Design to scream and high build quality of the headphones for gaming without compromise, even in the price …
Mad Catz F.R.E.Q. 7 – Overview
Mad Catz, California-based company a market leader in high-quality gaming peripherals, famous for the originality of the design of its products, has recently introduced a new headset that is positioned at the apex of its offerings not wireless.
We are talking about the new gaming headsets FREQ 7, characterized by futuristic lines, extreme ergonomics and a wide freedom of adjustment, which finds its climax in the detachable microphone and incredibly flexible.
The quality of the materials used, the design obsessive attention to detail and the use of a 50mm neodymium driver in a position to return an immersibles positional audio 7.1, have a business card that is supposed to be faced with a product that is truly at the top, not only for the price.
The decoder / processor Dolby Surround Pro Logic IIx used is capable of decoding / processing Dolby Surround, Dolby Surround Pro Logic II, Dolby Stereo and Dolby Stereo Spectral Recording (both for sound quality inferior to that afforded by such standard audio), and to process stereo sound.
| Channels | 2 |
| Driver | 50mm |
| Impedance | na |
| Frequency Response | 20Hz – 20KHz |
| Sensibility | na |
| Input Power | na |
| Cable | 2m (USB) – 1m (3.5 mm) braided jacket |
| Connectors | Single USB or 3.5mm jack stereo microphone + |
Field test in Gaming
The Mad Catz F.R.E.Q. 7 are obviously doomed to gaming, and generous 50mm drive will demonstrate its effectiveness in re-creating the mood of the various game environments. For the first session, we have chosen two titles, in different situations, using sound effects to immerse the player in the virtual reality.
Bad Company 2 – Although outdated, is certainly one of the best FPS so far seen. The columns in the background, environments, and special effects combined with various dialogues are very well reproduced by headset under test.
The bass is, as might be expected, exceptional; and had to limit the volume to avoid ” permanent damage ” to our ears. The high frequencies are slightly muffled, and help is the discrete equalizer that does not allow sufficient room for maneuver.
The soundproofing is of an excellent standard, since the headphones are able to completely cover the ears, but considering the volume that will entice you to use this headphones, this could be a secondary consideration. The volume control, the button to emulate the multi-channel activation and microphone are all close at hand and easily operated during the session.
Too bad for the Dolby Surround 7.1, although it makes the sound more enveloping, cannot really make distinguishable from the position of the source, a feature common to many systems of this kind, but not to the top of the direct competition by excluding, of course, the solutions assembling more specific drivers for each hall.
Need for Speed SHIFT 2 – Has allowed us to use the Mad Catz F.R.E.Q. 7 in a less agitated, but characterized by countless effects and sounds from many different frequencies, by the roar of a powerful V8, the squeal of tires during a skid. Thanks to the effective insulation and vigorous volume without distortion, feel like you are actually sitting in a race car.
As for ” hearing ” in this first part, we can be satisfied by the sound quality in stereo mode and ease of use. The comfort during long gaming sessions is clearly influenced by the ambient temperature, as mentioned in the preceding pages, particularly given the design of the wraparound two pavilions.
Field test in Movies and Music
In the second session we will use the headphones for playback of movies encoded with DTS audio tracks of various kinds, so you can appreciate the behavior of the Mad Catz F.R.E.Q. 7 on a wide range of frequencies.
Movies – For the movie, we thought four masterpieces that, in different scenarios, feature effects and soundtracks, particularly engaging. Enabling Dolby is a must in order to best enjoy the depth of sound without being able to effectively emulate the directionality of the sound.
Obviously, since the multichannel track is not properly digested, you must select the stereo that eliminates the possibility of departure to better emulate a greater number of sources. Aside from this aspect, the sound quality is superb, as is the power that hardly allows us to go more than 50% of the volume.
The preset equalization levels leave little room for maneuver, and the gaming mode seems to be more appropriate. We would certainly welcome greater freedom to modulate the response of the headphones to our preferences.
Music – For the music tracks we chose genres and tracks completely different from each other, in order to reproduce the greatest number of frequencies. In this case, once more trusting of Mad Catz F.R.E.Q. 7, we set the equalizer on the music mode.
The sounds appear to be clear and free from any interference, with a slight predominance of medium-low tones. This characteristic tends to introduce a slight distortion at maximum volume, especially by connecting the headphones via the 3.5 mm jack. Overall, this is a good result, but the Mad Catz F.R.E.Q. 7 arises mainly for gaming, an area in which they can certainly offer better results.
Conclusions
This time Mad Catz has been able to be appreciated with a well balanced from the point of view of performance and build quality and enviable style, but not perfect … The materials and the solutions adopted, such as the detachable microphone and incredibly flexible, dual USB connectivity / Jack 3.5 mm, extremely useful to allow their use with almost all multimedia devices, come together to provide a quality sound in all respect.
Since this is clearly a headset for gaming, the low and medium frequencies are predominant. Unfortunately, the inability to manage at will not allow the equalizer to adjust their musicality to the specific needs of the user.
The limitation is purely software and can be eliminated in a short time with future updates. Less convincing is the emulation Dolby Surround 7.1, despite giving greater depth to the sound, never fails to be convincing, making it confusing to identify the source.
At the base, there is no doubt that the driver does recognize the Mad Catz F.R.E.Q. 7 by the system as normal headphones and not as a multichannel audio system, resulting in the conversion to trace the source of any multi-channel audio in stereo.
Although the spatiality of the sound is certainly not one of the main prerogatives of almost all stereo headsets with Dolby technology, in this case, we will have even fewer chances of emulating multiple sources.
The controls placed on the two pavilions are easily accessible, but can only be used with USB connection. The scroll for adjusting the volume suffers a slight delay; It will be difficult to accurately adjust the volume without proceed with caution. Welcome the presence of the substrate table that will put on display the headphones after use.
- Immersive 7.1-Channel Surround Sound Powered by Dolby Headphone Technology
- Precision-balanced 50mm Speakers Provide Outstanding Sound Quality
- Tough yet Lightweight Aluminum Components Enhance Longevity and Comfort
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Our Opinion
The weakest point of the Mad Catz F.R.E.Q. 7 is definitely the price: $190 for gaming headphone wire that are affected, moreover, from a positional audio playback is not outstanding, although much improved by a more adequate management software, are definitely many, regardless of demonstrated quality, relegating them to a niche market.
- Overall