Last month, we tested the 1More Triple Driver H1707 Headphones, and we were pretty impressed. This month, we're giving their new gaming headphones a go, the 1More Spearhead VR Gaming Headset, a wired model that's powered by USB, featuring 7.1 surround sound. 1More is bringing some much needed competition to industry mainstays like Turtle Beach and Hyper X, hoping they can get some crossover success going in the gaming market. We used this headset for about a month, here's what we found.
Look
The look of these headphones suited our testers down to the floor. The Spearhead is sleek, glossy black with customizable colored accents, and although it may sound gimmicky, in a darkened room, the lights look really cool, with the colors standing out brightly, but not enough to distract. You can slide the microphone out of its housing to talk and back inside the headphones when you aren't, but even fully extended, it doesn't come down far enough to be annoying. Our testers found that sliding the mic out of the housing to talk, then back in when they're done, although unnecessary and requiring them to take their hand off the controller, made them feel like "badass secret agents". After trying this multiple times after issuing commands to my online team, I have to agree.
Comfort & Feel
There are two sections responsible for how the Spearhead fits: a thin, aluminum band across the top that doesn't adjust, and a cushioned, stretchy band directly under it which automatically adjusts to the user's head. We liked this feature more than we expected to; there's no guess work, no stopping to stretch the bands or readjust them after leaping out of our chairs in jubilation, or when standing up to achieve maximum torque for smashing a controller into the ground (don't worry, we have a cushy bean-bag chair pile on the floor to prevent breaks. We're not animals).The almost "auto-adjusting" headband really is a nice feature, and it worked perfectly on our larger headed testers and smaller headed individuals alike (sorry Becky, you got a small head, ok? It's true). Even after an extended marathon of gaming, they didn't clamp too hard or soft; 1More must have tested the spring resistance exhaustively to get this level of comfort right, and it pays off.
The cups themselves have the trademark 1More "R" and "L" on the inside of the cups, a simple but useful feature we praised in our review of their triple driver headphones, and the cups themselves are made of a memory foam-like material that is soft on the ears but still firm. The left cup is the control center of sorts, housing the microphone, on/off switch for the noise cancelling mic, a 3.5 mm jack and micro USB port, plus a volume wheel which does double duty as a bass adjuster when you press the wheel in and turn. There's even a vibrating effect on the headphones, which is awesome when the bullets and mortars are flying onscreen. Two of our testers had no problems with the comfort of the headphones whatsoever, while another said his ears got hot after extended use, about 1 /12 hours of play, so if you run hot, your experience may vary.
Sound
The Spearhead features a 7.1 effect that sounds pretty darn good, but you'll have to use the USB to get it, since using the 3.5 mm jack drops you down to just plain stereo; you definitely need the software working to get the most out of these headphones. If the media you're using supports 7.1, you are in for a treat, unless you already have a home system that is 7.1 capable of course. The directional aspect alone, while not perfect, is still a big plus, which helped us to find our enemies by audio as well as video, which is clutch when bullets are flying around and explosions are rocking the screen.
Speaking of explosions, the bass in the Spearhead is impressive, almost to the point of overkill if you crank it. Luckily, the aforementioned bass wheel is easy to adjust on the fly if things get too hectic onscreen. The bass is so thunderous because 1More uses a maglev graphene driver, meaning that the driver "floats" inside the cups, and physically moves to deliver the sound. Unfortunately, there is an annoying level of noise when the cable brushes against things, like your shirt or neck, but for the most part I'm not jumping around mid-match, so it wasn't a huge problem for us.
The highs are nice and tight, and the mids provide a pleasant backbone to the sound, with the solid low-end bass bleeding into the mids, providing support when you have the dial turned up. The result is a nice, warm, fullness of sound that really enhanced the gameplay. The headphone mic uses environmental noise cancelling technology (ENC), and apparently it works well; my friends commented that I sounded clearer, and the usual background sounds (I live in a noisy house) were much less noticeable, according to my teammates.
Specs
- Driver: 50mm, Dynamic
- Frequency Range: 20-20,000 Hz
- Impedance: 32 Ω
- Sensitivity: 103 dB
- Max Power: 20 mW
- Type: Over-Ear
- Weight: 324 g
- USB Cable Length: 1.3 m
- 3.5 mm Audio Cable Length: 1.5 m
- Plug: Type A – Micro USB (USB Cable) and 3.5 mm (Audio Cable)
- Wire Material: Enameled Copper Wire
