Headphones and keyboards, that pretty much sums up my September and October review session. Is that a bad thing? Probably not, as improving audio and typing situations during a busy holiday review season is never the wrong position to be in during holiday chaos. Okay, rambling aside, you’re reading this because you’re interested in the ROCCAT Syn Max Air headset. They are a Bluetooth headset that brings the pretty and the practical. It’s tough sometimes to balance the two, especially when a headset works with everything.
Let’s get right into this.
Sounds good!
The ROCCAT Syn Max Air is a headset that features true 3D audio delivery where you can hear all sounds from around your noggin. I can tell you that feature work well, especially in games that feature bald bearded people that I can’t currently discuss. The other audio headset I reviewed that had a 3D audio feature was the Audeze Mobius headset which brought an 8-channel experience that might have been over-the-top, especially when it came to turning one’s head and realizing how immersive that 3D spatial experience became. There was nothing quite like hearing your music in front of you and then turning your head and having it shift to the right/left ear. This 3D audio experience for the Syn Max Air is not that at all. It allows for multi-channel processing that places the sounds in the right part of your head. For example, try this headset with Ninja Theory’s Hellblade. You’re going to hear all the voices in Senua’s head in their proper place within your ears. It’s creepy, scary, and positively fascinating. In short, the 3D immersive experience is-as advertised with these headphones.
To complement the 3D sound, the delivery quality isn’t surprising considering the headset uses 50mm Nanoclear drivers. This provides the strongest and most dynamic sound quality in the audio headset world. While it doesn’t guarantee the clearest all the time, as bass/boom truly are emphasized with this size driver, I can say that you get a good even balance with the Syn Max Air. I have used these in Zoom calls, which are mainly poor audio thanks to the thoughtlessness of some participants, and I have used these in gaming. The latter has stretched across various titles that included Hellblade, (Embargoed), Century: Age of Ashes, The Outer Wilds, and a few others. Some were better experiences than others, as Hellblade brought the most interesting and accurate audio in a 3D space, while games like The Outer Wilds didn’t focus too much on the audio experience. The embargoed title had the most balanced of the bunch bringing a good background soundtrack with foreground action and dialogue. The ROCCAT Syn Max Air handled them all well.
Regardless of what you’re going to use the Syn Max Air for, business or pleasure, you’re going to get top-notch quality from the headset.
PlayStation musings and unique stand
As I’m typing this, I’m staring at the charging base that came with these headphones. Typically, you’ve got a wired plug-in spot for headphones with a decorative headset holder, much like Turtle Beach provides. For the Syn Max Air, it’s essentially a base station where you place the ear headset on top of it…standing. I love the risk-taking concept that ROCCAT came up with for the headset stand. I think it’s going to bring a new set of ideas to other companies and establish a new norm with how a headset charges. This is very ‘future’ and I think it’s going to pay off in later designs. For now, it’s an odd place to put a headset. The headset can be finicky when it comes to sitting down properly for a charge. It took me a week to get it right and I think that it’s great now, but it’s not exactly the best example of HCI. I think the molding on the base needs to be a bit more secure with how the headset lies and needs to have something that indicates that you’ve done it right. In case you absolutely hate the headset stand, the backup for this is to plug the USB-C cable directly into the headset and charge it as usual. What you lose in that process are the coolness factor and the fast-charger option.
Speaking of options, there are two USB-C ports on the bottom of the base that allows for computer/console connection, as well as fast charging. What is interesting about this is that if you want to use these in their full force with your PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5, then you must hook the base station up to the console to do so. As Sony is very strict with what headset it allows in its Bluetooth bed with it, the base station’s necessity helps to alleviate this annoyance. You can hook it up to the USB-C console side on the bottom port, plug it into the PlayStation, and BOOM! Bluetooth connectivity. It’s like a very big dongle. A glow-y dongle. Anyway, the only caveat is that to adjust the sound of the game you’re playing you must go into the audio menu system of the PlayStation to do so. It’s an unnecessary extra step, but I’m going to write this up as a Sony issue rather than a ROCCAT one. I know Sony’s habits with headsets, and I know not to blame any other company for audio functionality shortcomings. Once you get it going, though, it’s a wonderful audio experience.
The big plus with this headset’s flexibility is the option of going computer, console, or mobile. I know that doesn’t sound like a big deal to most, but having a headset that has multiple platform capabilities doesn’t happen as often as you might think, especially when the Sony PlayStation is involved. I have had headsets in the past that work fully on one platform and partially on another. I have had headsets that were specific to a platform and not compatible at all with others. Headset capability can be a variety at times, so it’s nice to see one that does everything. I used this headset with a Mac, PC, iOS, and the Xbox Series X. All of them worked splendidly and easily.
The price is right
For a headset that brings true 3D audio, customizable lights via the AIMO light system, a detachable microphone, and compatibility across various platforms, the asking price of $249.99 isn’t bad at all. I have seen worse headsets recently that have cost upwards of $300+ that didn’t bring half of what the Syn Max Air brings to the table. It truly is a remarkable headset for the asking price.
On that note, let’s wrap this up.
Conclusion
The ROCCAT Syn Max Air is a fantastic headset option that brings power with its 50mm drivers, true 3D audio, customization, comfort, and compatibility across multiple platforms. It does a lot for a reasonable asking price.
