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HP's Omen Mindframe arrives as the war for your ears warms up or maybe gets colder. I would never have considered "sweaty ears" as the next battleground for gaming headsets, but it's the one that more and more companies are choosing. Last month, we reviewed Razer's Nari Ultimate, which (among other features) contains cooling gel in the atria.
HP's Omen Mindframe now offers an even more sophisticated solution: active cooling, to keep your lobes frozen for hours. No seriously.
Ominous
First, let's talk about design. This is HP's first gaming headset, which is always interesting – especially when it comes from a brand, such as HP, which is not traditionally associated with gaming.
This is starting to change and you will notice that Mindframe is classified in the sub-brand of Omen, centered on the games of HP. Omen has recently made an incursion, partly because of some bold designs like the diamond-shaped Omen X and the Omen monolith obelisk. In my eyes, these are HP's most successful attempts, recognizable as a gaming PC, but more like a thorny science fiction technology – or perhaps a retro-futuristic technology. 2001: The Space Odyssey or Star wars.
IDG / Hayden DingmanMindframe overlaps the same line. It's really a game helmet, make no mistake. HP hits many of the usual markers, with a floating headband design and obvious LED lighting. You probably do not wear the Mindframe in an office and you certainly do not wear it outside.
It's beautiful, though, and it's not a word I often use to describe helmets. The headband "splits" and then re-forms around the diamond-shaped auricles, a fluid form that cries at the eye. The black-on-black logo is a testament to HP's confidence: the diamond pattern on the Omen line is recognizable enough to ensure that there is no need for a stronger brand image.
I have some minor complaints. The matte black banner quickly detects fingerprints, which can be frustrating. Mindframe is also made almost entirely of plastic, including the headband. It's a bit worrisome for long-term sustainability, and sometimes the headset crunches in a disturbing way when I shoot him. Speaking of which, Mindframe is strangely small. I do not have the biggest head in the world, but I noticed that the suspension headband is pushed to its limits when I put on the helmet. Extra large domes, beware.
IDG / Hayden DingmanIt's comfortable, especially after a few days of breaking the headband. The Mindframe was tight right out of the box, but she was a little relaxed and I can now wear it all day, no problem.
Stay cold
That's what HP wants, that you wear Mindframe all day long. At least, that's why the helmet includes active cooling elements, technology called "FrostCap" by HP.
Here's how it works, as simple as I can do it: Mindframe headsets each include a thermoelectric cooler, or TEC. A TEC consists of two layers and when an electric current passes through them, it results in a thermal disparity, the excess heat then flowing from one side to the other . This is known as the Peltier effect.
Mindframe uses the Peltier effect to keep the cold interior of each headset. As, really cold. Note that I'm not talking about padding, which Razer and others are temporarily keeping cooler by adding refreshing gel. The Mindframe keeps the cold helmet, the metal grill that covers the driver. When you put it on, you have the impression that a refrigerator door has been left open, but only near your ears.
IDG / Hayden DingmanAnd unlike refreshing gel that warms over time, Mindframe stays cold as long as you leave it on. After six or eight hours, the helmet is as effective as when you put it on for the first time. The TEC absorbs all the ambient heat generated by your ears and expels it, leaving the inside usually a little colder than the ambient temperature.
In other words, Mindframe works as advertised. This keeps your ears cool, long after the point where most helmets become uncomfortable and swampy. The effect is subtle, but it works.
There is, however, a disturbing side effect, at least in my opinion. All this heat sucked must go somewhere. In this case, it is emptied into the heat sinks and then radiated through the Mindframe chassis. The interior is cool, but the on the outside The headset is strangely warm to the touch, like a charging phone.
IDG / Hayden DingmanThe Mindframe box contains a note on how to properly remove the condensation buildup inside. Harmless but a little disgusting.
It's not dangerous, but I really do not get used to taking Mindframe and having it warmer than the ambient temperature. And I should also note that condensation sometimes accumulates inside the earpieces, due to the cooled metal grill. It's also a little weird.
Give me options, HP
But hey, it works. This is the important part. If you are concerned about warm ears, especially during the hottest months of summer, Mindframe attacks the problem in the most intelligent and sophisticated way I have ever seen .
If only it sounded better.
This is the big disappointment of Mindframe. It's a beautiful headset with a gadget that works, but the audio playback is only average. Everything I pass through seems a little thinner than in other helmets, as if the central channel had been dug. The presence of the bass is solid, the highs are clear and clear, but it always sounds of, or as the sound is a bit distant.
I think what's happening here is that HP leaves 7.1 surround enabled by default, with no way to disable it. In fact, there is no way to change the sound of Mindframe. at all, or not officially anyway. HP's Omen Command Center has only two sections as I write this: Lighting and Cooling. The first allows you to change the color of the LEDs, the second allows you to enable or disable the cooling effect.
IDG / Hayden DingmanThere is no equalizer, or any way to disable the false-7.1 effect. This may explain why Mindframe works a little better in games, where the hollow central channel is less visible – and why I notice that sounds odd in music, where I think the 7.1 is screwed up with the standard stereo mix.
I hope that Omen Command Center will be a little more robust in future updates. After all, this is HP's first gaming headset, and although the lack of an EQ and other basic controls is an unusual oversight, it seems at least an easy way out. If that happens, I'll give Mindframe another listen.
In the current state of affairs, however, the audio quality is not suitable for headphones with an exorbitant price of $ 200. Of course, a large part of this price is the result of the active cooling gadget, but you should rightly expect audio fidelity equal to that of your peers. Mindframe is a wired headset, which means it costs more than double the price of a competition that sounds good, and $ 50 more than our favorite wireless kits. This is a high price to pay for cold ears.
IDG / Hayden DingmanFinally, some notes on the microphone. This is a standard boom arm design, which folds from the left atrium as intended, then folds back to become mute. The end is soft rubber, but it is a little stiff and therefore difficult to position perfectly. Performance is strong for general voice chat. The only complaint I can make is that reading stops to beep in your ear every time you tilt it up or down. Totally useless.
Bottom line
The helmet space is exciting these days. The more people there are, the more gadgets we see. It's one of the few reliable ways to stand out, especially if, like HP, you're late on the market. The more gadgets you put on it, the more likely it is that one of them sticks.
The thermoelectric cooling of HP deserves to be preserved. Not only does FrostCap work as advertised, it seems to be a clear improvement for the overall comfort of HP Omen Mindframe. That said, the technology is expensive: $ 200 for a wired headset is a lot these days, and HP shows his inexperience in the field by making some mistakes rookie – the microphone resounding, the lack of correction of equalization and control 7.1. I hope that some of the most serious problems can be solved in software because Mindframe is so close to be a good helmet, the price is damned. We will keep an eye on it.
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