Roccat Kave XTD 5.1 Analog Overview

The Roccat Kave XTD 5.1 Analog Headset comes in a black and blue windowed box that clearly shows off the headset. The way the headset is packaged sets the inline controls front and center. I think that’s a nice touch, as it shows you the functionality of the controls right off the bat. The features of the Kave 5.1 Analog Gaming Headset are lined up around the window.

The Roccat Kave XTD 5.1 Analog Gaming Headset has completely circular earcups. The padding seems to be made of a soft faux leather. It is much softer, and lighter, than the padding on the CM Storm Pulse R headset. The earcup padding also gives very easily compared to the Pulse R and other headsets. The earcups completely encircle my ears. I like that, because my ears start to hurt when using headsets that sit on my ears for too long. That being said, the earcups may not completely encircle everyone’s ears. My little brother complained that they sat on his ears. He must have big ears.

Unlike the earcups, the top of the head padding on the Roccat Kave XTD 5.1 Analog Gaming Headset is made of foam covered in cloth. It is extremely light and comfortable. After several minutes of wearing the Kave 5.1 Analog headset, I could only feel the top if I focused on it. Most of the time I forgot it was there. That kind of comfort is exactly what I look for in a headset. Most headsets get increasingly more uncomfortable for me as time goes on. The Kave 5.1 Analog does not.

The outside of the earcups on the Roccat Kave XTD 5.1 Analog is finished with a matte plastic. This is one part of the Kave 5.1 Analog headset that I don’t like much. The matte finish is very susceptible to picking up fingerprints and smudges from the oils on your fingers. I am constantly wanting to get a microfiber cloth and start cleaning the plastic. On my other headsets, I don’t think I’ve ever wiped them down.

The inline remote on the Roccat Kave XTD 5.1 Analog Gaming Headset is one of the most sophisticated that I’ve used. At the top is a master volume control knob that sits right above the imbedded Roccat logo. On the front face of the inline controller are two switches; one to turn the mic on and off and one to switch between movie and game modes. Each side of the inline controller contains two control knobs. One side has the controls for the front and center drivers while the other side has the controls for the sub and rear drivers.

The inline controller also comes with a handy little clip on the back that hooks it to a convenient little stand. You can set the stand up on your desk and you’ll have easy access to all the controls. I, personally, am not a huge fan of this little stand. It is very light, and every time I turn around or move, it moves along with me. It’s not like I’ve run out of cord and it’s pulling it, it just seems like the cord is heavier than the stand and it moves the controller. If I stuck it down, I might like it better. Instead, I like to clip the controller to my shirt.

Speaking of the cord, Roccat highlights this as a “Tangle-Proof” cable. The term is technically true, although there isn’t anything really special about the cord. The reason it is tangle proof is because it is very thick and unyielding. It doesn’t twist, so it doesn’t get tangled. That is very nice, but it also means the cable is very heavy. It’s not heavy enough to cause any discomfort, but if it draped across your desk, it leaves no thought for anything caught in its wild path of destruction. Don’t set a half-empty can of soda where it could be knocked over. You have been warned.

Before we move on into the technical details, let’s take a look at the connectors on the Roccat Kave XTD 5.1 Analog Gaming Headset. This isn’t the type of headset you’d want to plug into your front I/O panel, which typically only has a single headphone jack and a mic jack. For the Roccat Kave XTD 5.1 Analog headset, you’ll need 4 jacks, plus an open USB port. The green jack drives your front speakers, the black drives your rear speakers, the orange jack drives the bass, and the pink jack drives the mic. The USB powers the lights on the Kave 5.1 Analog.