Unless you're a PC nerd like me, chances are you're not familiar with Fractal Design. The company has made a name for itself in recent years by designing some of the best cases you can buy for a DIY build. In a space known for its gaudy aesthetics, Fractal's products stand out for their simplicity. Now the company is entering the crowded audio space with the $200 Scape, a gaming headset that not only looks sophisticated, but also sounds surprisingly great too.
Fractal Design / Engadget 85 100 Expert Score Fractal Design Scape The Fractal Scape is the complete package, offering great sound quality alongside a stylish design and a base that makes charging easy. Pros Understated and sophisticated design
Inductive charging base
Great neutral sound Cons Headband could use more padding
No ANC
Microphone is fine but not great $200 at Amazon
Design
The Fractal Scape features an attractive mix of materials. (Igor Bonifacic for Engadget)
I mentioned the design of the Scape first, and for good reason. It shows attention to detail, with a lot of thoughtful flourishes. The best of those is the dock that comes included with the headset. It charges the Scape inductively, so there's no need to align any charging pins, and it cleverly houses the headset's 2.4GHz wireless transmitter. When connected to your main PC, the dongle can sit inside the dock, ready to go when you want to use it with your PlayStation 5, PS4, Nintendo Switch or another PC or Mac (sorry, Microsoft fans, there's no Xbox support). The base also has wire channels to make cable management easy.
Those same thoughtful design touches extend to the headset itself. On the back are four buttons, a dial and a toggle that cover nearly every function of the Scape. You can adjust the volume, mute the built-in mic, switch between 2.4GHz and Bluetooth connectivity, power the headset on or off, turn the RGB lighting on or off and switch between three EQ presets. What’s more, all of the controls feel distinct and are easy to use. There's also a USB-C connection for wired audio and a three-pole headphone jack for the detachable microphone.
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