Sound Quality

The SPC Gear VIRO Infra gaming headset is equipped with a pair of 50-millimeter dynamic speaker drivers. Their specified frequency range is 20–20,000 Hz, with a sensitivity of 98 dB at 1 kHz and an impedance of 16 Ω. In terms of power to drive the VIRO Infra, just about any integrated sound card should have enough juice to push it to a comfortable volume level and beyond. That pretty much goes without saying for any sub-$50 gaming headset, but the following definitely doesn't: If you have a higher-quality external or PCI Express sound card, the SPC Gear VIRO Infra will benefit from its increased power, dynamics, and tightness of the sound.

You see, against all odds, the SPC Gear VIRO Infra sounds great. Actually, for the asking price of €38, its sonic performance is downright spectacular. If I didn't know better, I'd have to assume I was sent a cherry-picked, heavily modified sample because common sense is telling me that a gaming headset this cheap can't sound anywhere as good. I don't know what dark sorcery is in effect here, but I had an absolute blast listening to the VIRO Infra both when gaming and going through my music collection.

If I had to name a single defining characteristic of the sound coming out of the SPC Gear VIRO Infra, I'd have to go with tightness. Throughout the frequency range, the SPC Gear VIRO Infra sounds impressively cohesive and in complete control of the incoming signal. The bass region is where you'll notice it first. The bass is firm and snappy and has a visceral attack, one that's bound to put a smile on your face when you're shooting your virtual weapons or listening to your favorite tunes regardless of the genre. There's an audible bump around the 100 Hz mark, which thickens the low end by quite a bit and adds a satisfying thump to it without bringing excessive boominess into the mix on even bass-heavy tracks or music genres. The luscious, agile bass seamlessly blends into the midrange. The middle frequencies are in no way pushed back, quite the opposite; whoever tuned this headset was aware of the fact that gamers need to be able to hear various subtle cues, such as enemy footsteps and guns getting reloaded close-by.

The SPC Gear VIRO Infra will keep you completely informed about your virtual surroundings. While playing games like PUBG and Apex Legends, I felt like I was in complete control. I could rely on the headset to warn me about incoming enemies and keep track of their movements in a three-dimensional space around me. I can't remember the last time I used a closed-back headset that handles spatial positioning as well as the SPC Gear VIRO Infra, and I definitely can't think of a comparable performer in the sub-$50 price category. Of course, a detailed, slightly pronounced midrange also ensures that vocals don't get lost in the mix. The same goes for instruments. If you're coming from a mediocre pair of cans, you'll be able to hear things you simply didn't pick up on before.

The higher frequencies don't sound particularly open or airy, but I definitely can't call them stuffy or too rolled off, either. The intention was obviously to make the SPC Gear VIRO Infra sound completely non-fatiguing for those marathon gaming sessions, and that goal was achieved successfully. If your sound card offers a system-wide equalizer, you can try boosting the frequencies above 4 kHz slightly by 1–2 dB just to see if you like what you're hearing even more.

Passive noise isolation is good. It would even be better had SPC Gear chosen pleather ear pads instead of cloth ones, but at normal listening levels, you don't have to worry about bothering the people you share your living space with, at least not with the noise coming from your headset.