Tt Esports Shock Pro gaming headset
Punching above its weight
We weren’t particular fans of the last Tt Esports headset we looked at. The Cronos Riing 7.1 had good stereo performance but we found it heavy, uncomfortable and severely lacking when it came to the 7.1 performance. The Shock Pro RGB headset is a budget headset with a street price around $80, and for our money it runs riings (sorry) around the more expensive headset. It sounds great in stereo, is very comfortable and overall feels more robustly made than the more expensive Cronos Riing.
A sprung metal headband makes for a good clamp around the ears and a combination of thickly padded earcups (25mm of padding on each cup) and simple headstrap make for a very comfortable fit. Each of the earcups houses a 40mm driver capable of putting out some very decent stereo sound. While not the best stereo performance you’ll hear, for the price they do a very good job, with clear mids and highs with a slightly lacklustre bass. The fold away mic is discrete but unspectacular. On ear controls for volume, mic and RGB lighting are a nice touch.
The biggest problems with the Shock Pro headset come from the addition of the RGB. It’s unspectacular and limited, with only 256 colours, seven preset colours and two lighting modes, but because of the inclusion, the headset needs a USB connection in addition to the standard 3.5mm connectors for headset and mic. In our testing the headset wouldn’t work through USB alone. It makes for an unwieldy connection and even though the headset is spruiked for mobile usage, makes that possibility more of a hassle than it’s worth. DANIEL WILKS