Closer Examination, Build Quality, and Comfort

The SPC Gear VIRO Infra gaming headset looks completely unassuming with a black-on-black color scheme, which you'll appreciate if you decided to detach its microphone and use it on the go, but prefer a low-key appearance. The ear cups are connected with a sturdy metal headband and held in place by a pair of metal hangers. If this design strikes you as oddly familiar, you're not crazy since the SPC Gear VIRO Infra looks like a subtler, slightly less refined version of the legendary HyperX Cloud gaming headset family. Don't take that as a negative. HyperX also based their headsets on an existing product, the Takstar Pro 80 studio headphones. The popularity of the design is closely related to its combination of durability, functionality, and good looks.


The outer side of the headband has a subtle SPC Gear engraving. The edges of the VIRO Infra's headband aren't stitched, which is where some of the cost-cutting measures compared to the HyperX Cloud family surface. Let's keep things in perspective, though. We're looking at a sub-$50 gaming headset whose pleather-covered headband feels perfectly fine and looks brand-new after a month of daily use. The inner side of the headband is covered with a layer of soft padding and pleather. I felt absolutely no discomfort around the top of my head while wearing the SPC Gear VIRO Infra.


The ear cups can be moved upward and downward along the metal frame to cater to different head sizes. The motion is accompanied by satisfying clicks, which will tell you that their height has been changed.


There are markings on the inner side of the metal frame, which should help adjust the ear cups equally. The wires that loop through the headband and connect the audio drivers are braided and well protected.


The ear cups are suspended from a pair of metal hangers, which gives them a certain degree of movement. This is yet another feature that helps with wearing comfort.


The ear cups are covered in a thin layer of brushed aluminium with a printed SPC Gear logo in the middle. This is the only part of the VIRO Infra I'm not a fan of since the design looks a bit cheap. Just as importantly, the brushed metal surface is a fingerprint magnet and a nuisance to keep clean. In my opinion, a regular, matte black plastic cover would work better.


SPC Gear opted for perforated cloth ear pads instead of the more common pleather ones. Cloth ear pads are usually more comfortable because breathability is significantly better, causing less heat buildup around the ears, but they also make the headset leak more sound in both directions and reduce some of its sonic energy. I'll discuss the sound characteristics and overall performance of the SPC Gear VIRO Infra on the next page of this review. For now, note that its ear cushions feel extremely comfortable. I had zero comfort-related issues when using this headset for multiple hours without taking a break. I like them much more than the pleather ear cushions of the HyperX Cloud family, and will only like them more in a few months, once the summer heat starts pummeling us again.


The ear cups are marked with their respective left or right symbol inside the ear cushions. The ear cushions are removable and easily replaceable, should you want to go with a different material.


The left ear cup contains a sunken 3.5-millimeter microphone port. The hole and microphone connector are made in a way that makes plugging the microphone in the wrong way impossible. The audio cable cannot be detached from the headphones.


The bendable microphone arm is covered with a series of metal rings. Thanks to that, positioning the head of the microphone in any preferred way without worrying that it won't stay in place is easily done. The head is covered with a windscreen, which makes it look more professional.


Some 40 centimeters down the braided cable is where you'll find a compact in-line remote control. It's equipped with a volume dial and microphone mute switch. Somewhat bizarrely, the microphone mute switch does in no way show whether the microphone is on or off. While remembering that up is on and down is off isn't exactly hard, I sometimes found myself wondering if I muted the microphone or not—while taking an urgent phone call during an online meeting, for example. That's a typical example of a situation where you really need a quick and definite way of knowing that your headset's microphone is physically deactivated.


The audio cable, connected to the left ear cup, is terminated with a 4-pole TRRS plug. It's 1.5 meters long and fully braided. A 1.5-meter 3-pole dual TRS splitter cable is supplied. You'll need it to connect the headset to a sound card with a separate microphone input and headphone output.