Page 3 - Physical Look - Subjective Audio Analysis
As with all the audio products we review here at APH Networks, it takes quite a bit of experience and training of the ears before we can begin making a fair judgment. Even for the best of audiophiles, it can be hard to produce an exact and accurate evaluation of a product without a thoroughly familiar product to use as simultaneous reference. While I will not claim to be the reviewer of all reviewers for headphones, I can say quite a few other computer review sites have editors lacking in training for reviewing anything audio related. Give them anything and all you will get is some vague description of “awesome bass, amazing midrange, nice treble, no muffles, 10/10”. Do not get me wrong though; there are knowledgeable audio reviewers out there on respected online media outlets, but they are far and few. There are no true objective measurements for audio sound quality. As the reviewer, however, I will put the Patriot Viper V380 through a series of subjective tests to try to come up with the most objective rating as possible. The tests were conducted with the Viper V380 plugged directly into the included USB sound card.
After over 50 hours of break-in time -- well above the typical required period -- we put the Patriot Viper V380 to the tests. All tracks are uncompressed or high bitrate audio files. For gaming, I played Overwatch and League of Legends. First-person shooter games are probably the most crucial games to test these headphones, as gameplay can heavily rely on hearing additional sounds. The other games have aspects where audio is useful, but this is less of a factor.
When it comes to gaming headsets, it is pretty typical to see a V-shaped sound, and this is exactly what we get with the Patriot Viper V380. This is not too surprising as it generally gets a fun-sounding signature, even if it might not be for audiophiles. Even so, the end result should be still favorable for the general consumer, especially if we still have desirable qualities in each of the regions.
Starting at the bottom, the Patriot Viper V380's bass was present from the beginning, but almost with too much emphasis in this region. Unfortunately, it also came with a muddy feel and lacked in definition. It did not have a round sound and, unfortunately, lacked the oomph I wanted in spite of its greater relative amount. In games, it is important to have a solid and clear bass to hear things like footsteps around you, or other environment noises. This did not affect my gaming performance, as I was still able to discern these game elements around me.
Moving up to the middle regions of the frequency range, the midrange was recessed and pulled back. This is not too surprising considering the V-shaped sound signature we mentioned previously. The lower middle regions were good with vocals in this region sounding natural, albeit a bit dry. Instruments like pianos and guitars rang with resonance, but there was a drier sound than I would have liked. The higher midrange was similar, as feminine voices had this similar dryness that I did not prefer. In games, the midrange is not necessarily as crucial, though it is important for communications with other players.
Finally, in the treble, we have the continued dryness in this region. Following the V-shape, its trebles are also emphasized, though they are attenuated at the very top of this region. Unfortunately, the treble sounded clashy and lacked tightness. Instruments like violins and percussion elements like cymbal crashes lacked clarity and sounded uncomfortably shrill. This was more noticeable in classical music, but it is rather unfortunate. In games, it is important to have good trebles for more environmental cues and awareness like gunshots firing or glass breaking.
When it comes to soundstaging and imaging, the 53mm drivers in the Patriot Viper V380 did a decent job in providing a good amount of depth and width. Unfortunately, some of the emphasized bass and trebles combined with lacking midrange affected the perceived image, as it felt unnatural at times. Patriot does provide their Xear 3D output for virtual 7.1 surround sound, but it added more distortion and felt unnatural without providing extra soundstage. As such, I would probably not recommend using this faux surround output.
As for layering, the Patriot Viper V380 gets overwhelmed by more complex music or with more voices competing at the same time. Loss in detail was heard in the midrange and trebles, which is something they should fix up. There were also drop-offs between frequency regions as transitions were not smooth, creating a lack of cohesion for all of the ranges together. Finally, there was a notable buzz and whine at maximum volume, which I presume is from the DAC built into this headset. It was only audible when the volume wheel on the Viper V380 maxed out, but it should still be addressed.
I utilized Audacity to record and export the captured audio to an MP3 file. From here, you can hear the Patriot Viper V380 microphone was not bad overall. The voice picked up was pretty clear. The compressed sound is still apparent with this microphone, though this is not surprising considering we still lost frequencies at both ends of the spectrum. The omnidirectional microphone does pick up a bit in terms of external sounds. I also tried Xear ENC, or electronic noise cancellation, but the result felt even more restrictive in its frequency range. The end output sounded robotic like, so I do not think it is a good sacrifice. For voice chats and Zoom meetings, this microphone should be good, but I would probably recommend something with a more open sound for professional recording or streaming.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware and Software
3. Subjective Audio Analysis
4. Conclusion
