When it comes to headsets, I’m typically in the $70 range when suggesting or looking for anything. We rarely get anything cheaper in both because a lot of the big names don’t even try to compete at low price points and because what you do find is normally not very exciting. Well a while back Patriot reached out to me about checking out two of their new headsets and I signed up. They sent over the Viper V370 and the Viper V361. I wasn’t really sure what to expect other than more budget friendly headsets. Well, they came in, I got busy and I’m just now getting around to talking about them so let’s see what is different about them, test them out, then talk a little about where they fit in the market.
Product Name: Patriot Viper V370 and V361 Headsets
Review Samples Provided by: Patriot
Written by: Wes
Pictures by: Wes
Amazon Affiliate Link: HERE
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Specifications |
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Lighting |
V370 - RGB V361 - Red |
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Sound Field |
7.1 virtual surround sound |
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Microphone |
Fold away with Noise Canceling |
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Color |
Black |
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Width |
20 cm |
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Height |
22 cm |
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Length |
8 cm |
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Weight |
385 g |
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Warranty |
2 Years |
Packaging
The packaging on both headsets was almost exactly the same so I am going to check them both out together. The boxes both have a black to red fade with the model name up in the top right corner. There is a photo of the front on each as well with the V361 showing the red lighting and the V370 with a white lighting on it. There is also a window on the left giving a peek at the headsets. Then down along the bottom both have a few icons showing the key features, the V370, of course, having an additional for the RGB lighting.
On the back they have another photo of the headsets only this time there are lines pointing to key features like the volume controls and the microphone. Then the bottom half has a specification listing something that even the Patriot website didn’t have for some reason.
Inside of the boxes in addition to the headsets, both models come with a carrying bag. Inside you get a second set of earpads with a mesh finish and a blue tool used to take them off the headset. For documentation, there is a quick start guide and a paper with information on a few of Patriots peripherals. They also slipped in two stickers as well.
Photos and Features
So the Viper V370 and the V361 only have one specific feature that is different between them, that is the RGB lighting built into the V370 where the V361 so to keep myself from just repeating myself I am going to check the headsets out together just like I did with the packaging. I took a look at the Viper V360 at the start of 2016 but I can say without a doubt that I like the new look. The earcups still have a similar shape but with the silver added to the sides they have a little style and they don’t rely on just the lighting. They dropped the suspension headband, that was one of the areas that I liked on the V360 so that is a bummer but the overall construction of both of these feels much better.
So both earcups have this C-shaped mesh around them. The V360 had something similar but it was a little more aggressive plus the mesh itself was backlit. This time they cut the lighting down to just the ring around the silver area, a much cleaner look. The V361 has red lighting and the V370, of course, has RGB for those who want to match it to their style.
One of my big complaints about eh V360 was the scratchy mesh earcup pads. The V370 and V361 still have those as an optional replacement that comes with them but the main pads are now much better with the fake leather finish. Inside there is a black mesh with a red fabric behind it that gives a nice style. Inside the earcup, the headsets both have 40mm main drivers with Neodymium magnets and then 30mm sub drivers. They have a frequency range of 20Hz to 20KHz though so that isn’t too bad with a 110dB sensitivity.
The controls are basically the same with an on and off switch for the built-in bass boost and then a volume knob. They don’t feel as loose as they did on the V360 though so that is good. That was a big issue I had as they felt really cheap.
The microphone boom hasn’t changed as well, it still hides inside of the edge of the earcup when up and flips out. It is solid plastic and fairly short. There isn’t any adjustment to it so you get what you get as far as distance to your mouth goes. It has a frequency response of 100Hz to 10KHz and has an omnidirectional pickup pattern. This means it picks up from all directions so it may pick up background noise.
So the new headband design is a solid headband, I already miss the suspension headband but I do get it. Most people seem to prefer a solid band. They went extra wide on it and they gave them more room for padding so I’m hoping it will be comfortable. You can see that the padding isn’t too bad for thickness as well. In the headband, they did slip in the Viper logo up on top as well for a little branding.
Then last but not least we have the cord. Nothing changed here, this is the same cord design that all of the Viper products have. It has a thick sleeving over it with a red and black weave. This goes better with the V361 with its red lighting than the RGB on the V370 but it is a solid cord with more than enough length. It also comes with a Velcro strap to tie up any extra length or for when you pack the headset up to travel with it.
Audio Quality and Comfort
For testing, I used each of the headsets for about a week and a half each. Though in the end, everything applies to both because in this area they are exactly the same. Most of my testing was focused on long-term comfort so I had them on for a full day each time. During that time I did get to test the audio performance as well while gaming, watching TV Shows and movies, and listening to music.
For comfort, the V370 and V361 are clearly an improvement over the V360. With the V360 I had trouble with the mesh on the earcup padding so the faux leather was noticeable right away. The earcups are large enough to fit around my ears as well. The padding could be a touch deeper, I did notice my ears touching the inside lining. I did miss the suspension headband though, the newly fixed headband does have a nice wide surface area but the padding was a little firm for me. When wearing the headsets for extended sessions the top of my head would start to get a little sensitive to the pressure. The design does have a lot of range, at its smallest setting it fit my wife well and for my big head, I didn’t even reach the max extension.
For audio performance, they both were more than loud enough. When cranked they were also surprisingly clear both with the bass boost on and with it off. A lot of budget-friendly headphones normally have issues at high volumes or intentionally hold back the volume with the build in sound card to prevent bottoming out or distortion. I was concerned with the bass boost, normally that is just another way of saying please cover up all of the flaws with a bunch of bass. It added some vibration but the dual driver design helped keep things under control. I personally don’t like a lot of bass but I ended up running the bass boost most of the time because without it they were both lacking. Overall they don’t have the same range as the higher end headphones with the frequency range being significantly lower than the Sennheiser’s that I last took a look at for example but I don’t think you can go into this expecting that.
The attached microphone did sit too far away sit too far away when flipped out as you can see in the photo below. Without any adjustment, you just have to work with what you get as well. I had to crank the volume up right away but was able to get it setup decently. With it cranked it did pick up my keyboard a lot as well, I still don’t know why they went with an omnidirectional microphone. Beyond that, the microphone was lacking a little on the bottom end but sounded decent overall, more than enough for coms or basic communication.
Last but not least we have the lighting. As you can see the V361 has a nice Red LED glow around the small silver accents on each earcup. The V370, on the other hand, defaults to flip between a few different colors. You can also download their software and have full control to set a static color or to turn on a few modes like breathing or a heartbeat effect. I love that the new lighting isn’t as in your face as before.
Overall and Final Verdict
Going into this review I was excited to see what Patriot had worked on after our original coverage of the V360. While the V361 is only one digit higher they did make huge changes to the design. Most were really good, like simplifying the outside of the earcups and dropping most of the lighting. But I would have liked to see the suspended headband design stay, that was one of the areas that I liked about the V360. It also ended up being the main downside as well, the fixed headband needed softer padding, it put a little pressure on the top of my head when using them for any extended period of time. The audio performance wasn’t too bad considering where both headsets fit into the market. They don’t really stand with something like the Sennheiser GSP 300’s but they aren’t going to cost as much as well. The overall build quality improved as well, no more rattling controls.
As for the price, officially the MSRP on the V370’s is $69.99 and $49.99 for the V361 and at those price points, especially the V370’s they aren’t worth it. I don’t have any idea why they would be charging $20 for RGB lighting, everything else between the two models is exactly the same specification wise and as far as I can see in person as well. But the V370 is actually selling for $48.99 and $44.05 on Newegg, a much better deal. But the steal is on Amazon right now where the V361 is $39.99 and the V370 is $44.99. So the MSRPs put them both into a price range with headsets that are a little more comfortable and sometimes with a little better audio quality, but at the current selling prices, you couldn’t really go wrong with either model for a decent budget pickup.
Live Pricing: HERE
