At first we would like to thank ROCCAT for offering us a sample of the Khan AIMO 7.1 RGB Gaming Headset for testing and reviewing.

 

 

 

About ROCCAT:

 

“ROCCAT designs the best gaming products in the world. We combine detail-loving German innovation with a genuine passion for what we do. The result is a forward-looking product portfolio adaptable to the gaming trends of tomorrow. The industry-leading experiences we develop are born of a deep affinity with gaming community that we ourselves are very much a part of.

 

We achieve this by having an outstandingly talented team comprised of gamers, visionaries and industry experts. Working at ROCCAT is fun, challenging and fast-paced, with no two days ever the same. Our background in gaming reflects itself in how we work, with a strong emphasis on teamwork, communication and mutual trust. We’re all on the same mission. Are you in?”

 

Product Features:

 

7.1 HIGH RESOLUTION SOUND - precise surround sound with rich highs, mids & lows

INBUILT 7.1 SOUND CARD - 24-bit 96KHz DAC sound card for no noise

PASSIVE NOISE CANCELATION - works great even in the noisiest of environments

ULTRA COMFORTABLE - memory foam earpads suitable for extended play

RGB ILLUMINATION - 16.8m color lighting engine with effects & presets

EASY CONTROLS - earcup volume & surround control + mic auto-mute

REAL-VOICE MIC - lets your teammates hear you clearly and naturally

AIMO LIGHTING SYSTEM - intelligent illumination harmonized across devices

ROBUST DESIGN - steel sliders and reliable build with 275g weight

 

Product Specifications:

 

The second product from the AIMO series we are going to look at is the Khan 7.1 Gaming Headset; this is a wired product and besides the proprietary lighting scheme, it does pack a 24-bit 96 KHz DAC sound card for even more fidelity (Hi-Res Audio certified) and large 50mm Neodymium magnet drivers. The product is shipped inside a compact enclosure, which does highlight the main product characteristics right on the front:

 

 

 

On the side of the packaging, we will get the full list of product features:

 

 

 

The bottom box area does feature the package contents list, the system requirements but also the technical specifications:

 

 

 

More explanations can be found in the back, translated in multiple languages:

 

 

 

After removing the seals, we could find inside the main product, inside a black plastic mold but also a plastic envelope with the documentation:

 

 

 

The manual will show the quick-start instructions, but also some photos with the headset:

 

 

 

Khan AIMO comes in an all-black color scheme and is quite light at about 275 grams:

 

 

 

The earcups can be rotated 90 degrees for offering more flexibility:

 

 

 

On the outside of each earcup, we will be able to spot a subtle ROCCAT logo:

 

 

 

The earpads are made of memory foam, while the top layer is made of leatherette; the over-ear design helps in terms of comfort especially people that do wear glasses. The large 50mm drivers do have a frequency response between 10 and 40000Hz, an impedance of 32 Ohms and a maximum SPL at 1kHz of 99dB:

 

 

 

On the exterior of the right cup we will be able to spot the Volume wheel, but also the Surround Sound toggle button:

 

 

 

The microphone is located on the exterior of the left cup, but we think that a retractable design would have looked better:

 

 

 

Its body can be adjusted as needed, in order to be heard properly in conferences; speaking of the hardware specs, its frequency response is between 100 and 10000Hz, THD @ 1kHz – 2%, the sensitivity at 1kHz is -40dB, the SNR was measured as 60dB, while the impedance is 2.2k Ohms:

 

 

 

 

Soft foam covered by leatherette is also available on the headband:

 

 

 

The top headband area does feature a ROCCAT logo:

 

 

 

The headband is also reinforced with stainless steel and can be adjusted as needed:

 

 

 

For additional durability, the USB cable is braided and features the same color as the headset:

 

 

 

A branded USB connector can be found at the end of the 2m cable:

 

 

 

After connecting the headset to a spare USB port, the default AIMO Illumination can be observed, which reacts organically to the users’ gaming behavior:

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the test system, we already had ROCCAT Swarm installed that we did use during the Kone AIMO review; after we did plug in the Khan AIMO headset, we were prompted to perform a software update, a firmware update of the Khan AIMO but we did not succeed on installing the Swarm application module for the headset. We got around this issue only after we did completely uninstall ROCCAT Swarm and reinstalled the whole unified software.

The Swarm GUI is easy to work with and contains the necessary configuration options involving the headset; the “Pinned” section of the utility does permit the user to allocate only the frequently used configuration options:

 

 

 

The Settings menu does allow users adjust the playback sample rate, which is adjustable up to 24-bit, 96kHz, thanks to the integrated DAC. This is the second headset we are reviewing with such capabilities and we can draw the same conclusions as before regarding availability of the content; furthermore, we do have the ability to enhance Voice Clarity, Audio Clarity and Bass EQ (functions that will modify certain groups of frequencies), but also work with the 10-band EQ:

 

 

 

Here is the multitude of playback rates we can work with:

 

 

 

If we do not feel the need on customizing the EQ manually at the current moment, we can always go with one of the available presets:

 

 

 

Further down, we do have the ability to adjust Master Volume, enable and adjust Voice Suppression, switch between Stereo and Surround modes, but also work with the Microphone settings; as we have seen with some sound cards, we do also have the ability to enable the so-called “Magic Voice”, which modifies your voice in conferences, just for fun:

 

 

 

The Illumination menu, does allow the user to adjust the LED lighting, by choosing from different presets:

 

 

 

Here are the modes we can choose from:

 

 

 

AIMO Intelligent Lighting System

 

 

 

Color Cycle

 

 

 

Fully Lit

 

 

 

Heartbeat

 

 

 

Breathing

 

 

 

After trying the Khan AIMO headset with multiple games such as DOOM, The Crew 2 Beta, Frostpunk and No One Lives Forever, we were quite impressed by the audio quality and bass representation, thanks to the large, 50mm Neodymium drivers. The headset is quite light and easy to use controls are available on the exterior of the right cup as well (Stereo to virtual 7.1 switch, Volume rocker). The built-in AMP/DAC does allow playback up to 24-bit 96 KHz, making it Hi-Res Audio compatible and great for other multimedia content as well, such as music and movies. We can switch between sampling rates from the ROCCAT Swarm interface or the Windows GUI, but after each modification we would also require to restart the applications that were currently using the controller.

 

Besides the mentioned sampling rate, we do have full control over the EQ, along with some additional controls for the speakers and the microphone; the passive noise cancellation feature works quite well and is complemented by the fact that the Khan AIMO does have an over-ear design. With this headset model, we are not getting a dedicated microphone mute button, but you just have to flip the mic upwards and it will automatically perform the same function.

 

As we have seen with the Kone AIMO, the Khan AIMO headset does feature the same intelligent lighting system that automatically reacts to your actions, without the need to intervene. If the automatic system is not on your liking, you can always browse between the manual presets and adjust accordingly.

 

While SteelSeries Arctis Pro does mainly rely on the very useful hardware console with OLED display, the Khan AIMO leaves the entire configuration options to Swarm; we have had some issues at first after connecting the headset to our computer (the add-on module refused to install), but there is nothing a full reinstall could not fix.

ROCCAT Khan AIMO 7.1 RGB Gaming Headset is Recommended for:

 

 

We would like to thank again to ROCCAT for making this review possible!