The factor I like most in regards to the HP Omen Mindframe is its title. Say it with me. MINDFRAME. It’s so ridiculous it’s truly come full circle into pure, unbridled brilliance, and I doubt there shall be one other headset within the historical past of gaming headsets that even comes near matching its mad, bonkers moniker.
The HP Omen Mindframe’s title isn’t the one factor that units this headset aside, although. Through some form of thermoelectric magic, every earcup additionally has their very own devoted ear cooler. That’s proper. If you’re the kind of one that often finds their ears getting a bit sweaty after taking part in games all afternoon, the Mindframe will halt these salty droplets of their tracks and preserve your ears good and chilly. And surprisingly, it actually does work.
It’s fairly a cumbersome headset total, seemingly larger and bulkier than a lot of its non-ear-cooling competitors, however a big a part of that’s all the way down to its suspension headband relatively than the dimensions of its earcups. It’s an analogous concept to our best gaming headset champion, the Steelseries Arctis 7, however whereas the Arctis 7 makes use of a skinny, elastic, material-based design, the Mindframe goes all in with a second faux-leather headband that springs up and down to supply some adjustment. This finally ends up making it really feel extra substantial than the Arctis, and subsequently much less travel-friendly in consequence.
Not that you simply’re going to be out and about a lot with the Mindframe, as not solely is that this a USB headset, making it ill-suited to something however your PC or laptop computer, however its RGB LEDs across the Omen emblem and enormous, fold-down microphone even have a excessive chance of constructing you look a tad foolish except you’re essentially the most confident, on-the-go laptop-er.
Now, I’m usually the primary particular person to advocate the usage of suspension headbands. As somebody who often suffers from headset pinching after 30-odd minutes of use, suspension designs are at all times much more snug and simpler to put on than people who depend on extreme cushioning and reams of reminiscence foam to cease their heavy frames from urgent down in your previous noggin.
The Mindframe, nonetheless, merely doesn’t do fairly sufficient for these with barely smaller heads like myself. This is problematic, for whereas the scarf itself was fairly comfortable for essentially the most half, the earcups had a nasty behavior of hanging only a bit too low towards my jawline, making it really feel like my mouth was in some form of vice. I believe these with bigger craniums most likely gained’t have this downside, however it’s disappointing nonetheless, as I hoped the Mindframe was going to be simply as nice to put on because the Arctis 7. Alas, it appears it was to not be.
Still, when it comes to audio high quality, the HP Omen Mindframe is fairly first rate. Its digital 7.1 encompass sound (which is a everlasting fixture, by the way in which, as there’s no method to flip it into a daily stereo headset utilizing HP’s Omen Command Centre app) supplied a wonderful sense of house after I booted up Doom, for instance, and all of the environmental element rang by means of loud and clear, from the flickering flames of the UAC’s burning wreckage to the screeches and shrieks of the resident demon inhabitants. The bass wasn’t too overpowering when the game’s pumping battle music kicked in, both, and the blasts of my Super Shotgun nonetheless sounded pleasingly weighty because it ripped by means of the squelching flesh of my prey.
Similarly, Final Fantasy XV‘s hovering orchestral music sounded great on the Mindframe, with battle cries and monster yelps completely balanced towards the sharp strings and taut percussion.
It was solely after I obtained to Hellblade, nonetheless, that I began to see some cracks within the Mindframe’s efficiency. Hellblade makes use of a binaural soundtrack, in any case, which is supposed to simulate a exact 3D soundscape that precisely captures sounds each close to and much away. In the game, that is very important to inserting these all vital voices inside Senua’s head, and a superb headset will make it really feel like they’re all within the room with you, whipping round behind you as they jeer and snipe on the again of your neck.
The Mindframe, nonetheless, merely separated out Senua’s inside voices to the suitable and left-ear cup, turning what ought to have been an all-encompassing soundtrack right into a relatively bizarre stereo one. Each voice nonetheless got here by means of loud and clear, however the impact was fully ruined.
Thinking again to my earlier take a look at games, I then realised the Mindframe had completed the identical factor in Doom as nicely. At the time, I believed it was doing a fairly first rate job with its numerous positional sound results similar to fireplace ball lobs or plasma fireplace, however loading the game up once more revealed that each sound was leaping fairly violently between every ear cup as an alternative of transitioning easily from one to the opposite. I simply didn’t discover it fairly a lot as a result of the game’s so fast-paced.
Still, whereas the Mindframe can most likely nearly get away with this form of factor in heated motion games, it’s out of the query for slower, extra ponderous games like Hellblade and consequently finally ends up limiting the headset’s total attraction. I believe that is most likely one thing to do with its everlasting digital 7.1 encompass sound gubbins, as different headsets I’ve examined up to now additionally battle with Hellblade after I’ve had these things switched on. As I discussed earlier, although, there’s no method to flip it off on the Mindframe, as the one controls you may have within the Omen Command Centre app are for the lighting and ear-cooling. That’s it. No EQ settings, no ‘actually I’d prefer to hear in common stereo now, thanks’. Nothing.
I additionally wasn’t notably enamoured with the on-earcup quantity management, both. It most likely didn’t assist that it had truly damaged on my explicit assessment pattern by the point it arrived with me – the little twisly knob having come fully unstuck from its little alcove – however even after I’d managed to press it again into place, the tactile sensation of rolling it spherical below my fingers was simply horrible. Somehow it managed to really feel each frictionless and gritty on the identical time, and it additionally felt on the verge of simply sliding proper out from its little nook.
I need to admit, I used to be stunned after I noticed glue marks on the within of the amount knob, as regardless of the earcups holding your ears good and funky, they do get fairly toasty on the skin. Now I used to be by no means excellent at science after I was in school, however my intestine tells me that glue and warmth are by no means a superb mixture for long-term construct high quality.
I used to be additionally mildly alarmed to learn within the Mindframe’s personal instruction guide that I ought to often wipe its inside ear cups with a fabric to take away any extra condensation. I didn’t discover this after I previewed it at Gamescom, however certain sufficient, after I took it off after a few hours use, every earcup had a visual quantity of moisture inside them. This might be as a result of the thermoelectric jiggery pokery works by drawing warmth away out of your ears, however it clearly isn’t excellent at dispelling it if it is a identified downside the person has to take care of often.
I’d be extra anxious if HP hadn’t talked about it within the Mindframe’s instruction guide, however it doesn’t precisely instil a lot confidence within the total longevity of the headset – no less than to not me, anyway. Sure, the earcups are supposed to be manufactured from moisture-wicking cloth, however that’s of little use when all of it collects on the steel speaker grille above the motive force.
There’s quite a bit to love about HP Omen’s ear-cooling tech, however extra moisture positively isn’t excessive up on the listing.
It’s a disgrace, actually, as the feeling of getting your ears cooled is admittedly fairly nice. It’s fully silent, so it doesn’t intervene with no matter you’re taking part in, and I didn’t really feel almost as grotty after I took it off after I’d completed taking part in. I’m simply undecided I’d wish to put within the effort to take care of it.
The microphone put in a fairly good efficiency, too. It’s flip-to-mute, however it additionally emits an audible beep once you’ve moved it far sufficient to show it on or off, supplying you with a pleasant little bit of clarification once you wish to take a swig of tea. There was a slight background hiss current after I recorded myself speaking in Audacity, however nothing to be overly involved about for enjoying games, and the remainder of my speech was clear and pop-free.
As for normal music listening, the Mindframe tends to be a bit boomy on the bass aspect of issues. Whereas Final Fantasy XV sounded good and balanced in-game, for example, my FFXV soundtrack over in iTunes had a particular bias towards the low-end of the sound spectrum, making drums and percussion sound a bit too echoey for my liking, and brass and double bass a bit muddy and missing element.
Delicate piano tracks nonetheless sounded completely positive on the Mindframe, the additional bass truly giving loads of my assortment a pleasant sense of heat and depth to them, however as quickly as extra devices began getting into the combo all of it grew to become a bit fudge-like. Rock and pop songs fared higher, the vocals in Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now coming by means of clearly towards the distinct guitars, piano and percussion, however there are positively higher headsets on the market if you need one that may double up on game and common music duties.
I applaud HP for attempting one thing totally different with the Omen Mindframe, however in the end it left me feeling a bit chilly. As a lot as I just like the ear-cooling tech in idea, I’m much less in love with having to wipe it down each time I wish to use it, and the very fact you possibly can’t flip off its digital 7.1 encompass sound is one other enormous, nicely, flip off. It could swimsuit some games all the way down to the bottom, but when I’m spending £180 / $200 on a gaming headset, I would like one that may do every thing with out concern. For me, the Steelseries Arctis 7 remains to be the headset to beat.
