EKSA Fenrir E7000

While there are clear benefits to shelling out some extra pennies for a premium piece of technology, sometimes a cheaper option is appreciated. While we've covered a collection of devices that fit this bill, the headset in question today might be the best to slot in this category, and that's because EKSA's Fenrir E7000 clocks in at a very plausible price tag, although it does lack some amenities and features because of it.

But before I explore the sound quality and the hardware that powers this system, let's talk about the design first. Right off the bat you can see that the Fenrir E7000 is a wired headset, which while meaning it has a low latency due to the connection method, lacks the freedom that wireless devices excel with. There is the slight bonus of the Fenrir coming with a split input wire that includes both a USB connection, and also a 3.5mm audio jack, so there are plenty of ways to plug this headset in. Connectivity aside, the actual frame for the Fenrir is also a bit too rigid for my liking. It's made of light and admittedly quite cheap feeling plastic and has a limited amount of lateral flexibility, to the point where you fear you could actually snap the headband if you twist it further than a 45-degree angle. The foam padding on the top of the headband is also a little disappointing, and means that you will start to feel discomfort after wearing the headset for a few hours. I will say that the earmuffs are a different story however, and feel consistently comfortable and secure, and I have yet to have any issues relating to this area of the design.

Otherwise, the Fenrir has a rotatable microphone on the left earcup, which is about as basic and straightforward as a microphone gets. There's no foam padding around the microphone itself, meaning it doesn't capture audio in a particularly excellent fashion, and like the headband, is rather rigid and has very limited flexibility. The rotating part is about all the movement it offers. Keeping on the topic of the microphone, the left earcup also has the only control inputs on the entire headset, and all that is on offer here is an actual switch for manually muting and unmuting the microphone, and then also controlling the output volume of audio with a slider. It's very, very minimalistic.

And this is quite an unusual situation because the Fenrir has a very unique design. The outside of the cups are tailored to look like a menacing wolf-like grin, with green LED lighting in certain parts to add to the flair. I don't mind this appearance at all, but I also can't help but feel like a little less time could be spent on appearance and more on what is actually on offer in a usability and hardware sense.

Following up to this point, it should come as no surprise to hear that the Fenrir won't be leaving you shocked and blown away with its audio quality. It's serviceable and fine, and while it doesn't actually do anything incorrectly or poorly (for a headset designed for gaming at least, audiophiles will definitely want to look elsewhere), it's not the most impressive and deep sounding audio profile I've ever encountered in a headset by any stretch.

Although this should be expected. The Fenrir retails for $35.99, making it very approachable when looking at the gaming headset market. Anyone who has used a premium offering from the likes of Razer, HyperX, SteelSeries, and so on, will instantly recognise the differences, but you can't expect a similar level of performance and quality at such a reasonable price point. If you're looking for a cheap and easy to work device then this ticks a lot of the boxes, but anything more and I would suggest shifting your focus elsewhere.