Gamdias Hephaestus Review

[section_title title=Performance]Performance

To kick off our performance section we’ll take a glimpse at the Gamdias EOS software.

It’s safe to say that the EOS softare is lacking in both form and function. The overall design is something akin to audio drivers you’d get with a motherboard from the mid 2000s and the ‘Mixer’ tab doesn’t even have anything to mix or change. The Effect and and Karaoke tabs are fairly self-explanatory with the former being an EQ page and the latter letting you echo your voice through the headset via the mic and set a designated noise cut off point.

Moving onto the main settings page and you have the option to enable ‘7.1’ emulation, move the different sound sources around and alter the dB rating per channel. For the most part this is all you’d need, or indeed, want from the software of your headset, but the striking thing from the EOS software is that it leaves a lot to be desired.

Lacklustre software aside, the audio performance of the Hephaestus is a lot better than the software would have you believe. Starting with the Vibration function, the implementation here seems a lot more responsive than it did on the XT+ with the ‘presence’ of air always felt even at the lower volumes. It shouldn’t be forgotten of course than the XT+ is over half the cost less than the Hephaestsus, but for anyone looking for a vibrating headset perhaps the premium over the XT+ may not be too offensive.

Sound feedback and production is certainly favourable on the Hephaestus but isn’t going to be making waves that significantly shake up the the £70 bracket. The 7.1 emulation mode does a good job of creating a spatial aura but, in general, your best sticking with the source materials own solution if it is an option; as is the case with our test game Battlefield 4 (settings in-game: headphones, surround ). In other games, such as Skyrim, it can create an intriguing sound but definitely not one you should be looking towards to gain any sort of competitive edge, but this is the case more often than not with most headsets that employ some sort of upmixing.

Music wise the Hephaestus performed well but there’s some breakdown towards the high ends where it sounds like the headphones have ran out of power to push through the full sound. I noticed this on a few different tracks but to be frank, you have to go looking for it to be a major annoyance, or shortcoming, depending on your viewpoint. What I will say is that the vibration functionality mixed in with some heavy electro or house music is “fun” for lack of a better word. As I found myself moving through my Soundcloud library of tracks and mixes the vibration induced smile was never far away. The headphones aren’t too bass heavy, either, which is unusual for headsets in the gaming market but again, that could be something that deters you or not; the output wasn’t bad by any means but is lacking a bit of punch that you can try and gloss over with the vibration rocker.

In terms of VoIP applications there wasn’t any significant shortcoming of the Hephaestus which is the usual trend for headsets from £20 all the way up to £100 that I’ve tried personally. Skype passed the blind test as did my own comparing of Audacity recordings compared with recording done on a Blue Snowball. The microphone itself has plenty of flex and doesn’t feel like it would give up the ghost easily no matter which way you have it bent.