GAMDIAS HEPHAESTUS V2 Gaming Headphone Review

Surround sound at a budget?You may certainly be concerned about the quality and such about the headset, isn't it?

Well, what if I tell you there is actually a very good headset which doesn't cost a fortune yet it offers very good sound quality and of course,that 7:1 surround sound experience?

Yes, I am talking about the Gamdias Hephaestus V2 7:1 surround sound Gaming Headset!So,without any further delay, lets jump straight into the review!And this,is Ahnaf Malik Siam here today, to walk you guys through the inside & out of this headset!

1-The Design

The headset follows a simple looking yet elegant design which I am very fond of. On the side of the each speakers beside the Gamdias logo,it has red led illumination, but no rgb or anything of that sort.Instead, it offers just plain red led or a simple breathing mood. Here, you just have to choose between breathing red led or always on red led. On the bright side, red is kinda the most popular gaming theme out there, so I don't think it's that much of a issue at all. It's really up to your taste & the preference.

It also has an in-line remote within its 1.9m long braided cable, which is more than enough lengthwise, & the controller certainly looks very pleasing to the eye with its sharp gamery designs!

In case of the weight of the headset, I will say it's adequate, not that heavy to the point where its uncomfortable, or nor that light that it's not noticeable. I’d say it's just perfect, at least on my taste!

Moving on to the ear cups, they are massive,both thickness & lengthwise! They will cover your ears completely and they are made out of leathers or some kinda similar material, and they are really comfy! However,the issue is, due to the nature of leather, it heats up & makes your ears a bit warm & uncomfortable or even under some circumstances sweaty. However,almost all the earcups which uses this kinda materials are prone to the same issue, so I guess it's just a thing to be concerned about then.

Moving on to the headband, it is decently padded with a Gamdias branding embedded on top & hephaestus name on the side. Though a little more padding would've been really nice,but I can't really complain about it as it is a budget headset, after all!

Over all, in this budget the design is actually totally fine & really good!

2-The Features

For its price, this headset is loaded full with various features!

First of all, the headset has foldable ear cups which swivels to make it a bit more carry-able, but to be honest, it doesn't take that much away from its already very massive footprint. It’s just a nice but not totally practical feature in my opinion. Instead of this fold ability, I will actually prefer a separate included carry bag,but that's just up to you.

The headset also offers 35mm vibration units which offers a subtle vibration but not to the point where it will completely throw you off. It is actually one of my most favourite feature of this headset as it makes you feel every beats and enjoy the song or the gameplay based on what you are doing. And,of course you can turn it off with just a press of a button through the controller if you don't prefer it!

To get the 7:1 surround audio work, what should you do you may ask? Download the HERA software and turn the virtual system on!

Yes, the headset is totally controllable through their signature Gamdias HERA software. However, I had a mixed experience with this, let's start with the good part!

The Gamdias HERA software has a lot of options starting from choosing the virtual 7:1 speaker location, Individual bass adjustment, tweaking equalizer settings, karaoke/magic voice mood for.microphone and so on! Those are very helpful and gamdias hits the right note with those features, except the fact that the Gamdias HERA software is still kinda buggy & it took me more than one tries to make it work properly.And, even after turning the save after exit settings up, The settings seems to reset everytime I turn the pc on! Which is kinda annoying at least for me!It definitely needs some more tweaking.

Moving on to the in-line remote, It has a volume knob,mic on/off & led light on/off switch & The vibration on/off switch. Things are kinda fishy here for the headset, as the knob is too hard with no tactile bumps at all, really plasticy switches. To add even more to that, while extended period of usage, the remote gets hot and becomes noticeably warmer on your skin, which certainly creates slight uncomfortness. However, I am not sure is that just my unit or all the units, so I won't comment anything about it here.

And of course lastly, the 7:1 surround sound part which certainly is the highlighted & the selling focus of this product. It uses two of its 50mm drivers to simulate a 7:1 surround sound experience, which needs to be turned on manually first via the software, and unfortunately as the software is only available for PC’s only, you won't be able to experience the surround sound goodness via any other way/OS’s, unfortunately!

Overall, In this department, the headset is kinda with hit or miss side, but fortunately, all those problems could be overlooked easily by its price!

3-Sound & Microphone Quality

This is probably the most important part for choosing a headset, so you guys may wanna read this part with total attention 😜.

Using 50mm drivers, this headset uses the same diameter drivers as the Corsair void headsets. Though,the despite quality difference between those two, you have to agree still that it is impressive nonetheless.

The sound quality is very good here with decent volume levels without distortion. To be noted,the bass isn't punchy, actually it’s more in the deep category. It has decent high-mid range and lacks just a tad bit on the low end, but it's completely fine. And also by turning on the 7:1 surround sound, you can have amazing experience while gaming specially while playing fps type games. Though it’s a gaming oriented headset toward gamers, it's totally on par on audio quality with other studio grade headphones in this budget too. So, in terms of sound quality, its great & one of the best in this budget,certainly!

Moving on to the microphone, it uses gooseneck style & it is certainly very good. During my review period, it performed really well & I was actually surprised by its quality. The voice output was crisp and clear, with good background noise cancellation. For paying this much money, I personally think you guys will be more than happy to have this microphone without any doubt.

So in this department, I don't have any complain at all. I am indeed very happy with its performance here!

4-Personal Opinions & Verdict

During my review period, I will say it totally satisfied me.Despite those issues,it always shined in the areas it really should,like the sound and microphone quality, which should be the main concern for most of you guys!

Even the build quality -another point of concern for buyer's, it was solid even there!During the review period, it fell from My 6 feet tall bookshelf and it survived without even a single scratch (Not that I recommend you guys to drop it). I have to say I was more than amazed by the build quality. I don't think it will disappoint you guys at all!

Another question that may stay in your mind,Why “only an USB” Headphone? When I can't be able to use it elsewhere without a laptop or desktop?

Well, actually guys, it will work in any kinda device which supports audio via USB! In my case I used it in my ps4 without any issues whatsoever and it worked totally fine. Also used it in a Smartphone using both a Female USB to a Male 3.5mm header & an USB OTG cable, And sure enough, it worked! So, it will work totally fine, no need to worry about then!

But, for 2750BDT MSRP, is it really worthy to buy a cheap surround sound headset over the normal ones?

Well, In my opinion, It totally is 100% worth it and even I would recommend you guys to try it over the similarly priced ones like even the Gamdias HEBE E1’s! The surround sound premium that you will pay is worth it & its really good value for money compared to what you guys are getting there!

So,The things I liked the most about the headset

*Simple,Minimalistic yet thoughtful design

*Decent padding all around the headset & the comfortness factor.

*Packed with a lot of necessary features

*The vibration works really nicely with the sound

*The sound & microphone quality is great

*Build quality seems Rigid

*Really good value for Money

The things that bothered me the most

*The software needs some more optimization and fixes

*The in-line remotes switch and knob is really bad quality and takes away the premium feeling which is otherwise present in the headphone.

*The in-line remote gets very hot while using for extended usage and creates discomfort (However I am not sure if its a problem with just my unit)