Originally Published: 6th August 2020 on eGG Network
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Disclaimer: We received a review unit and two to give away, courtesy of Armaggeddon Malaysia in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed herein are the author’s own and not influenced by Armaggeddon Malaysia, and/or its affiliates, in any way.
First things first, let’s get any misconceptions out of the way – if you’re looking for earphones to mix and master audio or to listen to high-quality FLAC tunes, these aren’t what you’re looking for. Armaggeddon has created a product that’s targeted at a very specific audience – gamers on a budget who want something better than the default headset that comes with their phones.
It’s not that you can’t listen to music with these WASP-7 – it’s just that when you put them on, you’ll want to hop into a lobby so you can command your teammates to push or gank without dealing with clunky chat wheel UI; not bop out to the latest Taylor Swift release. On that front, Armaggeddon has delivered.
Packaging
Here’s what you get in the box: wired earphones, a detachable microphone, extra tips, and a Y splitter. Nothing fancy, everything you expect comes packaged neatly in the box.
Comfort and Design
While I know it will vary from person to person, the in-ears fit into my ear canals perfectly out of the box. I was able to wear them for a few hours straight with no sign of discomfort. Though there’s no active cancellation, the silicon ear tips did a good job blocking out external noise while it was in use. It also comes with 2 pairs of additional tips in case the default ones are too large or small for you.
The earphones aren’t too flashy, in fact, the most eye-catching part (the golden drivers behind the transparent housing) aren’t visible when they’re plugged into your ears. From the outside, all you see is Armaggeddon’s signature logo and shiny gold inserts peeking through. Subtle, yet recognizable enough for anyone familiar with the brand – something I appreciate since I’m not a fan of over-the-top gamer aesthetics.
Performance
While the WASP-7 features a triple neodymium setup – more than its sibling, the WASP-5 which only has dual neodymium drivers – it doesn’t shine when it comes to music listening. Based on the sound tests I ran, the bass was surprisingly strong, but mids were slightly muddied and highs very muted. Though not a terrible experience, it was only satisfactory. I’ve had better experiences with other similarly priced earphones (wired and wireless) on this front.
However, when it comes to voice communications, the WASP-7 is on a league of its own. Taking cues from more expensive gaming headsets, the WASP-7 has a detachable microphone that plugs into the left earpiece and hangs right next to your mouth, allowing it to pick up your voice loud and clear. I was surprised by how effective the microphone was at picking up my voice during heated gaming sessions.
While I appreciate its sensitivity, it does pick up slightly too much ambient noise when you’re not speaking – try not to use it next to a fan, or make sure you enable noise removal on your communication apps when possible (i.e. Discord Noise Suppression).
The WASP-7 also include a traditional controller on its cable which has a nifty slider that allows you to easily adjust the volume of what you’re listening to instead of buttons that incrementally increase or decrease it. This makes controlling the audio coming through the speakers much faster and efficient. You also get a mute button to toggle the microphone and a button for pause/play operations.
Impressed with the range of sounds that the microphone was able to pick up, I decided to see how it would fare with music – since I noticed it’s something other cheap mics and built-in mics on phones struggled with. While it’s nowhere near the quality of studio-quality condenser mics, it was definitely good enough for home music demos. Again, make sure you’re in a quiet location so it doesn’t pick up too much ambient noise.
If you happen to misplace the detachable microphone or don’t have it with you, you can still use the regular microphone on the control piece. Great for those times when you want a more discreet look, but you’ll have to speak louder due to the mic’s position.
Lastly, if you’re planning to use this with a desktop PC, the WASP-7 also come with a Y splitter so you can plug the device into separate mic and headphone ports. This will also allow you to use it as a dedicated mic or earphone if you want to pair it up with another device. The removable microphone also makes this task a breeze – when you’re not gaming, just remove the microphone and you’ve got yourself a pair of regular earphones.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a very capable microphone + headset combo for mobile gaming, you can’t go wrong with the WASP-7. It checks all the bells and whistles when it comes to performance with voice communications and a reasonable price tag to boot. That being said, if you’re in the market for a headset to mainly listen to music, you’re better off looking elsewhere.
The WASP-7 Pro 3D earphones are available on Armaggedon’s official Shopee store for RM89.90.
Interested in checking out these earphones for free? We’ve got two units of the WASP-7 3D Pro to be given away. Stay tuned to eGG Network’s Facebook and Instagram page for details on how to win them!