The HP Omen Mindframe headset is kind of probably probably the most bonkers piece of audio gear I’ve ever seen. It’s referred to as MINDFRAME for a begin, which is each good and ridiculous in equal measure, however what actually units it aside from different headsets is fairly rattling cool – as in actually cool because of its thermoelectric ear-cooling earcups.
I’ll admit I used to be a bit skeptical when HP first announced this chilly piece of audio wizardry again in May, as I couldn’t probably consider a single cause why I’d ever have to preserve my ears cool whereas taking part in a game. I nonetheless can’t, if I’m being fully sincere, however having tried one for myself at Gamescom the opposite week, I’ve to say the Mindframe is definitely much more spectacular than I first thought, particularly now HP’s added a freezer’s price of latest options to it since that preliminary announcement. Could or not it’s best gaming headset materials? Here are my preliminary impressions.
A full assessment will come as soon as samples can be found within the run-up to the Mindframe’s launch someday in October, however after a short demo session with the headset clamped spherical my face, HP could be onto a winner right here. Rather than use followers for his or her ear-cooling gubbins, HP’s patented ‘Frostcap’ know-how employs magnets to create an airflow inside every ear cup, maintaining the within good and frosty whereas sizzling air is expelled around the again.
Indeed, once I touched the steel floor of the Mindframe’s audio driver cowl, it was ice chilly – a stark distinction to the ear cup’s noticeably toasty outer shell. It’s not so sizzling that it’s going to burn your hand or make you recoil in shock each time you’re taking them off or something, however I’d hazard a guess that you just most likely received’t wish to depart them plugged in when you’ve stopped taking part in for the day.
This is one thing I’ll have the ability to take a look at correctly as soon as I pay money for a assessment pattern myself, after all, however the precise sensation of getting your ears cooled is surprisingly nice. At first, I assumed it will be like having somebody continuously blowing in your ears for hours on finish – noisy, uncomfortable and downright irritating. In reality, the most effective analogy I can provide is that it’s like moving into an air conditioned room, albeit two tiny rooms which are fastened to both facet of your head. It’s simply… chilly. No draught. Nothing. And it’s quiet, too.
Admittedly, if I used to be being actually nit-picky, I’d say there was a really slight feeling of a really, very gentle breeze on my explicit demo unit, however I wouldn’t say it was noticeable sufficient to be a distraction, or forceful sufficient to annoying. What’s extra, if its default settings aren’t to your liking, you’ll be able to simply change its glacial ferocity with HP’s Omen Command Centre software program – the identical place, by the way, the place you’ll discover its RGB lighting controls (as a result of it wouldn’t be a gaming headset with out RGB, wouldn’t it now?).
I’ll be intrigued to see how its numerous permafrost settings maintain up over a strong weekend of game taking part in, however for now, I’m cautiously optimistic. Yes, it’s most likely an enormous gimmick, however at the very least it’s a gimmick that works and makes the headset really feel good to make use of – particularly when the mixture of its suspended headband and new material ear cup covers (for improved ‘breathability’ in comparison with its earlier fake leather-based jobs, based on HP) are so rattling comfortable within the first place. HP additionally informed me that we’ll most likely be seeing much more ear-cooling headsets from different producers begin to arrive quickly, too – not utilizing HP’s thermoelectric technique, all informed, nevertheless it suggests this sort of tech is right here to remain versus being a flash-in-the-pan fad.
To high all of it off, HP have additionally added a real-time sidetone characteristic to the Mindframe (critically, who signed off on that identify?) to make it simpler to listen to your self speaking when utilizing the fold-down, noise-cancelling mic. This wasn’t current on the preliminary mannequin introduced in May, and can little doubt come in useful in the event you’ve bought the ear-cooling going at full throttle.
That stated, I do want they’d made the mic much less chunky and/or detachable on the identical time, because it’s only a tad ugly in comparison with the remainder of the headset, and makes utilizing it out and about with a laptop computer an absolute no-go. It does, at the very least, have an LED on the tip of it to let when it’s muted or not, nevertheless it’s positively my least favorite a part of this in any other case fairly high-end feeling headset.
Of course, all that ear cooling gubbins doesn’t come low-cost, because the Mindframe is ready to value $200 / €200 when it launches subsequent month, with UK pricing but to be confirmed. Still, offered it sounds good and its chilly innards don’t turn out to be an enormous nuisance after a few hours use, it could be price the additional money in the event you’ve bought the funds for it or fancy proudly owning the world’s most indulgent headset. Either approach, you could be certain I’ll give it a radical testing as quickly as I can pay money for one.
