Roccat Noz review: Safe and Sound

The Pitch

There’s something to be said for the idea of keeping things simple.

And where rivals like Razer and HyperX are dabbling with dual-chambered designs and haptic feedback, Roccat have kept their Noz gaming headphones firmly focused on the fundamentals.

The holy trinity of gaming headphones consists of three things. They have to sound good, they have to make you sound good and they have to be comfortable to wear over longer stretches. Everything else, no matter how RGB-laden, is ultimately a luxury and there’s something to be said for a set of gaming headphones that play by those rules.

Credit: Roccat

The Roccat Noz don’t redefine what a set of gaming headphones can offer but they do a decent enough job of offering up what you expect.

Specs

Weight: 210g

Drivers: 50mm Neodymium magnet

Compatibility: Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac, Playstation, Mobile   

Cable Length: 2.45m

Surround: Stereo

Noise Cancelling: N/A

Battery life: N/A

Built-in Microphone: Yes

Frequency response: 100 ~ 10000Hz

Sensitivity at 1kHz: -40dB

Signal-to-noise ratio: 58dB

Impedance: 2.2kΩ

Price: $89

Available from: Amazon

What did we like about the Roccat Noz?

Credit: Roccat

Despite its faults, there’s a lot to like about the design of the Roccat Noz. To the eyes of some, they might seem a little too typical or even boring - but there's something gorgeous to the execution here. The Noz are a set of headphones that bend and curve in all the ways you’d expect. They reek of user-centric consideration and thoughtful design.

Unfortunately, when it comes to sound quality, the Roccat Noz are a little more ordinary. They sound like a good set of gaming headphones but they’re not astoundingly great either. I didn’t wince at the fidelity, nor was I blown away by it. They don’t sound as good as more-expensive fare like my usual Logitech G Pro headphones but things like Overwatch and Total War: Three Kingdoms sounded more-or-less fine through their fabric-laced earcups.

If what you’re looking for is gaming headphones that sound about as good as most gaming headphones do, the 50mm drivers inside the Roccat Noz will do the trick but they won’t leave you rushing out to tell your friends.

What didn’t we like about the Roccat Noz?

Credit: Roccat

Unfortunately, looks can sometimes be deceiving. The overall feel-factor here is far from premium.

The Noz looks great on your desk but it feels like cheap plastic in your hands. The buttons and dials on the Noz aren’t very ergonomic in action and they don’t feel satisfying to press upon either.

In addition, I found that a lot of my gaming experiences with the Roccat Noz were dragged down by noise leakage due to the poor fit of the earcups on the headphones. It’s not impossible that this was due to my own head size but, again, I’ve reviewed a fair amount of gaming headphones in recent years and I found this was an issue here where it wasn’t with other brands.

The Bottom Line

Roccat’s latest gaming headset hits just enough of the familiar notes that you’ll want to take notice of it but unless you’re using it to round-out your existing Roccat gaming accessory line-up, there are few reasons to choose it over the other options.

The Roccat Noz aren't awful but they rarely makes a great case for themselves beyond just being a safe enough place to start when it comes to buying your next gaming headset.

Credit: Roccat