Tt eSports Sybaris Wireless Gaming Headset

Tt eSports is the gaming peripherals division of Thermaltake that was formed in 2010. Thermaltake itself, is an established brand in the industry for its PC Chassis, Coolers and Power Supplies. Its traits of Aggressiveness, Uniqueness and Flair makes them them one of the best in creating new and exciting equipments and environments for gamers and enthusiasts. Tt eSports has inherited these qualities from their mother company, and it has shown with their creative designs for their peripherals that sets the players to bring out their ambitions of reaching the summit of excellence in gaming. Now, we’ll set our eyes upon one of their Headsets, the Tt eSports Sybaris.

Headphones:

• Driver Unit (MM) – 40mm Neodymium Magnet Speakers
• Connector – 3.5mm
• Frequency Response – 20Hz – 20KHz
• Sensitivity –  97±3 DB SPL/MW, AT 1KHZ
• Impedance - 32 OHMS, 1 KHZ
• Characteristic – Bi Directional
• Part - HT-SYB-ANECBK-11

Microphone

• Frequency Response - 100~10K HZ
• Sensitivity - -67±3 DBV / PA@1 KHZ
• Impedance - < 2.2KOHM

Wireless

• Wireless Type: Bluetooth
• NFC Available – Yes
• Wireless Range – 33 Feet / 10 Meters
• AptX Loss less Streaming

Battery Life

• Music Play Time – 14 Hours
• Stand By Time – 100 Hours
• Charging Time – 3 Hours

Closer Look:

On the front of the box, we can see the Sybaris promo photo with the detachable microphone attached, and all the main features of the device.

At the back, a more detailed explanation of the functions and some marketing propaganda are shown.

The Package contains the Sybaris Headset, a Micro USB to USB Connector, a pouch with the dragon logo of Tt eSports, manuals and documentations, a 3.5mm to 3.5mm jack, a 3.5mm to Mic and Stereo output cord, which the control for the mic and volume can be found, and its detachable microphone.

The detachable gaming microphone is flexible enough to be bent so that it can be positioned nearer to you. To use it though, it needs to be connected to the 3.5mm to Mic and Stereo cord. Turn the cord to the left to lock it in place.

The headset is made with high-grade plastic cover in a beautiful glossy black finish.

When the headset is stretched, you can see that the interior is made with aluminum that provides great stability.

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Up top, you can find the Tt eSports by Thermaltake logo on the center of the band. Below it, there is a leather cushion to protect to head and make it nice and comfy.

Upon further inspection of the headset, you will find the Power button for the Bluetooth. Below it is the volume control and another button for playback control as well as control for when you receive calls and the Tt eSports logo.

The Sybaris makes use of leather earpiece covers to enhance isolation and making your ears rest easy for those long gaming sessions

The headset can also be turned 45 degrees when in standby for the extra #swag.

Pairing with other devices:

You can connect with the Sybaris wireless through 2 different methods, via Bluetooth and NFC.

To connect via Bluetooth, turn on the Bluetooth of your device first. Be sure that the device remains visible throughout the duration that you will use it. Next, hold the power button on the Sybaris until it the blue light blinks rapidly. After that just wait until your device is connected to the Sybaris. And for all of you IOS users, yes the Sybaris can also be paired to your device.

Establishing NFC connections is much easier. Just turn on your NFC device and the Sybaris. Then, hold your device near the Sybaris and it will automatically pair with it!

Wired Testing:

For testing the sound quality, I used the Ultimate Headphone Test from audiocheck.net. The test consists of the following: Frequency Response, Dynamic Range, Quality, Driver Matching, Wiring, and Binaural Test.

For the Frequency Response, I was able to hear the underlying sweeping tone starting from 20Hz. The highest frequency that I heard from it was 20Khz

In the Dynamic Range test, I could hear the voice over up to 48DBFS. Testing was done in a quiet room with minimal to non existent noise.

The Quality Test showed just how well built the Sybaris is. Even when tested in full volume, the Sybaris did not even shake. It maintained the sweeping tone perfectly, devoid of any parasitic buzz or rattling.

The Driver Matching Test measures the tight tolerances of the the Sybaris’ driver’s frequency responses. The sweeping tone was always playing in the center of my head, without deviating, on all frequencies. When I performed the test again, this time switching the earpieces, the tone was always playing at the sides, never coming from the center.

As for the Wiring Test, it checks if the headset is properly wired and if the polarity is preserved. When the right tone played, it was only header from the right earpiece, and the same with the left tone and earpiece as well. For the Polarity, when the center tone was played, its was easy to locate where the tone was being played. And when the twisted tones was used, it was hard to find the source of the sound. This proves that the Sybaris is wired properly.

Last was the Bin-aural Test. When the right knocking tone was played at first, I instinctively looked towards the direction of it, even though i was beside my window. The left knocking tone was also as real as it gets.

Wireless Testing:

To test the Sybaris’ Wireless strength, I went outside where there is no interference and connected it to my Iphone 5 via Bluetooth and had a song in loop. Then, after each time the song ended, I proceeded to move 1 Meter away from the device. Each time I moved from the Sybaris, the sound quality never wavered until the 5 to 6 meter mark. Any higher than that and the sound will start to skip. Next, I did the same thing but this time, I put the Sybaris inside my backpack to see if it will cause some changes. True enough, the sound started to skip after the 3 Meter mark. One thing I noticed is that when your Bluetooth device is inside my pants’ pocket while walking, the sound would randomly start to skip, but when I placed it inside my backpack, the sound never wavered. How odd.

Afterwards, I tested if there was any difference in sound quality between Wireless mode and wired mode. First off, I connected my device to the Sybaris via Bluetooth and had a song looped for about 1 hour. Next, I connected the 3.5mm to 3.5mm jack to my device and proceeded to play the same song for also 1 hour. Then, I paired the Sybaris to my laptop via Bluetooth and also via 3.5mm to the Mic and Stereo output. When the test concluded, I found out that the sound quality was slightly better when the device is wired, partly because the headset does not have to conserve the battery at the expense of sound quality when wired.

Conclusion:

Tt eSports has proven once again that it is a worthy challenger to the giants in the gaming peripheral scene, and what better way to show -offyour wares than to put out a great product like the Sybaris.

It is the world’s first Bluetooth headset that includes a detachable external microphone. The microphone itself is a great addition thanks to its noise cancellation feature and physical flexibility that helps deliver your voice to the other party with pristine clarity.

Quite easily its greatest asset, the Tt eSports Sybaris boasts great wireless capabilities. You can easily access the Sybaris and pair it with your Bluetooth device and being NFC-enabled, allows other devices that support NFC to connect to the Sybaris with no user intervention at all. When connected, the Sybaris shows great Wireless signal strength. Even with more than 5 meters of separation, the music coming from your phone can still be heard as if it was right next to it thanks to its AptX loss less streaming, although it occasionally skips when exceeding 7 meters. Battery life is not a problem, thanks to its Bluetooth 4.0. It does a great job of maximizing the output of the Sybaris, making it last up to 14 hours when playing music and 100 hours if on standby. Controls are easily accessible in wireless mode thanks to the well place ear cup controls.

Its sound quality is really good, with 40mm Neodymium Magnet Speakers that blasts you into an experience unlike any other. The sound provides users with the ability to enjoy their music while at the same time, giving them the boost that they need to satisfy their gaming needs. Users can expect crystal-clear sound sound quality from this pair of cans. The only thing that is keeping this baby from being great is that is does not give that much power and bass when in wireless mode.

The Sybaris is also good at providing the comfort needed for a long gaming or music session. It’s leather covering provides just enough protection as to not irritate the ears while in use. When resting, you can place it around your neck, and the Sybaris’ great design gives enough room around the neck. My only concern is that is does not have enough space between the earpiece and the ear to cool off, make the user sweat after prolonged usage.

Another concern is the lack of customization software for the Sybaris. Most people nowadays, tend to have certain settings for their specific gaming and listening needs and a customization software could have helped in enhancing the sound quality produced as well as tend to others’ need to adjust the settings for their everyone’s tastes.

Overall, The Sybaris offers great quality of sound and product, giving users the ultimate headset for everyday use, be it for gaming or music. Its versatility, balance, very stable and innovative design, as well as its great wireless capabilities more than justifies the Php5580 asking price.

Tt eSports backs the Sybaris with a 2-year warranty. We give the Tt eSports Sybaris the Back2Gaming Silver Award!