While known for its lineup of PC peripherals like keyboards, mice, and other accessories, Roccat is now introducing a new series to its lineup of gaming headsets. After Roccat was acquired by Turtle Beach in 2019, the new ELO series of headsets are the first to blend elements from both companies into one product. Leveraging Turtle Beach specific features like Superhuman Hearing, the gear also packs in high quality innovation that Roccat has been known for. With so much under the hood at a reasonable price point, the Roccat Elo series is one of the more impressive gaming headsets on the market.

From the start, players have multiple choices to pick from including the Elo x Stereo, a wired version of the headset, Elo 7.1 USB, and the premium Elo 7.1 Air. All three can be used across multiple platforms as well, whether that means PC, mobile devices, or either consoles in the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One. The headsets are also designed with 90-degree rotating ear cans, allowing them to lay flat around a person's neck when not in use.

The lineup also comes with a leather type material wrapped around memory foam, making them quite comfortable. For those with larger ears, the openings may feel a little tight, however, even after extended use, the memory foam ultimately helps to not make the player's ears feel tired, hurt, or potentially inducing headaches.

Along with the memory foam, Roccat utilizes a feature called ProSpecs Glasses Relief System. Essentially, this system attempts to alleviate pressure from players who wear glasses while they game, a common problem with other headsets that push on them and create pressure points on the head. The back left side of each headset also has a volume control and mute button for easy access. The 7.1 Air edition also has a microphone volume adjustor for those who want it.

The final element of added comfort the Elo series adds is the self-adjusting headband. Instead of being able to manually set the adjustment level like most headsets, simply putting them on will push the headband up and into the right position. Roccat ensures this creates a perfect and weightless fit on the person's head and so far, they're right. It took no effort to find the right spot after putting them on.

From a functionality standpoint, all three are fairly similar and sound excellent. The wired Elo x Stereo is the cheapest option of the three, though that doesn't mean it isn't a solid option. The headset overall sounds great with a deep bass, no distortion, and clear overall audio. The cord is about 4 feet long, which isn't a big deal when attached to a mobile device or controller for the PS4 or Xbox One, but the length may be more of an issue for a PC user and their custom setup.

For those who want to spend a little more, the wireless ELO 7.1 Air makes a compelling argument thanks to its use of Turtle Beach's patented Superhuman Hearing technology and 24-hour battery life. The headset also has RGB logos on both ear cans that can be customized with the AIMO lighting system inside the Roccat Swarm App. The connection range is also fairly impressive through the Stellar Wireless technology, keeping a clear connection even through walls and around corners.

Again, the audio quality is quite noticeable and the added 7.1 surround sound really pushes immersion. Obviously, in first person shooters like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare or Destiny 2, the footsteps and movements take on a whole new life, as its easier to pinpoint the direction something is coming in. It's a cool effect that gets enhanced even further through Turtle Beach's Superhuman Hearing technology.

An incredibly popular feature with Turtle Beach console headsets, Superhuman Hearing is able to take the incoming game sounds and tweak them to highlight specific and critical sounds over others. So for a first-person shooter, players will hear reloading or footsteps louder than, say, a bird chirping. This highlighting of game critical sounds aims to make it much easier to track and hear opponents, whether it's a game of Team Deathmatch or trying to stay hidden and out of sight from enemy NPCs. It's an incredibly helpful feature that fans will no doubt continue to enjoy. Thankfully, it's very easy to enable from the Swarm App and requires zero customization.

The Elo 7.1 Air also uses the Swarm App for even more customization. Not only can users set up their surround sound settings but they can also fully configure their audio output settings. It features an equalizer, voice and audio clarity, sample rate, and Bass EQ as well. Users can also save up to five different profiles from the app, letting them switch quickly between their different setups and configurations.

The illumination settings can also be modified from the Swarm app, which gives users tons of options to play around with. Many users will likely opt for Roccat's AIMO intelligent lighting system, which is said to react organically to the person's behavior, apps, and devices in use. However, other options include a color cycle, a single fully lit color, or setting it to match the rhythm of a heartbeat, breathing, or blinking. It's unclear how much these RGB settings may impact the reported 24-hour battery life, though.

The microphone portion of the headset sounds crystal clear, regardless of the version a player is using. According to Roccat, the microphone uses TruSpeak technology for a clear connection, which works very well. Inside of the Swarm app, users can further customize their mic settings including noise cancellation, sample rate, and mic noise sensitivity. There's also a magic voice option that will change the person's voice to Male, Female, Monster, or Cartoon.

Overall, the Roccat ELO brand headsets are easy to recommend for their audio quality alone and consumer-friendly price point, especially for players debating whether or not to spend nearly double on the BlackShark V2 Pro. Even those who aren't interested in utilizing the Superhuman Hearing features of the 7.1 stereo surround sound wireless ELO headset, the standard ELO X Stereo headset more than proves to be worth the purchase.

The Roccat ELO X Stereo retails for $49.99 while the ELO 7.1 Air retails for $99.99 and both are available now. Game Rant was provided ELO X Stereo and ELO 7.1 Air headsets for this review.