Others by stefan @ 2014-03-19
The Level 10 M Gaming Headset follows the design lines we have also found with the Level 10 M Mouse and was built in cooperation with Designworks USA, which is a BMW-owned consultancy. The product comes with connectivity cables for both PC and mobile devices, while the high-quality carry bag allows transportation at LAN parties without difficulties.
At first we would like to thank Thermaltake for offering a sample of their Tt eSPORTS Level 10 M Gaming Headset (Iron White) for testing and reviewing.
““Challenge is the game” highlights the philosophy to bring out gamers’ addiction in gaming and the ambition of reaching to the extreme. Tt eSPORTS, a gaming obsessed division from Thermaltake, is uniting gamers from all over the world in a unique & fascinating eSPORTS culture, inherited the spirits of Thermaltake, is an energetic, powerful, bold and intelligent challenger who never says “no” to the extreme competition. we do not only provide gamers the ultimate gaming gears but also fulfills the passion to achieve the ultimate success.
Thermaltake has been a well-known brand in the gaming & DIY market for PC Chassis, Coolers and Power Supplies PSU for many years. The brand personality of unique, aggressive, vivid and stylish makes Thermaltake an expert in creating exciting things and fascinating environment for gamers and enthusiasts. Tt eSPORTS inherited the brand personality with unique and creative design by observing users’ behaviors and requirements. The fan cooling design on Tt eSPORTS Challerger keyboard demonstrate the brand spirit. It is the worldwide first keyboard with fan cooling function that could dry your hand sweats and blow tension away during cut-throat competition.”
ALUMINUM BASE
Aluminum base employed throughout the frame, offering benefits of superior durability, heat dissipation, and ergonomics by keeping the headset lightweight (at under 300 grams).
BI-LATERAL USB CONNECTIVITY
The removable headphone cable can be connected from either the left or right earcup, offering flexibility to better complement each users’ setup.
SLEEK NOISE-CANCELING MICROPHONE
Noise-canceling microphone blends into styling of the frame when not in use. When needed moves in a mic-axis design; it can be lowered vertically and then adjusted horizontally to the right position.
ADJUSTABLE, LOCKING HEADBAND
Adjustable headband can also be locked into position once the right size has been set. Users no longer have to worry about the sizing moving out of place as they take the headphone off/on.
The Level 10 M gaming headset was built in cooperation with Designworks USA as the other products from the same series, which is a BMW-owned design consultancy. Let’s go on with the unpacking in order to see what we will find inside. The outside layer will show a photo of the headset along with some icons which represent product highlights:
On both sides of the packaging we will get to see more details on the project:
If we will look on the back side, the manufacturer has explained the main product components:
After the removal of the top layer we will end up with a sealed white cardboard box, which has the product logo right in the middle:
The top cover can be lifted with ease in order to reveal a plastic mold which holds the accessories box:
As bundle we will receive the necessary cables, but also a Warranty Policy leaflet:
One of the cables is meant to be connected to mobile devices; on one end we have the headset connector and on the other one there is a 3.5mm jack plug:
The next cable we are going to talk about is designed to be used with laptops, computers which require separate microphone and headphone jack plugs:
The connectors are carefully coded for an easier identification:
The in-line remote sports a clean design with red accents. On the top we will get to see a Tt eSPORTS logo along with the microphone mute switch:
On the side we have the Volume wheel:
The back side of the small remote is fully chromed and on the other side of the remote we will find the headset connector:
Thermaltake did not cut corners and has included a nice carry bag:
Of course, we will also find here multiple brand logos:
The bag can hold both headset and also the necessary cables, which have a special compartment inside:
The design of the headset has been engineered in such a way to fall in-line with the rest of the products from the series. Both headband and ear cup cushions are grey, while the rest of the body is white:
The top soft fabric on the headband is quite comfortable and should not create issues when the headset is being worn for long game sessions:
The unique design can be also observed when looking at the exterior side of the ear cups, which seem quite large, despite the fact that inside we will find not 50mm but 40mm neodymium driver units:
The two aluminum strips which link the ear cups to the headband feel very sturdy; on the exterior we have marked both Left and Right audio channels:
The microphone is linked to the left ear cup and can be lowered with ease; this one is not flexible as with other brands:
Here is a closer view of the ear pads themselves:
This headset has an unique feature: the cable can be mounted to either left or right ear cup, depending on the audio source, for additional comfort:
The right ear cup shares the same design:
On the top side of the headband we will get to find another Tt eSPORTS logo:
The headset is adjustable in order to fit most head sizes:
The audio cable can be connected to the headset with ease but we have found out that they are not on the same color tone:
The hardware installation of the Level 10 M Gaming Headset is pretty straight forward and does not imply downloading extra drivers, since the product operates on the analog interface. Right after playing the first music track we have observed that the bass is considerably thinner compared to the other gaming headsets we have previously tested. In order to get this solved we had to work a little with the sound card equalizer and the end result was quite balanced, which made the headset good for both watching movies and playing music. One mention though: we might not get the same result when using a low-quality CODEC with no proper bass/treble controls or by plugging the headset into a tablet/smartphone which does not feature a software EQ.
Since the headset does not feature virtual surround capabilities in games we will have to settle with stereo unless our sound card can add these effects to the mix for us. The sound was clear overall and we could hear the voices of both NPCs and players in the games we have used for testing.
After doing a few Skype conferences on our PC, we could say that the microphone offers well but not over the top quality since we have found that it is not able to isolate all nearby sounds perfectly, so background noises may be heard sometimes by the colleague on the other side.
Speaking of the build quality, we do not have a lot to judge since the headset is carefully built with good materials and should provide a good experience after a long usage time.
The Tt eSPORTS Level 10 M Gaming Headset can be found online for about 113 Euros.
We would like to thank again to Thermaltake for making this review possible!