Cougar Intros VM410 Gaming Headset with 53mm Drivers and Audiophile-grade Cables

btarunr · Oct 26, 2020

Cougar today introduced the VM410, its flagship stereo gaming headset. The VM410 comes with a few segment-first features, including quite a few bits borrowed from audiophile-grade headphones. To begin with, its cans are suspended on a 3-axle metal joint that allows for horizontal and vertical adjustments. A silicone headband can be adjusted at the cans, while metal over-bands hold the two cans together structurally. The detachable microphone stock holds a large 9.7 mm unidirectional mic condenser.

As for the cans of the VM410, they pack meaty 53 mm neodymium drivers with graphene diaphragms, papylon mesh, and a cavernous back chamber. You get two sets of user-replaceable earcups, one with soft-touch leather, and the other with breathable polyester fabric. It doesn't end there. Cougar used audiophile-grade cabling to go with the headset, with each of the two cans having a triple-insulated copper cable running up to the plug. The headphones component offers sensitivity of up to 116 dB at 1 kHz, 32 Ω impedance, and 20 Hz to 20 kHz frequency response. The mic is -113 dB sensitive at 1 kHz, with the same 20 Hz to 20 kHz frequency response as the headphones, and <2 kΩ impedance. The company didn't reveal pricing.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

Lnxepique · Oct 26, 2020

Branding on the headband would have been sufficient...

my_name_is_earl · Oct 26, 2020

Look pretty sexy. But not until I worn out my Logitech G635

Can you detach the mic?

rootden · Oct 26, 2020

my_name_is_earl said:
Look pretty sexy. But not until I worn out my Logitech G635
Can you detach the mic?

Didn't you read the article?

"The detachable microphone.."

NJM1564 · Oct 26, 2020

my_name_is_earl said:
Look pretty sexy. But not until I worn out my Logitech G635
Can you detach the mic?

All microphones are detachable, with enough force.

_JP_ · Oct 26, 2020

"Create the Gaming Waveform"

Windows Audio stack just crashed laughing with that one :laugh:

Dammeron · Oct 26, 2020

rootden said:
Huh? A "gayming" headset actually worth looking for? This might be the absolute first headset i'll use for gaming. I've always used my HD600 and a separate mic

Do You believe everything the marketing department spews out?

rootden · Oct 26, 2020

Dammeron said:
Do You believe everything the marketing department spews out?

Obviously not since i never bought a headset. But this looks descent compared to what's on the market. If you had any sense or knowledge about headphones in general, you would know

Chrispy_ · Oct 26, 2020

The company didn't reveal pricing.

Pricing is everything.

The headset market is >9000% saturated with actually thousands of name-brand models and at least two Chinese knock-offs for every genuinely unique non-Chinese model.

Knowing whether this is a good deal or a bad deal is the only thing that matters in such a saturated market.

Vayra86 · Oct 26, 2020

Bwahahahahaahahaaaaaa

Audio snake oil in 2020. Lmao. Special cables... really? REALLY? :roll:

You've just devolved instantly into 'must avoid at all costs' brand. Go fool someone else.

TheLostSwede · Oct 26, 2020

Vayra86 said:
Bwahahahahaahahaaaaaa

Audio snake oil in 2020. Lmao. Special cables... really? REALLY? You've just devolved instantly into 'must avoid at all costs' brand. Go fool someone else.

And they somehow managed to put white text on a white background, so we have no idea what half of the claimed "features" are supposed to be...

Vayra86 · Oct 26, 2020

TheLostSwede said:
And they somehow managed to put white text on a white background, so we have no idea what half of the claimed "features" are supposed to be...

True audophiles can 'hear' that text man. Get with the program

TheLostSwede · Oct 26, 2020

Vayra86 said:
True audophiles can 'hear' that text man. Get with the program

Turns out it's just a bog standard cable if you have a look at their website. They somehow seem to think that plastic "shielding" shields against interference...

COUGAR VM410 - Gaming Headset - COUGAR

VM410 VM410 is the over-ear headset equipped with premium audio and innovative structural design. The large 53mm graphene diaphragm drivers create a vibrant frequency and a focus on true sound pick-up with the 9.7mm microphone. The innovative metal junction allows for triple adjustments for...

cougargaming.com

Chrispy_ · Oct 26, 2020

TheLostSwede said:
And they somehow managed to put white text on a white background, so we have no idea what half of the claimed "features" are supposed to be...

That's a feature; It's called "half-assed quality control"

zlobby · Oct 26, 2020

If they have put that much thought on the headset, as they had on the cabling...

TheLostSwede said:
Turns out it's just a bog standard cable if you have a look at their website. They somehow seem to think that plastic "shielding" shields against interference...

COUGAR VM410 - Gaming Headset - COUGAR

VM410 VM410 is the over-ear headset equipped with premium audio and innovative structural design. The large 53mm graphene diaphragm drivers create a vibrant frequency and a focus on true sound pick-up with the 9.7mm microphone. The innovative metal junction allows for triple adjustments for...

cougargaming.com

Of course it helps againts interference. Just not EM ones.

Chrispy_ said:
Pricing is everything.

The headset market is >9000% saturated with actually thousands of name-brand models and at least two Chinese knock-offs for every genuinely unique non-Chinese model.

Knowing whether this is a good deal or a bad deal is the only thing that matters in such a saturated market.

You'd be surprised how many Chinese brands are trully trying to make a name for themselves and produce excellent products. I now rarely shop outside 'noname' Chinese audio manufacturers. They beat pretty much every other brand that you might have heard of.

NJM1564 said:
All microphones are detachable, with enough force.

Preach it!

R-T-B · Oct 26, 2020

Vayra86 said:
Bwahahahahaahahaaaaaa

Audio snake oil in 2020. Lmao. Special cables... really? REALLY? You've just devolved instantly into 'must avoid at all costs' brand. Go fool someone else.

Audio snake oil is alive and well in 2020 trust me.

I thought they might be balanced cables or something the way they were emphasizing them. lol nope, bog standard copper.

zlobby · Oct 26, 2020

R-T-B said:
Audio snake oil is alive and well in 2020 trust me.

I thought they might be balanced cables or something the way they were emphasizing them. lol nope, bog standard copper.

But note how the back cover boosts the frequency! Well, they didn't state which one(s) but who cares, it's boosted!

One can so easily become the laughing stock of the Internet when one lets marketing guys prepare technical details alone.

R-T-B · Oct 26, 2020

zlobby said:
But note how the back cover boosts the frequency! Well, they didn't state which one(s) but who cares, it's boosted!

I want them to boost the hell out of the high pitch segment so it sounds like it'll break glass every time someone talks. That'd be fun.

Fierce Guppy · Oct 27, 2020

That was a bit careless of Cougar. It forgot to add padding for the head support.

Vayra86 · Oct 27, 2020

Well honestly, if you went by their cases and general other designs this was just a disaster waiting to happen (or happening, perhaps). Gaming oriented? Its probably shit, but maybe you'll be lucky one day. That really, honestly is my summary of over ten years of 'gaming' oriented products... none of it is really worth a damn over bog standard OEM stuff at half the price. Not in the least because it really usually is double priced OEM stuff.

TheLostSwede · Oct 27, 2020

Fierce Guppy said:
That was a bit careless of Cougar. It forgot to add padding for the head support.

I guess you've never worn this type of headphones before then? Had a pair of Sennheiser's back in the day, just a flimsy plastic strap, but it was never uncomfortable to wear them, well, at least not until the plastic strap broke off...
It's a different concept compared to headphones that sits directly on your head and it also means the weight is distributed differently.
I guess you've also never considered Steelseries either then, as all their headsets uses a similar design, although with a more elastic strap, but still no padding. Only their most basic model has a padded headband, but it's also a different design.

Caring1 · Oct 27, 2020

I'm still waiting to see a cougar introducing this stuff. :laugh:

micropage7 · Oct 27, 2020

yeah, cable. i may call it just too much. like you actually can't tell difference between good cable and audio grade cable, it's like 11.6 and 12 in 1000 scale. and in short cable, it's the same
upgrading the drivers is nice

ObiFrost · Oct 27, 2020

"Gaming" brand for "gaming" peripherals... Meh, nothing to see here as always. True brands will always release true gear, period. Expecting low R&D "slap on the logo on Alibaba/Aliexpress chinese cafe OEM headphones" to actually release high end reference studio headphones, you must be high to think that way lol.

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Cougar Intros VM410 Gaming Headset with 53mm Drivers and Audiophile-grade Cables

btarunr

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COUGAR VM410 - Gaming Headset - COUGAR

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COUGAR VM410 - Gaming Headset - COUGAR

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