The market is flooded with gaming headsets. Specific ones for your PlayStation, Xbox or PC, or universal ones that you can use with them all. It’s a lucrative market and ever-growing but do you need to spend a fortune? Most of the time, yes, you get what you pay for but with the Eksa E900 Pro headset, coming in at under $50, you don’t have to spend a fortune for a quality headset.
The E900 Pro is a virtual 7.1 surround sound gaming headset, compatible with both PC and consoles. It includes a bendy, detachable microphone and comes with a carry case for storing.
First Impressions
The headset is incredibly light, one of the lightest I’ve held in a long time which comes with its pros and cons. They have an adjustable metal headband, with plastic surround and plastic ear cups. There is padding to the underside of the headband and to both earcups, protein memory foam apparently. You can feel the difference between the ear cup memory foam and the standard foam on the headband, there is some memory there. There is a decent amount of flex in the headband and cups.
Each earcup comes with some branding, which illuminates in red (can’t be changed). The left earcup is where the magic happens and includes the mic input, USB C & aux inputs, mic mute button, and rotary volume control. The mic slits into a pink 3.5mm port, it’s bend and comes with a small foam pop cover. In the box, you get a carry case, associated cables, and some instructions.
The overall design is very subtle, it’s not that loud or customisable like some headsets with RGB, etc. The metal frame is very raw and although it does feel robust, it is a little ‘plasticky’.
Performance
First off, the audio quality. It’s good but it’s best when you have it’s associated software installed with it. The 7.1 surround sound only works with PC, via the USB cable and with the Eksa software installed and set up. It’s a small program and did come with a Windows warning when installing but I installed it and my PC is fine. It offers controls over the EQ, where you can save 4 different personal profiles. You can also turn on effects such as Theater or Bathroom and adjust the mic volume, on top of within Windows. Then there are the virtual 7.1 options, where you can rotate the audio within your headset to suit your hearing. There are several symbols, left, right, center, sub, and so forth, and you can rotate the audio effect round to suit your preference. What was odd, was that I had to rotate the sound counterclockwise to get the audio central, as it was very obvious it wasn’t when I first heard it.
The 7.1 makes a big difference to the audio experience and adds a lot to your games. Playing some Valorant Beta, it was easy to hear where footsteps were coming from, left or right, which helped hugely. That game is all about knowing where your opponent is and walking, walking very quietly. The second someone stopped walking, I could hear footsteps from quite far away, which gave me the advantage. Moving onto something like Warzone, the emphasis was more on gun sounds, vehicles, aircraft, and explosions, all of which sound great.
As for the microphone, I was pleasantly surprised, as were my friends in our Discord server. They knew straight away that I was using a new microphone and commented on how clear I was coming through. Here is a small sample of the microphone:
Lastly, comfort. I like to game, I don’t take it too seriously but would regularly do a 2 or 3-hour stint most evenings. The headset was comfortable to wear, the headband would stay at the desired setting, as would the microphone. The mute button is well-positioned and very handy.
Verdict
It’s not quite on pro-level but at less than $50, it’s a no brainer, I easily recommend you purchase the Ekas E900 Pro. Although the build quality is somewhat on the weak side, the audio performance and microphone quality are well worth the money, not to mention it will be comfortable enough for hours of gaming.
If you’re interested in purchasing or want to know more, head over to the official Eksa website.
