Creative Sound Blaster Tactic3D Sigma Gaming Headset

After a full night session gaming with this headset, I feel more than comfortable enough to say that the Tactic3D Sigma is one of the best headsets I have owned, and I think will ever own. The Sigma is a very unusualy headset really, as from alot of reviews I have read alot of people are reporting that this headset can be quite tight on the head, although comfortable. I however, have found it to be actually quite loose, to the point where you feel if you were to turn too quickly, it may 'slob' about on your head. This was my only concern when I first unboxed this headset, and the reason I say its an unusual headset. Although they feel loose to me, and a few of my friends, the size is actually just right for gaming. They don't squeeze the head hard, but they do seal the sound in quite nicely - now the strangest part is that they are so comfortable even after 16hr marathons (such as the one I had last night) the fit is just right, even though it seems that it isn't; the pads are not pressing on your ears so hard that they cause discomfort or sweating, the just feel 'nice'. I mentioned the pads press? I have fairly small ears and a normal sized head, and I am used to using Altec IM716 IEMs for gaming at tournament level and Sony XB500s for most all other audio, and I am used to the perfect fit of my Sony's, just the right clamp on the head and my ears fit nicely inside the (circular) cups, (so it may be just that I'm so used to the Sony's that these feel strange..) now the difference for reference to anyone thats either owned or had a try of the XB500s is that the cups are ovular, as with many headphones/sets. They are roughly similar in size, if a touch smaller but at first my ears felt as though the cups were a fraction too small for my ears but after bedding them in a bit, I think it more of the tips of my ears toughing the pads than actually resting on them. The pads themselves are soft, not unlike the Sony set, but with a slightly denser foam which provides a comfortable 'rest' on the head over the usual 'clamp' of headsets at alot of LAN centres. The cabling is again, alot like the XB500 'phones, but much thinner and lighter, and to me it seems to be less durable, but that could be mistaken on account of the fact that the cabling is such high quality and lightweight. Now the juicy bits; sound. The sound on this headset is very, very clear indeed for gaming and vocals especially. Out of the box I have used them paired with my Asus Xonar DG soundcard and the sound is very impressive indeed, the bass is very large, and floats around the 60-250hz. This appears very 'bloaty' at first but after minor EQ tweaking, this is corrcted and the headset offers a flatter but still present bass level. The midrange out of the box is probably the most 'flat' area of the headset, and is paired with a treble that seems to roll off as the frequencies extend. This is normal and perfectly adequate for gaming, FPS based games in particular benefit from this kind of response ans it highlights footsteps really well, but still offers a nice lower end for ambient noises and explosions. I have since tweaked these with a couple of EQ presets; one for music and two for games. Using BF3, CSS and Boarderlands 2 I have a flatter midrange, slightly lowered bass and a higher treble than pure flat. For RTS and other games, I have a more bassy approach, lifting the lower frequencies and lowering the mids, whilst lifting only the highest frequencies of the treble. These EQ types work very well and offer great sound for a spectrum of games. Positional sound is very good with the 3.5mm jacks plugged in and my Asus' GX2.5 Audio engine ON, hoever turning it off seems to offer very little difference.. But anyhow, I am able to pick out enemies around me from 30-40m accurately in BF3, and in CSS I find that I can more or less pinpoint where some one is on maps such as de_dust as soon as they come within earshot. In fact, I found myself picking out which STEP the enemy was on of a staircase with a fair distance thrown into the equasion. I found that I could get alot more of an accurate idea of where to aim for a straight headshot from round a corner than with my previous Plantronics headset. The audio is great for both horizontal and vertical positioning, and I don't find much issue with targets directly above or directly below me, although if they are (this is an engine limitation more than headset related) it can be hard to tel initially which way they are headed from standing within the same 1m(sq), nothing unusual but just though I'd point it out. Now the real showpiece of this headset; the mic. The mic is actually a condensor mic derived from studio misrophone technology and the quality is (for a headset) out of this world! I have a full bradcast kit that I use for filming game expos and interviews, and the mic on this headset is very close to my Rode VideoMic camera microphone, and that is not a bad mic. The clarity is amazing but what impresses me most is the lack of external sounds that actually pass through the mic, even with my girlfriend on the ipad listening/singing along to music about 7-8 feet behine me, hardly and background noise transmits to my friends, and the headset does a good job of blocking out the noise too. I have yet to configure the THX USB sound card, however I won't be using it anytime soon on my PC. I wil add another review when I purchase a new laptop for gaming. <- that bieng a massive plus of this headset in my books, and most other reviews of the THX TruStudio Pro suite have been positive so things fair well for that I think! TL:DR? Heres a roundup. Design: 10, you look like an air marshall with them on, but I love the plain approach. I really dislike heavy game branding such as WoW, D3 or even the fatal1ty (Insert pleasant word here..) Build: 8.5, Headset is sturdy and very durable, volume/mic mute pod is solid but the cable COULD be a potential weak point. Comfort: 9, I haven't to find anything uncomfortable about this headset as of yet, but the overall 'loose-fit' of the headset take a bit of gettin used to. (Highly worth it though!) Game Audio: 10, faultless with some minor EQ tweaking, works for all kinds of games extremely well without over emphasizing any of the frequencies. Music Audio: 8, not a music headset, but at the same time VERY capable nonetheless. You might find yourself tweaking the EQ a fair bit if you listin to a range of music, but if you have a fairly small intrest range then they'll be perfect once you get the EQ right. Vocals are amazing and clear! The clarity defies belief for acoustic numbers. Chat Audio: 10, absolutely amazing, voices come across loud and clear, and don't get lost in with the game sounds. Its still worth keeping game sounds lower than the incoming voice, but very clear and audible either way. Mic: 10, Hands down the best mic I've used, coming pretty well ahead of the corsair 1500 mic (for example) in this video http://youtu.be/cKZ0bg1QtXI. There is ZERO feedback, at all and ZERO interferance from this mic, background noise is minimal and hissing/popping is almost nonexistant. **Wanting a headset for studio recording/youtube as well as gaming? This is perfect for you! Gripes: - Not so much of a 'clamp'/grip on the head rather than a rest, takes some getting used to. - Cable might be amazingly durable, and it certainly feels very high quality but it does appear to be a potential area to keep an eye on. that said, if you look after your gear then it will last a LONG time. - Again the cable is fantastic, and as it is a flat ribbon, you don't get tangles but if you transport or move the headset around alot (IE Away from your PC) it can twist easily.