As a product reviewer, I’ve tested many headsets over the years, and with the ever expanding nature of virtual reality, it was only a matter of time before VR Gaming Headsets began to surface. That time has arrived: enter the iForce Chronos. Featuring 40mm dynamic drivers, Bluetooth connectivity, and all the bells and whistles one would come to expect from just about any headset in the current market, it comes in at a surprisingly affordable $69 (via Linsoul and Kickstarter). But does it deliver on its promise of immersive audio? Join us as we find out.
Specifications
- Current Price: $69.00 (Kickstarter)
- Connection: Wireless
- Driver: 40mm PU Titanium Coated Diaphragm Dynamic Driver
- Design: Close-back, Over-ear design
- Impedance: 32
- Sensitivity: 103dB
- Bluetooth Codecs: SBC, AAC
- Support AAC: Yes
- Size: 18cm x 20cm
- Weight: 303g
- Charging time: 3 Hours
- USB Type C
- Battery: 1000mAh (left: 600mAh Right: 400mAh)
- Vibration Impedance 6
- Microphone: Yes
The iForce Chronos is a wireless gaming headset designed for immersion. At the same time, it aims to leave the traditional “gamer” tuning behind and deliver a listening experience that can satisfy gamers and music lovers alike. Whether you’re attending virtual concerts or getting lost in your favorite games, the iForce Chronos promises big things.
The quality of the headset is commendable. The device boasts ample flexibility, catering to users of varying head sizes, while maintaining a modern and streamlined aesthetic. The Chronos is an over-the-ear pair of headphones with a closed back, promoting noise isolation and a conducive environment for concentration. This design does limit its sense of soundstage, but for getting lost in a virtual world, isolation is an important consideration (and many games factor in spatial immersiveness when designing their audio engines). They do fit a bit tightly, however, and I experienced some discomfort over extended play sessions. Your mileage may vary, but it trades isolation and comfort on the head for that extra clamp force.
One of the biggest key features that sets the Chronos headset apart from its competitors is the audiophile-tuned drivers. At 40mm, the driver size is fairly standard but the titanium coating is usually the stuff of high-end music headphones. Adding a metallic layer to the driver increases its rigidity and speed. These enhancements pay dividends in bass performance and detail, pushing it beyond most gaming headsets in sound quality and virtually all that we know of at this price point.
The headset doesn’t embrace the usual bass-heavy gamer tuning. Instead, it relies more heavily on detail and imaging. While it’s not what I would consider bass-light (it can still sound full and impactful when called for), it’s a more revealing tuning that aids in positionality and immersion versus cinematics.
Where the headset really becomes VR centric is with its spatial audio technology. The Chronos is equipped with an integrated Sound Force 2.2 Space Audio Technology (SF-SAT), which allows users to experience physical bass sensations akin to those provided by the Razer Kraken V3 Hypersense. It’s a form of immersive haptic feedback that combines with the headset’s already impressive positionality and spatial audio.
iForce Chronos - Listening and Gaming Impressions
I conducted a series of tests to evaluate the performance of the Chronos headphones while playing my favorite games. As anticipated, the headphones functioned flawlessly, enabling me to accurately discern footsteps in first-person shooters such as CS:GO. I also tested the headphones with other games, including World of Warcraft and Minecraft, and found the spatial positioning to be very good. These are great headphones for holographic sound, allowing you to close your eyes and identify locations before you can actually see their source on your screen.
However, where the Chronos headphones truly excelled was with music playback. Paired with my smartphone, I embarked on a hike while listening to my favorite playlist and found the headphones to be exceptional in this regard. The bass is full enough to rumble and provide a foundation for songs, and there’s plenty of detail higher up the spectrum too. They offer more clarity than any other headset I’ve heard at this price point.
Although the vibration feature on the Chronos headset works well, I did experience some glitches with it in my prototype model. With haptics enabled, it’s possible to cause it to activate by bumping the headset. It’s strange behavior, and my best guess is that a jolt causes the driver to vibrate, causing the haptic motor to interpret it as a low frequency rumble. When this happens, it almost seems to feedback on itself which can be quite uncomfortable.
The haptic motor can also trigger based upon dialogue. Accidental bumps aside, it overall works well for gaming, but having the headset vibrate based upon voices seems like there is still work to be done tuning when it activates.
Wireless connectivity is a significant feature in modern headsets, and the Chronos model incorporates Bluetooth 5.0 technology for seamless pairing with a range of devices such as gaming consoles, smartphones, and any device supporting Bluetooth. The pairing process is effortless only requiring you to hold down the power button on the right-hand until a prompt indicates that it has entered pairing mode. During testing, the Chronos headset connected effortlessly to both my PC and smartphone, without any connectivity issues. Impressively, the device's range extended beyond 30 feet before the connection was lost, a vital aspect for users who prefer to walk around while using their headset. The Bluetooth connectivity in the Chronos is indeed commendable. I was also surprised to find that it didn’t have the same kind of noticeable lag in shooters that I’ve come to expect from Bluetooth headsets (but 2.4GHz would still have been a nice addition).
The Chronos headset is equipped with a built-in microphone, located on the right ear cup.The audio quality was somewhat lacking, featuring a slightly tinny sound character. While it lacked body, it was clear and usable, so you could still use this for calls and to chat with friends. I wouldn’t use it for professional calls, though.
The Chronos headset incorporates several modern features, including RGB lighting on both sides, adding a touch of style to its design. The lighting display changes in response to the audio rhythm, creating an aesthetically pleasing effect. However, the current version of the Chronos headset does not support manual configuration of the lighting display, which may be a minor drawback for users who prefer to customize the lighting to their preference.
One crucial aspect of any wireless headset is battery life. The Chronos headset is equipped with two separate batteries, one 600mAh battery on the left, and another 400mAh battery on the right, working together to deliver a combined battery capacity of 1000mAh. During extended usage, the Chronos headset provided an average of 2-6 hours of uptime, depending on the level of vibration selected. While the battery life may not be exceptional, it does feature USB Type-C charging with a total charge time of 3 hours.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, the iForce Chronos headphones are a bit of a mixed bag. They sound good and the vibration feedback is definitely fun and immersive for VR and even normal gaming. There are some definite drawbacks with its affordable price, however, and still some kinks to be worked out ahead of launch. At an MSRP of $69.00, they’re budget-friendly, which makes some of the shortcomings easier to accept, especially when compared against their impressive sound quality and haptic feedback. In the end, whether this headset is worth rolling the dice on will depend on how much you value those two things and what you may potentially have to sacrifice or accept to get there.
The product described in this article was provided by the manufacturer for evaluation purposes.
