Fractal Design Scape

[Inle]

Fractal's first gaming headset is here and it's even better than expected! Premium design, detailed sound, excellent comfort, a great pair of microphones, and one of the best charging docks we've ever seen make it well worth the $200 price tag.

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[TheLostSwede]

US$245 including VAT here... Which is a tad on the too expensive side, but maybe when they go on sale in a few months.

 

[dgianstefani]

US$245 including VAT here... Which is a tad on the too expensive side, but maybe when they go on sale in a few months.

Compelling to me, only better option would be Maxwell, for sound/build quality and battery life (2-3x higher), but the Scape has the advantage with its dock, rendering battery life less important, and the Maxwell is more expensive, serving a higher segment.

Depending on budget I'd recommend one of the $100 HyperX headsets/Corsair Void V2, Scape, or Maxwell to a friend.

I do think investing in good headphones is money well spent for a gamer. It's so much more than just situational awareness, and most branded "normal" wireless headphones are similarly priced anyway but with latency that sucks.

 

[Inle]

For what it's worth, at this point I can't recommend Maxwell to anyone. Four of my friends bought it and not a single unit has survived for longer than 6 months. One of them is on his fourth unit. I've given up on it as soon as the first one stopped playing sound from the left channel - got a replacement, sold it and never looked back. The quality control on that thing is non-existent. What a disgrace for a brand like Audeze.

 

[dgianstefani]

For what it's worth, at this point I can't recommend Maxwell to anyone. Four of my friends bought it and not a single unit survived for longer than 6 months. One of them is on his fourth unit. I've given up on it as soon as the first one stopped playing sound from the left channel - got a replacement, sold it and never looked back. The quality control on that thing is non-existent. What a disgrace for a brand like Audeze.

That's shocking!

I think mine I've had two/two and a half years of heavy use. Crashed sometimes maybe 5x but long hold of power button resolved.

 

[Makaveli]

This is a great looking headset.

The only question remaining are the ear cups replaceable?

On my Corsair Headset the stock ones degraded over time but I was able to get a much better 3rd party set off amazon so this would be a deal breaker for me.

 

[dgianstefani]

This is a great looking headset.

The only question remaining are the ear cups replaceable?

On my Corsair Headset the stock ones degraded over time but I was able to get a much better 3rd party set off amazon so this would be a deal breaker for me.

This is covered in the review and seems like they are. But probably no third party options yet.

 

[Makaveli]

This is covered in the review and seems like they are. But probably no third party options yet.

Ahh good I must have missed that. And yes since is brand new will take abit of time for the vendors to make options.

 

[Chaitanya]

US$245 including VAT here... Which is a tad on the too expensive side, but maybe when they go on sale in a few months.

Have you seen the new Nothing headset? Its also $300.

 

[oxrufiioxo]

For what it's worth, at this point I can't recommend Maxwell to anyone. Four of my friends bought it and not a single unit has survived for longer than 6 months. One of them is on his fourth unit. I've given up on it as soon as the first one stopped playing sound from the left channel - got a replacement, sold it and never looked back. The quality control on that thing is non-existent. What a disgrace for a brand like Audeze.

That is a bummer to hear I have the Hyper X orbit s which was just a rebranded audeze headset and it's fantastic.

I did read a bunch of people having issues with them though but mine are going on 6 years old and still work flawlessly.

I like the dock on this headset and $199 isn't crazy in 2025.

 

[vbq7qK68eyYAH4iR]

The main microphone's quality is excellent, with no noticeable difference between USB and wireless connections.

Maybe I have more sensitive hearing than the tester, but there is a clear difference between the Wireless and the USB connection test for this microphone. I hope someone else can hear the difference? Am I just crazy?

 

[TheLostSwede]

Have you seen the new Nothing headset? Its also $300.

Those are ANC headphones though, FUGLY and not something I'd ever buy.
I wanted something new for my PC that I can also use with my TV at night.
My Corsair Virtuoso SE headset is starting to fall apart (and doesn't have Bluetooth).

Maybe I have more sensitive hearing than the tester, but there is a clear difference between the Wireless and the USB connection test for this microphone. I hope someone else can hear the difference? Am I just crazy?

Not crazy and other reviews have also pointed that out. It's not a huge difference, but it's there, the wireless sounds slightly muffled in comparison.

 

[Nostras]

I really love the web-based interface. That means it will work on every (reasonable) OS.
Hurray Fractal.

I'll eagerly await their open-back variant.
Please make one.

 

[Frick]

Depending on budget I'd recommend one of the $100 HyperX headsets/Corsair Void V2, Scape, or Maxwell to a friend.

I do think investing in good headphones is money well spent for a gamer. It's so much more than just situational awareness, and most branded "normal" wireless headphones are similarly priced anyway but with latency that sucks.

There are heaps of NIB Poly Blackwire 5220's avaliable. I got one during covid for like €25 and it's shockingly good. It's wired tho but no latency or Windows BT shenanigans to deal with.

 

[dgianstefani]

There are heaps of NIB Poly Blackwire 5220's avaliable. I got one during covid for like €25 and it's shockingly good. It's wired tho but no latency or Windows BT shenanigans to deal with.

I was exclusively talking about wireless headphones.

I used to use wired but the cable is a real irritant after a while.

 

[blacksea76]

Soft touch finish to me could spell trouble.
I had products with that finish that turned sticky after a year.

 

[vbq7qK68eyYAH4iR]

I ended up purchasing this headset, as i dropped my old ones onto tiles and apparently that isn't good for them.

I have a big head. When the headset is adjusted to its maximum headband size, it doesn't fit into the charging dock. If you have a big head, don't buy this headset as you'll need to adjust the headband size every time you put it on the dock and take it back off.