Page 2 - Physical Look - Hardware
My first impression of the ROCCAT Renga Boost was how lightweight it was. I was quite surprised to find out it was 210g, which is heavier than some headphones I merely considered average weight in the past. Have I changed, or is it just the way these headphones are designed gives a perception of being lighter than it actually is? It could be both -- who knows.
As you can see in our photo above, our black ROCCAT Renga Boost is more conservative than it is attention-grabbing. It is based on a very traditional design that has elements that are distinctive. The straight mounted circular ear cups are as traditional as it gets; in fact, it is only designed to tilt and not rotate around the joint. Four vents on the outside of the ear cups mean that nothing is sealed from the environment. You will hear everything around you. and everyone around you will also hear what you hear from your Renga Boost. On the right ear cup attachment, you will find ROCCAT's logo inscribed on the outside, while the Roccat Renga branding can be found printed in white on the ear cup itself. The left ear cup has no such branding as it comes with a microphone on the ear cup attachment, but you will find the line "Studio Grade Sound" written on the ear cups itself.
Each side is labeled "L" and "R" on a sliding clip, so you will never be confused which side is which. The headband is composed of two sections. There is a wide leather-emulating plastic section that makes contact with your head, while two steel wires that fly over the top forms the frame of the Renga Boost. This separates the structural elements from the fitting elements to improve pressure distribution on your head for increased comfort. Overall, the construction quality of the ROCCAT Renga Boost is acceptable. It is all plastic, but they feel good for the price point. The steel wire frame provides the rest of the structural rigidity required for the headphones. Meanwhile, the cable is permanently attached to the left ear cup. We will dig into the details of all these in just a moment.
Our photo above shows the ROCCAT Renga Boost in its standard state. As aforementioned, the ear cups can be tilted but not rotated. The ROCCAT Renga Boost is not collapsible either. Being a circumaural gaming headset and all, it can be used for traveling, but it may not be the most convenient thing to do. Personally, I would recommend leaving it with your PC at home. Of course, with the two-stage headband design along with the large circumaural ear cups on the side, the ROCCAT Renga Boost will look pretty big on your head. These headphones are not meant to be a fashion accessory from the start -- these are PC or console gaming headphones, and they look the part -- at the same time, it is important not to rule out its comfort. The leather-emulating plastic headband can be self-adjusted to accommodate people of different head sizes. Soft foam cushions wrapped in soft leather surrounds the drivers on the ROCCAT Renga Boost. Throughout my testing, I found the headset to be pretty comfortable with good pressure distribution all around. It did not block any outside noise as aforementioned, but if you are fragging your friends at home, this may not be a bad thing at all.
These circumaural headphones have 50mm neodymium drivers with a rated frequency response of 20Hz to 20kHz. These specifications are quite standard for the average human hearing range. The rated impedance is 32 ohms. The impedance is reasonable compared to other headphones in the market today, and most devices should have no problems driving the Renga Boost. However, amplifying it will have sonic benefits.
Back to the full view, here is the ROCCAT Renga Boost with the microphone rotated into position. The microphone is coated in rubber and can be easily bent into shape. A 2.5m cable is permanently attached with an integrated in-line remote that has a microphone on/off switch and a resistor-based volume control slider. The cable is rubber coated with two 3.5mm gold plated straight-plug stereo jacks, one for the microphone and one for the headphones; both with color coded poles and comes with a microphone or headphone logo on the plugs. An adapter is included to convert the pair of 3.5mm stereo jacks into a single 3.5mm three-pole jack. The cable is fairly tangle resistant thanks to its thickness and is reasonably resistant to microphonics, which is always a good thing.
With its promise for "studio grade sound", how will it perform? It is now time to find out in the moment of truth here at APH Networks.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware
3. Subjective Audio Analysis
4. Conclusion
