Rapoo VH150 Backlit Gaming Headset - Performance on a Budget!
When it comes to PC peripherals or especially gaming peripherals there are a lot of brands that keep popping up with their new products that sometimes are quite impressive if not downright disappointing! One such new brand stepping inside the Indian market is Rapoo which is a Chinese Brand established in 2002 and is a subsidiary of MLK Electronics Hong Kong established with the aim of delivering ground breaking wireless PC peripherals. Well though not wireless but today we have with us the Rapoo VH150 Backlit Gaming Headset for review thanks to Rapoo India which they'd launched in February 2018.
Priced in at Rs 2999 the Rapoo VH150 Backlit Gaming Headset utilizes 50mm neodymium drivers to deliver a thump pumping audio quality at a maximum 20Khz all working perfectly with almost any device you can name of including PC, cell phones, tablets and even gaming consoles of the latest generation.
With an impedance of 32 Ohms and a maximum output power of around 100mW which is exactly what we expect from a headset of this category.
What's in the Box!?
For the first time ever I'm looking at a gaming series component to be coming in a a plain brown cardboard box with no hints of colors whatsoever! Rapoo somewhat decided to pack the VH150 inside a plane cardboard box with a lined out product image along with the product name clearly printed on the the sides and the bottom.
Open the box and you'll find yourself the VH150 tidily fit onto a cardboard stand along with a user guide cum warranty leaflet. The packing and contents are bare minimum and just enough to get you started clearly indicating cost cutting measures to keep the price as low as possible. Overall the packaging is fine for the amount of protection it will offer to the inert but a colored box would've been a bit better and more soothing to the eyes.
Let's take a Closer Look
The headband on the Rapoo VH150 is thick and padded with a smooth layer of foam and leatherette like material which boasts the Rapoo logo on the top. The entire frame is aluminum based which comes out bare in form of brushed aluminum finish at the hinges of the headset cup. The hinges are non rotatable and are rigid as they are offering little flexibility but are sturdy enough not to break while bending or twisting them a bit.
Looking at the cups we see that they are very well made and constructed with a premium rubber finish all over the outer body and memory foam like thick padding on the inside about who's comfort we'll see later on in the review. The hings can rotate to a bit on the inside so as to adjust to the users preference and have a premium looking joint to it. You see a meshed covering on the which has the blue led in side and will light up when the headset is powered on.
What I find awkward is that the connecting wire for both the cups is protruding outside of the band near the joints which can tangle or even break if the user is wearing earrings, beads or anything as such. This is something that I even find strange in some of the HyperX headsets but now its trickling down to Rapoo aswell!
The VH150 comes with a 3m long non braided wire which has an in-line volume control and also a switch to turn on/off the backlit LEDs on the cups. The in-line controller is big and chunky and rests near the headset side of the wire for easier access and is covered in the same rubber material as the headset to give a more homogeneous approach. Connectivity wise we have a 3.5mm audio and microphone jack along with a USB connector to power on the LED, if not connected the headset would work like a normal headset with no LEDs.
Also the 103dBmW sensitivity mic is detachable and extremely flexible but sturdy covered by a foam cap and can be adjusted as per the user's wish. Sadly you cannot mute it via a physical button since none is present on the headset or on the in-line controller.
Time to hit the Chords!
Gaming Performance
Since the Rapoo VH150 aims at gaming, obviously, we tested it with some of our all time favorites, Crysis 3 and Battlefield 1 for its excellent blend of audio, Middle Earth: Shadow of War for its pitch perfect environmental sounds and Forza Horizon 3 well simply 'coz I like that game!
In Crysis 3 we had no issue whatsoever in listening to or understanding what Prophet was saying and noises were greatly distinguished in the heat of battle, even of the crickets in the NY jungle! Battlefield 1 came out fully immersive especially when it came to sitting inside the battle tanks or listening to aerial bombing happening across the field. In Shadow of War we could really feel the voices coming from different directions and interestingly even though the bass on these headphones are acceptable they didn't distort the sounds of footsteps from behind and I was able to pin point the enemy location making it a great choice for eSport players including CS:GO. The engines of Bugatti or Lamborghini sounded great but the bass on this headset is quite damped out in comparison to what I like and what is needed at times so there was a bit of hollowness to the entire feel over here.
Also the mic is static free and picks up noise at low levels, a bit of a nasal comes in but with a bit of an adjustment that can be taken care of. Even though its quite flexible I didn't feel it to be flimsy at all in terms of build quality which is quite good since we adjust the mic often during gaming sessions.
Movies, Music & Miscellaneous Stuff
For movies and music I plugged in the VH150 into a ALC 1220 codec based audio solution on my PC motherboard and also we tested it with an Apple iPhone 5S and iPhone 7 for basically musical playback. Firstly we went in for a wide variety like the dialogue intensive Schindler's List & 12 Years a Slave to high pitch titles like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 and Fast and the Furious 8, all came out in perfect quality except for the part where you'd like plenty of bass or need to enjoy the highs in the spectrum.
Bryan Adam's Heaven and some of my all time favorite Bollywood songs sounded great with exceptional lows accompanied by a good treble. Eminem Legacy and Rap God were as clear as they can be with bass nearing perfection for a gaming headset, even at full volume songs from 3 Doors Down, Motorhead or Metallica didn't crack displaying the true power of the 50mm drivers that it uses. A thing about these headsets is that these are quite loud and not loud as in loudness but in terms of sharpness so make sure you keep the volume at round 50%-70% as at high volumes the voices get really sharp and can hurt your ears.
Noise isolation is good not extremely great but noise isolation both for the headset and microphone is good as you can' listen to he chatter of the guy sitting next to you nor do the mic picks up sounds of your mechanical keyboards which is a welcome move.
Comfort wise the clamping force on these headsets is not too tight nor too loose which is good for gamers who tend to move their head too much and can cause their headsets to slip off their heads but due to the material used on the cups whcih is non breathable & a bit on the harder side it can get sweaty and itchy in summers so be aware of that.
My Verdict
I always like to review new and unconventional brands as they tend to offer something new all the time be it good or bad but in case of Rapoo I see a product that has more positives to weigh out its negatives. Right now you can pick these up for as low as ₹1,499 which when considered with what the VH150 has to offer we find our selves looking at a winner.The VH150 from Rapoo is build solid with a full aluminum frame padded thickly and smoothly offering rigidity and comfort all at the same time. Even though the cups don't rotate much but the sound quality they offer is good enough for most of us especially the budget gamer for whom this product is aimed at as at this price point we can't ask much. The cable is long and in-line control works nicely and is easily accessible while the noise cancellation on the mic and its sound quality is good for Skype calls or in game chats.
The blue LED light is subtle and does add a bit of bling to the package but its the premium rubber coating over the headset that makes it really impressive and worthy. Bass is underwhelming which I was a bit disappointed by and so were the highs to some extent but when I look at the price tag I can't complain much.
"The Rapoo VH150 Gaming Headset is build solid, sounds good, looks great and is priced to the point making it a perfect recommendation for every gamer on a budget who wants a bang for their buck & even more!"
Pros - - Solid Build Quality
- Premium Rubber Finish
- Aptly Priced
- Detachable Mic
- Good Sound Quality
- Comfortable
- Lacks Bass
- No Mic Mute Button
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