Revised Review: MadCatz Cyborg Freq 7- 2 years review Don’t buy this!!! no 3,5 plugs + a short return in 2020

This review was posted
April 6, 2015 06:23 and updated 03.01.2021 to correct typos, and improve the test, but the message is still the same, just added some more negative things, I did not mention previously. removed redundant & dublicate text. moved some text. so now the review is much more organized. added references other products.

PICTURES COMING SOON

MadCatz Cyborg Freq 7 features: 

There are 3 modes voice chat, music, gaming. I used music mode no matter what i did.

music mode sounds like normal stereo, so if s if you don’t install the driver, it will sound the same as music mode.

This headset use Dolby Virtual Surround, there is one button on the left ear cup, to turn it on and off.

You need to download the driver to use Dolby Virtual Surround.

Virtual surround is made with software, and its not the headset hardware that makes it.

All stereo headsets can do virtual surround, but marketing might fool you.

there is software that can make you able to use Virtual surround on any headset, like Razer Surrround

its free but the Advanced features are not.

http://www.razerzone.com/surround

long term review: 1 year:

I used it Ca 1 year. I read and watched reviews, but they did not tell about the durability, they are stronger than most of the headsets on the market, but i am sure its possible to make them even better.

When new it was quite comfortable, my ears are average size, the fit inside the ear cups, the sound is good, but you can’t hear the doorbell, but all of this changed once the plastic frame snapped in the middle.

because the headset sat very loose om my head after the snapped plastic frame, I had to tape the plastic frame, and had to put ear cup pads from Creative hs-950 into a sock and taped it to the frame, this made it possible to wear it, but it was not very secure, just enough to sit on my head, but once I leaned back or did too much movement they fell off.

the parts of metal are of course strong, but whole package is just silly, proper materials, and proper execution is need on whole head set not only making the arms strong, the rest ahs to be too.

The headset should be build of metal not only the arms holding the cups. The frame must be made of metal or it will guaranteed break.

2015 January the frame broke about in the middle.

in 2020 I had to return to this headset, because the HyperX Cloud Revolver headset no longer produced audio on the right ear cup due to snapped wire.

I later bought Philips Fidelio X2HR, which has has a much better comfort, and big improvement in audio, and am much better contraction. Philips got many things right. I can hear percussion even better than I could on both Cloud Revolver & Freq7 that was without using equalizer.

cons:

• The microphone changes my voice so i don’t sound like me. I recommend to get ModMic or an external mic on an arm if you need proper mic audio.
• In the summer you will be hot on the ears and sweat a lot with these headsets,
• Not great to put on and off using one hand. This was the case when it was new.

https://flic.kr/p/2kosAZx

It’s easy to hit your head on all of the stuff that sticks out, you can hit your head on the cups.

The rotating arm has a weird thing that sticks out which you also can hit your head on.

• the ear cups are small, and so are the pads, so will not fit big ears.
• no 3.5 plugs for mic and speaker, only single 3.5 plug for mobile devices, of course controllers/buttons do not work then on pc, and its too short to use on pc anyway, so if you need the best audio possible dont buy this junk
•  The plastic middle part on the frame, to make it even stronger they should make the whole top part in metal, it will break! lager head you have more stress you put on the frame, and faster it fails, after one year you will probably get cracks  the glue that the pad is glued with will be ruined by sweat.
•  the headset-stand is useless. it’s unnecessary, it’s not secure anyway.
• bad volum control on the ear cup, very imprecise too much volume change,
• the pleather(synthetic leather is thin and wears off after Ca 1 year.

When I had to return to this headset temporarily, the ear pads failed.

• this is not a one size fits all headsets, average head size but the headset do not stay the head when leaning backwards
• the peace holding the cushions can fall off some times, and eventually fails to sit on so you have to tape it.

• the head band cushion is way too thin and its glued to the plastic and the sweat will make ruins the glue, so you will get glue in your hair, the rubber will melt and fall apart because of sweat, a head cushion should be made of fabric on the out side and foam inside. an NOT rubber
• the ear are too thin, they should be much deeper, so your ears would not touch the plastic plate infront of the speakers, my ears are average size, but if your ears point outwards or are big  it will be uncomfortable.
• poor thread on the cessions so they rip apart, so washing them in washing machine is not a good idea.
• The price is very high, while the head set is subpar, it’s basically junk,

some good material choices were used, but the execution was poor, the aluminium arm was a good idea, but it had silly shapes which can cause you to hit your self in the head, but the design of the arm was poor, but it was the strongest point on the headphones. but whole head band should have been made of metal. it’s possible to make a headphone that is more comfortable and less complicated to assemble and to put on your head.

• The cable 3.5 plug won’t work with some phone cases like Love Mei Powerful, due to it having design meant for a low profile thinner cover.

Pros:

• braided cable, which holds up quite well.
• all controlls are on the headset ear cups, so no need to finding the volume Control on a cable, but not a deal breaker for me. as keyboards can have it.
• detachable and bendable microphone
• over ear (the ear is inside the ear cup) so its comfortable
• long cable
• 2nd cable with 3.5 plug
• detachable microphone, input cover plug so you dont get some dirt inside

• comfortable for long gaming sessions
• The mic is not complete garbage, you can hear what is being said, but it distorts your voice.
•  color choice
•  the cushion is easy to take off if you need to clean it
• no unnecessary lights
• long cable
• 3,5 mm plug cable for mobile devises, but won’t fit some phone cases.

CONCLUSION:

I can’t recommend this headset. because of the materials used, and no 3,5 plugs for speakers and microphone no bodylikes to buy new headset every year or 2. even some so called high end headsets have some weak spots. I am not an engineer but i can see this and understand it. thin plastic will break even it’s ABS plastic, anything will break if it’s too thin or has wrong design, or too much weight or stress on it. the headset’s headband must be steel if you want it to be thin, light and strong, but aluminium frame could be used but would be bulkier, pre shaped steel rods/poles could also be used, like on Philips Fidelio X2HR

Few sentences about the new headsets.

I see the new headsets have improved frame:
https://www.madcatz.com/En/Product/Detail/freq4https://www.madcatz.com/En/Product/Detail/freq4
I see the new headset does not have any hard to access bolts or screws. The self adjusting head band is a good addition.

But I haven’t looked into this these headsets, but I still would buy a proper set of head phones and install MOD MIC on it.

but the hidden mic with this opening in the ear cup would be hard to clean. if part where the 3 bolts are were of metal it would be quite robust. but the cable does not have a braided cable which means it’s not as durable.

I don’t know how these will hold up, but they are not for me anyway.

https://www.madcatz.com/

2019 Updated Long-term review: Logitech G430

A headset should withstand some abuse, but this headset can’t withstand normal use.

pros:

• fabric cushions – your head won’t hurt after wearing the headset in  long periods,you will not be as hot as with leather or leather cessions.
• will fit small heads and bigger heads,even if you are a hardcore head-banger(headbanging not advised) it wont fall off.
• 3,5 mic speaker and mic plugs
• microphone is easy to swivel away
• cable does not kink
• volume control wheel is good no super high change in volume its how it should be:-)
• easy to take off the ear cup cushions

cons:

The head-set will break have dropped the head set few times,some times i have shaky hands and drop things so this headset is not for me, it will break!!!

• it stink weird the first days
• flimsy
• microphone have rubber arm that its easy to scratch
• the volume range is too small when connected via USB,
• the wire to the ear cup is not unplug-able
• the micro phone ON/OFF ,volume control is on the the wire, if would be better to have it on the ear cups instead. When I connected the headset via USB sound card, i tried the volume control wheel,and when I roll it closer to the end I got white noise(it might only be my USB sound car that is faulty but i don’t care) I maxed the sound and I got even more white-noise but no increase in sound, the white noise was there even when not listening to music. but when i plugged the headset in via analog 3,5 plugs i could increase
• easy to scratch
• after few weeks of use I noticed play in the headband adjustment from side to side

the USB plug got rubber grip

cable is rubber too

the USB sound card is very light I can barely feel it.

microphone is decent, but it will not sound like it would in person

the cession on the headband feels like it got a balloon inside,when you push with one finger the other goes up,I have not taken them apart so don’t know what’s inside.

do not use the USB sound card read why :I recommend using 3,5 plugs and use on-board sound-card or dedicated sound card, the USB sound wont be as clear , i have tested  the headset both via USB and via 3,5 plugs and using on-board sound broad on my ASUS z97 P, with the onboard sound it sounds much better in my opinion I can hear the other instruments than the bass better where i barely could with USB, bass sounds drums sounds more natural,guitar riffs do not sound as soft. I even hear sounds I never heard on Gary Moore’s albums

there is no real reason you should use USB sound card on a gaming pc, only if you got a cheap small mini pc

the headset I used before was Madcatz freq 7 and it was USB card only, there was a cable for phone use but that’s too short for pc use and you could use the controls on the headset, so that silly, so when you buy a headset remember to look for 3,5 plugs/inputs

Logitech G software allows you to tweak the sound but,that’s not the same as getting good sound without tweaking anything.

Much better audio with Equalizer

2018/2019 update:

after the headset fell off my head many times the microphone eventually snapped off at the last drop. I also Installed Mod Mic5 for much better audio input.

After coming back to this headset after the HyperX headset got ripped wire, I needed to get the sound better, so I tweaked them in the Equalizer:

I managed the audio to sound decent with Equalizer, these are the settings

Flickr album: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmupaHdo

Conclusion:

Stay away from this headset, it’s fragile, built from wrong materials, horrible solutions. but if you already got them, tweaking the sound in Equalizer is a must. If you want a good and lifelong lasting headset this is not for you

Summer 2018 Updated review: Kingston HyperX cloud revolver

Metal frame, but the adjustment ,  swing arm & cups are made of plastic, which is the weakest point of the headset.

Because the plates are swing arm, the plastic will not get as much stress, as it would if it was not swing arm as solid connection, but still, it would be nice if it was made of metal.

I did go for the cloud revolver because of the steel frame, which is good if you drop it on the floor.

The microphone:

 

Pros:

• Better audio than Logitech. Much better sound than Logitech G430(this might not be so noticeable for everybody, but for me it is. without too much bass. Things I barely hear, I now can hear even better than the G430. Noticeably better sound than the Logitech g430 headset, I have been listening to Jimi Hendrix a lot , everything sounds much clearer, the cymbals are a lot more noticeable, the bass guitars are more noticeable, even imperfection, like static sound from old recordings, or distortion effect is much clearer. or when the singer got the mouth too close to the mic I can hear the difference much better, than on the g430.On the track ”Little Wing” the Glockenspiel was much more noticeable, I could clearly hear what instrument it was, unlike g430 and the other headsets I have been using in the past.

• quite comfy,the self adjusting headband,& the steel frame combined with big ear ear cups with big cushions make this happen.
• The cushions are easy to remove.
• Preside volume wheel
• Braided cable fabric cable
• The adjustment works well and keeps the headset on your head, even when your head is upside down,not you would do that often, but nice if you drop something you can pick it off without headset falling off.
• 3.5 jacks
• lightweight,not the heaviest but not the lightest but decent weight, but I would not mind heavier if it would improve durability.
• detachable microphone
• should fit big ears, it’s easy to just move the cups to the desired position, my ears are average size and I got the space for 1 ringer tip, both on the top and rear of the cup.
• easy to put on with one hand, unlike some headset, like Logitech for example.

 

 

Cons:

• Awful microphone, the voice gets so changed I can’t recognise my own voice, it gets so changed it makes me sound like I am drunk, and there is a constant hissing/white noise.
•  The 3.5 cable isn’t detachable.
• 
• gets hot and sweaty after a while.
• If you got big ears that stick out the ears will touch the plate, as long as you got average, or a bit over the average but not ears that stick out, then you are on the safe side.
• the suspension self-adjusting headband-swing arm should be made of metal instead of plastic, for better durability.
• if you move your head fast or hit your fingers on the steel frame it makes a sound similar to a church bell or hitting a metal tube against some other metal depending on where you hit it, but this is not a big deal-breaker for me, I already knew about this when I purchased this headset.
• might not fit your head is above average size, mine is about 59cm, which results in about a half cm space between the steel frame and the headband
• Synthetic leather, instead of real leather, I had a bad experience with synthetic leather, it usually wears out quite fast.
• The headband design is flawed, the screws holding the self-adjusting headband are hard to reach, there is no way to tighten them when they loosen up, which will eventually happen, maybe in few months maybe in a year maybe 2 years, but it will eventually happen.

  

  The plastic swing arm

  

  The cable in the right kinked probably caused by the swingarm detaching because of the missing screw.

  

• The autumn of 2017 I noticed strange distortion and hissing, which was caused by the 3.5 plug slightly unplugging.
• The pleather on the cushions failed a few weeks later.
• There also was play in the cable where the cable goes into the controller.
• The plastic parts:

  

  Damaged plastic part

Damaged plastic part

• The cussions became too easy to remove, they fell out from time to time

 

Wear summer 2018

The cushion inside part of cushion covers popped off.

The Artificial leather  is falling off.

 

 

 

Things to improve:

• Better microphone, constant static when recording., I found the best way to get usable audio was to use +20db  whit mic straight.
• quality cushions with quality cover
• swing arms and the plastic parts on the headband should be made of metal.
• make it easy to take off the cushion.
• bigger cushions for big ears that stick out.
• spare cessions should be included, which is nice when it’s hot and you sweat and you need to wash the sessions, then you can just put on the fresh spare cessions.
• replace the synthetic leather with real leather
• more metal parts instead of plastic.

 

Verdict/conclusion:

There the is room for improvement.

I will have to research headphones and get a attachable mic, Mod Mic 5 looks decent enough.

Official product page: http://www.hyperxgaming.com/us/cloud/hx-hscr

 

http://www.amazon.com/HyperX-Revolver-Headset-HX-HSCR-BK-NA/dp/B01CIEBU54/186-6646101-6381358?ie=UTF8&Version=1&entries=0

 

 

 

 

 

Creative hs-950 review 1 year is complete garbage

this is a discontinued product,but might still be in stores.

Creative hs950:

longtermreview 1 year

the head band  broke on both sides on the headbandthe screws popped out, the headset was very unconfortable, my ears was hurting afther 1 h of use .

cons: unpresise volume adjustment wheel.

there are some other good headsets on the market,

the hs-950:

cons : unconfortable,,you ears will hurt aftehr a short time,

michrophone is very bad.

the adjustability is bad they sit very looks on your head,

mine cracked under 1 year of use. but you willhear the doorbell.

is worth the price? :NO!

 conclusion:

 horrible ,waste of money!!!

thermaltake azurues mouse:

you can reduse the weightof the mouse with 3 steel weigts, they look similat to small batteries

ym hand is avarage in size and it feels confortable in my hand, its confortable any smaller mouse will be uncofortable for me.

i have used it over 2 years and had no issues

cons:

• for some the the Tt logo that is flashing can be enoying
•  cant turn of the red pulsing light ther is no driver to do so.  this is nto a big con if you dont mind the light.

pros:

• semetrical so you can use for left or right hand

•  long cable
• cable strap
• 1600 dpi for photomanipulation and fps games its a big pro

Fanatec csr wheel, csr elite pedals, csr shifters: 1 year review

the table clamp:

the clamp is have a bad construction there are 2 pins on every clam there are 2 clamps the pins are not secured in any way so too much vibration and they can pushed out after you have used the wheel for a while.

but fanatec have a clubsport table clamp with angle adjustment. all current Fanatec wheels can be mounted to it, and its made of 100% metal.

but if you got a desk with a sharp edge otherwise the wheel will be too loose, but on a desk that have that like a office desk it will be stable, but it’s like that one every wheel. its nothing wrong with it, its impossible to make it worn with a table like that,

like this plate have a edge that fiuts the csr but not if it’s too round or have patterns on it.

something like this will do. the wheel should not move if you clamp it to a table liek the image under, youst look at yourube videos.

the shifter tube thing is flimsy this is not a good construction,, the wheel rim flex.

but the metal tubes make the clamp hold the wheel better.

the is play in the wheel, so i can press the wheel to one side and up,down to one side to the other and so on, it moves more and more,its makes more and more noise because the  plastic parts  are move  more and more. i have recently done some drifting in Assetto Corsa and the wheel was bending mutch, specially the top part. and the sides made clicking sounds.

the dpad is bad, it moves around much when the ffb kicks in.

or when you turn fast., because of that it gets pushed down so you can’t have anything mapped in the game on the dpad.

the t500rs wheel have one stronger motor

, that is stronger than the 3 on the fanatec csr,you can find more about that on the web.

and yes i got the alcentara falling off issue.i playederd Assetto Corsa and rFactor2, if you think about modding there is no point in doing that, better to get a t500rs and mod it.

fanatec have static pedals to mount on the clubsport base,you can maunt things to the wheel base  on the clubsport but not on t500rs or the csr wheel we cant do that.

i dont underestand why there is a limiter that limits the steering to 900 deg fanatec desided to have it 900 only, some street cars have more than 900 deg so it would be nice to have that.

like some lutuses. all of the cars listed here ahve over 900 deg of rotation:

Lotus Exige Scura 2009 ,Lotus Exige S Roadster2013…….

i think this was a mistake to do only 900 on the clubsport wheel, but all the other stuff on it is no mistake,

many people cant deside between t500rs and clubsport wheel.

N on the t500rs it has 1080 degrees, i want to simulate all the cars in the game as realistically as possible,

the msterials used for the clubsport wheel base are a good choise,

the quick reease is a good choise.  the ewheel it sel.

both wheels cost as mutch as a dishwasher.

i think selling t500rs with pedals only is a mistake,

the pedals should have a adapter or usb cable so it could be used seperatly,

http://f-wheel.com/forza-motorsport-csr-wheel

cons:

• cant adjust ffb in driver but you can onthe wheel it self,its not nice to play rfactor 2 but rfactor 2 have car specific ffb setting otion so possible to turn it up as all sim games have

• bad d pad ver flimsy so activets the mapped function for the pad not nice when you race. so basicly usless
• bad clamp
•  no static pedals
•  no ability to put real wheels on without extreme modding,
• alcanatera falls off
• matte coating falls off
• one small fan for cooling the wheel base
• the wheel rim flex

pros

• ergonomic wheel feels good
• can hard mount the wheel

the CSR elite pedals

Fanatec csr elite pedals, the are ok, i had no issues,if something gets loose jsut tighten the hex cap screws , but his is normal. Do you have ticky brake?, take it apart use bicycle lube, i used weldtite cycle oil, its cheap.

i saw a video where thomas from fanatec used motorex dry bicycle lube on the clubsport pedals.

the pedal-set will slide on a wooden or similar floor surface., so its best you have them taped to the floor, and have them touching the wall., or hard-mount it if you have a simracing cockpit.

worth the cash?:  fanatec clubsport pedals cost little bit but the clutch will me more realistic but not as realistic as you want, then you need to go for gigh-end pedals

http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3489955/CSR_Elite_Pedals_Unboxing.html

pros:

• can mount custom pedal plates
• adjust pedal plate hight
• load-cell for brake
•  stuff that need to be made of metal is made of metal
• can hard mount the pedals sett or take them off separately to mount on your rig

cons:

• places where the dust is hiding, and without a vacumecleaner or som,e brushes its hard to clean, the dust is gonna get on the laodcell and in between the laodcell and the braking mechanism so i used a allen key to remove it when servicing the pedals.
• there is play in the pedals
• clutch is not realistic

Csr shifters : they are garbage

can’t be used as stand alone, but you can probably mod them,i can’t.

if you have a motion simulator,the sequential shifter will shift,because of vibration., even if you dont use motion simulator it will happened, if you drift,the spring is too light.

a shifter should have mutch stiffer spring.

to use both sfhiters you need 2 controlelr mapping setups, and disconect oen shifter and conenct the other one thsi is not a big deal for me, but but the next csr wheelmust be improved, or maybe just discontinue the csr.

is it worth the cash?:  no!!!

Fanatec clubsport sq v1.0 shifter

cons:

Just few small cons that are not very important:

rubber grips wear out,glue on rubber grips is bad,i taken the rubber grips from the csr wheel and put it on the clamp,,it grips better and does nto slide off.

Fanatec logo wears off fast

My support experience has been good.

I had issues with some gears not working properly after a while,Fanatec cleaned and greased the shifter, and it works even smoother than the day I got it out of the box.

this is how the shifter knob looks like inside(when you see is CNC aluminium residue,not a big problem but it should not come like this,but i guess only few came like this.
a good review.spot on, but the only thing I would like to add is that the rubber under the clamp wear off fast,i taken the grips from my CSR wheel off and put under the clamp plate and grips the desk better.

Pros: see videos:

https://www.fanatec.com

 

10.11.2016 Updated review:Thrustmaster T500 RS

the wheel
if you got the money get a better wheel,but this is better than cheap wheels like csr or Porsche wheels

Frex Sim Steering 1080 deg

SimSteering System  have max 2304 degrees

accuforcesteering

pros:

• the shaft is very flexible,
• the wheel rims are very flexible,which is notisable.
• The fan is very loud,and the summer heat will make turn olon even when the wheel is not in use,because the sumemr heat will over heat the wheelbase,it can get up to 28degrees where I live.
• the clamp works well the wheel does not move or slide much, but its impossible to make it 100% secure without hard mounting the base.
• strong ffb much stronger than the Fanatec CSR wheel,now i can play rfactor 2 with ffb that is not very weak like on the Fanatec csr wheel.
• good dpad(directional pad)
• can adjust the FFB in hte Driver software.
• easy to clean the wheel rims.
• there is possibility to mod this wheel, adding a real wheel of your choise,
• the ability to ahve static or/and rotating pedals, is nice
•  8 direction D-Pad
• Playstation 3 compatible
• not much play in the wheel

there is a adapter by Derek Spear http://www.derekspearedesigns.com/a guy on the iracing forum makes builds rearl wheels with pedals and every thing with the quickrelease sytem as o nthe standard t500rs so its easy to change to a rea lwheel if you want to,his name is Sam Maxwell.

YipZone makes nicee mods but he does not sell them. but you can look at this for ideas, if you want to do the same.

the amount of flex increased over time.

cons:

• My wheel had is is faulty,the sensor only works to the right but not to the left, I have to turn more to the left to get full steerign range,I will have to send it back to thurstmaster,but as I am busy with Mountainbike related stuff. This was not my on the lsit of high priroitiy thigns to do. and my custommer supoport expericne was not good,the person replying me after they looked at the video said my wheel was working, even though it can be clearly seen in the video I sent them that it was not.
• no real life quick release
• no support for techometer
• to add custom wheels you buy a 3dprinted copy of the screw on peace and add the wheel on it, mod the wheel base to fit a real life quick release.

• The stock gt wheel was almost impossible to take off b, but afther many tries i did it.
  but got it off. This might be just with my wheel.
• wheel chaft is flexing
• the GT rim & ferrari addon rim is flexing
• static pedal shifters ahve play,they rock invards and outwards
• materials used are nto the best, liek plastic, the the quick release ifs made of abs but if you unscrew  the screw too many time i guess it would be worn out and u wheel will get loose.
• very loud fan
• no option to buy the wheel base only, then buy all the wheels you want or need,so you could buy which ever pedalset you want,
• big base unit, i think its too hight and too long and wide,
• no real quick release,woudl be nice iwht real car quick release.
• rubber pads under the whheel base slide off.
• wheel rim get scrached  easely
• the paint on the red metal senter wears off

the pedals

pros:

• the pedals are made of metall, so they are very strong and heavy
• stiff brake

cons:

• no loadcell
• the clutch pedals feels the same as the accelerator pedal. This is because you can flip the pedals and run them in f1 style or rally style.
• not stand alone with usb
  

concusion:

am i satesfied? No

woudl I  recommend this wheel? No

this is mass produced equipment, with alot of custommer having issues with it,.

Get direct drive servro instead,I know it cost considerably more,but I am tired of cheap plastic junk.

I have not tried accuforce or leaobodnar or frex but they will not wear fast liek all the common consumer,department store,electronics store wheels you can buy.

in my honest opinion all the entry mid range wheels are junk., specially fanatec csr, and logitech wheels, and madcatz.

what a wheel sim wheel needs is :

servo motor, real rim real quick release

at least 1080 degrees rotation

static pedals pedals on the wheel

the Ferrari 458 challenge repliuca wheel add addon

http://www.thrustmaster.com/products/ferrari-458-challenge-wheel-add

 pros

• easy to acsess the screws on the back because of 1 hole on each shifter pedal .
•   8 direction D-Pad

• cons:
  the replica is not accurate
• as flexible as the Gt rim
• this wheel is not 100% scale replica
• the 2 yellow buttons that are on the real wheel on the both sides are missing.
  wrong size
• wheel rim get scrached  easely
• same amount of flex as the gt wheel
• price

if you want a smaller wheel or old f1 cars, then this is good for you or drive cars with rotating pedals