The Ear is a Muscle

The Guys

As I was walking into the company of AceZone (which actually took some time, as I got lost on my way), I couldn't help to notice the lack of bling in their office. I am used to the big venues, the big offices, press rooms and nice restaurants for presentations, but this was simple, basic and to the bone. Which was how I also met the director, Christian Poulsen.

One thing I do love about an innovative brand like this is the fire that burns. Christian explained in detail how he burns for creating the world's greatest headset for esports. How he gathered a bunch of rowdy privateers, setting sail on the seas of sound to hijack the others caravels of noise cancellation and bury their treasures on the market of gamers all over the world. Frederick Byskov of Astralis Fame, Søren Louis Pedersen, an innovator extraordinaire and himself, a start up captain, destined for carrying this ambition into the real world.

Now, one thing that was clear was that this isn't just young kids with a passion for sound. Yes, they do have it, but their technical knowledge and understanding of how, when, what and why together with a vast experience in sound and esports has given them somewhat of a competitive edge. Not only do they describe the whole setup from which sound spectrum they have selected, what they have created especially for noise cancellation and why their headsets are designated for a better listening experience as a whole, but they also incorporated the pro gamers in the equation, creating the best circumstances for gaming and performing in high pressure situations.

All the space in the world would not give me enough to describe the technical descriptions I could get from Christian. And to be honest, I am not even sure that I could properly translate it. But two major takeaways from this is definitely worth stressing: The ear is a muscle. It needs to be trained, but if you overtrain it, overstress it, or exhaust it, you will have brain fatigue. Your Sensory input will deteriorate and you will not be performing at your best, and perhaps not even at a mediocre level. This is what Christian Poulsen and AceZone is aiming to optimise.

With the best possible sound, aimed at gaming and performing in a gaming environment, you will avoid exhausting your ears. Because just like muscles, ears get tired, if they are not properly treated. And this transfers directly to the second takeaway: AceZone aims to create the best experience, the best environment for performance and the best noise cancellation. Basically, the best support for you, as a gamer. All the rest that was explained, was actually irrelevant. AceZone wants to be the best in their niche. The question is, as we leave the presentation of the company and their ambitions: Do they manage it?

The Gear

So, after this presentation, I was ushered through probably the smallest production facility I ever have seen, where I was told how it worked. Most of the headset is assembled in Denmark, the high-end ones are hand-assembled right in this facility, while the cheaper ones are assembled mainly around the globe. However, some trade secrets are kept inhouse, so basically all have a touch of the AceZone magic, from entry level to the professional ones.

So far, so good. Morten Kjær, Senior Audio Engineer, and also the dude who is presenting all the videos, took me under his wing. Again, lots of technical stuff, but I was shown into their engineering lab - which most of all looked like a student pad for wannabe musicians. However, appearance aside, it fulfilled the purpose, and so did Morten, and I do like the laid-back style. He presented all that the AceZone A-live could do, the professional only-sold-to-tournaments-and-fully-customisable-with-a-professional-sound-setup headset, and just like on the promotional videos, it blew my mind. It's fully surprising, and extremely noise cancelling. It is EVERYTHING they promise it to be. And I also tried the Counter-Strike gimmick. Like the Pros.

Now, the fun part with Morten was how fully down to earth he was. He was burning to create the best gaming headset in the world. And he was proud of what he presented. And most of all, he was not afraid to tell me to shut up and listen or that I was mistaken about things. Which I do like, because, hey, as everybody who knows me, or any other interviewer, we say a lot of shit, because, hey, we are supposed to get honest reactions. And this I did get from Morten. The main takeaway I got from him on AceZone and the headsets? That they chase their dreams. They have an idea? It's not about budget or go-to-market-value. Their ambitions are what matters. Their motivation is to create something extraordinary. And they are not just stopping at good enough.

This sounds all good and dandy, however. Where does it put the headset in the real world?

Reviews

Of course, every other publication has done reviews. Heck, so has Gamereactor.

• Check out our review of the AceZone A-Rise

But, as reviews goes, and as not everyone actually know how many hertz a human ear can hear (I was told 20-20,000, while mine is down to 20-14,000 because I am old by AceZone standards. Yes, they called me old. That's how little they care about my feelings or how many millimetres a drivers has to be or what the multiplying factor is of the microphone distance from the mouth, these reviews often fail to inform someone who is not tech nerdy. So, I went to the public. I tried it out on different people. Old people. Young people. Non-gaming people. People people. Myself. My girlfriend. Because, in my eyes (and ears), these are the people that actually should consider buying this kind of headset.

I brought it for a small gaming evening with some friends, playing CS:GO, and here are their reactions while playing with it or trying it out:

"ARGH TURN THE SOUND DOWN I CAN HEAR EVERYTHING SO LOUD AND CLEAR!!!" - Jimmi

"Why didn't you shoot him? I heard him miles away? Can't you hear anything?" - Anders

"Uh, that's some serious metal it got. It sure looks expensive" - Claus (person from Jutland, with a low budget for gaming)

The common opinion was definitely that this headset was the headset to rule them all, but some of the old guys did feel that it was cumbersome... but as one stated: I am old, my neck is sore, and I am used to plastic crap, so of course it feels heavy when it is the real shit.

I had my enthusiastic gaming kid play with it. And he is absolutely thrilled. No issues with the cable, no issues with the weight. Just pure gaming delight. And he had his prejudice about the cord, but as the sound, in his view, greatly surpasses his normal Logitech Pro Wireless not to mention the noise cancellation drowning out EVERYTHING, even his kid brother, he is totally sold on this headset. Sadly, he does not have money, and I won't give him mine, so he only plays with it when I let him - which makes for a good bargaining position when I want him to clean up.

Then came one of the real tests: My girlfriend. I asked her to wear the Aspire, and mow the lawn. Evil voices would suggest I did this to have my lawn mowed, but no-no, it was for the sake of the experiment. After a while, when she was done (you know, I did not want to interrupt her while working), I asked her how it was.

"It works fine. I can hear the voices clearly and I get everything, but I mean, I can still hear the lawnmower and it's not like it's totally silent outside." - Anette

...and it was this moment I thought... voices?!? I had to ask her, what music she was listening to, and to my horror, she did not get the assignment. Well, she mowed the lawn, but she put on a bloody podcast. So, she was telling that this headset was not really noise cancelling, because she was listening to two people sitting silently with no background music, and she could hear them clearly....

And then finally, I took the test of using the A-Rise while having a carpenter, using a power tool right behind me. I was sitting and singing along, not hearing a single thing. And this was not like Metallica or Pantera, cranked to the max. This was Dolly Parton - Working 9-5. and I did not hear anything but her sweet soothing voice - yes, I will not quit my day job for a singing career... but maybe I will be fired after they hear my singing.

Game On - The Verdict

Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose. One of my favourite quotes. The more things change, the more they stay the same. I cannot say this truthfully about AceZone and their headsets.

They are heavy, but it is a question of getting used to it. Because they are not uncomfortable. They don't exhaust your muscles. They are not inconvenient or in the way. They are enhancing how you play, when you play and being supportive of your play. It's not like a peripheral to game, it's an enhancement of your hearing. And that makes the whole difference. Something you use as part of your body, rather than something you put on your body.

The A-Rise. My favourite go to try-hard gaming headset. Yes, I can wear something else for light gaming or if I have to move around and I need a wireless option, but the A-Rise is the ONLY viable option if you are supposed to be a try-hard pro gamer. There are sentiments for other headsets, you might be feeling better because of the shape of your ears and so on, but the performance of the A-Rise makes it impossible to use anything else, if you go for the advantage, real sound in a game can give you. And this is because AceZone are sound purists. They live and breathe and probably also will die for the original real sound that will give you the possibility of the best gaming experience.

The A-Spire. Now this is a funny one. It has great noise cancellation, however due to cheaper materials and smaller ear cups, it is meant for casual gaming. It won't drown out the motorway if you are sitting right on it. But, it will do the trick for the casual gamer, and its strength lies in its versatility. It's light. It's comfortable. And it's still better than any other noise cancelling headset I have tried, compared to how easy it's to travel around with. And I hate to admit it, but the PR Manager of AceZone said to me: This will be your office headset onwards, and, of course, this was a PR manager... He is SUPPOSED to say stuff like that. But he was absolutely right. And my colleagues say the same. The shape, the size and the noise cancelling is eminent.

Why is it then, that AceZone is not taking over the world? Why are people still stuck with Razer, SteelSeries, Logitech and HyperX? First of all, AceZone is cabled. There is no wireless option for gaming. And there should not be. You cannot create zero-latency in wireless gaming and no matter what, if you try, you will lose latency, if you cut the wire. It's the law of physics. But people do sacrifice latency for a wireless option. If you are a pro gamer and you want the sound to be giving you the best possibilities for winning, then you need to use these headsets.
And this brings me to the biggest showstopper of this headset: The price. The A-Spire starts at 319 Euros, and the A-Rise at 749 Euros. That makes their entry or versatility headset on level with the most expensive gaming headsets from the competitors, while their tournament headset A-Rise is as unparalleled in price as in performance. But, I have to say it's worth it. For their A-Spire, having a totally quiet office environment and being able to game for hours without suffering from exhaustion due to sound is unmatched.

The only complaint I can think of, that can deter me from recommending this headset to anyone who has the money and wants to be serious about gaming, or wants the best for their gaming kids is that it is simply too noise cancelling. Yes, the A-Rise has a transparency function, but none of the stupid idiotic teenager kids I have seem to grasp how to use this, so they are screaming their lungs out, every time they use this headset. So, don't let your kids have it. Buy for your kids as an excuse, but keep it for yourself. Because, it is worth it.