Cougar Immersa Vs Megara Headset Head-to-Head Review




/ 7 years ago

Next Page »

Introduction


Cougar Immersa Vs Megara Headset Head-to-Head Review

Gaming headsets are not created equally, they come in all kinds of shapes, sizes, colours, with varying ranges of features, performance and so much more. With that in mind, today we want to put two headsets from Cougar head-to-head, not to find out which one is the best of the two, but to find out what each of them is best or worst at, and hopefully help you pick which one is best suited to your needs.

We’ve got the Cougar Immersa and the Cougar Megara on the test best today. The Immersa is the much bigger of the two, packing powerful 40mm drivers, an over-the-ear design, retractable noise cancelling microphone.

Screenshot_74

“COUGAR IMMERSA’s unique suspended leatherlike headband design allows you to reach new levels of comfort. Built with carefully chosen materials, IMMERSA’s ultra lightweight will allow you to wear it for extended periods of time without experiencing any kind of discomfort. The 100mm ear pads will always keep your ears comfortably covered and isolated from external noise. To fit all head shapes and sizes, IMMERSA´s flexible structure and automatic omni-directional adaptation will allow it to perform a 360º adjustments to maximize your comfort.” – Cougar

The Magara is much more compact, featuring an in-ear design, smaller 13.5mm drivers, a detachable Omni-directional microphone

Screenshot_1

“COUGAR MEGARA is an Integrated Lightweight Audio System that has been designed to become the new standard for lightweight gaming audio. This earset integrates state of the art audio technology with two microphones, a highly ergonomic design and a set of features that directly target gamers’ needs.”

As you can see both of these headsets are vastly different in size, but both are from Cougar and promise to deliver the same plug and play gaming performance.

DSC_2758

———————–

A Closer Look – Immersa


The Immersa is a huge headset, with a long black braided cable, and a 3.5mm jack (4-pole) with an additional dual 3.5mm Y-splitter (dual 3-pole) for PC use.

DSC_2771

It features a build in volume control wheel and microphone mute right on the cable, which is always handy to have.

DSC_2772

While it does pack 40mm drivers, the ear cups are vastly larger than that, with monstrous ear pads that are designed to give you long-term comfort for marathon gaming sessions, while also helping block out a lot of ambient noise by providing you with a clean fit on the side of your head.

DSC_2773

The headband is self-adjusting, relying on a soft padded internal headband mounted on springs to allow for a balanced fit. Despite the large size, the headset isn’t too heavy and feels very well-balanced.

DSC_2775

Finally, we’ve got the noise cancelling boom microphone while retracts into the ear cup housing. This means it is out of the way when not needed, you’re not going to lose it like you might a detachable one, and it’s easily adjustable too!

DSC_2777

———————–

A Closer Look – Magara


The Magara is much more compact, and comes bundled with this lovely carry pouch and a few extra sizes of ear buds to suit different users.

DSC_2761

This headset also comes hard-wired with a 4-pole 3.5mm cable, so it’s plug and play ready with most devices, and comes with an additional Y-split cable for desktop use too, so it’s comparable with the Immersa in that respect.

DSC_2762

DSC_2763

The in-line controller is a little different here, as it’s more tuned to mobile devices too, with a few basic multimedia controls that are great for controlling your music.

DSC_2764

Like its big brother, it also uses a boom microphone, albeit this time it’s omni-directional which is great for a more open sound.

DSC_2765

While this is an in-ear headset, it uses drives that are too big to actually fit in your ears. You’ll find it uses a hybrid design where the driver sit just outside the ear, but these rubber pegs also sit within your ear to hold the headset in place.

DSC_2766

The ear buds are angled downwards to ensure a much more comfortable fit too.

DSC_2767

The use of a flat cable design means it won’t tangle up, and despite being bigger than most in-ear headphones, it’s still a very compact unit for a gaming headset, especially given the size of the drivers which you would usually see with an older style on-the-ear headband design.

DSC_2768

Don’t need the microphone boom? Not a problem, it uses a small jack to plug into the driver housing and can easily be removed. It also looks like it could be easily lost, so be sure to store it in a safe place after you remove it!

DSC_2769

———————–

Performance


DSC_2778

The Immersa are pretty big and pack the largest drivers, so it’s easy to understand that they deliver the biggest bass performance out of the two headsets. This is helped even more by the thick ear padding, which creates a nice acoustic seal around your ears, blocking out a lot of ambient noise and helping tighten up those low-end frequencies. Their mid and treble performance isn’t lacking either with a warmer mid-tone that’s great for rock music, and clear highs that bring out plenty of detail while gaming. They certainly have that bigger “wow” factor, although their maximum volume does leave me wanting something a little more powerful at times, but this is offset by their excellent noise suppression and the long-term comfort the thicker padding provides.

DSC_2776

The Magara may be a lot smaller, but for an in-ear design headset the drivers are actually pretty massive overall. They do a pretty damn fine job of keeping up with the bass performance of the Immersa, not quite going as deep on the low end, but still packing a punch that’s great for music. The mid ranges to take a hit here, but the overall treble and clarity is much better than the Immersa overall, with a much more powerful maximum volume too, but with the drivers so much closer to your ear, that’s hardly surprising. I’m not a big fan of the in-ear hook mounts, they feel weird although they’re not uncomfortable. However, the mounts do a great job of keeping the headset in place, so if you jump around a lot at your desk or want to use them as headphones while out for a walk/jog, they’ll certainly be up to the task.

DSC_2765

Interestingly, both microphones are pretty different, but they’re both as good as each other in their own respects. I found the smaller headset microphone worked a little better in a noisy room, and that’s likely because it’s designed for mobile use too, and you wouldn’t want a lot of background noise if using it for a phone call. The Immersa microphone has a fuller sound to it, which is more natural sounding, but certainly better suited to at-home use in a quieter room.

———————–

Final Thoughts


Price

The Cougar Immersa is a bit of bargain at just £39.95 at Overclockers UK, it gives a big sound for the price range and it’s great for use on consoles, mobile devices and PC. The smaller and much more portable is a little cheaper still at just £29.99 from Overclockers UK.

Overview

Both these headsets turned out to be pretty competitive against each other, so much so that I don’t think either of them stood out as a clear leader over the other. They’re both very well made, with durable materials, and a fantastic design that blends the bright orange highlights with the nicely finished black for that classic Cougar design that I’ve always been a fan of. Both look great, are well made, and both come with a y-split cable for mobile, console and desktop use right out of the box.

In terms of price, they’re both exceptional value for money too, easily some of the best headsets in their price range, as you don’t have to look far to do a lot worse in the sub £40 price bracket, and you’ll certainly have a harder time finding anything better for the same money.

The Immersa could do with being a little bit more powerful, but it’s hard to be picky at this price. It sounds great, has a nice low-end bass, it’s comfortable and great for movies, music and gaming. It’s a little bulky, but that size does give it added strength and added room for lots of comfortable padding.

The Magara is very loud, but the smaller drivers struggle with fast paced heavy metal music at higher volumes and the bass gets a little muddled into the mid ranges, but it sound perfect for gaming and movies, making it great for use with PC, consoles, tablets, and especially good for a bit of team chat or hands-free phone calls with its very good microphone. It’s also small enough to fit in your pocket, which is a welcome bonus all day long.

At these prices it’s hard to pick a winner, some of you may even find comfort in buying both; one for at home gaming (Immersa) and one for when you’re out and about gaming on your tablet or at a friend’s house (Magara).

Which one would you prefer in your gaming tool kit, the Immersa, Magara, or maybe something else entirely? Let us know in the comments section!

gamers-choice

Cougar Immersa & Megara Headsets

Next Page »


Topics: , , , , , , ,

Support eTeknix.com

By supporting eTeknix, you help us grow and continue to bring you the latest newsreviews, and competitions. Follow us on FacebookTwitter and Instagram to keep up with the latest technology news, reviews and more. Share your favourite articles, chat with the team and more. Also check out eTeknix YouTube, where you'll find our latest video reviews, event coverage and features in 4K!

Looking for more exciting features on the latest technology? Check out our What We Know So Far section or our Fun Reads for some interesting original features.

eTeknix Facebook eTeknix Twitter eTeknix Instagram eTeknix Instagram
  • Be Social With eTeknix

    Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram Reddit RSS Discord Patreon TikTok Twitch
  • Features


Send this to a friend
})