Sandberg Derecho Headset – Hardware Review
After one of Sandberg’s gaming mice and keyboards passed the revue, we felt it would have been a shame if we did not do a follow-up with one of their headsets, allowing our readers to see a full Sandberg setup. Luckily Sandberg gave us the opportunity to do just that by allowing us to take a gander at the Derecho headset, giving us access to their most expensive gaming headset that is currently out. While we are quite curious to see the two new classy models that will be releasing soon, Sandberg’s unique design choices are already very visible in this sturdy gaming companion.
Design
Granted there are still a few brands that choose a rather angular design for their gaming apparel, most companies tend to opt for rounded features on headsets and some brands even blatantly copy one another, while claiming to be original by adding a few minor whistles and bells to their ‘newly’ invented device. Sandberg keeps it simple and doesn’t follow the same pattern as many other brands, while adding enough flair to the device to make it stand out. You’ll be treated to a fairly monotone black headset, safe for the exterior of both ear pads, which have a gridded pattern. The floating head support and the open frame are nice touches, but they follow the same black pattern, thus don’t stand out that much.
While an all black device is either completely up your alley, or simply sounds boring in your book, Sandberg adds a lot of flair to the device when you actually plug it in. You’ll be treated to beautiful bright colors from the LEDs behind the gridded exterior of the ear pads. This feature alone gives this device a hefty extra punch, making it stand out easily against many competing products.
Comfort
We’ve never been that much of a fan of ‘floating’ head supports in the past, safe for a few exceptions, we feared the worst for this device, but eventually we were dead wrong to try out this product with such a biased opinion. The Derecho headset ended up being a very comfortable piece of gaming equipment, with ample padding in the ear cups and even the thin head support felt soft and comfortable during our longer gaming sessions.
Depending on your own personal preference you’ll either appreciate that you can still hear a lot of what’s going on around you when you have the device on your head, or you might be bothered by it. Overall, it didn’t truly bother us during our testing period, but again, this is mostly a matter of taste.
This device probably has one of the subtlest cover-ups for the microphone, as thanks to its small size, it’s nearly invisible when it’s enclosed in its respective ear pad. The shortness of the microphone itself might take some time to get used to, if you’ve always had devices where the microphone was long enough to reach your mouth, or even go a bit in front of it. This one runs a bit along your cheek, but even if you’re used to other devices, it’s only a (short) matter of time getting used to this headset’s setup.
Specs
- 40mm drivers
- Multi-color LED lights
- 2 meters nylon braided
- Vibration function
Overview
As expected the Derecho is a device that works readily after simply plugging in its USB-cable. You can easily manage without the software for the headset, but said tool could prove to be a help when you want to fine-tune certain things. Nonetheless, the program for the device looks very rudimentary, and simply doesn’t add that much value to the package, as it feels rather sloppily done. That being said, it’s still handy to mess around with a bit, but when you find the proper settings, it’s probably best to keep it at that then.
The controls can be found on the backside of the left ear cup, and you’ll be able to opt for regulating the volume settings, turning on/off the LEDs and the bass/vibration settings. Overall things prove to be very simple to use, and the buttons are easily detectable, which proves to be quite important as you can’t see the buttons when you have the device on your head. Things remain simple in a very user-friendly way. That being said, the vibrations were hardly noticeable, and it makes us wonder if this is pretty much game-specific.
Overall the sound quality is very crisp and clear, but we’ve noticed that the standard settings seem to vary on different devices, thus if something sounds ‘off’, it’s advised to give the software a spin and mess around with the settings. Often it’s a certain amplifier that has been activated for some reason. If this is a fault of the headset or one of your OS, we’re not sure. Nonetheless, expect superb quality during your gaming sessions.
Conclusion
Sandberg pretty much nails it with their Derecho headset, even with the somewhat shoddy software for this device. The quality, sturdiness and appearance of this device prove to be solid, especially when keeping in mind the retail price of this headset. Without too many whistles and bells, you’ll be treated to a stylish and very functional piece of gaming equipment. Certainly worth checking out if this device falls in your price range.
Sandberg Derecho Headset - Hardware Review,
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