INTRODUCTION
Audio related reviews may not be the easiest ones to perform and release especially since they do tend to take quite a bit of time (although the good thing about most is that you can do so while performing other tasks at the same time even other reviews) but all of us here happen to cherish high quality audio so we too are interested in seeing (or better yet listening) just how good all the latest headsets, headphones and earphones to hit the market really are. Now lately we've been doing quite a few related reviews so i was seriously thinking of moving away and to other product areas for a while but since i also happen to believe that we need to know first-hand exactly what it is that we are giving away to our readers today we decided to finalize and upload the review of the quite amazingly looking Kuven 7.1 Virtual Surround Gaming Headset by Tesoro.
Tesoro Technology USA Inc, a team of U.S.A gaming enthusiasts. With the objective of designing unique products specially catered to the gamers. We focused on PC gaming and our mission is to create products with better design, increase and reach for peak performances. In the recent years the gaming industry has developed into the ultra-competitive market that we see today. While we are still a relatively young company, established in 2011. Tesoro will continue to strive for the best and continuously evaluate our performance against the very best of the best. Tesoro could not exist without the gaming community who inspire us to excel in the design and production of our award winning gear. As a gamers company, we will continues to expand into new horizons and push the limits further with each product unveiling. We strive to develop innovative cutting edge computer gaming peripherals to help improve your gaming experience. We maximize our ability to meet the needs of the fast changing PC gaming industry.
The very first thing that will take you by surprise is the very intriguing design of the KUVEN 7.1 Virtual Surround Gaming Headset since it's basically a peripheral that every gamer out there would like to have on his desk and that's something that we've easily verified just by reading all the recent comments made by people about it under our Joint Tesoro Giveaway post in our Facebook page. However although looks do play a very important role when purchasing a gaming peripheral specifications obviously matter even more but the KUVEN is not lacking in that area either since Tesoro has given it two 50mm neodymium drivers featuring a frequency response of 20Hz-20KHz with 32 Ohm Impedance and 116 (-+4) sensitivity and a noise cancelling microphone with a frequency response of 100-10Hz, 2.2 KOhm impedance and -46 -+3dB sensitivity. True we've seen similar specifications with a number of headsets in the past but each was unique in some way so let's see how unique (or not) is the latest Kuven 7.1 Virtual Surround Gaming Headset.
SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES
PACKAGING AND CONTENTS
The Kuven 7.1 Virtual Surround Gaming Headset arrived inside a medium sized purple/black box with a large clear plastic section at the front allowing you to see it prior to purchasing it.
Tesoro has placed the specifications of the Kuven along with the contents of the bundle on both sides of the box.
We also see the features list placed at the rear in 13 different languages.
As you can see the headset is placed on a hard formed piece of plastic inside the box but since that plastic has a powder like coating to make it softer that powder has covered the entire headset so you may have to spend a couple of minutes removing it.
The box contains the Kuven 7.1 Virtual Surround Gaming Headset, USB 7.1 sound card, 2m extension cable, Y split cable adapter, user's manual, product catalog and a software CD.
THE KUVEN
Just like the Tritton Pro+ or the Madcatz F.R.E.Q.7 the Kuven by Tesoro is a medium sized gaming headset that's currently available in black (Devil) and white (Angel) colors.
To show the size of the Kuven we placed it right next to my favorite small sized REVO Wireless headset by Jabra.
Although the entire headset is made by hard plastic and leatherette the Tesoro logo is laser cut on two aluminum plates mounted on the outside of each earcup.
The company logo is also placed right above the earcups.
I was somewhat surprised to see that the noise-cancelling microphone can be rotated a full 180 degrees (it's also quite flexible).
Left and Right markings are placed on the interior above each earcup.
The headset can extend a total of 35mm on each side (70mm total) via 13 visible increments.
Unlike some manufacturers Tesoro decided to use large earpads (covered with leatherette) so unless you have very big ears these are very comfortable.
The same applies for the headpad since its large and very comfortable (also covered with leatherette).
Both earcups can rotate up to 90 degrees inwards thus making it easier to carry the headset.
There's an in-line controller from where you can mute the microphone and adjust the volume levels.
The cable of the Kuven is braided and it ends on two 3.5mm plugs both of which are gold plated.
Actually i was somewhat surprised to see that Tesoro has gold plated every 3.5mm plug and port in the package.
Unlike the latest SteelSeries Siberia Heat Orange headset you are not stuck with the USB card of the Kuven, it's just there in case you prefer to use the 7.1 virtual surround feature (if not you can connect it directly with your sound card).
The top of the headband is rubber coated and has the company name on it (not very straight though).
SOFTWARE
You can download the latest software version over at the official Tesoro support page.
As with many other 7.1 virtual surround headsets the control panel of the Kuven USB sound card allows you to optimize the headset depending on what kind of content you plan on using it with (2/4/6/8ch), enable disable 7.1 virtual surround sound, set the volume/record levels, adjust the equalizer, change the environment options and finally you can make use of the karaoke function (a somewhat strange feature for me but then again i never did do karaoke).
CONCLUSION
After a very successful run with their gaming mice and keyboard lines it was naturally expected from Tesoro to decide and move forward into the manufacturing of gaming headsets as well and although the Kuven 7.1 Surround Sound Headset is their very first attempt in this area (thus i had my doubts about its performance) i must say that it's a lot better than i was expecting. Lucky for us by the time we started testing we had received a few of the latest gaming titles (ArMA 3, Shadow Warrior, Alien Rage) so we put it to good use. Now the first thing you will notice once you place the Kuven on your head is that the earcups follow your ears perfectly thanks to their diagonal placement something which doesn't apply for 90% of the headsets out there. True it's not groundbreaking but that's also why i can't figure out why other manufacturers haven't done the same as Tesoro. Audio quality is also very good with crisp and accurate mids/highs while the amount of bass is very good however i can't say the same regarding positioning audio since i found myself using the 7.1 surround sound feature less each day that went by. This is perhaps due to the fact that I’ve been using a true 7.1 surround headset for almost 3 years now (as true as a 7.1 headset can be) so i prefer normal stereo audio over virtual surround one (personal opinion). The noise-cancelling microphone was a pleasant surprise since it does work as advertised and so most of the time the people on the other end thought i was right next to them but at the same time i have to say that I’ve used better ones (thus the most part). Unfortunately right before the end of this review the left earcup started to produce high distortion (hiss sound) even at low volume levels so although it does seem to be just a defective sample just to be on the safe side we are expecting yet another one by Tesoro.
With a current recommended price tag set at USD69.99 inside the USA and at 69.99Euros inside the EU there isn't much competition in the market for the Kuven 7.1 Virtual Surround Gaming Headset by Tesoro and although there are many headsets available currently that i'd choose over it none of those is beneath the USD100/100Euros price marker. Audio quality is very good, build quality is equally good and the design of the Kuven is also great while in terms of comfort after many hours of use well i can say that i haven't used a gaming headset just as comfortable for a long time. Of course the distortion we noticed coming from the right 50mm driver at the end of the review process is a bit troubling so we will have to wait for a new sample to make certain that this is an isolated event although i really doubt that Tesoro would release something defective in the market. Overall the Kuven 7.1 Virtual Surround Gaming Headset has everything any gamer out there would want from quality and design up to comfort and a great price tag which in the end is why it gets our Golden Award.
UPDATE : We received a replacement Headset for the Kuven that didn't have the same issue with the left earcup.
PROS
- Build Quality
- Design
- Audio Quality (Very Good Mids/Highs/Bass)
- 7.1 Virtual Surround USB Sound Card (For Some)
- Comfort (Diagonal Earcups)
- Bundle (2m Extension Cable, Y Cable)
- Price
CONS
- None