Introducing Vokyl & The Erupt Headset
Oct 18, 2018 at 11:38 AM Post #121 of 403
Hello friends at Vokyl (@theotherjude),

I've been carefully following your project and what has transpired around it; There are some inconsistencies between the marketing material on the indiegogo campaign and what you've stated in this thread, so I was hoping you could clarify for us:

After the feedback tour happened and negative impressions started to surface about the Erupt, you stated that it is very much still in a prototype/design phase and the pads+tuning is very much experimental. However, in your indiegogo campaign, you state that the design phase is over and you only require funding for (and I quote): Molds / Tooling for the headbands and cups, Driver construction, and Raw materials (aluminum).

The second inconsistency I found was that you stated here that several "prototype units" sent for feedback are being sent with "different pad configurations" because the pads are still being finalized, however in your indiegogo campaign, you clearly state that the pads have been "ergonomically designed for both optimal comfort and sound quality" and you offer two configurations depending on the tuning and features expected by the user. This reads to me like the pad design is finalized and it just needs to be scaled up for production. (as it should be, given that you're pretty much ready for large scale manufacturing as per your indiegogo campaign)

It seems like there are a number of inconsistencies between what is being stated on your indiegogo campaign and what is being stated here as to how far along the project truly is, so I think it would be good to clear the air. If the project is still in fact under a design phase and not as far along as stated in the promotional material, then why is Zeos allowed to call his unit a "review unit" and publish a "proper review", while other members of the community were told that their units were solely for feedback/impression purposes and they couldn't post final reviews?

Thanks for your time.

Hi @littleemp

(Terribly sorry for the delay, I'm out and about on a family vacation this week.)

Thanks for the questions and following our campaign! The driver, cups, headbands are all ready, the main tuning issue comes with the how we position drivers, the damping material inside the cup, and the pads. As stated, we sought out several different types of pads and sent them out on sample units, testing which received the most positive feedback. As Vokyl only has a team of two, we needed to get out as many different configurations as possible for feedback. Our main goal for the past couple weeks/months has been to ensure the Vokyl Erupt is the high quality gaming headset we set out to make in the beginning.

The Head-Fi tour and previously mentioned Z reviews tour units were only two of our samples we sent out; most feedback will not surface. We sent all units specifically for feedback, Zeos ended up loving what he experienced and spoke to us about making a video. Naturally, we agreed.

We're basing our final tuning off of what works, so negative feedback gets noted and changes are made. Positive feedback goes into final tuning. If something is going to be in our final product, we have no issue with it being made public. If something is not going into our final product, it should remain in our notes to avoid confusion.

Thanks for reaching out and don't hesitate with further questions!
 
Oct 18, 2018 at 11:49 AM Post #122 of 403
We're basing our final tuning off of what works, so negative feedback gets noted and changes are made. Positive feedback goes into final tuning. If something is going to be in our final product, we have no issue with it being made public. If something is not going into our final product, it should remain in our notes to avoid confusion.

Question: Once the "final" version is close to completion, will you be sending any units back out to people who originally reviewed the prototypes for comparison?

My concern is in the event things change radically from the prototypes.

For example, my purchase was based almost exclusively on Z's video review and his description of the soundstage and clarity. However, if the pads and driver positioning are now going to be different from what he originally reviewed, that could completely alter the soundstage and imaging, thus effectively creating a different headphone. Of course the only ones who can do any sort of comparison are those who also reviewed the prototypes.

In all candor, changing positioning/angle of the drivers concerns me. I'm frightened that what we will receive is not what was originally reviewed and prompted people's purchases.

I realize that this may be putting the cart before the horse at this stage, but given that these are nonreturnable purchases, I'm more concerned than I would be with a traditional off-the-shelf purchase from a retailer.

Thank you.
 
Oct 18, 2018 at 12:05 PM Post #123 of 403
Question: Once the "final" version is close to completion, will you be sending any units back out to people who originally reviewed the prototypes for comparison?

My concern is in the event things change radically from the prototypes.

For example, my purchase was based almost exclusively on Z's video review and his description of the soundstage and clarity. However, if the pads and driver positioning are now going to be different from what he originally reviewed, that could completely alter the soundstage and imaging, thus effectively creating a different headphone. Of course the only ones who can do any sort of comparison are those who also reviewed the prototypes.

In all candor, changing positioning/angle of the drivers concerns me. I'm frightened that what we will receive is not what was originally reviewed and prompted people's purchases.

I realize that this may be putting the cart before the horse at this stage, but given that these are nonreturnable purchases, I'm more concerned than I would be with a traditional off-the-shelf purchase from a retailer.

Thank you.

Hi @heavyharmonies

Thanks for reaching out! Given the overwhelmingly positive feedback from Z, we will be / are in further contact with him and using his sample to base our final adjustments on. So if you based your backing on his feedback, you will not be disappointed.

Thanks for backing and the questions!
 
Oct 18, 2018 at 2:46 PM Post #124 of 403
Hi @littleemp

(Terribly sorry for the delay, I'm out and about on a family vacation this week.)

Thanks for the questions and following our campaign! The driver, cups, headbands are all ready, the main tuning issue comes with the how we position drivers, the damping material inside the cup, and the pads. As stated, we sought out several different types of pads and sent them out on sample units, testing which received the most positive feedback. As Vokyl only has a team of two, we needed to get out as many different configurations as possible for feedback. Our main goal for the past couple weeks/months has been to ensure the Vokyl Erupt is the high quality gaming headset we set out to make in the beginning.

The Head-Fi tour and previously mentioned Z reviews tour units were only two of our samples we sent out; most feedback will not surface. We sent all units specifically for feedback, Zeos ended up loving what he experienced and spoke to us about making a video. Naturally, we agreed.

We're basing our final tuning off of what works, so negative feedback gets noted and changes are made. Positive feedback goes into final tuning. If something is going to be in our final product, we have no issue with it being made public. If something is not going into our final product, it should remain in our notes to avoid confusion.

Thanks for reaching out and don't hesitate with further questions!

I feel like your marketing material should do a better job at presenting the actual progress of the project. It reads like it's 100% ready for manufacturing and you just require the funds to play with the economies or scale.
 
Oct 18, 2018 at 3:46 PM Post #125 of 403
Yeah, it's strange why this headphone wasn't fully developed in-house, by the same people who did all of that headphone testing against what's on the market. If this is supposed to be a stellar audio company, who are the people working there that are actually designing & tweaking the headphone to be stellar..? Such a reliance/need for public testing is concerning/discouraging, as far as the raw sound of the headphones go. I'd rather have a thoroughly tested product, though, and the results of a headphone that are specifically about maximizing quality and NOT about having a branded house sound could certainly be great.
 
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Oct 18, 2018 at 4:54 PM Post #126 of 403
I think it's a good thing to have feedback on the prototypes, of course whoever is designing the headphones has to choose which feedback is valuable and how to improve the product based on that. And given that they sold a lot of headphones based on what Zeos said, I think it is a good idea to maintain the final product close to the one that was sent to him. Anyway I'm sure they'll try to make a good headphone.
 
Oct 18, 2018 at 8:17 PM Post #128 of 403
And given that they sold a lot of headphones based on what Zeos said, I think it is a good idea to maintain the final product close to the one that was sent to him.
Wouldn't quite agree with this. I see him reviewing these headphones for overall headphone sound, not specifically for game sound. I would not send gaming headphones to be reviewed by someone who is not specifically a competitive gamer. Obviously, sending it to him got the sales done, though. I see Zeus' primary target to be music, not games, which was what he talked about in ~95% of his video.

I quote, "Get a set of these if you like music. Period". Sorry, but forget about the music and non-gaming things, Z.
 
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Oct 20, 2018 at 7:24 AM Post #129 of 403
Wouldn't quite agree with this. I see him reviewing these headphones for overall headphone sound, not specifically for game sound. I would not send gaming headphones to be reviewed by someone who is not specifically a competitive gamer. Obviously, sending it to him got the sales done, though. I see Zeus' primary target to be music, not games, which was what he talked about in ~95% of his video.

I quote, "Get a set of these if you like music. Period". Sorry, but forget about the music and non-gaming things, Z.

Sorry i disagree, as hardcore gamers care more about stupid amounts of treble to hear footsteps a mile away than good quality balanced sound, I'm glad they are using zeos as a sort of benchmark for how to tune these as I also based my purchase solely on his review sample.

Also any chance we can get an eta on shipping?
 
Oct 20, 2018 at 9:29 AM Post #130 of 403
Sorry i disagree, as hardcore gamers care more about stupid amounts of treble to hear footsteps a mile away than good quality balanced sound, I'm glad they are using zeos as a sort of benchmark for how to tune these as I also based my purchase solely on his review sample.

Also any chance we can get an eta on shipping?

Just stop parroting Zeos. He's mentioned in several videos that he doesn't play competitively, and obviously neither do you. Footsteps are only one of many sound cues that are important to hear and locate. In Battlefield: Bad Company 2, I thrive on hearing opponents by the rustle of their uniform when they merely change their orientation, the flick when they switch from automatic fire to 40 mm grenade, when they switch from primary to secondary, when they reload, when they throw a motion sensor, and the impact of the motion sensor hitting the ground, the wall or objects. And many other subtle sound cues. An excessive amount of treble is almost as much of a detriment as extended and elevated sub-bass, it's detail overload and ****s with your mind, thinking you hear opponents that aren't there.
 
Oct 20, 2018 at 12:07 PM Post #131 of 403
gamers care more about stupid amounts of treble to hear footsteps a mile away than good quality balanced sound
That is the primary point, though; gaming headphones. With better overall quality than current ones(which is a pretty low bar). If you can't hear your enemy any better than with music-oriented headphones(with exceptions, like HD800), and cheap gaming headphones, then Erupt aren't successful at what they are supposed to do, IMO. But if this is simply supposed to be an affordable HD800, that's cool, but it's a bit of a different design & purpose.
 
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Oct 20, 2018 at 2:48 PM Post #132 of 403
There is so much misinformation in this thread, I'm now officially triggered enough to respond.
I won't quote anyone, but here are some important points.

- It doesn't matter if the headphone is intended for gaming or music - it's always the same formula; a headband, 2 electro-acoustic transducers, some plastic coconuts and a cable.
As long as the headphone is able to produce enough resolution (detail) and has even a half-arsed soundstage, it will be enough for gaming, music, movies or creepy ASMR hobbies.
All the stereo-DSP/positional audio is handled by the GAME SOFTWARE anyway.

- "Hardcore gamers" only blast up the treble because cheap gaming headsets don't have any to begin with.
Anyone who's ever heard a Razer Kraken will know what's up. Those are hot garbage, with a capital G. Mid-bass central.

If a headphone is just plain old good, it will be good at most things.
If a headphone is bad, then it will be bad at most things.
There will always be exceptions, outliers and anomalies, but since the Vokyl is going to be a full-sized, over-ear, dynamic-driver headphone/headset, with a promising frequency response (as posted in the very first post of the thread), the odds of it being good at most things are pretty high.
 
Oct 20, 2018 at 10:27 PM Post #133 of 403
It doesn't matter if the headphone is intended for gaming or music
Well, why are you here then, if not specifically for a gaming headphone, that's targeted to be better than the rest? Such a headphone MUST have certain traits, like A) excellent soundstage & imaging, B) above average treble detail/clarity, C) comfort for long-term use. The main issue/unknown is whether this headphone will end up being tuned more for hardcore or casual gaming.

All the stereo-DSP/positional audio is handled by the GAME SOFTWARE anyway.
What game software? This doesn't come with any, AFAIK. I don't use extra software, typically(since I don't own fake surround headphones).

If a headphone is just plain old good, it will be good at most things.
If a headphone is bad, then it will be bad at most things.
But here's the problem... It only has to be good for gaming. So this is a specific exception. The reason this headphone is being developed is because there is a gap that needs filled, because headphone makers aren't paying specific attention to these traits that make a better gaming phone. I am expecting it to be good, though. :)
 
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Oct 21, 2018 at 1:03 AM Post #135 of 403
Just stop parroting Zeos. He's mentioned in several videos that he doesn't play competitively, and obviously neither do you. Footsteps are only one of many sound cues that are important to hear and locate. In Battlefield: Bad Company 2, I thrive on hearing opponents by the rustle of their uniform when they merely change their orientation, the flick when they switch from automatic fire to 40 mm grenade, when they switch from primary to secondary, when they reload, when they throw a motion sensor, and the impact of the motion sensor hitting the ground, the wall or objects. And many other subtle sound cues. An excessive amount of treble is almost as much of a detriment as extended and elevated sub-bass, it's detail overload and ****s with your mind, thinking you hear opponents that aren't there.

I'm not parroting zeos i happen to share his opinion, I'll rephrase what i said though to be more accurate, hardcore gamers don't necessarily care about music quality is what i meant, I'm trying to get a headphone that can do both, sound really good for listening to music, but also give a nice spacious and lifelike sound in game. they have our money now. so now we wait and hope for the best.
 

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