You Want an Audiophile Gaming Headset, but Just Not This One

Boy, gaming headsets sure are getting expensive these days. There’s Sony’s Inzone H9 II, which costs $350, a sum that’s more than half the cost of a 1TB PlayStation with a disc drive. Then there are even more expensive options, like SteelSeries’ Arctis Nova Elite, which costs more than the aforementioned console at $600, though it does come with a separate hub. I’m not saying those gaming headsets don’t sound good—I tried the Inzone H9 II for myself and was impressed—but if you’re spending a several-hundred-dollar sum on a gaming headset (just a headset for Pete’s sake), it better be game-changing.

That’s a high bar for a peripheral, to be sure, but one that I think resonates with most gamers willing to tread into the ultra-premium category. That being said, it’s a bar that can be met, as evidenced by Sony’s Inzone H9 II. Still, rising to the level of game-changing is no easy task, which is why I went into testing VZR’s Model One MKII Audiophile gaming headset with a raised eyebrow. With a $360 price tag, can the Model One MKII really deliver the goods at a level that makes the premium feel justified? The answer… is complicated.

An “audiophile game headset”

Right out of the gate, VZR positions its Model One MKII as a gaming headset geared toward audiophiles. To back that claim up, it’s using something called CrossWave, the same technology in its previous headset, the MK One. CrossWave is a proprietary tech that is meant to more closely mimic the way sound naturally enters your ears. The idea here is that with precise acoustic tuning, it delivers more “natural” spatial audio that makes the headset ideal for first-person shooters, where hearing footfalls and other environmental noise can be make or break.

To augment that acoustic experience even further, VZR has included a “Talisman” in the Model One MKII, which is a patent-pending bass diffuser that, in VZR’s words, “brings tighter, harder-hitting lows that make every scenario feel massive.” That bass diffuser should also give you an indication as to where VZR intended to improve the sound in this iteration, which is to say, in the midrange frequencies. With less overpowering bass, you should be able to hear midranges and treble more easily.

See VZR Model One MKII at Amazon

So, that’s what VZR meant to do with the Model One MKII. The question is, does it actually achieve those goals? The answer? Sometimes yes and sometimes no. In my experience, the level of satisfaction with the Model One MKII depended largely on how I was using the headset. Using it the lazy way, which in my case is plugging directly into an Xbox controller (sometimes wired and sometimes not) and calling it a day, the gaming headset feels… lackluster. While I get a touch more spatiality while playing games like Fortnite, I wouldn’t describe the sound experience as groundbreaking. Footfalls and gunshots are perceptible, but not quite “wow, I’m right in the action” levels of sound.

Similarly, plugging into a PlayStation 5 DualSense controller and playing Gears of War is a fine experience, but it didn’t quite leave me feeling like spending $360 would be a good idea.

But this method isn’t the hi-fi way. If you’re buying this headset (spending nearly 400 freaking dollars to do so), you should think like an audiophile, and audiophiles don’t use Bluetooth like some regular-ass noob. Audiophiles take advantage of wires and the lossless audio they provide, in addition to the low latency. So, to test the headset like an audiophile would, I plugged the Model One MKII into Steel Series’ Arctis Nova Elite gaming hub, which is basically a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) that is meant to maximize sound quality and precision. The result was a marked improvement in sound quality and overall satisfaction with VZR’s hardware. Gears of War: Reloaded sounded a hell of a lot more immersive, with more spatiality and much higher fidelity sound—rock crumbling felt proximate, and enemies felt like they were in the room.

Is it cheating to use a DAC? I don’t know; you tell me. Maybe it is, but I also imagine most people spending nearly $400 on a headset will have a proper setup at home to use said hi-fi headset, so in some ways, this feels like the better way to actually assess the Model One MKII’s audio chops. Ultimately, whether you feel satisfied with the Model One MKII’s sound quality will depend largely on your setup at home. If you’re taking the lazy approach and plugging this thing into a Bluetooth controller and calling it a day, beware. If you have the right interface to make the hardware sing, then it might be worth the investment.

Quality, but not always convenience

VZR’s Model One MKII brings quality in a lot of ways, and one of the areas you’ll notice immediately is the build. The Model One MKII feels sturdy, with a metal headstrap and a comfortable pleather band underneath that connects earcups made from heavy plastic. There’s a weight to the headset, but it doesn’t feel burdensome on your head, which means that it’s balanced well. Earcups, which contain memory foam, are also well-padded and comfortable in longer gaming sessions, though they don’t necessarily allow for the best heat dissipation.

Overall, the Model One MKII looks and feels like it’s worth several hundred dollars, which is good because it costs (checks notes)… several hundred dollars.

The mic quality also holds its own, according to people I gamed with, and is detachable, which is great if you’re storing the Model One MKII between gaming sessions or if you want to toss the headset in its included carrying case without crunching the mic. The mic also picks up my voice well, even when it’s not ideally positioned, which is good if you happen to bump your mic mid-game and don’t have time to fix it. The mic positioning also holds up well compared to cheaper gaming headsets with less rigidity.

There is one area that I have to take exception with, which is the fact that the headset is wired-only. For some people, that will be fine, and there’s no denying that wires provide unparalleled low latency and lossless audio, but I can’t help but feel like an option to use the headset with Bluetooth would be nice. I still think, despite the superiority of wires, that I prefer a dongle solution like Sony’s Inzone H9 II, which uses a 2.4GHz signal to transmit more audio information and cut down drastically on latency compared to regular Bluetooth connections. Sure, having to plug a dongle in and keep track of it isn’t ideal, but frankly, neither are wires, and the former solution looks a hell of a lot cleaner than dealing with all that black spaghetti on your desk.

Speaking of wires, the Model One MKII comes with revamped cables for more stability and better audio quality. I haven’t used the Model One that came before the MKII, so I don’t have much of a comparison, but I can tell you that the signal felt stable for the most part, though I did have some hiccups while plugged into my aging Xbox controller at home via Bluetooth. I’m going to give VZR the benefit of the doubt and say the signal instability was the controller’s fault, given the fact that the gaming headset operated fine when plugged into other controllers with less wear and tear.

Is this thing really worth $400?

So, back to the original question: should you really spend $360 on a gaming headset? It’s hard for me to answer that since I don’t have access to your last bank statement, but I think if you are going to spend that much, there are gaming headsets that I would spring for before the Model One MKII. Sony’s Inzone H9 II, for example, has quality sound in a dongle solution that feels a hell of a lot more convenient, and while it may not have the same premium build, it gives you even more features like active noise cancellation (ANC), which the Model One MKII lacks.

Also, Sony’s Inzone H9 II can be used wired via a 3.5mm cable if you really want to, so is there any real advantage to buying VZR’s Model One MKII? I’ll let you be the decider there, but if it were me spending almost $400 on a gaming peripheral, I’d want to have options. As high-quality as the Model One MKII can sound with the right setup, I find it a little too confining and not as full-featured as competitors that offer custom sound profiles, ANC, and options for wired/Bluetooth, while still bringing the A-game in the sound department. My advice? If you really feel like you need a premium headset, do yourself a favor and get one that does it all.

See VZR Model One MKII at Amazon