Back in May, I took a look at a new RGB mechanical keyboard from a company called Gamdias. Well as it turns out they aren’t just in the keyboard market, they mice, mouse pads, and headsets as well. They asked us if I would be interested in checking out one of their latest headsets, the Hephaestus v2. I read a little about the headset and on top of it being a 7.1 headset it also has something called Bass Impact that vibrates around your ears. As someone who enjoys a little bass but doesn’t want to lose my hearing early in life, I had them send the headset over to give it a little testing. After spending a little time with the headset I’m finally going to run you guys through its features and my overall experience, so let’s dive into it.
Product Name: Gamdias Hephaestus V2 7.1 w/vibration
Review Sample Provided by: Gamdias
Written by: Wes
Pictures by: Wes
Amazon Link: HERE
| Specifications | |
| Sensitivity | 119±3dB |
| Impedance | 32 Ohms |
| Driver diameter | 50mm |
| Microphone size | Φ6*5mm |
| Microphone sensitivity | -40db±3db |
| Vibration unit driver unit size | 35mm |
| Cable Length | 1.9m |
| Plug type | USB |
Packaging
The Hephaestus v2’s packaging follows the same general theme of the Gamdias keyboard I covered. Up on the top is a white stripe and in that is the Gamdias logo as well as the product name. Then below that they use a black background and have a photo of the headset on the cover. To the left are four of the headsets key features highlighted with short descriptions. I like that they did slip in a specification listing on the side of the box, not enough companies include this. Then the back doesn’t really have too much going on, there is another feature list but this time, it is repeated in eight different languages and that takes up basically the entire back of the box.
Inside the headset sits in a thin plastic tray formed to the shape f the headset to keep it from moving around. They didn’t use any twist ties to keep the headset in place but it didn’t move around at all. The cord comes wrapped up in a plastic bag and is tapped around the side and tucked into the back of the tray. For documentation, you get a tiny quick installation guide.
Photos and Features
Gamdias used the name Hephaestus v2 for their new headset. This was an odd choice, both because it is actually hard to say and also because Hephaestus is actually the Greek god of blacksmiths and craftsmen. I think Hephaestus would be a better name for a headset with a metal finish. That said the Hephaestus does have a few things going on. For starters, it’s a huge headset. It has large round earcups and a large headband to go with it. This isn’t a bad thing, a lot of people, myself included have big heads and prefer a headset that doesn’t push on our ears. The Hephaestus v2 reminds me a lot of the HyperX Cloud headsets that are very popular only with round earcups, not ovals.
The headband on the Hephaestus v2’s is a traditional style. The top of the band has a fake leather covering it with the Gamdias logo embossed into it on top. The bottom of the band has a black mesh and about a half inch of padding.
The headband has about an inch of adjustment in it on both sides. It attaches to the earcups with a double hinge that lets you flip the earcups sideways like in the top photo on this page or you can fold the earcups in to take up a little less space when packing them up. It depends on if you need the headset to be flat or take up less space overall. This flexibility helps with people who like to turn one ear to hear around them or to cool off their ear. The headband also has a large L and R on the sides to help you get the headset installed correctly, this is especially important with 7.1.
Like I said before, the earcups are large and have a round shape. On the side they have a small vent, but beyond that they are mostly sealed. The Gamdias logo is on each earcup and there is also a half-circle cut in the side of each cup that lights up red.
The Hephaestus v2 uses 50mm drivers in each ear. This means that this is a virtual 7.1 headset. The speakers have a sensitivity of 119 and a 32 Ohm impedance. Sadly, they didn’t list a frequency range, I was curious how they compared to the other headsets I have tested recently. Not having that listed doesn’t give me a lot of confidence, though. The speakers have fake leather padding keeping the speakers up off your ears.
With the Hephaestus v2’s being a headset, they do of course come with an attached microphone. It isn’t removable but it does have a nearly 360 spin range on the pivot on the side. The boom itself is flexible as well. At the end of the boom is a plastic enclosure with the microphone in it.
The Hephaestus v2 has a 1.9-meter length cord. The cord itself is thick and has a black sleeving on it as well for extra protection. This is a USB headset so at the end was a standard USB connection.
In line on the cord is also a small controller. On one side you have a volume control and the other side has two buttons. One turns the red lighting on and off and the other mutes the microphone. On top, there is a Gamdias logo. The logo is a hidden button as well that will turn the earcup vibration on and off. Overall I like that they include an inline control but I found that the vibration button doesn’t really show what it is or for that matter you can’t tell if it’s on or off. The same goes for the microphone mute as well. Both of those buttons should be right on the front and have a status indicator. Or they could go cheaper and just use a switch, this way you can see when they are on and off.
Audio Quality and Comfort
To put the Hephaestus v2’s through their paces I spent a few weeks using the headset as my main headset on my main PC. This gave me a chance to try them out in game as well as when watching movies and listening to music. I focused on both their comfort as well as the audio performance.
Starting with comfort I want to say again that the Hephaestus v2’s are a little bigger than normal. Even with my big head I only had to adjust them out about half way. I was a little concerned with this because some people with a smaller head might have trouble with them not fitting. To test this, I had my wife try them on. They did go small enough to fit her head but she wasn’t especially happy with how they fit her. For me, it was 50/50. I love the large earcups, they don’t touch my ears and typically this is where I get the most discomfort. I wasn’t as big of a fan of the padding in the headband, though, in fact, I think they could use softer padding in the headband and in the earcups to give the Hephaestus v2’s a plusher feeling when you wear them. When using the Hephaestus v2’s in an extended period of time I had a little discomfort on the headband but at least with the big earcups, I was good there.
As for the audio performance, I went in a little hesitant. I’m not a big fan of 7.1 headphones. In this case, officially the Hephaestus v2’s are actually just a normal headset but the built in sound card simulates 7.1. The directionality was good but I think I would be happier with the 2.1 version of the Hephaestus v2. Audio performance was a little hit and miss as well. The Hephaestus v2’s were missing a little something in the highs especially. I spent a lot of time toying with the vibration feature. You can turn it on and off by pushing the Gamdias logo on the controller. Without the vibration turned on there isn’t enough bass, turning it on did help with this most of the time, though. There are some songs that don’t get into the range of the vibration for their bass. But on the songs that did benefit the bass would sometimes rattle my teeth. Overall the feature seemed to help cover up a lack of range on the main speakers. I will say though that I really wish the controller had a way to indicate when the microphone is muted and when the vibration was turned on. I had to mess with that more than I would like to make sure it was working. Speaking of the controller I also noticed that the buttons in it rattled when you move it around. Beyond that I did like that they included an option to be able to turn off the lighting on the sides of the headset, not everyone wants to be glowing when they listen to music or game.
Overall and Final Verdict
So when we put it all together how are the Hephaestus v2’s? Well I really thought I would hate the vibration but it ended up helping a lot on the low end. I’m also happy that Gamdias didn’t leave big headed people out, the Hephaestus v2’s fit my big head and had a lot of room to spare. This was especially nice in the earcups where they fit completely around my ears. The overall comfort wasn’t too bad, but I would like to see they use a softer padding, especially in the headband. In extended sessions the band started to push down on my head more than I would like. The large size did end up being a con, my wife with her small head didn’t find the headset as comfortable. Beyond that I think the in-line controller could use a little work. It rattled and I would love to be able to see when things like the microphone is muted and the vibration is turned on. That said having an in-line controller at all is still a big plus. Audio performance was helped a lot by the vibration, but even then it felt flat on the high end.
Where the Hephaestus v2’s stands out the most though is when we check out the pricing. This set, for example, sells for $59.99 but you can also find a 2.1 set for $10 less. At those prices, they aren’t a bad pickup for someone with a big head. You won’t see me dropping my high-end headphones to use the Hephaestus v2’s anytime soon, but they do a good job at a great price for someone who isn’t looking to break the bank.
Live Pricing: HERE
