GAMDIAS Hebe M1 Review

GAMDIAS steadily rises up in ranks in the gaming peripheral market, which as we’ve seen as of late has been populated by the likes of Corsair, SteelSeries, HyperX, and a host of cheap and unknown brands. With a line-up of feature-packed offerings presented in an appealing price tag, the company made its way as one of the top choices for users looking to step up their game from the entry-level standard. What we have at the moment is GAMDIAS’s HEBE M1 RGB – a USB gaming headset with surround sound and, you know it, RGB.

GAMDIAS steadily rises up in ranks in the gaming peripheral market, which as we’ve seen as of late has been populated by the likes of Corsair, SteelSeries, HyperX, and a host of cheap and unknown brands. With a line-up of feature-packed offerings presented in an appealing price tag, the company made its way as one of the top choices for users looking to step up their game from the entry-level standard. What we have at the moment is GAMDIAS’s HEBE M1 RGB – a USB gaming headset with surround sound and, you know it, RGB.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Sensitivity	119±3dB
Impedance	32 Ohm + / - 15%
Driver Diameter	50mm
Driver Magnet	NdFeB
Microphone Size	Φ6*5mm
Microphone Sensitivity	-40db±3db
Microphone Pick Up Pattern	Unidirectional
Vibration Unit Size	30mm
Cable Length	2m
Plug Type	Gold-plated USB plug
Dimensions	188 × 104 × 230 mm
Application UI	HERA Software
Price	~$70

PACKAGING

The Hebe M1 RGB’s packaging is very much standard for a gaming headset – bulky, but light enough to carry around. Most of its specifications and key highlight features are printed around the packaging to give you some info about the Hebe M1 RGB itself, while there’s also plastic on the cutaway to display the headset’s design.  There’s really not much to go through here. No included accessories such as a carrying case or even a manual.

DESIGN

Design-wise, the Hebe M1 RGB aims to please the gamers with its oversized earcups that, mind you, feel very comfortable even during extensive usage. Its metal band looks impressive and makes it more durable to boot, and the suspension band can bring an easy fit for different sizes. The earcups’ construction material is plastic, but not as tacky as it would seem. We’re liking its design and quality for one.

One nifty trick of the Hebe M1 RGB is its unidirectional noise-cancelling microphone, which can be produced by pulling it out of its socket and hiding it back in place when you don’t want it to get in your way. You can’t fully hide it, however. But then again, there’s probably no reason for you to do so.

Do note that the Hebe M1 RGB is a USB headset, so plugging it to your phone would probably take some work. With that said, the control box, or “Smart Remote Controller” as GAMDIAS would put it, gives the most essential controls such as controlling the volume up and down, turning the mic and RGB on or off, and turning on the vibration feature. We’ll get to the vibration feature later on.

Of course, how can we forget. The Hebe M1 RGB’s highlight feature is indeed RGB. You can turn it on and off at the push of a button. Changing the colors on the other hand isn’t part of the mix. So it’s either you go all out or nothing with the colors. There’s no in between. This is more of a hardware limitation rather than a missing feature that can be patched in, but we could probably expect full RGB control in the next iteration should GAMDIAS continue the lineup.

PERFORMANCE

In terms of performance, you’ll be working with a headset with 50mm drivers. It’s basically a USB headset, so that should probably standardize the testing procedures all throughout the devices we have at our disposal.

The Hebe M1 is equipped with 7.1 virtual surround sound technology, aiming to deliver that 3D sound experience to work with your advantage. What better way to start it than a few atmospheric horror games to test it out? So we’ll go on ahead and try out Resident Evil 7, The Evil Within 2, and Amnesia. These games feature several sound elements and jump scares, and the audio experience brings immersion. To top that off, the Hebe M1’s vibration effects bring the experience even further.

On the other hand, it’s hard to work out its 7.1 virtual surround. Activating it through the Hera software doesn’t exactly widen the soundstage, but it works quite well enough to stand on its own. The Hera software also offers a lot more than that so to speak. You can fine tune its settings up to your alley, but the default option will be just fine.

Music

The Hebe M1 drives some powerful bass with a strong impact, and it is even further reinforced by the vibration feature inside it. Sound quality is clean and crisp even on high volume levels, but do note to keep the volume leveled.

Microphone

The Hebe M1’s microphones are retractable and flexible. It’s loud and clear, and it comes with noise cancellation features as well. You can also have a little fun with it by going through the Hera software and enable magic voice, which can be really fun if you like to play around with the microphone.

SOFTWARE

The Hera engine is GAMDIAS’ unified software for its line of peripherals being offered in the market. As evident with the company’s naming scheme, this one is also named after gods and goddesses from the Greek Mythology.

It’s sad to note, however that the Hebe M1’s RGB isn’t customizable. It’s either dynamically changing its colors by going through the color range, or it’s off. All or nothing. We would like to see them implement the feature should they keep with the RGB feature, but at the moment this is what we have.

 

 

CONCLUSION

The GAMDIAS Hebe M1 puts a strong emphasis on RGB, it’s the clear highlighted feature here, but don’t let that overshadow what it truly brings to the table.  Its crowning moment definitely belongs to its superb audio quality, which is even improved further by its vibration feature that can definitely elevate the experience whether you’re gaming or jamming into tunes.

Its build quality and design also deserve some credit here, although the RGB feature may throw you off its simplistic aesthetics. Pair it off with an attractive price tag of $70, and you’ve got yourself a sweet deal. Simply put, the GAMDIAS Hebe M1 is definitely something to look at when you’re out in the market for a well-rounded headset.