Review: Razer Megalodon 7.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset

Source: Chapree (Lowyat.net)

Audio equipment is just about as important to a hardcore gamer as his mouse and keyboard. Not only does it enable them to hear an enemy's footsteps or a rivals racing car, but it is also useful for timing their movement. For example, in racing games, where gear shifting has to be perfectly timed - especially during corners - or a gamer will losehis speed and time advantage.
So it's not actually far fetched to say that a quality headset does give a gamer an added advantage over his opponent. Let's find out whether that is true for our contender this week, the Razer Megalodon 7.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset, after the jump.

DESIGN
As suggested by it's name, the Megalodon is really a monster, a simple one that is. The whole set consists of the headphones and mic plugged into a control pod which interacts with the PC through USB connection. The cables are braided fiber sheath which has a total length of 3.3 meters and is topped of with a gold-plated USB plug.

The headset itself is basically a Razer Carcharias which was released just a little bit earlier than Megalodon. It features a pair of full ear cup that are covered by cushioning pads. We are not sure what is the construction material of these pads but it is so comfortable that we didn't feel any discomfort even after wearing Megalodon continuously for hours during out test. We also found that the comfortable pads were not the only thing that made the headset suitable for long hours of usage.
The headset frame doesn't feel like it is choking your head unlike many headsets out there. It is adjustable, but if you have a smaller sized head, the headset might feel a little bit loose on you. On the left side of the headset is its microphone. It is not retractable but it has a flexible center-structure and a 270 degree rotation.

The second component of Megalodon is its control pod, where all of the headsets functions are controlled. On the top of small box is the Maelstorm button, which we will explain shorty. Underneath it is a set of speaker diagrams which indicate whether the Megalodon is in 2.1 or 7.1 speaker mode. In the midle of the diagram is the sound level indicator, a round scroller and also a push-button with a blueish Razer logo on it.

Razer is also kind enough to provide a heavy-duty hard case into the Megalodon's retail package. This case makes it easier for transporting and protect the headset. The black case might be able to intimidate fellow gamers as well since a Razer logo is stamped boldly on top of it.
FEATURE
Inside each of the Megalodon's oh-so-comfortable ear caps is a 40 mm drivers made of neodymium magnets. Powering the headset is the Razer Maelstorm Audio Engine, which gives the Megalodon its 7.1 surround sound capability. As we mentioned earlier, this capability can be turned on and off through a dedicated button on the control pod.

Apart from Maelstorm control, EQ level of each speaker channel whether in stereo or 7.1 mode can be adjusted independently through in the middle of the control pod. The center button acts as channel selector and the scroller is used to adjust output level.
Underneath these controls are the three microphone specific buttons; Muting, Sensitivity and Mic Level. As per EQ level, the microphone sensitivity and output level button are used hand in hand with the center button and scroller. Last but not least, the scroller is also used for master volume, provided that it is done outside any level adjustment mode.

SOUND TEST
As recommended by Razer in Megalodon's manual book, we alternated our settings between 5.1 and 7.1 channels to find the best sound for each scenario. This is done through Megalodon's speaker configuration in Windows' Control Panel Sound settings. We also let the individual EQ at each speaker for both stereo and surround settings to be as it is, without any tweaking.
In stereo mode, the Megalodon performed very well with any applications that we threw into it, being music, movies and most definitely in games. The level of output is very loud and thumping whilst both the treble and bass outputs remain well balanced. Unfortunately, this does not apply to its surround sound mode.
For the purpose of getting optimum sound, all the DVDs and games that were used in Megalodon's test were 5.1 surround sound enabled. While the quality of the surround output that it produced is still as good as Megalodon's stereo mode, it was no match to a full fledged surround sound speaker. The ambiance sounds pretty flat and the feeling of surround is just not there. We are not sure whether this is due to the virtual surround sound technology limitation or is it the surround system on a headphones just doesn't work.

Last but not least, another part of Megalodon that manages to show its quality is the unidirectional microphone. Using default setup, it managed to capture our voices flawlessly even though the mouth piece is still pretty far from our lips. But it almost didn't matter as Megalodon came with indenpendent controls for its microphone anyway, so the level of output and sensitivity are very tweakable.

CONCLUSION
In a nutshell, Megalodon is basically a turbo-charged version of Carcharias. It is very comfortable to be wear for extended long hours of gaming session and as it is equipped with independent level controls on its easy-to-use control pod, the Megalodon is a very comprehensive set of audio equipment.
However, it's most highlighted feature, the virtual surround sound; leaves much to be desired. It does not able to match a dedicated surround sound speaker but at the very least, Megalodon output is still one of the best in its class. Not to forget, the Megalodon is quite costly for many out there, with a retail price of RM 549. But if you can afford it, why not?Pros:Quality and loud output, microphone input and output is also good, comfortable enough to wear for hour, true plug and play without any driver, all in one control pod, comes with a high quality case.
Cons:Pricey, it's actually a Carcharias on steriod - not very unique, virtual surround sound nowhere near hardware surround speakers.