Following on from our review on their KOVA Pure Performance mouse, today we will be taking a look at the ROCCAT RENGA headset. ROCCAT is well-known for manufacturing peripherals that not only perform amazingly but also offer a great and unique design. ROCCAT’s range of peripherals stems from the budget minded gamer who wants something great, all the way to the eSports and enthusiasts gamer who needs the best of the best. The RENGA headset we will be taking a look at today is designed to offer those who are budget conscious some of the best performance they can get for the money.

• Manufacturer Website: Roccat
• Product Page: Renga
• Purchase: £34.99 At the time of review on Amazon UK

At a price point of £35, the RENGA headset is going to be a choice that a lot more of the casual gamers would consider. The RENGA headset still features 50mm Neodymium drivers and a retractable mic, even with their value orientated price. Another great thing about this headset is that it also comes with earcup ventilation so heat can escape during those longer gaming sessions. There is nothing worse than playing a game and getting into it, having the headset move a bit and feeling all that nasty sweat, ROCCAT have done a great job at trying to save us from this and combating this problem. For the price, these definitely look good on paper so let’s make our way to the closer look and see just how they hold up!

TECHSPECS

• DRIVER UNITS

  Frequency response:

  20∼20000Hz

  Impedance:

  32Ω

  Max. SPL at 1kHz:

  110dB

  Drive diameter:

  50mm

  Driver unit material:

  Neodymium magnet

  MICROPHONE

  Sensitivity at 1kHz:

  -52dB

  Impedance:

  2.2kΩ

  Directivity:

  Omni-directional

  GENERAL

  Weight (Headset only):

  210gr

  Jack plug:

  3.5mm

  Cable length:

  2.5m
  DIMENSIONS / WEIGHT

  Width 21.0 cm , Height 20.0 cm , Length 10.0 cm ,Weight 210 g

  SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

  3.5mm jack socket required

The box features plenty of information regarding the RENGA headset and has a couple of nice pictures of the headset itself as well. Right on the front of the box, we can see they offer stereo sound, superior comfort and are even compatible with multiple devices such as PC, Ps4 and they are even compatible with mobile phones.

Getting our first official look at the RENGA, out of their box and everything looks great. They are a lightweight gaming headset and the ergonomic headband should make sure that they are also quite comfortable.

On the top of the headband is a ROCCAT logo. While you can’t miss it, it’s not overly in your face and won’t take away from the overall look of the headset.

The RENGA comes with a retractable mic that can just about move 180 degrees. This is great for when you don’t feel like cussing your friends out in-game, or, if you just want to jam out to some tunes for a bit in between games! Just simply rotate the mic to where you want it and job done, couldn’t be easier if they wanted it too.

Jumping over to the other earcup and in place of the mic is a nice ROCCAT logo. You can also notice another small logo to the right of this on part of the ventilated earcup. Speaking of that, we can now get a look from the outside of the earcup of how the ventilation will work and let that heat out!

The ROCCAT RENGA is an over-ear headset and as such, there is plenty of padding around the earcup to make sure they are comfortable when wearing them.

Getting a better look at the ventilation from the inside and we can see there is actually quite a bit of room for heat to escape out of the earcup. While this does let a bit of the sound out as well, it’s not a major issue and the reduction in heat does make it well worth it.

The RENGA comes with an inline volume control that will also allow you to mute your mic with ease. This type of feature is every so handy and means you don’t have to go to your desktop, look for the media keys on the keyboard or search through your phone to access these settings.

The standard cable is a light blue rubberized cable that features two 3.5mm jacks, on for the mic and one for the headphones. ROCCAT have even been kind enough to include a splicer that takes the two 3.5mm and turns them into a single 3.5mm for mobiles and the likes.

After using the RENGA for a good couple of weeks, basically every night, I am ready to give my thoughts on them. Overall, I was pleased with the RENGA, especially when remembering their price. I tested them out in a variety of games, listening to loads of music from Techno to Hip-hop and even using them for just general video watching on Amazon prime. Their lightweight design allows for hours of endless use and you’ll barely even know they are there.

Performance

Thanks in part to their 50mm Neodymium drivers, the ROCCAT RENGA offer amazing performance for the price. I was very impressed with the overall sound quality whether it be in-game or listening to music. I was able to use this headset on full volume and didn’t run into any type of distortion issues across any of my testing. However, I was a bit let down with the lack of bass but at this price, ROCCAT did have to cut some corners somewhere and one of these corners was the bass. While the bass wasn’t the best, the overall acoustics of the RENGA are great and will be fine for most gamers.

When gaming, there is a good mixture of sounds and the RENGA does a great job at allowing you to tell the difference between them. Being able to decipher if those footsteps you can hear are your teammates who you just saw, or possibly the enemy you are trying to sneak up on is crucial. The RENGA is designed to help you in the heat of battle and that it does! When it comes to chatting with your team, the mic is more than up to the task and will have your team understanding you clearly.

Design

While the design is lightweight and you’ll barely notice that you are wearing them, you may want to be careful with them. They don’t feel cheap per say, but they are only going to survive being dropped on the floor so many times. The wire part of the headband kind of bounces back into place when moved, so once it’s bent, it’s likely to be bent for good. The plastic on the earcups also seems as if it may break after a couple of drops due to the shape. The open ventilation has caused the plastics to not be as strong as if they were completely closed. This isn’t a major issue, as long as you take care of them. Aside from those issues, the overall design is nice. They look great and they are truly lightweight and very comfortable. I may also be alone in this, but I also do like the light blue cable they come with!

Value

Time to let the RENGA shine as it deserves too! For £35 you can get yourself a pair and have a great headset on your hands. ROCCAT did have to cut some corners when it comes to keeping the price down, but it’s nothing that major and if you take proper care of them and don’t treat them like a frisbee, you should be just fine. The RENGA headset is a great value for the money headset that offers good performance in an aesthetically pleasing package. For the money, you really can’t go wrong! Major props to ROCCAT for showing us that you can still have great products at affordable prices.

Many thanks to ROCCAT for supplying a sample of their RENGA headset for today’s review. 

Want to discuss this review further, head on over to the ROCCAT RENGA thread, in the Enos Tech Reviews Sub-category on the Gaming Exodus forums!