Fnatic could also be higher often known as an esports firm, however as their glorious Fnatic Streak keyboards have proven, they’re fairly the dab hand at making top-notch gaming peripherals as nicely. The Streak and its compact tenkeyless miniStreak companion have been sitting atop my best gaming keyboard checklist ever since they got here out, and their Flick 2 and Clutch 2 mice aren’t half dangerous both. Now, Fnatic are finishing the set with their React gaming headset. Here’s wot I feel.
At £70 / $70, the Fnatic React isn’t precisely the most affordable headset on the market, however put it facet by facet with one thing just like the £47 / $50 Logitech G432, for instance (which is my present best gaming headset suggestion for these on a finances), and you’ll see the place that extra cash’s going. Its fake leather-based ear cushions and thick, memory-foam padded headband feel and look much more upmarket than the G432’s altogether extra plastic development, and I used to be capable of put on the React rather a lot longer earlier than it began to pinch the highest of my head. Plus, its microphone is removable, making it extra appropriate for sporting out and about if you wish to use it together with your telephone or laptop computer.
The React doesn’t have any fancy further options which may push its worth up even additional, both, resembling RGB lighting around the ear cups, equalizer modes or digital 7.1 encompass sound. Instead, it simply will get on with producing great-sounding audio with out the necessity to faff round with extra software program.
Fnatic say the React has been designed with esports in thoughts, however don’t let this put you off. Indeed, once I examined the React with my ordinary suite of decidedly non-esportsy games, I discovered it was a incredible all-round headset that’s able to delivering crisp, clear audio in a variety of titles.
When I booted up Final Fantasy XV, for instance, the React dealt with its orchestral soundtrack with ease. The strings and accompanying percussion sound heat and filled with wealthy element, and all the things felt completely balanced towards the game’s environmental sound results. Battles had been by no means overwhelming, and the top-tapping music didn’t get drowned out by the zips and zaps of Noctis’ teleporting sword antics, both.
Doom felt very a lot at dwelling on the React as nicely. As an FPS, it clearly leans into the headset’s esportsy design cues, but it surely’s nonetheless a knock-out audio expertise. Everything was splendidly clear, with crisp, crunchy, nay, bone-cracking element, and I used to be ready to pick each squelch, squish and splat as I yanked out each final demon spleen. The headset’s glorious directional audio additionally allowed me to pinpoint any remaining stragglers, and the joys of listening to an imp’s fireball roar previous my ear or over my head by no means obtained outdated.
The solely space the place that eager sense of spatial consciousness got here barely undone was throughout my final take a look at game, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. Here, the game’s binaural audio misplaced a few of its all-encompassing 360 diploma impact and it usually felt just like the game’s soundtrack had been lowered to easy stereo. It wasn’t the top of the world, all informed, because the voices themselves had been nonetheless very clear and natural-sounding, but it surely didn’t fairly handle that tingling down the again of my backbone sensation that different headsets have performed previously.
Still, within the grand scheme of issues, the React carried out nicely and I didn’t have any complaints once I tried it with different games outdoors my ordinary testing trio. Its removable microphone additionally put in a superb exhibiting, capturing my voice clearly with out introducing any pesky muffling results or extra pop sounds once I sighed or breathed too near the big increase cowl. It’s not excellent – there was fairly a little bit of background hiss once I recorded myself speaking in Audacity, and turning the amount down didn’t actually assist issues a lot, both – but it surely’s completely serviceable.
The React additionally struggled a bit once I tried utilizing it as an everyday pair of headphones for listening to music with, too. When I fired up my Final Fantasy XV soundtrack in iTunes, for instance, my favorite Hunted or Be Hunted observe sounded just like the strings had been being performed within the subsequent room with the sound being funnelled by way of an unbelievable tiny tube. Simpler, extra sedate tracks fared a bit higher – the less devices being performed, the higher it sounded, actually – however general each observe I performed felt a bit restrained and skinny on the bottom in comparison with different headsets I’ve examined previously. Again, it’s completely serviceable in case you don’t have one other pair of headphones at hand, however I hoped for a bit extra contemplating its £70 / $70 worth.
As a pure gaming headset, although, there’s lots to love in regards to the Fnatic React. Its glorious directional audio makes it a superb match for FPS games, and its comfier, sturdier design makes it extra nice to put on for lengthy intervals of time than its cheaper, overly plasticky rivals. There’s room for enchancment in the best way it handles common music and that pesky background microphone hiss, however in case you’re after one thing simple that doesn’t look fairly as ‘gamery’ as, say, the equally priced £70 / $80 Corsair Void Elite RGB (which is the successor to the superb Corsair Void Pro RGB), then the React is certainly price contemplating.
