[Review] Tt eSPORTS SHOCK Spin headset



Right, so you've finally gotten sick of using those free airline headphones and want to move up in the world of sound quality? Yet you're still wary of blowing $250+ on a true audiophile experience? Sounds like what you need is a nice budget gaming headset and the Tt SHOCK Spin may be just what you're after. The Spin headset delivers bang for buck on sound qualit and is definitely a contender for someone entering the peripherals market.



So what do you get with the package? The Spin has soft velvet pads and a rubberised extending bridge which rests on the top of your head. This feels quite comfortable and as a hardcore gamer I had no comfort issues when spending 18 hours almost straight wearing them (I'm hardcore, but not hardcore enough to wear them to the toilet). The 210cm extension cord also features a volume control box that works with either the microphone or the headphones. However as the headphones only have a rather short 90cm cord you'll probably have to keep it hooked up to the headphones unless you're gaming on a laptop. The cord is short because the Spin is also designed to be used plug 'n' play style with mp3 players, this is also why they're designed to be driverless.



The microphone is a little odd, most headsets opt to incorporate mics onto retractable booms. With the Spin you get a clip on mic instead. The extra cord to manage may irritate some people although you do get several Velcro straps for cord management. The mic can be clipped to either your shirt or the headphone's cord and readily picks up sound from there. It's an omni-directional mic and despite delivering good sound quality it's quite sensitive so it picks up a lot of ambient noise. In my case during a break from live streaming Heroes of Newerth matches for the CyberGamer ladder people could hear me crunching on chips. Don't eat at your mic you say? I was standing on the other side of the room! The sensitive omni-directional mic is definitely a drawback for anyone who lives in a noisy environment.



The frame is made out of a lightweight plastic. It feels on the cheap side and makes me question the durability of the Spin. However I did have an "OH SHI-" experience of lending them to a friend while lanning, only to watch him get his leg caught on the cord and send them crashing off the table onto a hard floor. Thankfully the Spin survived unscathed; despite outward appearances it seems they've got at least one good hard knock in them. Not that I recommend testing your tech in this fashion. Ever.

A selling point you'll see on the box is neodymium speakers. Sounds like it's from outer space right? To cut through the treknobabble neodymium speakers use neodymium magnets, better known as rare earth magnets. They're lighter and more efficient than regular iron-ferrite magnets. So in layman's terms neodymium speakers means the Spin utilises higher quality magnets to produce sound. The speakers themselves are 50mm, larger than the Razer Orca 40mm ones and on par with the SteelSeries Siberia.

The sound quality itself while definitely no audiophile experience is more than adequate for gaming. Though I detest Bad Company 2 as a game I'll grudgingly admit it has some amazing audio; only slightly less stimulating than the voice of Stephen Fry. The Spin provided crisp and accurate sound, allowing me to react to distant gunfire and hunt unseen tanks with jihad jeeps (C4 explosives strapped to a quad-bike is neither safe or politically correct; it's bloody fun and highly effective though).

When compared to some other budget headphones, a set of Plantronics 377s and a Phillips SHP 2500 the Spin proved superior. It had much better bass and provided a much crisper sharper sound than the 377s. It had slightly lower quality bass than the Sony, but again provided sharper sound which is more important in a gaming headset.


Recommendations

If you're looking for some good quality audio, a mic, under the $80 mark then the Spin is definitely something to consider. You can find them for around $75 at the moment which is definitely competitive when you consider the specs are very similar to other headsets like the Orca and Siberia.

If you're shopping for your first real headset I really recommend the Spin. Why? Not just because they provide good sound quality at a relatively inexpensive price, but because 6 or 8 months down the track if you upgrade you don't lose any value. You can keep the clip on mic to go with your new expensive audiophile quality headphones, and the Spin headphones themselves still remain great as a travel set for your mp3 player. The extension cord with the volume control box also works with any other 3.5mm mic/headphone. It's a win-win situation.

Pros
- Relatively cheap price
- Large speakers which produce quality sound
- Comfortable, even during extended use
- No loss of value if you upgrade to an audiophile level sound system

Cons
- Frame feels like low quality plastic
- Mic is too sensitive for noisy environments
- Mic is separate to the headphones

Specs: Headphones
- 50mm Neodymium speakers
- Sensitivity: 95±3 dB
- Frequency response 15~20KHz
- Impedence: 32 Ohm
- Connector: 3.5mm plug
- 90cm braided cable
- 210cm extension cable with volume control box

Spec: Microphone
- Sensitivity: -34±3 dB
- Frequency: 100~10 Khz
- Omni-directional
- Connector: 3.5mm plug
- 270cm braided cable

Edited twice, last edited 6/5/11 - 12:33am.

Cut mic volume a lot but leave it close to your mouth = less background noise

Upload mic test when ur done here aye??

Nice review, good depth and obvious homework on the product. Keep it up

Mic test will probably go up tomorrow, I did plan for today but got bogged down doing some unexpected work for honcast.

http://honcast.com/video/2011/05/04/flux-teaser-breakdown

I like the name

There's the mic soundtest. Considering the budget nature of the headset I find the mic delivers a reletively good range, however the omni directional nature is somewhat annoying and detracts from the sound quality. But for gaming purposes it'll do exactly what you need it to.