X2 Saturn 5.1 Gaming Headset Review

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

The X2 Saturn will be perhaps of greatest interest to our European readers where the headset is more readily available in stores over there. To see availability in your country, click the “Where to Buy” for your country on the Saturn product webpage. In the USA, X2 headsets including the Saturn are only available at Cooler Guys for $79.95 over in Europe you are looking at 59.95 ex VAT. We still have a judgment and have plenty to share about this headset to our readers no matter where you may be right now.

The Saturn is comfortable to wear mostly due to its lightweight construction. Everything else on top of that is icing on the cake such as the padding and alternate set of earpads. Unfortunately, a heavy dependence on plastic doesn’t always translate well to durability and that’s a tradeoff to be considered. The only truly unnecessary design feature are the red LEDs which otherwise do make the headset look cool. Everything else has its function such as the flexible microphone and the inline remote control.

We had a positive experience listening with the Saturn granted that it wasn’t perfect. The bass is weak which is surprising since 5.1 calls for one dedicated bass channel. This results in cleaner gaming audio where bass can be a distraction. Unfortunately, music and movie audio playback lacks impact and can be bland at times. It is upon turning up the bass through the use of a graphic equalizer that we get a very well-rounded headset. The responsiveness of the sound character to correction and modification in general makes it suited to any kind of music granted the user is willing to make those tweaks which can be done from the headset settings software. With regards to other software features, we found the control panel to be easy to use though the lack of documentation led us to experiment with all sorts of settings to optimize the sound. Fortunately, it was quite fun modifying and mixing different combinations of settings.

Despite being a true multichannel surround sound headset featuring multiple drivers on each earcup, it was often difficult to hear the surround audio placement. With the drivers being close together due to the restricted earcup space, front and rear channels tended to sound like a single stereo channel.

So now, where does the Saturn stand in the grand picture? There are things the Saturn could do better. There are things the Saturn takes too seriously. Its lightweight and comfortable plastic construction screams of cheapish build quality. The surround sound isn’t as effective as its implementation might suggest. At the same time, its sound quality is up there with the rest. While I may be painting a picture of a capable headset beset by deficiencies, it actually isn’t too bad when it’s being used. The sum of the cons don’t outweigh the sum of the pros and the Saturn does many rights for a headset even if it strived for more ambitious goals.

Legit Bottom Line: Comfortable and uncomplicated, the X2 Saturn 5.1 gaming headset makes up for its gimmicks with its likability.