll
also be able to hear that assassin coming up behind you. The earcups are a synthetic leather covered
memory foam and in an oval “D” shape, allowing them to comfortably fit over the
ear without pinching. This allows the
headset to offer passive noise cancelling and extreme comfort for long gaming
sessions. Combined with the 40mm drivers
and the unique shaped earcups, the Level-10M gives excellent audio separation
and the effect is almost like true surround sound. Voices are easily heard over other sounds,
while positional audio is extremely distinct.
There is never any question of what
direction a sound is coming from or which on-screen character is
talking.
In addition to the excellent sound, the
Level-10M Gaming Headset has a few additional features. My personal favorite of these is that the
headband actually locks. There have been
many times where I picked up my headset, or set it down, and the cups slide up
or down. This causes me to have to
readjust the headset every time I put them back on. The Level-10M resolves this with locking
click-tabs on either side. Once they are
locked you can pick up or set down the headset without fear of losing your
comfortable adjustment! WHY has it taken
the entire history of headphones to implement such a feature?! Something so simple is one of my absolutel
favorite features of this headset!
The other feature that is included with the Level-10M is the
included mobile cable. This allows for
the headset to be connected to your phone or MP3 player. The headset cable detaches from the headset
and can be plugged in on either side, thus allowing you to plug the cable in on
the side that is most comfortable for you.
In my testing, I did find that you can have both cables plugged in at
once, allowing you to hear both your PC audio and your phone at the same time,
though this can be a little awkward. I
also found that the plug for the mobile cable doesn’t always want to play nice
with all phone cases due to the thickness of the plug itself. Obviously, this is easily resolved by taking
the phone out of the case, but I still think that for something like a phone or
MP3 player, earbuds, like the Tt eSPORTS Isurus Dub, are a better way to
go. The last added feature is that the
headset comes with a nice carrying bag for when you are on the go. The bag has a separate slot for securing your
cables and is a great feature for packing up and heading to a LAN party.
The PC cable for the the Level-10M
Gaming Headset offers an inline audio control for volume and mic mute. The volume offers a range of maximum to
completely silent, while the mute switch is great for when you need to talk to
someone else in the room and don’t want to broadcast your conversation across
your Twitch channel. And finally, the
top of the headset offers a thick memory foam pad that cradles the top of the
head. The pad secures the headset,
without giving you a headache for those long gaming sessions.
It took me awhile to write this review
and I’ve actually had the headset for just over a month now. I wanted to use the Level-10M in my
daily/weekly gaming routine to get a full experience in its features. Previously I had been using a PlantronicsGameCom 780, which is an excellent headset, and I thought I would miss the
virtual surround sound offered by that headset.
While virtual surround is nice, I’ve found that the stereo separation on
the Level-10M is so good that I don’t miss it nearly as much as I thought I
would. Having said that, I do plan to
upgrade a bit and get the Bahamut external sound card for the Level-10M Gaming
Headset to make it even better!
In conclusion, I would have to say that
the features and sound quality of both the headphones and the mic are worth far
more than the mid-range price for the Level-10M and I’m giving it a solid 8 out
of 10. The Level-10M Gaming Headset
should be on every gamers short list of must have’s for their gaming computer.
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