RAZER Tiamat 2.2 2 x 3.5mm Connector Circumaural Stereo Analog Gaming Headset

Pros: Comfortable and great sound

Cons: can leave groves in your head.

Pros: Pros: They sound fantastic, literally the best headset I've owned to date. The head cans block a lot of background noise (kids, wife, animals, burglars) and have plenty of room for my dumbo ears. They appear to be very well built and my friends in Vent/TS/Mumble can hear me perfectly so the mic works well. I am able to pinpoint the movement and direction of players in Battlefield 3 now, albeit Dice still needs to work on the sound engine, oh wait? BF4 is around the corner.

Cons: Cons: They are freaking heavy! They fit way too snug, as many have reviewed. I am 5'11" 180lbs have a shaved head and they still fit too snug. I hope that I will get used to them otherwise, the kids will get another hand me down. The pleather does heat up the ears, I'm not sure why Razer chose that material over fabric honestly. The retractable mic is gimicky and definitely the part I expect to fail first.

Other Thoughts: I've owned at least 20 headsets in my gaming, dare I say career? Most have been Logitech, some Microsoft, and a couple like the Creative Labs Sidewinder Pro (still my fav)

My last headset was the Logitech h800 wireless. I really wanted to get away from wired headsets for many reasons such as in line volume control failures, cord failures from animals/children chewing on them, short length on the cords, tangling the cords in your chair, etc. but it's impossible. I'm not willing to spend $200-400 on a "good" pair that has better wireless abilities. (For $100+ I should expect a wireless version that doesn't crackle at less than 3ft away from the transmitter.) And if another person states I need a powered USB hub, I'll smack you with them.

Which brings me to purchasing these. I've read hundreds of reviews of the current generation of headsets available for us gamers. The very best for our specific use appears to be made by Razer and Turtlebeach. After reading the many complaints of the Tiamat 7.1 I almost bought the Turtlebeach Z6. I literally set them down at the cash register and walked out of the store to sleep on it.

After reading more lengthy reviews, I settled on the Tiamat 2.2, not quite as expensive as the 7.1 and doesn't have as terrible reviews either.

I've always been hesitant of Razer products, especially their mice even though I am currently using their Deathadder Black edition. With all of that out of the way, on with the review.

In the end, for $100 you can not do any better, so you might as well enjoy your sound while yearning for a potty break (did I really just say potty?) just to unstrap these gorillas from your sore neck and head.

Pros: Quite comfortable on my ears
Sounds great

Cons: Microphone does not work
Headband is a little tight--I'm glad I don't have a larger head.

Other Thoughts: I'm attempting an RMA on account of the broken microphone. So far, Razer support has been unresponsive.

Manufacturer Response:

Hi Super,

Sorry to hear about your microphone not working. Hopefully our Customer Support team has been able to help you with your issue. Please don't hesitate to e-mail any feedback to feedback@razerzone.com.

Regards,

Razer Customer Satisfaction

Pros: It's very very comfortable, although it is very chunky it makes up for it with sound cancellation, amazing music quality, and long-term wear-ability. I game for about 4-5 or more hours at a time and I've never had a problem with them.

They do require some tweaking with your default sound settings to actually work well, otherwise they sound pretty bad but once you fix that up, they are amazing even without a sound card. (I have a laptop) The bass is a huge plus as well even though i cant push them as much as I want.

I like that you dont need a USB port to use them too, so I use them with my phone sometimes or Mp3 Player.

Cons: the Mic is a little weird. I do like that it folds up but the housing feels a little wobbely and cheap. My friends over vent say I sound very clear but the overall volume kinda lacks but that doesnt mean they arent good.

Pros: *USE SOME TYPE OF SOUND CARD UNLESS YOUR MOBO SOUND IS GOOD*
Very comfortable
I was a owner of the Carcharias headset and this one blows it out of the water.

Very nice bass
Mice is clear

Cons: Nothing Really

Other Thoughts: I use the Creative Go! sound card. With this I can leave the mic inside the speaker and the bass really comes out.

I use Skype, Vent and Mumble. Nobody can hear the music or game sound playing.

Pros: Comfortable - Maybe for some with a more broad head I could see these being a little tight. I wear glasses and I have yet to be uncomfortable wearing these, other than perhaps the heat that gets inevitably trapped by the leather pads on the ear cups.


Look awesome

The build quality seems DECENT - The type of plastic they use for the whole frame of these sorta worries me. It's quite rigid, almost makes me want to say brittle. However, it also looks thick in all the right spots. This headset is pretty lightweight, as well. For the size.

Sound on the mic is about what I expected (see other thoughts/cons). Works great for skype, ventrilo, omegle and mumble.

As far as games go, I have to admit they do a pretty good job of creating this "3d environment" I read so much about when researching prior to my purchase. I can say I was able to position enemies in games at a distance that maybe if you didn't have a nice pair of headphones before, it would surprise you. (unfortunately, I've had good headphones before. nice try, razer.)

Pretty much plug and play. You'll want to play with an equalizer though. I'm listing all this as a pro despite the necessity to fiddle with settings because I always fiddle with settings.

Has a braided cord! I'm glad to see these are catching on, they really do add life to a headset, or electronics in general.

Cons: Microphone jiggles helplessly. Literally, it's SO ANNOYING! If you extend the mic out all the way, it just kinda hangs from the ear cup.. you turn your head and it flops around, making an infernal rattling/banging sound right against your left ear from inside the cup. It's crazy annoying and I doubt it's a defective unit, it's just a terrible design. There's nothing to indicate that it's missing something that keeps it steady, it's simply bad. If you keep the mic inside a little bit it fixes this but I find the whole thing asinine.

These are surprisingly quiet headphones. With the volume turned all the way up (I'm a metal fan, I bought these expecting some decent noise).. let's just say, the last headset I had, with the volume all the way up, I could feel bass rumbles in my feet. Literally. Turning these all the way up is like having a conversation with someone who's wearing earplugs. It's loud, but

Sound quality.. what sound quality? I get this is a gaming headset, but so was every headset I've owned. Not only are these WAY too quiet for my taste, the sounds are mashed together. I've been playing with the equalizer for hours and just can't fix these. I got them to sound decent, but not $100 decent. I got it to the point where I can distinguish instruments and sounds but nowhere anywhere close to the point that each instrument sounds like it should. The bass is good.. compared to the rest of the features in this area. I've had 50 and 60 dollar headsets that blow the sound quality of these totally out of the water. Like I said, the bass in these is fun, but it's not even close to what I was expecting the way people talked it up. I had another headset that lacked the subwoofers this thing (supposedly) has and the bass in that was at least twice as clear and had twice the umph. I paid less for those than these.

I can imagine if you have somewhat large ears that the earcups would be small for you and therefore be very uncomfortable. They're deep enough, but I doubt wide enough for anyone with ears even on the side of large, not even huge.

Other Thoughts: Like I said concerning the mic, the sound quality thereof was about what I had expected. It works perfectly fine for anything I need it for, I come in loud and clear. Maybe a little too loud at first but it was an easy fix. Again, though, the last headset I owned cost me less than this and had a very nice microphone, many of my friends said I sound almost the same standing next to them talking as I would gaming online. The one on this Tiamat 2.2 is not quite as good, but JUST FINE!

I guess I'm a little more irate than I should be with these? Maybe I expected too much from a reputed company? I'm rating these 2 eggs because it's not just sound quality, not just a floppy mic, not just one thing or another but an amalgamation of lackluster characteristics. The only reason I'm giving it more than 1 is because I reserve one for something that's so bad it ruins my entire week. I got over these in about a day.

I've heard both good and bad things about razer..
I like their mice. I will never ever.. EVER EVER.. buy any audio equipment from them. Ever.

Don't listen to the hype. I think the problem with many people reviewing things these days is that they don't have much experience or haven't done much research and spurt out ideas based on a narrow experience. Nobody mentioned how quiet these are, nobody explained that vocals in music are pushed to the background. The highs are muddied for sure. The mids are just.. bleh. Not appalling but it's just icing on a poop cake.

DO NOT BUY THESE! Unless you can get these for like 40-50 bucks, pretend they don't exist. Honestly I'm not sure they're even worth that much, but they seem fairly well constructed and are pretty darn comfortable.

I hate wasting time with returns. And money. Not only did I waste my money on these, I wasted my time, and even more money for return shipping. And then more shipping for another headset that doesn't eat stink for breakfast.

What is this, a headset for ants?!

Manufacturer Response:

Hi,

Sorry to hear that you're unhappy with the Tiamat. Please make sure you're utilizing the headset with one of the recommended soundcards we list on our website--because of the way the headset is configured, you won't be able to use the Tiamat to its full potential.

If you need other Support, please don't hesitate to contact us at http://razersupport.com/contact-us or by calling 1-888-697-2037.

Thank you for understanding.

Razer Customer Satisfaction

Pros: The most comfortable headphones I have ever owned. I have a big head so cheap headsets don't fit me well and I want full over-the-ear for sound muffling. The suspension system the Tiamat uses is conceptually like the one expensive aviation headsets use and it means you don't have to adjust it constantly, just put it on and go and it self-adjusts. The fit is snug without binding, they're surprisingly light, and I can wear these for hours and my ears don't hurt. The comfort level is superb. And, they muffle outside sound amazingly well, much to the occasional annoyance of my wife. :)

The sound quality is excellent. I bought these after our new puppy chewed through the cord on my Logitech G35 that I'd had for almost two years. They aren't 7.1 like the G35 but other than that they sound just as good, maybe a little better. The separate bass drivers give a pretty good punch, you may have to adjust your sound settings on the computer because of it.

Cons: Nothing really, other than missing the fake 7.1 that the G35 could do. But the Tiamat sounds so good that I have gotten over it. Also, I'm expecting ear sweat in the summer but all full-ear headphones do that to some extent.

Pros: Sound quality is good. Noticably better than the sound coming from my old Carcharias. Even just running onboard sound they sound great. The mic is pretty cool the way it retracts all the way into the left ear cup. All the materials feel quality.

Cons: They just aren't comfortable! I can't quite put my finger on exactly what it I don't like but I just get sore around the tips of my ears and on my head just behind my ears after 2-3 hours of use. I also wish the headband was manually adjustable like the Carcharias was. It's hard to describe how they stay on your head without seeing it so check out a video review somewhere. I've never had this problem with any other headset I've owned. My ears are a bit bigger than normal and I think the ear cushions are a little too small and fold my ears a little bit which causes them to hurt after a while. I also think it could be they put more pressure on my head than my other headsets did

Other Thoughts: It's a pain but not enough of a pain to return them yet. I'll give it a few more weeks to see if the ear cushions will relax and make it a bit more comfortable. I also want to try a few out a few sets of other headphone cushions (if they can be removed they're almost all able to be squeezed on in one way or another) because I want to keep the audio quality but lose the terrible ergonomics.

Pros: The first pair was so good, i bought a 2nd pair. Since there 3.5mm jacks and not recognized by Steam games, i got a USB connector (listed below) and Steam recognizes USB connections, and all is good. Basically Plug and Play. You may need to select them in your playback/record settings to activate and make default. The base is fine for me and sounds great. If you need to make sound adjustments when listing to your music files and don't have a sound card....Win 7 has a hidden equalizer in the Media Player window. Just start playing your song, then right click in the media player window. In the pop up menu, Click on "Enhancements", then click on Graphic Equalizer.
I use these primarily for gaming, and some music. I have to 2 pairs of these headsets on Win 7 machines, and both work and sound great. The microphone works fine too, and is clear. Some times if you hear some echo, you may need to adjust some of the mic settings either in Win 7 and/or in game, for example adjusting the volume and mic boost, etc.

Cons: None.

Other Thoughts: I use this with USB interface connector:
Turtle Beach Amigo 2 USB NE # N82E16829118008.

Pros: Incredibly comfortable, the cups are soft and pillowy and I can game for hours without needing to take them off. The sound quality is great, nearly on par with my old Turtle Beach headset that it replaced. Solid construction, looks good, and has a nice, long, braided, cable.

Cons: It's not wireless, but I knew that going in. Additionally the retractable microphone wiggles a little when it's extended and feels somewhat fragile. Also the microphone positioning is such that if I am looking downward at all and I turn my head to the left it brushes my shoulder and I worry that I will break it (the mic, not my shoulder)

Other Thoughts: I have seen complaints about the sound quality and bass response, and I can only guess that these reviewers are using on-board sound or trying to plug these in to an unpowered sound source, this will not work, you need a powered source/pre-amp such as is going to be built into a quality sound card.

Additionally, I won't list this as a con, but this, like every other headset I've ever worn, does not have ear cups large enough to accomodate my ears when I have my piercings in (I have 1/2" Gauges) so in order to be comfortable when wearing this, I have to take them out. Not a con, so much as a personal peeve.