INTRODUCTION

   Although small and large audio manufacturers have focused most of their resources over the years in the design and development of wired and wireless headsets and speaker systems (as expected all the high-end models are by such manufacturers) it took a while for most of them to enter the gaming peripherals market. As a matter of fact it wasn't until rather recently that we saw the first gaming headsets and speaker systems by audio manufacturers (some of which have really stood out) designed for PC and console users. Sure the gaming peripherals market is still dominated by established gaming brands like Razer, ASUS, Logitech, HyperX and others but that doesn't seem to discourage audio manufacturers since more and more launch their very own gaming headsets and speaker systems. Teufel also entered the gaming peripherals market last year and the CAGE which we have here today is their very first wired gaming headset.

   Teufel is among the largest German manufacturers of audio products. The company’s product portfolio extends from hi-fi, home cinema and multimedia systems to headphones, portable Bluetooth speakers and Wi-Fi streaming systems using proprietary Raumfeld technology. The company was founded in 1980 as a dealer in loudspeaker components and has grown into Europe’s #1 direct seller of audio products. Since its founding, Teufel has stayed apace of audio trends from stereo and home cinema to portable solutions and multiroom audio. Throughout, good sound remains the company’s top priority. Countless positive user reviews as well as awards from audio and technical journals underscore Teufel’s commitment to quality. Teufel Audio products are exclusively available via direct sale.

   If you're into audio then chances are Teufel is a name you've heard off before so when they announced the CAGE Gaming Headset last year we reached out to them to check it out. Well it did take a while for a sample to reach our lab but it was certainly worth the wait since the CAGE turned out to be a very interesting 7.1 virtual surround sound gaming headset. It features two 40mm mylar drivers (20Hz-20KHz frequency response with 32Ohm impedance and 86dB sensitivity) which Teufel has paired with an integrated XEAR 7.1 Virtual Surround Sound USB sound card made by C-Media so you can use the headset both with both USB (PC/PlayStation 4/Xbox) and 3.5mm (PC/smartphones/tablets) compatible devices. The CAGE also features not one but two HD microphones for the best possible sound quality, a detachable boom microphone which can be mounted either on the left or right of the headset and one located at the front of one of the earcups which is used for intelligent echo cancellation.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The CAGE arrived inside a black box that has the company logo at the front, the name of the product and a large product drawing.

At the rear Teufel has placed their contact information and the product serial number and barcode.

Both the headset and its bundle are protected by a formed piece of plastic.

The bundle includes the CAGE Gaming Headset, 3 meter long micro USB cable, 1.3 meter long 3.5mm cable, detachable boom microphone, user manual, warranty information and Teufel contact information papers.

THE CAGE

The CAGE is made out of aluminum, hard plastic and PU leather.

In terms of size the CAGE is a medium sized model whereas in terms of design it blends the line between audio and gaming headsets.

The company logo is placed on the exterior of both earcups and is illuminated when the headset is powered by USB.

On the exterior of the left earcup we also find a switch which can be used to adjust the dual microphones for games or calls.

At the base of the left earcup we find the volume control roller placed right between the answer/end calls button and the micro USB port.

As mentioned earlier you can mount the microphone on either the left or the right side (to be exact you can mount it on ports located both at the front and rear of the headset so you will need to turn it around to use the other one).

The boom microphone is extremely flexible and also features a mute button.

Both earpads feature a good amount of padding and are dressed with PU leather.

Teufel has made it so that both earcups can fold to make it easier to store and/or transport the CAGE.

As expected, the headpad also features a good amount of padding and is too dressed in PU leather.

The headband can extend up to 66mm on both sides (33mm each) via 12 increments (7 visible ones).

Typically, the company logo is engraved on the exterior of the headband.

TEUFEL AUDIO CENTER

In order to use the CAGE with a PC you will need to download the Teufel Audio Center software from their downloads page seen above.

At first glance the software seems to be identical to several others we've seen in the past so from the first page you can see the volume of the headset and the sample rate (in this case there's also a microphone position selection).

When you click on the speakers icon however you get far more settings than any other similar up we've seen to date.

From here you can adjust the sample rate, enable the equalizer function and enable/disable all the dedicated Xear features (Surround/Audio Brilliant/Dynamic Bass/Smart Volume/Voice Clarity/Surround Max).

The same applies for the Microphone since by clicking on the icon gives you access to volume control, sample rate, ENC (environmental noise cancellation) and use the Xear Magic Voice feature (voice morphing/masking).

The Teufel logo lights up red and looks nice especially if your keyboard is also illuminated with red color.

CONCLUSION

   Even though Teufel is not a brand you can find on store shelves (at least not currently) they have a good background in the audio industry and so when they announced the CAGE we all thought it was going to be a rather expensive gaming headset. Luckily, we were wrong and so the CAGE is not only quite an affordable gaming headset (for what you’re getting always) but it's also very good at almost every single thing that matters. Now audio quality may not the best we've ever encountered with a gaming headset and so right out of the box you're getting good mids and highs with a sufficient amount of bass (still nothing to get worked over – as expected from 40mm drivers) but once you start toying with the various USB settings (audio brilliant and voice clarity impact audio quality so I suggest playing around with them until you find the settings that work for you) everything changes. Of course, that means that with 3.5mm compatible devices you can't get the same level of audio quality and accuracy but we've seen similar cases in the past. For games and certain movies the 7.1 virtual surround mode does help a bit but again you should spend some time experimenting with all available settings to get to the best possible result. Another thing we liked was the volume levels of the CAGE since it's quite powerful, still at the same time the volume control roller is not as smooth as I’d like it to be and so using it to increase/reduce volume takes getting used to. As for the microphone it's not only one of the best I’ve used to date but the environmental noise cancellation feature works quite well (although to be honest the office/lab is not a very noisy environment when we're not testing other devices).

   You can currently grab yourself a CAGE Gaming Headset directly from Teufel for 129.99Euros (Teufelaudio.com – limited offer) a price tag which pretty much reflects what you’re getting. Certainly the CAGE could had been a lot more had Teufel used larger drivers (and not mylar based ones) and perhaps RGB illumination for the exterior earcups (configurable via their software) so we do hope they release something like that sooner rather than later. That being said although not perfect the CAGE does deliver where it matters (you just may have to spend a bit of time tweaking the various settings to get the optimal outcome) and for that it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Comfortable (Large Earpads / Memory Foam Padding)
- Very Good Mids & Highs (When Tweaked)
- Volume Levels
- Detachable Microphone (Easier To Replace)
- Left / Right Microphone Ports
- Dual Microphones (ENC)
- Teufel Audio Center (Available Settings)
- USB & 3.5mm Compatible

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Requires Tweaking To Get The Most Out Of
- Available Settings Only Via USB