Cooler Master MH650 Surround RGB Headset Review

A Closer Look & Performance

The Cooler Master MH650 is a great looking headset, and while I’ll admit it looks pretty much identical to the MH630, that’s a good thing. It’s like all cars in a range looking the same, but with upgraded engines. I like that they’ve unified the range to keep things looking smart, even on the more affordable models.

The thing I love about this design has to be just how flexible it is. It’s ergonomics are seriously on point. The ear cups can be twisted inwards with pretty much no effort. Of course, this means they’ll fit flush around your ears better, but also hang around your neck better when not in use.

I love how clean and close all of the joints are too, it’s almost like you’re splitting the mount in two it’s such a clean join.

Flex

The headband is metal reinforced with a rubber separator. This means it feels rigid, but you can twist the heck out of it too, and it’ll still flex back to true. Plus there’s enough range of adjustment for younger gamers to wear it, and it’ll still go more than large enough to fit my big head.

Weird flex, but OK!

The ear cups also pivot forwards and backwards. Here you can see it’s fully pushed away from the U-shaped headband mount.

Move it back and it sits back in the mount perfectly flush. This movement will ensure that the ear cups weight is perfectly distributed around your ears, especially handy given everyone’s head is a different shape and size. You’d be amazed how many headsets get this wrong, however, Cooler Master has done it 100% correct.

Control

When it comes to taking control, you’ll find a simple volume wheel on the left side ear cup, as well as a master microphone mute button. The button has a nice mechanical on/off click to it too, rather than a mudder membrane switch, so you know just by touch if it’s turning off or not.

On the right side, you’ll find a small indicator LED, RGB LED control on/off switch, and the virtual 7.1 surround mode on/off switch (PC only). I know, I don’t fully understand RGB on a headset either, but I do like that there’s a button to turn it on and off should you need it.

The headband is a soft fabric with a very soft memory foam padding. The headset isn’t particularly heavy, but this does a great job of distributing the weight without leaving any hot spots from the headband.

Powerful

The backs of the ear cups are actually sealed up pretty tight, which goes a long way to tightening up the low-end frequencies. The 50mm drivers pack a heck of a punch though, pushing massive volume should you need it. However, I think most will have to dial it back, as it’s pretty loud. That being said, the EQ sounds pretty balanced at any volume, and there’s just an enormous amount of mid-range detail too.

What’s interesting is that they’ve used a memory foam and soft cloth covering. So while the ear cups are sealed, this isn’t. That means they will leak sound at higher volumes and still let some sound in from your surroundings. However, not as much as you might think. There’s a leather interior rim that seals off the ear a little more.

Plus a firm rubber gasket that helps too. It’s not 100% as sealed up as a leather padded ear cup would be, but it’s striking a balance between locking in some sound and letting your ears breath a little bit. The end result? Well, it’s extremely comfortable to wear, and the person next to you may have to listen to a bit of your music when you turn it up.

Surround

The drivers are bloody fantastic though, and they should be given that they’re the same as the drivers in the MH630, and I really liked those too. The main addition here is the Virtual 7.1 surround processing, which works really well. I’ve been using virtual surround for years, Dolby Atmos Headphone, DTS: X, Sonic, and a load more, they’re all really good these days. This one isn’t as good as my SXFI processor, but honestly, for gaming and movies, it’s still pretty fantastic. That being said, even the stock stereo performance has plenty of depth to it to leave you satisfied. Either way, this is the MH630 headset, which is great but upgraded with a more powerful USB soundcard, which is awesome.

The detachable microphone looks great and allows for a lot of adjustment thanks to its flexible boom. You can quickly fold it in or out to suit your needs and get that perfect pickup distance and not breath into it constantly. It’s fairly sensitive and really clear too, so I found leaving it of to the side worked well, rather than shouting directly at it.