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Review Roccat Kulo Stereo Headset

Sturdy. A lightweight stereo headsets weighing less than 200 grams, can the Roccat Kulo satisfy your gaming needs?

The Roccat Kulo comes in a typical Roccat box.  The window on the front of the box gives you a look at the headset in the flesh.  Besides the headset itself, you won't find much in the box: an instruction manual and a Roccat ID card just about sum it up.  The recommended retail price (RRP) of about 60 Euro places Roccat's Kulo among mid-grade headsets.

The Kulo is Tough and Flexible

The headset is made of plastic with a metal strip lining the headband for firmness. The headband reveals itself to be incredibly sturdy.  The Kulo bends and twists far more than other headsets.  Meanwhile, the headset does not crack or snap in any place, rather it springs back into its original position once let go.

The Roccat Kulo isn't exactly colorful. The headset is almost completely black. Only the logo on the left headphone has some color to it.  The design is dominated by edges and corners rather than rounded surfaces.

Comfortable to Wear

The headphones are lined with on-ear pads, that is, they press against your ears rather then go over them.  This means that some outside noise is, nevertheless, audible.  On top of that, the feel of the ear pads really takes some getting used to at first.

The headband can be adjusted to eight increments of size to accommodate a wide range head sizes.  The headband is well padded so that it remains comfortable for hours on end.  The headband, however, does not cling very tightly to your head.  Every once in a while something (like the cable becoming fully extended and pulling on the headset, for example) can cause it to slide off.

The considerably long cable (2.5 meters) is equipped with its own volume slider.  The slider requires a good amount of effort to move it over a bit, allowing you to very accurately control the volume and keeping you from accidentally sliding it to max. volume and making your ears bleed.

Flipping the Microphone Up Turns it Off

The microphone is found along the left side of the headset and smoothly flips up over the headband.  Flipping the mic up also turns it off.  The microphone and headphones can be connected separately via two 3.5mm plugs.

Powerful Sound

The Roccat Kulo is equipped with two 40mm speakers with mylar membranes and neodymium magnets.  The sound quality is quite good. The bass, mid-range and treble are clean and sound powerful.  Distortion only becomes noticeable once the volume is ridiculously high.  Whether listening to music or playing a game, the Roccat Kulo makes the experience very enjoyable.  The microphone likewise leaves a good impression.   Speech comes in clear on the other end and outside noise is canceled out for the most part.

Verdict

Roccat Kulo Stereo Headset
Roccat Kulo Stereo Headset

Hamburg-based gaming accessories manufacturer Roccat has made a fine product with the sturdy Kulo Stereo Headset.  It's perfect for use on the go and its sound quality is rather good.  If you don't have a problem with on-ear headphones, then we'd highly recommend the Kulo.  The Roccat Kulo is definitely worth the price of about 60 Euro.

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In Review: Roccat Kulo Stereo Headset
In Review: Roccat Kulo Stereo Headset

Technical Specifications

General

  • Weight: 178 g (excl. cable)
  • Plugs: 2 x 3.5 mm
  • Cable Length: 2.5 m

Headphones

  • Frequency Response: 20~20.000 Hz
  • Impedance: 50 Ω ± 15 %
  • Sensitivity at 1 KHz: 102 dB ± 3 dB
  • Max. Output Power:80 mW
  • Speaker Diameter:40 mm
  • Speaker Magnets:Neodymium
  • Speaker Membrane:Mylar

Microphone

  • Frequency Response: 70~20,000 Hz
  • Sensitivity: -47 dB ± 3 dB
  • Signal-to-Noise Ratio: 50 dB
  • Impedance: 2.2 KΩ
  • Directionality: Bidirectional
  • Type: Noise-Canceling

Shortcut

What we like

How sturdy, comfortable and lightweight this headset is.

What we'd like to see

Some more accessories that come standard.

What surprises us

An on/off switch for the microphone.

The competition

Headsets connected via USB like the similarly reviewed beyerdynamic MMX 2 and ZOWIE Hammer, which are likewise pretty good.

Konrad Schneid, 2011-05- 2 (Update: 2013-06- 6)