Roccat Renga Headset Review

1. Introduction2. Unboxing and First Look3. Testing4. Closing Thoughts5. View All Pages

Recently, we have looked at some innovative and ultimately expensive gaming headsets at KitGuru. Priced at just under £40, the Roccat Renga bucks that trend as it is firmly positioned toward the budget end of the headset spectrum. If you are looking for a new headset, should this make a final shortlist?

Despite the affordable price tag, the Roccat Renga aims to deliver a ‘studio grade' experience, to quote Roccat themselves. Primarily, the Renga aims to deliver such an experience thanks to 50mm drivers in each earcup. We will assess the headset and see if it can live up to its billing.

Features

• 50mm Neodynium drivers.
• Ventilated earcup design.
• Inline remote.
• Weight: 210g.
• 3.5m cable.
• Y-splitter cable included.

The Roccat Renga comes in an eye-catching box, with dashes of electric blue contrasting nicely with the black edges.

On the back there is multilingual product information.

We are interested in what is inside the box, however, and Roccat have supplied the usual warranty booklet alongside the headset. Usefully, there is also a y-splitter cable which combines the separate audio and microphone signals into one 3.5mm jack – good for using the Renga with your phone, for instance. This is a nice touch which gives the Renga some versatility.

On to the headset itself, then. As you can see, the Renga has a fairly standard design and makes use of over-ear earcups.

However, these are not entirely conventional as the earcups themselves have an open, ventilated design – meaning heat can escape and air can get in to cool your ears.

The headband is the ‘expanding' type, meaning it stretches over your head to fit. Once you have the right width, the earcups pull down to fit over your ears. It is a simple design that means the Renga will fit a variety of head shapes.

An inline remote is positioned on the 3.5m-long cable, too. This has a volume wheel as well as a simple mute/un-mute switch for the microphone. The actual mic features a rotating boom, meaning it can be stowed out-of-sight when not needed.

It is also worth pointing out the Renga is impressively light at just 210g. Compared to other headsets – such as the 460g G.skill Ripjaws SV710 which we reviewed recently – this is certainly a point in Roccat's favour.As is fairly standard for cheaper headsets, there is no accompanying software with the Renga. This means you cannot adjust the EQ, for example, but is not a huge deal.

First, then, I will talk about the comfort of the Renga. I certainly appreciate its lightweight construction, as during sessions of extended usage the Renga is easy to forget about. However, despite the ventilated earcup design, I still find my ears heating up when using the headset. I do find my ears are particularly sensitive to heat, though, so you may not have this problem.

Despite this, the leather cups themselves are very comfortable and they fit very neatly over my ears. If you can deal with the heat – or do not find it a problem – the Renga is a good headset in terms of comfort.

Before talking about sound quality, I just want to mention one negative aspect of the design – the microphone. Simply put, I find with the mic rotated down to its lowest position, it is still slightly too high – meaning it is always on the edge of your peripheral vision.

In games this is particularly frustrating, as it can easily obscure an enemy for that split second – and then it is too late. While it is good that the mic can rotate in the first place, meaning it can be stored out-of-sight when not in use, this area of the design needs improving.

On to sound quality, then. I must say I find the sound slightly disappointing. Roccat made a big deal about the 50mm drivers and ‘studio grade' quality, but bass is somewhat lacking from the mix. Dance music lacks any real ‘punch', and gunfire in games sounds slightly tinny, which is a let down.

The weak bass helps the mid-range and treble remain clear, though. For instance, dialogue is nice and crisp – which is probably why Roccat have reduced the bass. After all, this is a gaming headset and you want to be able to hear your teammates clearly. This just comes at the cost of fairly weak bass production.

Finally, the microphone quality. To gauge the mic quality I used the Renga with both my PC and with my phone – using the supplied y-splitter cable. It is certainly a good mic. It is crisp and your team-mates will be able to hear you loud and clear. There is just a hint of background noise which can be slightly distracting at times, but at any decent volume it is not really noticeable.On the whole, the Roccat Renga headset is a mixed bag.

It is very lightweight which proves useful for extended gaming sessions, and also features open earcups to increase air ventilation during use. However, I still find my ears get toasty after a while but that might not be a problem for everyone – as my ears are particularly sensitive to heat anyway.

What is a bigger problem is the positioning of the microphone. While it is on a rotating boom, which can be stowed away out-of-sight when it is not needed, at its lowest position it is still too high. This means it is constantly in your peripheral vision, and for more serious gamers than myself, it could be a deal breaker.

However, you will certainly be able to hear your team-mates as the mid-range and top end is nice and crisp. Your team-mates will be able to hear you too, thanks to the decent microphone.

The only problem with the audio quality is lack of bass. Music sounds decidedly flat, and gameplay suffers too – as gunfire sounds weak while explosions seem distant.

For a budget headset, the Roccat Renga is worth considering due to its affordable price tag of around £40. It is just a couple of niggles which prevent it earning a higher award.

You can buy the Renga for £39.99 from PCWorld HERE.

Pros

• Affordable.
• Lightweight.
• Supplied y-splitter.
• Dialogue is crisp.

Cons

• Microphone obstructs your field of view slightly when lowered.
• Earcup ventilation is not entirely successful.
• Bass is somewhat lacking.

KitGuru says: While the Roccat Renga is nice and light, the annoyance of the microphone being too high as well as the lack of bass prevent it from achieving a higher award.

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