ROCCAT Syn Pro Air Review: ‘Powerful features that need a price drop’

ROCCAT SYN PRO AIR HEADSET REVIEW.

The ROCCAT Syn Pro Air is the peripheral company’s flagship headset product. It’s a PC gaming headset that aims to offer “stellar wireless technology,” “clear comms,” “immersive 3D audio” enhanced by Turtle Beach’s “Superhuman Hearing” tech, RGB lighting, and lengthy battery life. While I’m happy to say that ROCCAT succeeds in a few of those areas, it sadly fails in others. This is my ROCCAT Syn Pro Air review.

That ROCCAT style

In recent years, ROCCAT has pushed a unique design that looks great across its keyboards, mice, and headsets. The combination of curves and minimalism, paired with RGB lighting, really makes ROCCAT products stand out. It takes the current gamer obsession with colored lighting and adds a bit more class to it. I’m a big fan.

Buy the ROCCAT Syn Pro Air on Amazon.

Style at the cost of comfort is something all peripheral makers want to avoid. If it doesn’t sit well on the head and ears, then the user is eventually going to get sick of wearing it. Happily, ROCCAT has nailed that aspect, too. It’s a lightweight headset and the earpads are especially comfortable thanks to the “moisture-wicking athletic weave fabric.” Put simply: they are breathable and prevent a buildup of heat.

Pairing process

Pairing with a PC is super easy thanks to the included dongle. There’s no Bluetooth here, so users will have to exclusively use the low-latency 2.4 GHz connection. While this is great for gaming at the PC, it does mean the Syn Pro Air can’t be paired with Bluetooth devices.

Installing the Neon software allows for further customization of the RGB lighting and audio signature. The lighting shown through the sides of the earcups is defused to give a subtle glowing effect. I think it looks fantastic and is a perfect match for the ROCCAT Kone Pro Air mouse that I recently took a look at.

When tweaking sound, the Neon app gives users access to fairly generous EQ customization. Unfortunately, despite my dialing things in, I couldn’t get the ROCCAT Syn Pro Air to match the ideal bass/mids/treble combination that I’ve found in other headsets at this price range. In a word, the sound is too “thin.”

Competitive compatible

Despite the criticism above, the Syn Pro Air is still perfectly usable for gaming and tracking directional audio. Though ROCCAT (and its competitors) continue to push virtual surround sound as though it’s the best thing since sliced bread, I continue to stick with stereo. This headset performs well in this regard, with enemy footsteps and gunfire easy to place in games like Call of Duty: Vanguard and Battlefield 2042.

As for Turtle Beach’s “Superhuman Hearing,” I don’t find it useful. I know some folks swear by it and think it enhances their game, but I can’t handle it. I’m much happier disabling it and virtual surround sound and just enjoying the raw stereo sound coming from the Syn Pro Air. Though it’s a tad thin in places, it still gets the job done for competitive shooters and other PC games.

No worries

ROCCAT has done wireless well here and battery life is no concern thanks to fast charging. Rapid charging provides five hours of battery life in just 15 minutes. For those who struggle to be organized with their wireless products, this is a killer feature.

When it comes to the microphone, it’s fine for VOIP chat, but you won’t be using it for high-quality streams or content creation. For that, I still recommend a dedicated mic or broadcast-oriented headset.

ROCCAT Syn Pro Air Review: The final verdict

At $149.99, the ROCCAT Syn Pro Air is priced too high for all but the most dedicated ROCCAT fans. Though it does well in the comfort, style, and battery life departments, the audio quality is lacking. What’s more, the wireless functionality may be low-latency, but the lack of Bluetooth is disappointing.

With a price drop, I can see the ROCCAT Syn Pro Air being picked up by fans of the style and comfort factors and I’d be more inclined to recommend it at $110-120.

Syn Pro Air review unit was provided by ROCCAT.