INTRODUCTION

   Yesterday i found the time to attend a small LAN event (local) where i live but as soon as i arrived (was a bit late since i had to wrap up some test results) to my surprise some of the gamers participating in the event used entry level headsets the kind of which i wouldn't even use to answer a call even less play MMO games with. Now i know that not everyone can afford a good gaming headset but out of curiosity i sat down with some of those players to see why they chose that solution. Well it seems that for some strange reason they all thought that in order to get a decent gaming headset they'd have to spend way over USD100/100Euros (an idea which none of them liked) and although that's accurate for "real" surround sound gaming headsets a good virtual surround sound gaming headset will not set you back as much and since for the past week we've been testing the Rage 7HX 7.1 Surround Headset i just happened to have it inside my backpack.

   OZONE Gaming Gear, is an European brand of gaming peripherals that revolves around the concept “It’s all about Evolution”. OZONE is a brand created by and for gamers, the evolution is part of our gaming life, we all want to improve and evolve into a better gaming contender. OZONE is committed to the development, engineering and evolution of innovative gaming peripherals with a unique style and the best performance, to allow gamers to exceed their limits and become the best. It’s all about evolution. In the recent years the gaming industry has developed into the ultra-competitive arena that we see today, and the gamers have also developed into a more demanding, sophisticated and exigent consumer. There is an ever increasing demand for better design, increase number of functions and higher performances. Due to the development of newer and better gaming peripherals, the market has suffered a transformation. New segments of high performance gaming accessories have grown to become more specialized and subdivided. But this change in the market has also come accompanied of an increase in the price levels of those products. OZONE provides customers a wide range of gaming peripherals. Everyone from the occasional user to the professional gamer is ensured to find a OZONE product at a reasonable price which will fit their requirements to enjoy their favorite games.

   I don't usually carry around with me anything other than portable devices which i want to test while on the go but since i was going to a LAN event i thought it would be nice to put the Rage 7HX to the test under real conditions. However in the end i did so much more than just that since i ended up doing a short "presentation" in front of 20-30 people some of who took it for a quick spin afterwards (no time for more). Anyways leaving the LAN event behind the Rage 7HX 7.1 Surround Headset by OZONE is powered by two 40mm stereo drivers (frequency response of 20Hz-20KHz with 99dB sensitivity and 32Ohm impedance) connected to an detachable Omni-directional microphone (2.2KOhm impedance with -38dB sensitivity and noise-canceling filter) and an in-line 7.1 virtual surround USB card. So specs-wise i can't say that the Rage 7HX is really something new to us but what I’ve learned over the years is that specifications alone don't define a headset so let's move forward to see what OZONE has to offer with this model.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The Rage 7HX is placed inside a medium sized box with two clear plastic windows at the front from where you can see the two earcups.

A few words about the Rage 7HX from a pro player called Morden are placed on the left side of the box while on the right we see a listing of the main product features.

Turning the box around we see a drawing of the Rage 7HX used to point the various features on and the specifications list in 10 languages.

At the top of the box OZONE has placed the pro-gaming teams that helped with the development of the Rage 7HX.

With the Rage 7HX 7.1 Surround Headset you will also get the detachable microphone, quick start guide, user's manual and the software CD.

RAGE 7HX

The Rage 7HX is a lightweight (344g) medium sized headset the exterior of which is covered with a nice rubber coating.

Once again to showcase the size of the headset in hand we used the portable REVO Wireless headset.

OZONE has placed their logo on the exterior of both earcups right next to six red LED lights (3 on each side).

The microphone port is placed on the lower end of the left earcup and as you can see it's very flexible (it also has a red LED at the front which turns off when the microphone is muted).

Instead of using the usual leatherette material for the earcups OZONE opted for a micro-texture fabric cover which feels nice and is surprisingly soft.

The headband extends on both sides for a total of 86mm (43mm on each) via 10 increments but without any visible markings.

Just like the earcups the headpad is also covered with the same micro-texture fabric.

The other side of the headpad is made out of leatherette and the company name is placed on it.

Further down the cable we see a large in-line volume controller (the sound card should also be in there) with 6 red LED lights and a total of four buttons (mute headphones/microphone & volume increase/decrease).

Although we don't see it much with headsets around the same price range the USB plug of the Rage 7HX is gold plated.

I'm not much into bells and whistles but i have to admit that the Rage 7HX looks very nice in the dark.

SOFTWARE

So far OZONE hasn't updated the drivers of the Rage 7HX but even so i suggest checking their download page prior to using the headset.

With over 90% of all the virtual surround headsets out there using Xear3D technology USB virtual surround cards there was little doubt in our minds that the Rage 7HX would be one of them. So once again through the Xear control panel you can enable/disable and configure the surround sound mode (2/4/6/8 channels), set the DSP for each channel, adjust the volume levels of both the headphones and the microphone (you can also mute them), play with the equalizer or choose one of the presets, make use of one of the default environment settings and finally you can enable/disable the available karaoke mode.

CONCLUSION

   The Rage 7HX 7.1 Surround Headset was used for almost a full week with several game tiles (Planetside 2, Asseto Corsa, NFS Rivals and C.O.D Ghosts) and Blu-Ray movies in order to test both its audio clarity, surround capabilities and comfort. For people who want a lightweight gaming headset with good/crisp mids/highs and a sufficient amount of bass the Rage 7HX 7.1 Surround Headset just might do the trick however for people who are also after the best possible positioning audio it will probably fall short (it did with us but others may not have the same demands) just like most virtual surround headsets currently in the market. That being said i prefer to disable the surround sound feature whenever i use such headsets because stereo audio is always "cleaner" and more accurate while in some cases it even offers better positioning audio than with the surround mode on. Moving to the quality of the headset i can't say that it's impressive but it's ok so unless you plan on using the headset as a baseball bat it should keep going for many years to come. Comfort is really the strong card of the Rage 7HX since we used it for hours each time without any kind of neck or head pain so the special fabric used by OZONE does work. The microphone also works quite well although i would like it to stay where i put it instead of moving away (perhaps by using different material OZONE could fix that in future models).

   The Rage 7HX 7.1 Surround Headset by OZONE currently retails for USD100.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 62Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk) a price that lands it right next to several similar virtual surround headsets like for example the G430 and G930 by Logitech. Unfortunately the competition at around that price range is quite fierce so in the end design is what plays a large part in one’s decision and i think that OZONE has nailed that one since the Rage 7HX looks quite unique. As mentioned already comfort is another strong point of the Rage 7HX and that's something that i can't say about most gaming headsets in the market today. Bottom line the Rage 7HX 7.1 Surround Headset is a very good choice for gamers who'd like to use a unique looking headset without jeopardizing comfort and overall audio quality which is why it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Design
- Audio Quality (Crisp Mids/Highs)
- Good Bass Levels
- 7.1 Virtual Surround USB Sound Card (For Some)
- Very Comfortable
- Detachable Omni-Directional Microphone
- Gold Plated USB Plug
- Available In 5 Colors
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- USB Only
- Positioning Audio Accuracy (Like Most Virtual Surround Headsets)