ROCCAT Kave XTD 5.1 Digital Headset Review

By Jason Vaught

Manufacturer: ROCCAT GmbH (ROCCAT Studios)
Product Name: Kave XTD 5.1 Digital
Model Number: ROC-14-160
UPC: 4250288141605
Price As Tested: $169.99 (Amazon | Newegg)

Full Disclosure: The product sample used in this article has been provided by ROCCAT.

The ROCCAT Kave XTD 5.1 Digital Surround Sound gaming headset is the latest headset offering from the innovative people at ROCCAT. The Kave XTD 5.1 promises to make huge advancements over its predecessor, the ROCCAT Kave 5.1 analog. The Kave XTD 5.1 Digital brings a USB interface, a speaker pass-through function, cellular Bluetooth connectivity, and a revamped in-line remote. In this article, Benchmark Reviews investigates.

The main attraction, for me at least, is the cellular Bluetooth functionality. This feature allows you to pair your Bluetooth phone with the headset and answer phone calls while gaming with the push of a button on the in-line remote. I’ll be testing the usefulness of this feature, as well as the ease of use and its real world pros and cons.

With the ROCCAT Kave XTD 5.1 Digital headset I’ll be testing how well the surround sound works, how functional the in-line remote is, sound quality, microphone quality, and overall durability of the headset. We’ll also take a look at the software that comes with the ROCCAT Kave XTD and how well it works in real world applications. The testing parameters include: music, video games. and movies.

• REAL 5.1 SURROUND SOUND
  with three driver units per ear-cup
• PREMIUM INBUILT MULTI-CHANNEL SOUND CARD
  for rich, interference-free audio
• SMARTPHONE TO HEADSET BLUETOOTH PAIRING
  let’s you handle calls on the fly
• FULLY-EQUIPPED DESKTOP REMOTE
  total audio control at your fingertips
• SUPREME COMFORT: ULTRA-LIGHT DESIGN
  suitable for lengthy gaming sessions
• NOISE-CANCELING MIC WITH MUTE LED
  fully rotatable and completely removable
• ROBUST AND DURABLE ENGINEERING
  built to last for long-term use
• 5.1 SPEAKER PORTS FEATURE IN REMOTE
  for a seamless hook-up to your existing sound system
• TANGLE-PROOF 3.6M CABLE
  for distraction-free gameplay

CENTER/FRONT/REAR DRIVER UNITS

Frequency response:	20~20.000Hz
Max. SPL at 1kHz:	115±3dB
Max. input power:	50mW
Drive diameter front:	40mm
Drive diameter rear:	40mm

VIBRATION DRIVER UNITS

Frequency response:	20~100Hz
Max. input power:	300mW
Drive diameter:	30mm

Frequency response:	10~10.000Hz
Sensitivity at 1kHz:	-32±2dB
Directivity:	omni-directional
Diameter:	4×1.5mm
Impedance:	2.2 k? + 15%

SYSTEM

Connection:	USB
Impedance:	32 ?
Cable length:	3.6m
Weight (Headset only):	335gr

Let’s take a brief overview of what the ROCCAT Kave XTD 5.1 Digital Headset is all about.

What you see here is what you get, the headset with remote and microphone attached, user guide, software and quick installation guide. ROCCAT’s packaging doesn’t prove to be too large a jigsaw puzzle to disassemble, but if you plan on putting it back in that package, you might want to take notes of how it came out.

Like it’s predecessor, the ROCCAT Kave XTD 5.1 comes equipped with three driver units per ear-cup aligned at a 12° angle. Two of the three 40mm drivers consist of a Front and Rear driver, while the 3rd 30mm driver produces the center and subwoofer (or “vibration unit”) sounds.

The revamped in-line remote is large, but crammed full of functionality and features. With the remote alone, you can control the output channel levels, dynamic movie mode as well as your cell phone (call answer/end). The remote is in-line, meaning that it is permanently attached to the headset and to the USB interface cable. In the next section I’ll go over more detailed functions of this remote!

Now we’ll take a closer look at some of the detailed features that the Kave XTD has to offer! Now for the eye candy!

The Kave XTD’s microphone comes on a flexible boom that also allows you to rotate and store the microphone upright and out of the way when not in use. The flexibility was nominal and did not shift the headset during adjustment. The microphone stayed put during each gaming session. Some headsets develop a problem with the microphone staying put, usually heavy use results in this problem so only time will tell with the Kave XTD. The Kave XTD’s microphone is also removable, but is not interchangeable with other removable microphones given the RCA style connector it utilizes.

The Kave XTD features large ear-cups that are plush, but unfortunately made of a faux leather material. I highly doubt the material will stand the test of time as it does not give off that “durable” feel that real leather does. There is ample padding on the headband, but there is no fold flat options with this headset, but then again it is not exactly designed to be portable. The blue LED indicator light on the microphone illuminates when you have the mic mute function enabled, and turns off when your mic is live. This feature is to give you a visual queue as to when you mic is listening or when you have privacy.

The in-line remote has a very nice feature of acting as an audio pass-through for your powered speakers. You could hook up speakers without any amplification, but unfortunately, you’ll be limited to the PC’s ability to transfer sound over USB and through this remote. The only way ROCCAT could have changed this would have been to require a separate power source to the remote to supply enough power to drive a set of speakers, so it’s understandable why it’s just a pass-through and not a full blown amplifier.

The ROCCAT Kave XTD’s remote has a nice interface that makes it very intuitive and easy to use. You can independently control the front, center, woofer, and rear by utilizing the Channel button located above the volume selection dial. The mute button located on the right of the remote mutes the microphone only. The volume knob, when pressed as a button, mutes everything. The pairing/answer button on the left of the remote is utilized to answer or end a call on your cell phone, and to pair the phone to the remote (hold it down for 6 seconds to enter pairing mode). It is noteworthy that when you answer your cell phone, you are not muted from your chat client, keep this in mind while gaming as you’ll be sharing your cell phone conversation with your friends.

Now we’re going to take a look at the software that comes with the ROCCAT Kave XTD 5.1 Digital.

The interface is quite nice, with loads of features and customization options. As seen above, the Main Control tab of the software has you volume settings, headset mode, voice normalization, and even the sampling rate. You can set the headset to 5.1 channel, 5.1 channel stereo mix, and just stereo. The software even has some fun features such as “Magic Voice”. The magic voice feature can change the way you sound to your teammates to that of a Monster (really deep voice), Rubber Duck (high pitched chipmunk voice), man and woman.

The Advanced Control tab of the Kave XTD Sound Console offers you more fine tuning options such as dynamic bass control, virtual bass levels, and the virtual bass threshold. A very notable and nicely engineered feature of this tab is the “Brilliant Audio” settings, this setting enhances the sound quality of compressed music, such as .mp3 files. You can also adjust your mic volume and sampling rate as well as the voice clarity from your teammates.

The equalizer tab, as seen above, does what you expect from software equalization, but it does contain some very useful presets. You also have the option of creating your own presets and importing customized presets from other’s who have the same software setup.

And last but not least, the Update/Support contains all the information you could want about the software, driver version, and where to get support.

One feature I did not touch on through the individual tabs, is the Sound Profiles located at the bottom of each tab. With this feature, you can set up default settings and profiles for each type of activity or game or movie that you’ll be listening to. You can fine tune your experience, save the profile and have it ready to go the next time you do the same activity on the computer.

The ROCCAT Kave XTD 5.1 Digital headset was tested with a variety of games, music and movies/TV shows. Since sound perception is very subjective, for my testing I decided to focus primarily on the perceived sound quality as well as the functionality of the features listed on ROCCAT’s website for this headset. This headset was tested with World of Tanks, Battlefield 4, Titanfall, and Borderlands 2 for 30+ hours respectively.

• Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth Z87
• System Memory: Corsair XMS3 4GB x 4
• Processor: Intel i7-4770K Haswell @ 3.5 Ghz
• Audio: N/A (As this is a USB Headset)
• Video: XFX Double Dissipation R9-290X (4GB)
• PSU: Corsair HX Series 1000HX
• Monitor: Dell UltraSharp U2412M IPS 24? x 3 @ 5760×1200
• Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate (64-bit)

Real 5.1 Surround Sound: I do understand the marketing here about the 5.1 surround, but unfortunately, a real 5.1 surround does not have the subwoofer and center channel drivers act as one. Now I’m not saying that you don’t get some surround sound effect, just not what I would call “real” 5.1 surround. The surround sound mode proved effective for gaming and movies, but quite tinny when listening to music. The directional effect that you try to obtain with surround sound gaming was there, but not as dynamic as I would have liked.

Premium Inbuilt Multi-Channel Sound Card: The sound card that is built into all USB headsets is sometimes very very good and sometimes very very bad. The sound card built into the ROCCAT Kave XTD 5.1 Digital is on the good side of that equation. It’s not audiophile quality by no means, but it is better than many other headset manufacturer’s sound cards currently on the market. I found that the software that controlled the sound card to be well written and loaded with features.

Smartphone to Headset Bluetooth Pairing: This feature in one word is awesome. Having the ability to answer your phone while gaming, or listening to music or a movie is very convenient. There were only two things I found lacking about this functionality, it’s that your “computer mic” doesn’t mute while you’re talking on the phone and that sound from the computer completely mutes. Now don’t get me wrong, in some instances I’m sure you would want all of your sound to mute while your using Bluetooth, but then again if you’re in the middle of a game, you might want to still be able to hear a little something.

Fully-Equipped Desktop Remote: This is marketed as “total audio control at your fingertips” and it does just that. You can control many of the basic functions, such as front, rear, subwoofer sound levels, directly from the remote without starting the software. You even have a preset “Movie” button on the left hand side of the remote to enable movie mode which changes the listening dynamics to better suite while watching a movie.The remote also features buttons to control your smartphone, mute all sound or mute just your microphone. There are even speaker jacks on the back for you to hook up your desktop speakers and create a pass-through function that you can you enable/disable with the “SPKRS” button on the upper right of the remote.

Supreme Comfort: Ultra Light Design: This feature statement I can completely agree with. The lightweight and plush padding makes long gaming sessions a breeze. Although the ear-cups material is a faux leather and will probably not last the test of time.

Noise-Canceling Mic with Mute LED: The microphone on the Kave XTD 5.1 is very, very nice. Noise cancelling, maybe some, but the best feature is the clarity of your voice being transmitted. My teammates had no problem understanding me and reported not hearing any anomalies or any “hallway” effect to my voice. The mute LED is a nice addition that gives you a visual indicator as to rather or not you microphone is live. All I can add is a thank you for ROCCAT not making that LED be illuminated all the time as it would be quite annoying sitting directly in front of your face.

Robust and Durable Engineering: This is a bold statement that many manufacturers make. I do agree with the statement to some degree on certain areas of this headset. Primarily the cans and headband don’t seem as if they would break easily. The remote seems very sturdy as well, but the ear-cup material leaves a lot to bet desired as the faux leather material will undoubtedly fail long before the rest of the headset does. But only time will tell.

5.1 Speaker Ports Feature in Remote: This feature is actually quite cool, and a little misleading. When I first read it on their site, I assumed that it would power and control a set of speakers, but as the only power source for this headset is one USB cable, that could not possibly work. Still, nevertheless, it is a really cool feature. You hook up your existing system to the back of the remote instead of your PC and you have a nice and easy switch between headset and speakers.

Tangle-Proof 3.6M Cable: This feature is to help with distraction free gaming and keep your cord tidy. While I agree that it does not seem to tangle easily, it does stick to skin quite a bit. A braided cord would have been a nice and needed addition to this beefy cable.

Sound quality, as mentioned before, is very subjective. My perceived impression of the Kave XTD was that it did well with the Lows and High with a somewhat muddy mid-range. The vocals did come over very well, as did the instruments. Clarity was better than most headsets but not as good as mid to high end headphones. For the price and considering that this is a headset and not headphones, it did very well. See Final Thoughts for more of my opinion on headsets.

In general, gaming headsets fall very short of actual heaphones. The ROCCAT Kave XTD is no different in that aspect. But as a headset, the ROCCAT Kave XTD excels, providing very good clarity in a comfortable, feature rich package.

While it is an exceptional headset to say the least, there is always room to improve on the sound quality and clarity. But at what cost are we talking about here? To get some truly high performance headphones and a separate microphone that performs equally as well, you’re looking at $300 to $500 or more depending on what type of sound you like and what aspects are important to you.

As for the ROCCAT Kave XTD specifically, I like it. It is a very nice, feature rich headset that performs as advertised. Is it a value at $169.99, well that is up to you and what features you find worth the money.

When trying to gauge the performance of headset it will come down to the features and sound quality. The sound quality of this headset is similar to some of their competitors, but the features are what put it over the top. The headset performed as advertised and exceeded my expectations.

The modern, almost futuristic, appearance of this headset is what sets it apart form others. The blue LEDs are vibrant and the shape of the remote is unique. There will be no mistake that you’re wearing a ROCCAT Kave at a LAN party, and once they see the remote, they’ll know it’s the ROCCAT Kave XTD 5.1 Digital.

The construction is sturdy, although the cord really needs a braided cover to keep it from sticking to things. The cord itself is on the beefier side without being too stiff. The adjustable headband is sturdy and works well, while the ear-cups’s faux leather leaves a lot to be desired.

In terms of functionality, the Kave XTD meets the goals it was designed for. When combined with the included software, it’s functionality increases dramatically, allowing for a whole range of options and customization.

At $169.99 ( Amazon | Newegg ), the ROCCAT Kave XTD is definitely on the higher end of headsets. For my money, having the ability to have a pass-through speaker setup and the ability to answer my cell phone with my headset, makes it worth the money.

So the ROCCAT Kave XTD 5.1 is a very nice headset, an excellent descendant to the original Kave headset. Adding USB convenience and an excellent software package, means this headset should be near the top of your consideration list. The only downside is that the price is near the top of most people’s price range for a headset. The Bluetooth functionality alone would make it worth it to a lot of people, myself included.

+ 5.1 Channel Surround
+ 40mm Diameter drivers for the front and rear
+ In-Line Multi-function Remote
+ Built in cellular Bluetooth functionality
+ Desktop speaker pass-through
+ Large, comfortable ear-cups
+ High quality removable microphone
+ Lightweight

– Non-braided cable
– Light’s cannot be turned off or dimmed
– Faux leather ear-cups
– Price

• Performance: 9.75
• Appearance: 9.50
• Construction: 9.25
• Functionality: 9.50
• Value: 9.00

Excellence Achievement: Benchmark Reviews Golden Tachometer Award.

COMMENT QUESTION: What do you demand in a gaming headset?