RAZER Tiamat 7.1 5 x 3.5mm jack, 1x USB for power Connector Circumaural Surround Sound Analog Gaming Headset

Pros: - Direct control to sound interface
- Headset is very, very, very comfortable.
- Retractable Microphone
- 7.1 Sound
- Speaker pass through - 7.1 capable.

Cons: - Microphone voice quality is weak, system will not transmit if it detects it as 'background' and can cause sound to be lost; strangely easy fix is to put tape on the mic hole for the facing out side. The microphone on my Creative Labs Tactical 3D - 25 bucks - looks like a $300 mic compared to this one. This one might as well be an area microphone.
- Microphone head casing - reference above, also feels 'cheap'.
- 7.1 interface is analog - Other options like an Optical would be great.
- Speaker pass through is 7.1 analog via custom USB adapter. - It would be nice if they included other types of speaker interfaces - HDMI via adapter, Optical off of the actual unit (no adapter), etc.

Other Thoughts: I have had many headsets, this by far is the worst mice out of 14 (14!) different headsets. Without minor modifications to the head unit of the microphone it is just "a bad idea". I have had many cheaper headsets then this and this has a wonderful sound interface for audio, but the microphone can be beat easily with a $20 headset.

Overall I love this product, but I am tempted to return it as though I love it sadly it does not meet my needs for when I use voice chat via Skype or via gaming software like TeamSpeak, Ventrillo, Mumble, actually anything that involves "microphone" and "talking clearly".

I have adjusted every setting and I can get actually really good voice capabilities, however when doing voice sensitivity the microphone under performs.

Pros: Comfortable as hell, fantastic 7.1 surround sound (While it works).

Cons: After two days, constant crackling and buzzing emitting from the front left speaker.

Microphone is ultra quiet and muffled. Pretty dismal.

Audio quality is absolutely abysmal for the price. Yeah it's 7.1 surround sound, but my Megalodans had better quality than these things.

Other Thoughts: Pursuing a full refund, or some sort of equivalent exchange. Will likely never buy from Razer ever again if the RMA department gives me issues.. Depressing after being a loyal customer for five years.

Manufacturer Response:

Hi,

Sorry to hear that you're having an issue with your left speaker and microphone on your Tiamat 7.1.

If you've been in contact with our Customer Support team and are unhappy with the service you've received, please forward your correspondences to feedback@razerzone.com.

If you have yet to contact us, please don't hesitate to do so at http://razersupport.com/contact-us or by calling 1-888-697-2037.

Thank you for understanding.

Razer Customer Satisfaction

Pros: Sound is unbelievable. Clear, crisp.

Cons: Price

Other Thoughts: These headsets are only half the equation. You need a premium sound card to make these work. I tried Creative and it just didn't produce. I'm moving on to ASUS Xonar Essence ST PCI Interface Audio Card

Pros: Looks cool!

Cons: Worst sound I've heard. I tried every setting in Windows 7. I reset the headset... The sound was no where near my old 5.1 eDimensional. So I bought another pair for $35 of the eDimensional's! They are the best!
Will not buy another Razer set again.

Manufacturer Response:

Hi,

It sounds as if you didn't have the headset configured properly. Because the cabling from the Tiamat 7.1 involves 5 separate plugs, we recommend that you use the headset with a full dedicated 7.1 surround sound soundcard. Sorry to hear that you returned the headset already, but please contact our Customer Support next time if you're having configuration issues.

Thank you for understanding.

Razer Customer Satisfaction

Pros: Surround worked wonderfully after heavy tweaking to my sound settings.

Cons: USB connector stopped working after only a few days, seems to be very shoddy work.

Other Thoughts: DO NOT BUY

Manufacturer Response:

Hi,

Sorry to hear that you're having issues with the USB connector. Please don't hesitate to contact us at http://razersupport.com/contact-us or by calling 1-888-697-2037. We'll be more than happy to assist you with a replacement.

Thank you for understanding.

Razer Customer Satisfaction

Pros: -Most comfortable headset I have ever used.
-Auxiliary speaker connection pass through makes switching between headphones and speakers a breeze.
-Auto adjusting headband.
-Really long nice nylon braided cord.
-Nice inline volume control knob.
-Deep base. Clear sound.
-No extra software or driver installation needed.

Cons: -Directional Audio isn't noticeable. You can kind of tell if something is in front of you or behind you but it isn't as clear as you would like it to be.

Essentially every other aspect of these headphones is excellent. From comfort to sound, to design. They get everything right, well except for no back light on the small knob on the volume control unit. But that aside everything is perfect, but the directional audio is kind of indistinguishable. It was a valiant effort on Razer's part to try and use discreet speakers to create a true surround sound headset but the end result is a little off the mark. I am convinced now that it just cant be done, and that virtual surround sound headphones will be the way to go for directional audio for gaming.

Other Thoughts: Comparing these with the only other surround sound headset I have owned the Turtle Beach DX12's I have to say I actually think the Turtle Beach's virtual surround sound method seemed to do a better job of emulating directional audio. (while the tiamat beats it in every other aspect) My guess is that although this has many speakers they are so close together you ear can't tell the sound is coming from different directions. This was the case for me anyway. Sometimes I could tell a little if I really paid attention but the effect just wasn't there like it was with the turtle beaches.

Pros: Pros:

-Cosmetically these are one of the coolest looking headsets, being able to see all the drivers on the inside, the green LED's with Razer's logo. Very nice looking

-Extremely comfortable. It has a second band below the main band that is cushioned on your head and conforms to the height of your noggin.

-The ability to switch to speakers from headset with the push of a button on the control mid-line is very convenient, same with the mute button.

However...These are the ONLY reasons it's getting 2eggs, and none of it is because of the sound.

Cons: Cons:

-Sound. I was expecting a lot better quality for 1) Separate Drivers that were analog. 2) The Price. Not the case at all....I owned a pair of G35's prior to this which lasted me 4 years, and the sound from them is FAR superior as EMULATED 7.1's. Although there are only 2 drivers in the headset. Even after tweaking many of the settings and equalizers, it seemed that when I had one thing perfect, IE - my games, my music was complete trash, etc. No good balance.

-The Mic: Complete trash on something you pay almost $200 for. I had everything turned up, including Mic Boost. People said the quality was awful compared to my G35's. HOWEVER, this was improved when I turned OFF noise cancellation. But why would I want to turn that off when it's a feature I should want? My G35's were only at 30% with noise cancellation turned on and I was clear as day.

I was warned about Razer products and this headset, but I wanted to give it a try to see it for myself. Glad I returned them for my refund.

Other Thoughts: For a high-end headset, not even close to being worth it. I'll take the Sound Blaster Recon's or my Logitech G35's any day of the week.

Manufacturer Response:

Hi Nick,

Sorry to hear that you weren't happy with the Tiamat 7.1 and that you returned it. In the future, please don't hesitate to contact our Customer Support team at http://razersupport.com/contact-us to troubleshoot any issues if you need any help. It sounds as if the microphone on your unit may have been defective.

Thank you for understanding.

Razer Customer Satisfaction

Pros: -7.1 surround
-awesome design(love the option to cover drivers and the lighting is cool)
-fair build quality(plastic but durable)
-i love the audio splitter cable( for my z623)
-sound quality is good(with sound card)
-mic works well(not as crisp as my snowball but works well when tuned)
-leatherette cups feel nice(gets a little warm but i prefer them over cloths)

Cons: -i must say the earcups are somewhat small but not too uncomfortable to me, however i can probably say people wearing glasses won't appreciate the snug fit.
-i wish the headset could rotate 180 degrees so i could rest them on my chest a feature that should come with a 199$ headset
-the caps for the drivers do tend to fall off if you throw them around
-not really so bad but i took off an egg because of the discomfort

Other Thoughts: People need to understand this is meant to be used for a sound card. If you use a premium headset and use it with a non premium sound card its gonna be rubbish. The issue with the buzzing is fixed if you have a dedicated sound card because its sound and power connection are on different platforms. I had the buzzing issue with my motherboard sound card, then i picked up an Asus D1 and it solved the issue.

Tuning is key when it comes to a 7.1 headset and its microphone. I know it isn't the best mic but people seem to have issues with the fuzzy noise. To fix that why don't you go to your recording device. go to the razer microphone and lower the levels so its not so fuzzy. I can't stress how people don't try to fix issues themselves before stating their product sucks.

Pros: Awesomely, built headset. The construction of this headset is what has earned it's 5 eggs. I have had past headsets that break from manufacturing and or engineering flaws. But this headset has already lasted more than a year with no signs of breakage or wear. Seriously after almost 2 years it looks and performs just like it did when I first bought it.

Cons: IF you are a audio file you will want a externally power usb port to power the headset. The headset will tell you what your comp is doing through feed back depending on what the CPU and GPU load is. I personaly like this because you can't hear it unless you are performing tasks without audio. And I am a Overclock-er so I always watch my performance, I actually get to hear what is going on now as well.

Other Thoughts: Best headset I have found to date, if I cared about the feedback I would use a powered usb hub to feed the headset. But I like hearing my processors. When you are performing tasks with sound you cannot hear the feedback.

Pros: Great surround sound
extremely comfortable
great bass when listening to music
in fps's can tell exactly where people are
ok mic quality

Cons: makes buzzing noise when on a white screen such as the one you're viewing but is easily fixed by touching the mute pad

Other Thoughts: Honestly much better than I thought, I can't wait to use this when I finish building my pc :)