Razer Tiamat 7.1 Gaming Headset Raps Your Eardrums with 10 Drivers
Razer Tiamat 7.1 Gaming Headset Raps Your Eardrums with 10 Drivers
Posted 08/18/2011 at 6:15am
| by Paul Lilly
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Razer just gut punched every 5.1 gaming headset on the market by launching what it claims is the world's first discrete 7.1 surround sound headphone. It's called the Razer Tiamat, and it packs a total of 10 drivers -- five in each hear -- to pound your eardrums with positional sound from nearly every direction. Sound like overkill? Razer also released a 2.2 stereo version of the Tiamat with a total of four discrete drivers, two of which focus entirely on bass.
"The Razer Tiamat headset range is the pride of our audio engineering, the world’s first 10 driver headset, built to deliver the most powerful, clear and accurately produced positional audio gamers will ever need for the competitive edge," said Robert Krakoff, President, Razer USA. "Surprise the enemy trying to creep up for a stealth kill, when you can hear their footsteps loud and clear behind you."
The 7.1 version swirls your noggin with noise from two center channels, two left and right channels, and two surround back left and right channels, plus a subwoofer. Razer's control unit lets you fine tune the audio for each individual driver, as well as toggle between 7.1 surround and 2.0 stereo modes.
Also included are leatherette ear cushions Razer promises will keep your ears comfy during extended gaming sessions, and a noise canceling microphone.
Both the 7.1 ($180) and 2.2 ($100) will ship in the fourth quarter of this year.
Image Credit: Razer
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bling581
August 19, 2011 at 9:43am
I hope the microphone is decent. A major known flaw with the Megalodons is the crappy microphone, which doesn't really make sense when it's a "gaming" headset. It took an hour of testing and messing with Ventrillo settings before my friends could hear me. My cheap $20 Logitech phones I previously owned had a better microphone. Go figure. I will be stunned if the Tiamat's have the same problem.
Shckr57
August 18, 2011 at 7:17pm
You are right, but only to a point. I had a 5.1 headset before, and the positional audio was incredable. I could pinpoint anything from anywhere, and it saved me alot. However, the downside to any headset with more than 2 drivers is the lack of sound quality. I mean the 5.1's sound like absolute shit. I have an expensive 2.0 that i use now, and I can hear things I never knew where there. Its crystal clear, but the positional audio isnt as good. I mean it works, the fact I can kind of guess where they are, and hear every foot step, reloading... anything I hear it, and from very far away. But, I cant pinpoint where its coming from, only get a generalized concept, of maybe like 30-45 degrees. with the 5.1, I could point on the dot where they where. The drivers used make or break it. If you buy a $1000 headset, you get better audio, and audio ques than say a $100 headset. I like music just as much as gaming, so im only going with a 2.0. The 2.2 might be interesting if your a bass head, but I like music to sound the way it was made.
dgrmouse
August 18, 2011 at 3:08pm
Protip: Humans only have two ears.
It should be obvious that because we only have two ears, it is possible to precisely position sound using just two speakers when arranged in a headset configuration. HRTF (head related transfer functions) are well-understood and produce results that are considerably BETTER than stuffing a half-dozen speakers into a cup and slapping it on your ears, despite what Dolby's licensing department would have you believe.
Danthrax66
August 18, 2011 at 4:14pm
That isn't exactly correct. It is possible to trick the human mind into thinking sound is coming from X-direction but haveing drivers located in different spots means that the sound is actually coming from those different spots and the result is a more natural sound stage (a 2.1 stereo system vs a 7.1). I'm not saying it will make a difference but there I would consider it if the reviews were good. I prefer my AKG headphones anyway and probably won't be picking this up but it does sound more promising than most of these gaming headsets.
dgrmouse
August 18, 2011 at 4:23pm
You are failing to think critically. You only have two eardrums. It is possible to stimulate them precisely the same using two speakers versus two dozen.
thetechchild
August 18, 2011 at 6:56pm
You are failing to take into account human ability. Just because it is theoretically possible, doesn't mean that it works in practice. A hardware solution of more speakers is probably much more realistic-sounding than an attempt at calculating the precise actions of just two. Plus, you have to think about how many different places a sound can come from, within hearing range and distinct from any other point in space.
Freemind2pointo
August 24, 2011 at 2:47pm
Just so you two can stop arguing. What the other guy is saying is actually right, there are very very good ways of getting positional audio through regular earphones. The problem with this is that it may be difficult to do with video games.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXpGzgHqswk
reutnes
August 18, 2011 at 1:18pm
I'd like to hear how they'd compare to a similarily priced set of sennheisers or the like. I've tried "gaming" gaming headsets before, but at the end of the day i always go back to my 595's.
illusionslayer
August 18, 2011 at 11:05am
"Razer just gut punched every 5.1 gaming headset on the market by launching..." Not sure what you meant but I'm pretty certain that's a typo.
bling581
August 18, 2011 at 10:11am
I have the Razer Megalodon headphones and they are extremely comfortable, so I would expect the same out of these. Hopefully they fixed the major issues with this series. The Megalodon's must consume a lot of power because one of the suggestions by Razer is to get a powered USB hub if your phones keep shutting off. My computer could handle them fine, but everytime I turn my computer on I have to unplug the USB cable and plug it back in before the sound kicks in. Kind of annoying. Oh I almost forgot, the sound is amazing!
jnwoll
August 18, 2011 at 8:30am
well, I WAS going to look at getting new speakers for my PC, but don't really have all the room to lay them around the "office." These sound and look tempting, I hope they rate well.
Danthrax66
August 18, 2011 at 4:16pm
http://www.head-fi.org/t/534479/mad-lust-envy-aka-shin-cz-s-guide-to-headphone-gaming-particularly-with-dolby-headphone <-- wait for a review on here or go with one of his other recommended headphones.
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