Closer Examination, Build Quality, and Comfort

The Thermaltake RIING Pro RGB 7.1 gaming headset is based on a dual-headband design. The principle of the dual-headband design is simple—instead of having to adjust the "height" of your headset by sliding the ear cups up and down the frame, just putting it on your head will have the inner headband stretch as necessary. This usually results in excellent wearing comfort. While the Thermaltake RIING Pro RGB 7.1 is indeed fairly comfortable despite its hefty weight and bulky stature, I'm not at all happy with its fit. The ear cups don't adjust well to the shape of my head, which leaves a hole almost as wide as my thumb around my earlobes. I was never able to achieve a completely and full seal with the pleather ear pads, which is why the passive noise isolation wasn't as good as expected from a closed-back gaming headset.


The inner headband has plenty of room to move, so the Thermaltake RIING Pro RGB 7.1 is suitable for various head sizes, at least in terms of its "height."


Both headbands are made out of plastic, with the inner one decently padded—it certainly doesn't put excessive pressure on my head. The ear pads are thick, soft, and perfectly round. While I have nothing bad to say about their comfort, the aforementioned issue with the fit of the headset makes me think they should have been shaped a bit differently. It's fairly unusual to see a pair of headphones with a perfectly round ear-pad design, and there's a good reason for that: It's not ideal for human ears.


The ear pads can be removed and potentially replaced. Attaching them to the Thermaltake RIING Pro RGB 7.1 is as simple as clicking them back into place.


The ear cups can be rotated by 90°, which makes it easier to rest the headset around the neck or put it on the table.


The frame of the Thermaltake RIING Pro RGB 7.1 is extremely flexible, an obvious benefit of using plastic for its construction. It does creak slightly around the joints, but doesn't show any signs of wear and tear after almost two months of use.


The ear cups are encased in glossy black plastic. As you'd expect, that makes them exceptionally prone to collecting dust and fingerprints. They're decorated with Thermaltake's logo. You can change the color of the logo or add various RGB effects, or simply turn the lighting off completely.


The left ear cup contains a retractable microphone. The microphone arm is wrapped in plastic. It does a decent job of staying in place once you bend it the way you'd like. As the mechanism isn't smooth or refined at all, you'll need both hands to pull the microphone out or push it back in.


The head of the microphone has a glowing red ring whose exact purpose eludes me. It doesn't tell you if the microphone is muted or not, nor is it tied to the sidetone/monitoring feature. I didn't find it distracting while using the headset.


Some 45 centimeters down the rubberized cable, you'll find an in-line remote control. It's equipped with a clothes clip, a microphone mute switch, four buttons, and a glowing TT logo, whose color and effects will match whatever you chose for the ear cups. The buttons on front of the remote adjust the volume, activate or deactivate 7.1 virtual surround sound, and cycle through six equalizer profiles, assuming you've decided to activate the equalizer in the TT iTAKE Engine software driver. There's no way to quickly mute the headset, which is a shame.


The 3-meter-long, rubberized cable terminates in a regular USB Type-A plug. The Thermaltake RIING Pro RGB 7.1 doesn't support any other type of connectivity.