Roccat Elo 7.1 Air, analysis

Roccat, the Turtle Beach brand oriented towards eSports, has quickly become popular thanks to a strategy that is as simple as it is effective: quality products, with a clear orientation to the video game fan and with an affordable price. Today we tested the Roccat Elo 7.1 Air , their bet for gamers who don’t want cables.

The Roccat Elo 7.1 Air are presented in careful packaging and accompanied by a USB-C cable to recharge their batteries, a dongle USB-A for connection and a short quick guide, which we can complete with the manual available on the official website . These headphones are specially designed for the PC, although they also work on devices such as the PS4 or the Nintendo Switch.

The battle for gaming headsets that cost around $100 is fierce and, therefore, it is becoming increasingly difficult for manufacturers to stand out from their rivals. The Roccat Elo 7.1 Air bet on a robust design and a gamer aesthetic, with the detail of a backlit brand logo on the left ear cup.

Roccat Elo 7.1 Air, technical specifications

• Circumaural Headphones
• Wireless (2.4 GHz)
• Compatible with PC, PS4 and Nintendo Switch
• 345 grams of weight
• Autonomy 24 hours (3 hours of load)
• Frequencies 20 Hz to 20000 Hz
• 50 mm transducers
• Neodymium transducer material
• USB-C cable length 1.65 m
• Integrated microphone.
• Virtual 7.1 sound.

build quality is correct, combining metal in areas such as head suspension frame and hinges with medium grade plastics. Their size, rather large (they weigh 350 grams), also allows them to adapt to any head shape and be very comfortable, with enough tension to be immersive but without being too tight. Especially noteworthy is how comfortable they are when used with glasses, something that does not always happen.

The basic setup comes down to turning them on and inserting the dongle into any USB port. Communication is wireless on the 2.4 GHz band, offering superior performance and stability than Bluetooth alternatives. On the left ear cup there are physical buttons for power, volume and control of the mic which, as usual, require a period of adaptation in the form of involuntary keystrokes.

Obviously, the best option to get the most out of this device is to install the application Rocat Swarm that enables options such as 7.1 audio , full control of EQ, customization of LED light, microphone settings and much more.

With regard to audio, the best feature of these Roccat Elo 7.1 Air is their precision: in most frequencies it offers a clean sound without fanfare or artifice and we only begin to notice that we are not facing Much more expensive headphones when dealing with bass, less impressive than we’d like.

In practice, they are headphones that will be used, mainly, to play. Therefore, it seems to us a success of Roccat not to “mask” the bass and bass with software so that they meet two objectives: to be immersive and to help the player to be better in their favorite titles.

On the downside, we miss a better level of cushion insulation. It is the price to pay for being so comfortable and, since the use of these headphones will always be at home or in our play area, it does not seem like a very serious problem unless we live in a very noisy space.

The autonomy announced by Roccat is up to 24 hours and, in this case, our real tests have shown us that they were not exaggerating. It is easy to exceed 20-22 hours of actual use without any problem, as long as we dispense with RGB. With the active, and depending on the mode, it reaches about 15-16 without the need to recharge them.

Conclusions

The Roccat Elo 7.1 Air are good gaming headphones at a reasonable price. They offer precise sound, long battery life and low latency. Its biggest problem is that of any of its rivals, the huge number of models in this price range.

In any case, it seems to us that the audio quality can tip the balance, a point above in this range and its excellent autonomy. On the other hand, its bulky design is comfortable but it will not like everyone and you should bear in mind that it does not support Bluetooth, so it will only work with compatible devices.