Pipeline Review: Razer Tiamat 7.1

by Vivek Gowri on 6/15/2012 4:00:00 PM
Posted in Headset , Razer , Audio , Peripheral  What is it? 

Razer’s Tiamat 7.1, the first headset to feature 10 discrete drivers for true 7.1 surround sound.

How much? 

$179.99 from Razer’s webstore or Amazon.com

What does it do?

The Tiamat is a desktop headset, with very long cables, a large volume control unit (which features a toggle between headphones and an audio system), and a reliance on USB power. It has five 3.5mm jacks, four for different audio channels and one for mic, along with a USB used exclusively for power. Each circumaural cup has five drivers: one for front, rear, and surround, along with a center channel and a subwoofer in each ear. Razer’s other 7.1 headset, the Megalodon, makes do with two drivers and virtual surround, so this is a significant step up on paper. Compared to other large headsets, the Tiamat appears to have smaller drivers overall with a mix of 30mm (front, center) and 20mm (rear, surround) drivers to complement the 40mm subwoofer drivers. For example, the lower-end Tiamat 2.2 has two 40mm drivers for mid/high range frequencies to go with the two 40mm sub drivers, while Corsair goes with two 50mm drivers and virtual surround in its Vengeance 1500 headset. 

Is it any good?

The design and aesthetic of the Tiamat is pretty stunning. Razer has traditionally put a lot of effort into the industrial design and packaging of their products, so this comes as no surprise. The external cover of the circumaural cups is translucent, so you can actually see the individual drivers. It’s awesome to see how the smaller mid/high drivers are dwarfed by the sub, and overall, it’s just a cool aesthetic. The Razer logos on each side light up in green when you plug it in, and the headband on top features matching green stitching. The mic is on the left side, and slides out of the way to stay hidden when you don’t need it. They’re pretty large headphones, to say the least, but they wear comfortably, with padded leatherette ear cups and a headband that fits well. 

The audio performance depends on your use cases. In gaming situations (assuming the game supports surround), the Tiamat shines. It’s pretty helpful in placing opponents (especially in racing and FPS games), and the overall experience is pretty stellar. This holds true for well sound-engineered action movies, too. Razer has done a good job optimizing the directionality of the speakers, so you really get a sense of the surround effect. Unfortunately, in music-heavy usage, it leaves a bit to be desired, with sound that’s clearly being made by smaller drivers. This is especially noticeable at the high end, where the sound was pretty thin, maybe even a bit tinny. An audiophile would probably be better served by a mid-priced set of cans like the Sony MDR-V6 or something similar.

Razer has always been a company that has prioritized gaming over any other use case, and the Tiamat is certainly no different. But given the pricepoint, I’d like to see a bit more versatility and better audio quality for music. 

Should I buy one?

Regardless of my recommendation here, I’m not sure it’s possible to find the Tiamat in stock anywhere. Razer’s store shows 4-8 weeks for delivery, while Amazon quotes 1-3 months. The Tiamat has garned enough interest that even three months after launch, Razer is having trouble manufacturing enough Tiamat units to meet demand. As with many of Razer’s products, the Tiamat is very premium in terms of quality and design and offers some unique and attractive features. It’s seriously pricey though, and if you listen to a lot of music, you’re probably not going to be thrilled with the audio fidelity. But if you’re really into gaming, this is one of the more desirable headset options out there, and that's just how Razer wants it.

Print This Article 9 Comments View All Comments Post a Comment Amazon is shipping units. by SilverRubicon on Friday, June 15, 2012 I ordered from Amazon back in March and they were delivered a few days ago. They're not bad headphones, but I find the cups to be on the small side and the leather to be very, very hot. I'm going to try and finesse a pair of Beyerdynamic velour pads on them. SilverRubicon Reply 'surround' headphones by csroc on Friday, June 15, 2012 In general I've not been impressed with any I've tried before but I'm always curious to try the latest attempts. I still maintain a preference for a good pair of standard stereo headphones, if I need surround affects the psychoacoustic surround processing tends to be quite effective with good headphones. csroc Reply RE: 'surround' headphones by csroc on Friday, June 15, 2012 whoops, surround effects csroc Reply Razer is junk. by imaheadcase on Friday, June 15, 2012 I bought the Naga MMO and Vespula mousepad about 8 months ago %15 coupon at newegg, since then the mousepad wore off the coating it had on both sides, the wrist wrest completely feel apart in the first month .

The mouse? 2 buttons work now out of the 15. The plastic on bottom is not uniform. Its wavy, and starting to peel.

Conclusion. My gaming "gear" is now me server setup mouse and my $50 MS mouse is my gaming mouse. imaheadcase Reply RE: Razer is junk. by Gnarr on Sunday, June 17, 2012 I have the same story with my Razer DeathAdder. It was good for about 2-3 months and then the left button started double and triple clicking if touched. I now use my 9 year old Logitech MX510 as my gaming mouse and the DeathAdder is hooked to the server. Gnarr Reply RE: Razer is junk. by aguilpa1 on Monday, June 18, 2012 MX510 is an awesome mouse, just keeps going and going unlike those fancy schmancy mice. aguilpa1 Reply 5 long analog cables... yuck by brucek2 on Saturday, June 16, 2012 I'd be pretty worried about the five 3.5mm input jacks coupled with it being a very long set of cables. That's a lot of length to pick up interference, plus the average PC has fairly crappy analog output coming out of those jacks in the first place (both from mediocre sound processing in general and then interference from an acoustically hostile PC environment.)

I long ago switched to digital output from my PC, to a nice receiver well away from the PC, and then plug high quality stereo headphones into that when desired. I may lose a little on positioning (although on most games I find it pretty accurate even from just two channels), but the overall sound quality is richer and cleaner. brucek2 Reply Replacement Ear Pads by SilverRubicon on Saturday, June 16, 2012 The Beyerdynamic EDT 250 Velour ear pads make a nice replacement for the stock leather ear pads of the Tiamat. These are the same ear pads that fit the Sony MDR-V6 headphones. They don't make the Tiamats as comfortable as my V6's, but they definitely help and they're not as sweaty as the leather cups. SilverRubicon Reply Seen Something Similar by Ninhalem on Monday, June 18, 2012 This reminds me of the Tritton AX-720, but way less comfortable. I have worn the Tritton for more than 6 hours of gameplay without it every cramping my ears unlike Razer's design. The sound quality, however, could be significantly better on the Razer than the Tritton (I don't know how many drivers the Tritton uses), but I would rather give up sound quality instead of comfort. Ninhalem Reply Subject Comment Post Comment Please login or register to post a comment.
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Latest from AnandTech Pipeline Submit News! Samsung's Galaxy S 3 US Marketing Focuses On Features New Windows Start Screen Demoed on Lumia 900 running Windows Phone 7.8 Microsoft Announces First Windows Phone 8 Hardware Partners, Qualcomm SoCs Inside [Update: MSM8960] Existing Windows Phone 7 devices will get updated to Windows Phone 7.8, not Windows 8 Windows Phone 8 Adds support for Multi Core SoCs, Higher Resolutions, microSD, and NFC Microsoft's Windows Phone Summit in San Francisco - We're There Acer’s Timeline Ultra M5: Ivy Bridge Ultrabooks with Kepler GPUs Hynix to Acquire Link A Media Devices (LAMD) Microsoft Surface - We Go Hands On [UPDATE: Detailed Impressions] iBuyPower's Valkyrie CZ-17 Rides In Nokia Announces PureView 808 Coming to USA for $699 Microsoft's Major Announcement in LA - We're There! DailyTech Lian Li Shows Off New EATX PC Case with Front-Mounted PSU Samsung Expects to Sell 10 Million Galaxy S III Smartphones in July Sony, Panasonic to Collaborate on Next Gen OLED Panels for TVs and Large Displays Report: RIM's Bank Advisers Suggest Sale of BlackBerry Handset Business Website "Funny Junk" Steals The Oatmeal's Work, Sues Charities MIT Builds All-Carbon Buckyball and Nanotube Solar Cell Louisiana Sex Offenders Must Make Their Crimes Visible on Social Networks 6/22/2012 Daily Hardware Reviews -- "Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition" Edition United States Accused of Using Flame to try to Cripple Iran's Economy Microsoft Surface Tablet to be Wi-Fi Only at Launch AMD's Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition Earns "Tie" With GTX 680 Nintendo to Release Larger 3DS XL in Japan Next Month, U.S. in August for $199 Yesterday's Global Twitter Outage Caused by "Cascading Bug" SSDs Become More Attractive as Cost per Gigabyte Continues to Decrease Sony Announces Plan to Increase Production Capacity for Stacked CMOS Image Sensors TWC Prevents DVR Commercial Skipping with New Patent Quick Note: Ford Respond to JD Power MyFord Touch Criticism... Sort of Twitter Logging off :) @PenLlawen I started AT in 1997 when I was 14 :-P @scottwasson congrats man! 10 minute nap/sleep then off to the airport, but at least I don't need to carry any laptops/tablets with me this time. @Bindibadgi you know me too well :-P @Bindibadgi everything but the phone, have no plans of using it except to get around though :) I turn 30 on Tuesday, flying someplace relaxing for a couple of days. First vacation in nearly a decade. 2012 MBA and more when I get back. @tldtoday thank you :) One more review done, will post Monday morning (it's a short one, I promise) :) @mpanzarino thank you very much :)  

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Lian Li PC-A55 Case Review: Unfortunate Name Befits the Design

by Dustin Sklavos on 6/16/2012 12:30:00 PM
Posted in Cases/Cooling/PSUs , Lian Li , mid-tower , ATX Buy the Lianli PC-K57 Lian-Li Mid Tower Steel
$69.99

Introducing the Lian Li PC-A55

Marking our fifth venture into Lian Li territory in recent years, the PC-A55 enclosure we have on hand is another unique, slightly-off-the-wall design from a company we've come to expect this kind of thinking from. After all, at Computex they were showing off a case with 26 3.5" bays and another one that looks like a small train. It's not unreasonable to expect some unique cases from Lian Li, and the PC-A55 is definitely one.

What Lian Li has attempted to achieve with the PC-A55 is essentially to make a full ATX enclosure as small as humanly possible while still being easy to build and service. In some ways they've definitely achieved this, but a lot of sacrifices had to be made to get the PC-A55 to where it is and unfortunately, we're not sure they were worth it.

Before we get deeper into the review, yes, the Lian Li PC-A55 has a very unfortunate name for anyone familiar with leetspeak. Those of you with a juvenile sense of humor (like me, for example), are probably going to enjoy this review tremendously. I'm not sure how to address this otherwise; I need to refer to the model name to write the review, so hopefully we can get through this with a minimum of tittering and focus on the enclosure at hand.

Lian Li's design borrows a bit from Silverstone in that it's intended to be vertically cooled; air is drawn in from the bottom of the enclosure and out of the top. With Silverstone's cases, this is often very effective, but in my experience it has less to do with natural convection and much more to do with the clear path air has to move through the heat-generating components. Part of the reason why the FT02 is one of the best air cooling enclosures around (if not the best) is because air has a straight shot from the bottom intake up through the (preferably tower) CPU cooler and out of the top of the case, with virtually no obstructions. As you'll see, the PC-A55 doesn't share this crucial design point.

Lian Li PC-A55 SpecificationsMotherboard Form FactorMini-ITX, Micro ATX, ATXDrive BaysExternal1x 5.25”Internal2x 3.5", 2x 2.5"CoolingFront-Rear-Top1x 140mm exhaust fanSide-Bottom1x 140mm intake fanExpansion Slots7I/O Port2x USB 3.0, 1x Headphone, 1x MicPower Supply SizeStandard ATXClearancesHSF150 mmPSU160 mmGPU12.2" / 310mmWeight4.1kg / 9 lbs.Dimensions9.64" x 17.6" x 20.39"
245mm x 447mm x 518mmSpecial FeaturesUSB 3.0 connectivity via internal header
All-aluminum buildPrice$109

Lian Li advertises the PC-A55 as having a single USB 3.0 port and a single USB 2.0 port hidden under a door on the top of the case, but this is incorrect; the two ports share a single USB 3.0 internal motherboard header, and despite being black, the so-called USB 2.0 port does function at USB 3.0 speeds. Why they took the time to do this and advertise them as being different is beyond me.

As a whole, the PC-A55 is small and light, but because it supports ATX motherboards it's not quite small enough to notice the difference between a slightly larger, more standardized ATX case. Just the same, when we pop it open and assemble it we'll see that Lian Li made every single interior inch count; this really is about as small as they can get it while still accommodating ATX.

In and Around the Lian Li PC-A55 Introducing the Lian Li PC-A55 In and Around the Lian Li PC-A55 Assembling the Lian Li PC-A55 Testing Methodology Noise and Thermal Testing, Stock Noise and Thermal Testing, Overclocked Conclusion: Just Because You Can Doesn't Mean You Should Print This Article 62 Comments View All Comments Post a Comment Classic Lian Li by KingKongDonkeyBong on Saturday, June 16, 2012 I'm a Mac junkie now, but rewind 4 years back and I used to build my own tower PCs like no tomorrow. I loved to pick out the best of the best components and put them together only to sell what I had done and start over again. To me, Lian Li has always stood for excellent looking aluminum cases, but they were bloody expensive then and are still today. I dreamed of a Lian Li case bak then, but I never got to build a PC with one of those beauties. :( It's great to see them still making top-notch stuff, though. Some of the better companies faded into oblivion, like SuperFlower. CoolerMaster used to make some good stuff back then, but no longer. :/ I'd put my money on Lian Li if I still had the passion to build tower PCs. KingKongDonkeyBong Reply RE: Classic Lian Li by Dustin Sklavos on Saturday, June 16, 2012 ...did you actually read the review? Dustin Sklavos Reply RE: Classic Lian Li by JarredWalton on Saturday, June 16, 2012 I'd guess not. He looked at the picture and said, "That's a nice looking case!" Too bad it doesn't have the performance to back it up, unless maybe you just want to run a Core i3 CPU with now discrete GPU? Buying a $110 case for such a PC seems a bit much, though, and it still performs like A55. JarredWalton Reply RE: Classic Lian Li by Brutalizer on Monday, June 18, 2012 There is a smaller ATX case, the Lian Li PC-V700. It is 21 x 40 x 50 cm. And it holds six 3.5" disks.
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/lian-li-mid-case-... Brutalizer Reply RE: Classic Lian Li by yyrkoon on Tuesday, June 19, 2012 Yeah. I have a PC-G50. It is smaller than this ( 14.5" tall or so ), and has 3 3.5" drive slots. With the Add-on 4in3 bay adapter, I've had 7 HDD in it at one time. Plus it added a 120mm intake fan into the mix.

It is not the perfect case for a couple of reasons. but I am very happy with it. However, it is by far in my mind a better design compared to this.

Move the PSU horizontal, sideways, and reverse ( with perhaps an adapter cable going out to the back ). After removing the drive bay from the bottom of course.. Then add ventilation for the PSU intake, front, or side ( both ? ). Just thinking out loud here . . . Still lots of things could be done to improve this design. Obviously. yyrkoon Reply RE: Classic Lian Li by yyrkoon on Tuesday, June 19, 2012 My guess is that this person did not read / understand the article title. Never mind the article its self.

One thing you do have to keep in mind however. Individuals have a mind of their own. Just because you or one of your cohorts gives equipment a bad review. Does not mean that someone else has to agree.

And there is a lot to disagree with sometimes, from the articles / reviews presented here. Everyone's priorities are different. yyrkoon Reply RE: Classic Lian Li by wonderpookie on Saturday, June 16, 2012 Hehe, yea, I was just about to ask the exact same thing! Thank you for the in-depth and informative review, appreciated! wonderpookie Reply RE: Classic Lian Li by Flunk on Saturday, June 16, 2012 Lian Li makes some great cases, this may not be one of them but there are a lot of other models so if you like the look of this there probably is a case for you in there somewhere. I have a PC-9F that is quite similar but a bit bigger than this that's just great. Flunk Reply RE: Classic Lian Li by p05esto on Saturday, June 16, 2012 If you use Macs then what in the world are you doing on this site poser? This site is for computer enthusiasts and those into the latest and greatest, open standards and system, fastest machines around that can be upgraded and overclocked. Apple products don't fit under any of those headings. Maybe if we created an "overpriced preschool computing" Apple would fit nicely. No one wants Apple crap around here buddy. p05esto Reply RE: Classic Lian Li by tim851 on Saturday, June 16, 2012 Who made you boss, kid?

It sure was that guy Anand, who probably owns every Mac ever made. tim851 Reply Subject Comment Post Comment Please login or register to post a comment.
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Latest from AnandTech Pipeline Submit News! Samsung's Galaxy S 3 US Marketing Focuses On Features New Windows Start Screen Demoed on Lumia 900 running Windows Phone 7.8 Microsoft Announces First Windows Phone 8 Hardware Partners, Qualcomm SoCs Inside [Update: MSM8960] Existing Windows Phone 7 devices will get updated to Windows Phone 7.8, not Windows 8 Windows Phone 8 Adds support for Multi Core SoCs, Higher Resolutions, microSD, and NFC Microsoft's Windows Phone Summit in San Francisco - We're There Acer’s Timeline Ultra M5: Ivy Bridge Ultrabooks with Kepler GPUs Hynix to Acquire Link A Media Devices (LAMD) Microsoft Surface - We Go Hands On [UPDATE: Detailed Impressions] iBuyPower's Valkyrie CZ-17 Rides In Nokia Announces PureView 808 Coming to USA for $699 Microsoft's Major Announcement in LA - We're There! DailyTech Lian Li Shows Off New EATX PC Case with Front-Mounted PSU Samsung Expects to Sell 10 Million Galaxy S III Smartphones in July Sony, Panasonic to Collaborate on Next Gen OLED Panels for TVs and Large Displays Report: RIM's Bank Advisers Suggest Sale of BlackBerry Handset Business Website "Funny Junk" Steals The Oatmeal's Work, Sues Charities MIT Builds All-Carbon Buckyball and Nanotube Solar Cell Louisiana Sex Offenders Must Make Their Crimes Visible on Social Networks 6/22/2012 Daily Hardware Reviews -- "Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition" Edition United States Accused of Using Flame to try to Cripple Iran's Economy Microsoft Surface Tablet to be Wi-Fi Only at Launch AMD's Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition Earns "Tie" With GTX 680 Nintendo to Release Larger 3DS XL in Japan Next Month, U.S. in August for $199 Yesterday's Global Twitter Outage Caused by "Cascading Bug" SSDs Become More Attractive as Cost per Gigabyte Continues to Decrease Sony Announces Plan to Increase Production Capacity for Stacked CMOS Image Sensors TWC Prevents DVR Commercial Skipping with New Patent Quick Note: Ford Respond to JD Power MyFord Touch Criticism... Sort of Twitter Logging off :) @PenLlawen I started AT in 1997 when I was 14 :-P @scottwasson congrats man! 10 minute nap/sleep then off to the airport, but at least I don't need to carry any laptops/tablets with me this time. @Bindibadgi you know me too well :-P @Bindibadgi everything but the phone, have no plans of using it except to get around though :) I turn 30 on Tuesday, flying someplace relaxing for a couple of days. First vacation in nearly a decade. 2012 MBA and more when I get back. @tldtoday thank you :) One more review done, will post Monday morning (it's a short one, I promise) :) @mpanzarino thank you very much :)  

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