Lastly, I connected the Renga Boost to an iPhone and listened to my two test tracks on Spotify – Steely Dan’s “Dirty Work” to test the high and mid-frequencies and DMX’s “X Gon’ Give It To Ya” to get a sense of the headset’s bass response.
I had a better experience with Madden 19 the crunch of pads hitting sounded powerful and the announcers’ calls could be heard clearly above the rich, ambient noise of the crowd and stadium. While the mix was well balanced, I wanted more of a bass response from explosions and the groan of heavy aircraft. I heard good separation between highs and lows in Star Wars Battlefront 2, and the dialogue remained clear in the middle. IGN ReviewOn an Xbox One, I played Star Wars Battlefront 2 and Madden 19.
The mids were a bit muddy, however, with shotguns and other heavy artillery sounding less dynamic and realistic. The snap of rifle fire sounded accurate and clean on the high end, and explosions on the low end felt concussive and huge. The highs sounded crisp and the low frequencies thundered, but the mids sounded a bit compressed. Playing CS:GO on a PC, I was impressed with the sound mix.
Roccat Renga Boost – Gaming and PerformanceTo test the Roccat Renga Boost, I ran it through some popular games on a PC and an Xbox One and then connected it to an iPhone to test how it handled music playback. The two audio cables – each with its own microphone – of the Roccat Cross offers greater versatility. Plus, the audio cable is more than 8 feet long, so it’s a lot of cable to deal with when you are on the go. Since you can't remove the microphone, the Renga Boost is unable to mask its primary purpose as a gaming headset. Even with the Y-adapter, you are unlikely to use the Renga Boost for listening to music on your phone while skipping about town because the microphone is not detachable so you'd look kind of funny. For added versatility, Roccat includes a Y-adapter that funnels those separate plugs into a single 3.5mm jack for use with laptops, consoles, phones, and tablets. Its audio cable terminates in separate 3.5mm plugs to use with PCs that have separate headphone and microphone jacks.
By comparison, the hi-res Roccat Khan Pro has a wide range of 10Hz to 40,000Hz. The Renga Boost has a frequency response range of 20Hz to 20,000Hz.
You’ll find 40mm drivers in many headsets in this price range, but the Renga Boost boasts 50mm drivers with dynamic, full stereo sound. I have no wishes, however, for bigger sound. The microphone mute switch is large and easy to find without needing to look, but I wish the volume dial were bigger. Instead, Roccat offers an inline control on the audio cable for volume and microphone muting. Kevin Lee + 1 moreThere are no controls to be found on the earcups themselves. Lastly, the earcups cannot be rotated flat, however, which makes it more comfortable when you take it off your head and rest it around your neck. The open design also means that whatever you are listening to can be heard by those around you, and you can hear ambient sounds as well. There is a gap between the leatherette ear cushions and the foam material covering the speakers to let off some steam. Leatherette earcups can heat up during long sessions, but the Renga Boost features an open-earcup design that allows for some ventilation. The earcups are round in shape and feature memory-foam padding covered in a leatherette material. Despite its all-plastic design and light weight, the Renga Boost doesn’t feel cheap or particularly fragile.
It also helps that the headset is light at only 253 grams (or roughly 9 ounces).
Despite its lack of padding, the headband provides a comfortable fit – in large part because its generous portions that has it widening to 2.25 inches at its center. It offers adjustment via elastic bands that stretch when you put it on your head to give you a snug fit. The headband is simply a wide piece of plastic that mimics a leather strap and sits below a frame of two thin, plastic arches. You won’t find any color or chrome accents in the design nor will you encounter any metal in its construction. Roccat Renga Boost – Design & FeaturesThe Renga Boost features an all-black, all-plastic design. Can the Renga Boost give gamers a lift at such a low price? Let's find out. They also feature a rotating boom mic along with a Y-connector for cross-platform gaming on mobile and consoles. Despite its budget price the Renga Boost delivers big stereo sound courtesy of beefy 50mm drivers, which are the same size as the drivers in the more expensive Cross model. At $59.99, the Roccat Renga Boost ( See it on Amazon) is the least expensive over-the-ear headset in Roccat’s line-up of gaming headsets. Note that if you click on one of these links to buy the product, IGN may get a share of the sale. Be sure to visit IGN Tech for all the latest comprehensive hands-on reviews and best-of roundups.