[section_title title=”Packaging & Closer Look”]
Packaging
Let’s start with a look at the packaging.
The front of the box is certainly full of information, we can see the talk of some key features such as the USB connectivity, scout mode sound setting and customisable ear cup lighting. We can also see the headset behind the window which is always good in a retail environment. To my tastes it’s all a bit busy but it is certainly eye catching.
The side of the box goes into more details about Creative’s software offering, SBX Pro Studio, with information about the surround sound functionality, the voice changer and the footstep enhancing scout mode.
The rear of the box sports a labelled diagram of the headset and some more information about the colour switching ear cups.
Sliding out the contents of the box we have the headset safely tied into it’s packaging joined by a bag which contains our user manual, USB audio cable and a four pole aux cable to connect to your PS4 controller.
The packaging is eye catching and does a suitable job of protecting the headset, all it needs to do basically. I am tired of red and black though personally which makes this potent combination of the two a touch unfavourable.
Closer Look
Let’s get a proper look at the headset itself.
From the front we can see the headset has a very angular profile on the ear cups which makes the headband look a bit skinny if anything. It’s still as understated as you can expect from something called a ‘TACTIC3D RAGE’ though but it’s certainly no looker.
The top of the headband features some engraved model naming as well as some red RAGE lettering for good measure.
Looking specifically at the adjuster rail we can see it is all metal which adds a nice amount of stiffness to the headset but I did find adjusting it was a bit of a faff due to the lack of force required and the rather faint markers.
Here we can see the left-hand ear cup which sports the Sound Blaster badge on top of the panel which  lights up when the headset is powered on. Personally I think the design of the headset looks a bit dated, cheap is the wrong word to describe it (though the right one to describe the plastic) but it just doesn’t project the same quality feel as the Kingston Clouds d.
The two above shots show the i/o on the left ear cup, the removable mic is a nice touch but the hole it leaves behind is a bit unsightly. In terms of the USB/Aux ports, I have no comment on the aux port but I don’t really get why the USB cable is removable but that’s no great issue, though it would be nicer if it were more flexible as I found it to be a bit annoying due to its thickness making it unwilling to flop out the way like a normal headset cable.
As you can see the volume control is placed on the back of the ear cup, ergonomically I really like this as it is much easier than fumbling with the in-line adjuster; combined with the mute button on the front of the cup I like the way Creative have handled the user controls on the Rage V2s.
All in all I think the Rage V2s are a bit of a mixed bag, personally I think the Aesthetics betray the price tag and the plastic used on the ear cups feel naff which is a shame considering the build quality is pretty solid. Looking at the size of the ear pads and the shape of the headband pad I am also worrying about comfort but before we get ahead of ourselves we’ll take a look at the software suite that accompanies the headset.
