EKSA E900 Pro Gaming Headset Review

The gaming headset market is full of big names. You’ve got Turtle Beach, ASTRO Gaming, PDP, RIG, SteelSeries and of course Razer with their all-singing, all-dancing Nari Ultimate for Xbox One, all providing various options for all manner of gamer. But even though the vast majority of avenues seem to be closed to any potential newcomer to the scene, it seems like there is still space for the smaller names to gather a little interest. That is where EKSA come in, and with their E900 Pro 7.1 Virtual Surround Sound Gaming Headset, they are attempting to deliver plenty of product for a low asking price. But have they pulled it off?

Well, that’s a tricky one, as even though there is certainly no harm done in what EKSA have brought to market, whether this E900 Pro headset is able to really compete with the best of them is up for debate. If you can look past a few small issues though, then it may well be a headset to consider, especially if you’re a multiformat gamer.

First things first and the comfort of the EKSA E900 Pro immediately comes to the fore. You see, even though this multiformat gaming headset will set you back less than £40/$40 to purchase, it’s an extremely comfortable headset to wear. This is mostly due to the brilliant amount of padding afforded to both the underside of the headband and across both oval cups, allowing your head and your ears to be fully caressed. I’ve used plenty of headsets over the years and have always been at a loss to understand why a tad bit more padding wouldn’t be included, ensuring that the wearer can utilise them for hours on end. Here with the E900 Pro, I’m more than impressed. In fact, the leatherette covered earcups themselves are so padded and so soft, I’ve been left wondering why so much squish has been included. 

This ensures that you can wear the E900 Pro for hours on end, with no fuss and no bother. The earcups themselves are a great size too, fitting over the ear perfectly, with the memory foam inners catering for all. They come with 50mm drivers built in too, and these certainly pump out some decent sounds. Usually with the cheaper headsets on the market you’ll find that all is well and good until you start cranking the volume up to 11, where a bit of distortion occurs. That’s not really the case here though, and even though the E900 delivers audio that is slightly bassier than others, it still sounds good and is perfectly acceptable. However, the headset itself doesn’t go particularly loud, and perhaps it is this which ensures that distortion and breakup never occur. Through my time with this E900 Pro I’ve consistently been looking to ramp things up just a notch or two more, and it’s a shame that the dialable volume found on the left cup doesn’t allow it. 

It’s also a shame that on Xbox One we’re not experiencing the full power of the E900 as this is a multiplatform headset that is highly marketed for the PC brigade. You see, use this for your PC gaming sessions and you’ll have the additional capabilities of the EKSA Surround 7.1 Driver, which is downloadable for Windows PC, thrown in for good measure. Not being a PC player, I couldn’t say how well this works, but it’s certainly a nice little addition to an already nice little headset. 

That’s not to say this isn’t a good console offering though, for it is. I’ve had absolutely no issues with plugging this in to my Xbox One controller via the included and detachable 3.5mm cable, and whether playing alone or with party members, the sound has been solid. In fact, there have been absolutely no issues across party chat when using this either, with friends and family remarking that the detachable boom mic delivers decently crisp outgoing voice. With a wind muff on the end and plenty of amendable reach in the boom arm, you should have no issues ensuring that those who you game with on a regular basis can hear your commands – or cries for help – clearly. 

However, dare to mute yourself from that online world and things take a turn for the worse. The E900 Pro has a delicate little mic mute button situated on the underside of the left earcup, and pushing this in mutes your mic. Whereas most other manufacturers provide a little beep or LED system to ensure you know when this mute is actioned, here with this we’re given an utterly horrible, super harsh crackle as the button is depressed. Honestly, it’s only a mic mute button and it shouldn’t be that much of a deal as chances are it won’t be needed too often, but it’s by far the worst I’ve ever used, and it puts a bit of a damper on the whole experience. 

Don’t let that little oddity put you off from the EKSA E900 Pro Gaming Headset too much though, for the rest of it is pretty damn decent indeed. It looks fairly nice visually, with cool black and red styling being something that will appeal to many. The external grills on the back of the earcups that surround an EKSA logo deliver a nice touch too. It’s helped along by the fact that the inner headband is held together by a durable metal inner frame also, whilst a 10 degree adjustable hinge on each earcup helps seal the deal. Remember that comfort I mentioned earlier… yeah, it’s that good. And it doesn’t weigh an awful lot either – just 261 grams, which puts it slap-bang in mid-weight territory. 

Overall and the EKSA E900 Pro Gaming Headset really does excel in two places – those being the asking price and the comfort. If either of those are the most important factors when you consider a gaming headset, then this is one you’ll want to fill your boots with. It’s helped along nicely by the fact that it delivers decent, bass-filled sound, and whilst it doesn’t get as loud as I would personally like, it’s still more than capable for 99% of use case scenarios. The only real downside is that the mic mute button is horrible to use, delivering an extremely harsh crackle as it is actioned. Take that away though, and should you be in the market for a cheap and ready wired gaming headset, and aren’t concerned about having a big name lighting up your gaming sessions, this is one to consider. 

Massive thanks go to EKSA for sending over their E900 Pro Gaming Headset for review. If you wish to pick one up for yourself then Amazon do a great deal and you’ll also be able to grab them from EKSA direct.

Related: EKSA E900 Pro Gaming Headset – UNBOXING and FIRST LOOK. Is it really PRO?