Prepare yourself, because everyone in the PC Gamer office has heard me rave about the brilliance of this gaming headset, and now you shall, too. The Fractal Design Scape is a fabulous mix of Nordic design principles and cutting-edge wireless gaming headset hardware, coming together to create an addition to my gaming setup I didn't know I needed. I like it a lot, is what I'm saying.
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The Scape comes with a padded, Qi-enabled magnetic wireless charging stand. What that means in practice is that you can place the headset in the vague direction of its charging slot, and with a very gentle magnet-assisted pull, it'll tuck itself in for a top-up. No cables required, other than the one connecting the base to your machine.
Not only does this mean your headset is always ready for action when you need it, but it also makes it something of an event on your desk. It's particularly sleek-looking in black, cutting a shape that looks more like high-end consumer headgear than a gaming device. In convenience terms, it's a game-changer.
Where do you put your headphones when they're not atop your head? I'd bet there's a good chance you sling them somewhere on your desktop, messy and in the way. The Scape keeps things tidy. The Scape knows all.
It's also very comfortable to wear. The earcups are covered in the sort of fabric you'd normally find on a very expensive couch, while the headband (also covered in the same material) is nicely padded. It's fairly light, too, at 338g, treading the line between all-day comfort and a weight that's heavy enough to feel premium in the hands.
The microphone is a huge bonus, too. While it captures an average sound quality I wish were a little better, if I'm honest, the fact that it can be flipped to mute and is completely removable is a great design touch I'd love more headsets to emulate. It's got an optional extra Bluetooth connection, too, for taking out and about.
And as for the sound itself? The drivers are simply lovely. They're not audiophile-grade, planar magnetic-worrying top-end models, but they've still got a golden, self-assured quality that works just as well for music as it does for gaming. They're tuned pretty neutrally out of the box, but a tweak of the EQ in the Fractal Scape web app (or the same software downloaded to your machine) brings out a surprising level of punch.
I've tuned mine to the rafters, because I like a warm, hefty throb of low end combined with some shiny, glossy treble and crunchy mids. The Scape can deliver all those things at once, with the right coaxing. It's also got some subtle RGB lighting on the sides that glows in a comforting sort of way. I know, I'm gushing—but it's true.
The Scape is sitting on a shelf at PC Gamer towers at the moment, because it was needed for a photo shoot. Not a day goes by that I don't miss it. That should go some way to telling you how much of a difference it's made to my day-to-day PC usage, and I'll be scooping it from the kit cupboard the second I step through those doors once more.
Yes, I'd like a better mic. And it should really have noise cancelling for this sort of cash, as many of its competitors on our Black Friday gaming headset deals page provide. But I don't really care, and I don't think you will, either. It's the best gaming headset I've personally tested all year. And with that, I'm finally done. Go forth, dear reader. You are now free of my grasp.
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1. Best overall:
Razer BlackShark V3
2. Best budget:
Corsair HS55 Stereo
3. Best wired:
HyperX Cloud Alpha
4. Best mid-range wireless:
Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 3
5. Best audiophile:
Beyerdynamic MMX 330 Pro
6. Best wireless audiophile:
Audeze Maxwell
7. Best for streaming:
Audio-Technica ATH-M50xSTS StreamSet
8. Best noise-cancelling:
AceZone A-Spire
9. Best earbuds:
Steelseries Arctis GameBuds
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