Game audio has become one of the most important aspects to consider when putting together your gaming set up, but there’s just as much variety here as when it comes to picking out a TV. The EKSA E900 is a universal stereo gaming headset that’s compatible with PC, PS4 and Xbox One, and pretty much anything with a 3.5mm jack. Sitting on the slightly cheaper side, the E900 provides a value for quality option that doesn’t force you to break the bank if you’re in need of a new headset.
Out of the box you get the headset itself (obviously), a microphone, a standard audio cable with some in-line controls, and a bag to keep it all in.
The overall build quality is nice for the price point, with the metal, plastic and leather all working together to create a solid feel. It features a leather plush head strap with reasonably big earmuffs for added comfort, while the red and black finish throughout adds a distinctive look that just so happens to coincide with my current hardware theme (yay!).
The headset’s microphone is detachable, which is nice for when you don’t need to be chatting to people while gaming, but the audio cable is not. This is fixed to the headset with a standard 3.5mm jack on the other end. It does sport an inline controller though, which enables users to mute their mic as well as controlling the volume. It’s a simple set up that makes changing your audio situation in the middle of a game an easier one.
The one thing you lack is a USB input, which means this is pitched purely as a stereo headset and doesn’t feature EKSA’s virtual surround sound software from the slightly more expensive E900 PRO. Then again, there’s probably no need for that. On Windows 10 and Xbox One you already have Windows Sonic and Dolby Atmos to do the heavy lifting for you, while the PlayStation 5 will feature spatial audio built into the console as well.
In terms of audio quality, you could certainly do a lot worse, but there is certainly better out there. For reference, my day-to-day headphones are the Nuraphones, which is almost certainly an unfair comparison. While they don’t stack up to my day-to-day, the E900 does provide a nice clear mix for video games. They can be a little bass heavy at times, meaning games that are typically quite loud can almost overwhelm, and you might feel the need to tinker with the audio mix in order to attain a more balanced sound.
I’ve been playing a whole bunch of Modern Warfare lately, and decided to put the EKSA E900 through its paces in a few sessions of Domination. After a little fiddling with the ingame sound mixing, I struck the perfect balance, using the headset to listen out for the enemies around me. The clear 50mm neodymium drivers provide enough clarity for you to pick out enemies around you, as well as the general direction of distant gunfights, even without virtual surround sound enabled.
The best feature the E900 headset brings to the table is undoubtedly its noise cancelling microphone. Built to pick up speech clearly while muting background noise, I was genuinely surprised at just how capable the microphone is at the price point it’s available for.
