Review | Kotion Each G2000 Gaming Headphones

There are many different sorts of headphones out there. Needless to say, not all are built equally. Some look good but perform horribly. Others look a little badly made but perform pretty well, to say the least. Priced at around Rs. 1499 ($ 22), the Kotion Each G2000 is one of the former. What these headphones lack in looks and aesthetics, they certainly make up for in audio quality. Furthermore, they seem to be quite a durable pair of gaming headphones for their given price range.

The Kotion Each G2000

First Impressions

At a first glance, the Kotion Each G2000 seemed to be quite the spectacle. It was well designed with quirky colours and voluminous foam pads. Even the weight was rather heavy. It wasn't the best ever pair of headphones out there, but it had it's strange aesthetic appeal nonetheless. This certain pair of headphones also had a rather heavy weight to it which was rather surprising given the construction quality of the headphones themselves. It seemed to be pretty decent overall. Now to test out what all it is capable of.

Kotion in Motion

For those who are new to the brand, Kotion is a Chinese brand devoted exclusively to making Gaming headsets. They started out their journey in the recent year of 2006, and have come quite far since then, selling gaming headphones internationally across the seven seas. They seem to make quite a variety of gaming headphones, each with their own signature looks and designs which are difficult to find elsewhere. There are also many themed headphones available which make the company all the more interesting to get to know.

The Kotion Each branding on the inline controls

Apparently, all headphones from Kotion must pass a routine test of quality assurance which is designed to ensure that their headphones don't break or malfunction under stress, or when mistreated. These tests include everything from dropping these headphones, to swinging them with 3 Kg weights attached to them, or even coating the pins with salt and checking up on the levels of corrosion. I personally found Kotion to be quite an interesting brand. You can find out more about Kotion using this link.

The Kotion Logo on each side of the Each G2000

Technical Specifications

Techs are specs, but they don't really make headphones. In fact, you can find two headphones with practically the same specs and they can both sound completely different. However, since nothing is complete without Technical Specifications, here they are:

Driver unit: 50mm. A huge pair of headphones with a huge driver unit. This might mean some good, resounding bass as well as a good soundstage.

Impedance: 320Ohm. These headphones have an impedance as large as their size. Forget about playing them on your portable device! The fact that it has three pins also enforces that.

Frequency Range: 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz. Nothing out of the ordinary. Some extreme ends of the Bass might be missing, but that frequency is rarely found if ever.

Closed Back: These headphones are closed back headphones. This signifies a smaller soundstage, but suitable amounts of Noise Isolation. Good for gaming!

All in all, the Kotion Each G2000 seems to be quite a pair of headphones on paper apart from the fact that they literally can't be played anywhere except for a personal computer. Let's see what the rest is really like.

Physical Specifications

The Kotion Each G2000 has some positive traits, and some negative. It's hard to tell which trumps the other, but it is easy to determine the positive from the negative. While they may look awkward, they do look quite good. Their high level of impedance is quite unnerving combined with their three port input system, but it still plays pretty well for a pair of gaming headphones. Before we get ahead of ourselves here, let's take a look at their physical characteristics.

Looks

The Kotion Each G2000 are, sure enough, quite the funky pair of headphones. They have got a very specific gamer like style to them which looks quite good when hooked up to a PC but doesn't look as stylish otherwise. The headphones are made of moderate grade plastic. The headbands have a matte finish to them with a pattern along the centre. The extension clips are made of metal and can extend or retract for a more comfortable fit. The top pad is coloured with a sombre shade of cyan which is oddly pleasing to the eyes. The sides bear the Kotion logo along with meshed cups in the inside, which are also quite aesthetically pleasing. The innards of the headphones carry their accent colour, which in this case is cyan. The wires are quite thick and seem to be made out of cyan and black coloured cloth. The wire is attached to the headphones using a strip of flexible rubber for added protection. Finally, the sides of the headphones are affixed with LED lighting which lights up when plugged in and gives these headphones a halo of coolness.

All in all, the Kotion Each G2000 looks like quite a groovy pair of headphones. Although, it may not pass off as the coolest pair if you're wearing them outside, they would surely look cool hooked up to a PC, or in a gaming fest. After all, that is where these headphones are meant to be used. The colour combinations used are pleasant to the eyes and compliment each other quite well while maintaining a pop to their presence and giving off an aura of coolness. Naturally, this pair of headphones looks coolest when plugged in and all the lights are on.

The Kotion Each G2000 with LED lights on

Looks: 3.5/5

Meant for use solely with a PC

Comfort

Despite its sheer size and weight, wearing the Kotion Each G2000 is a really comfortable experience. With foam pads on the top and on the ear pads are a snug fit. The woven mesh inside the ear cups ensures that it doesn't tear apart over time and get scattered. The adjustable clips on the side are firm, but rather sensitive and provide an ideal fit for most skulls. These headphones, despite being heavy, don't really put much pressure on the skull and are ideal for long terms of usage. I had initially thought that because these headphones are Circumaural, they might be a little difficult to wear over time, but that is not the case. Neither do they accumulate heat from prolonged usage. When it comes to comfort, these headphones leave nothing to be desired. In fact, they feel feather light once placed on the head.

Padding and woven mesh on the ear cups of the Kotion Each G2000

Comfort: 5/5

Built for heavy-duty gaming

Portability

Like all other gaming headphones, the Kotion Each G2000 fails utterly when it comes to portability. The sheer size and volume of these headphones make it night impossible to carry or pack while leaving much room for anything else. The fact that these headphones cannot be folded only adds to that. They'll just take too much space in your baggage no matter how or where you put them. To make matters even worse, Kotion decides to use a three pin input system for this pair of headphones which makes it more or less useless for most modern mobile devices including laptops seeing how most devices have adopted the single I/O jack. These headphones are crafted specifically to be used indoors, hooked up to a stationary PC, much like most other gaming headphones. Why they don't make portable gaming headphones is still beyond my understanding when they have already built gaming laptops and tablets for the same purpose, but as things stand right now, this pair of headphones is completely stationary. It is not portable in the least.

The top view of the Kotion Each G2000

Portability: 0/5

It's a rock.

Durability

If anything, the Kotion Each G2000 is durable, to say the least. These headphones not only look funky, but they are also very sturdy. They have a solid frame capable of withstanding quite an amount of impact. Even though these headphones lack any form of joints, except for the sliding adjustable clips, they are very, very sturdy. The headphones are heavy and that is indicative of the quality of the inner mechanism and the quality of their encasing. The ear cups are not easy to destroy and the wire is made of woven cloth. As if that wasn't secure enough, all the wire joints, such as near the inline controls, the headphones, and the jacks are reinforced with solid, flexible rubber which even your dog will have a hard time chewing through. And as if all that wasn't enough, Kotion had to go through all the rigorous quality testing procedures just to prove that these headphones can put up with practically anything thrown at them. I know most people have been disappointed with the durability Chinese products throughout most of their lives, but the Kotion Each G2000 seems to be a different case altogether.

Durability: 5/5

As durable as a rock. Still a rock, though.

Functional Specification

The Kotion Each G2000 comes with a few functional specification disasters. But, at least they tried, which counts more than the actual results... Or perhaps not.

Inline Controls

The Kotion Each G2000 comes with a few inline controls to help you control your gaming experience. The beautifully designed inline controls module is shaped in the form of a bar with sloping edges leaning towards one side. It bears the Kotion logo on it along with an LED indicator which glows when the mic is recording, a volume control, and Mic On/Off switch. To be honest, that is all you can expect from a pair of gaming headphones, but overall in the grand view of things, the inline controls are lacking and could have been greatly improved.

The Inline Controls on the Kotion Each G2000

Inline Controls: 2/5

Three pins I/O system

The Kotion Each G2000 comes with a three-pin I/O jack system. One pin is coloured green and is intended for Audio output. One 3.5mm jack is coloured Pink and is meant for Audio input or the mic. The last one is a USB plug which is responsible for the lighting on the pair of cans. Although the three do act very well together, it is still a very outdated and unreliable method of connecting to a PC. This not only essentially limits the devices to which it can be used with by completely ruling out portable devices and other modern laptops, it severely hinders the compatibility with other devices as well simply because of the fact that it is hogging up most of the I/O and USB ports. While the lighting may have required a USB plug, it wasn't all that necessary. Many gaming headphones which have lights do not use an additional USB port to function. And if these headphones were going to use a USB port, why not just integrate the Audio I/O into the USB port itself? This was a move by Kotion which made these headphones highly unreliable.

Three pin Plug system of the Kotion Each G2000

I/O system: 2/5

Poorly engineered

The Microphone

The Microphone on the Kotion Each G2000 is a splendid piece of work. It can sufficiently catch all you wish to say with crystal clear clarity and play it back just the same. The mic even works on background noise cancellation, although it isn't the best that is available. I'd recommend using some third party software for background noise cancellation even though the inbuilt features are more than sufficient for the express purposes of gaming and communication. The mic has been well made, which is quite a boost for Kotion as a brand.

Microphone: 4/5

Sound Quality

The Kotion Each G2000 are a pair of gaming headphones, and hence, tend to sound a little awkward. But once you get used to the way they sound, you'll realise that they aim to improve communications by altering the loudness of emergent frequencies and remove all the unnecessary clutter which might also interfere with your communication. And that is precisely what is essential to gaming.

Highs

The Kotion Each G2000 doesn't have treble which is worth bragging about. It can produce high frequencies pretty well, but it tends to get more and more garbled the more saturated it gets. If you're searching for clarity in the highs, you'd be better off look elsewhere. The highs also get progressively less and less loud the farther they progress from the mids. There is NO trace of any treble to even begin with distinguishing between them. Any treble which you may find is too low to actually enjoy or pick up on. At least, it produces highs, but it requires much more improvement.

Highs: 1/5

Mids

The Kotion Each G2000 excels when it comes to the Mids. The headphones have been practically optimised for mids, to effectively increase the vocal ranges, and emphasise on communication clarity. The mids are crisp and clear. Each and every note is clear, and easily differentiable. These headphones came with one purpose in mind, to enable communications, and that is exactly what they have excelled at. These headphones are simply brilliant when it comes to the mids.

Mids: 5/5

Lows

The bass in the Kotion Each G2000 is nothing to boast about, but it is still good as compared to the treble. The headphones can manage to produce a thump to the bass, but as far as the punchiness is concerned, it does leave something to be desired. The bass is similar to the treble in the fact that the loudness fades away as and when we move away from the mids. The bass lacks all form of sustain necessary, so don't expect a vibrating hum to the bass when you put on this pair of headphones. It is ideal for most purposes of gaming, but as far as sound is concerned, the bass is quite lacking.

Lows: 3/5

Soundstage

The Kotion Each G2000 come with a narrow soundstage which is probably due to the fact that it is a closed back model, but more so because of the sound engineering in this pair of cans. The soundstage has been engineered to resemble a mountain which rises from the lows to the mids and falls from the mids to highs. The soundstage seems to quite loud near the mids which emanate from the headphones themselves, but it keeps reducing as it proceeds towards the extremes. There isn't much scope for dynamics to be involved either, and it essentially clears out any tiny sounds which might be essential, in music such as Jazz and Classical, or in various aspects of Gaming as well.

Soundstage: 2.5/5

Noise Isolation

The Kotion Each G2000 does quite a good job of noise isolation with its closed back model and the soft foam pads which sit comfortably on your ears to seal any noise from outside sources. It essentially enables you to play your video games in peace pretty much wherever you may be. Except, you can't carry these headphones anywhere, let alone use them in many places.

Noise Isolation: 4/5

Overall Sound Quality

The Kotion Each G2000 is a very typical pair of headphones which is focussed more on communication clarity than actual gaming experience and immersion. These headphones won't make you feel like you're in a game actually playing it, but rather that you'll be able to communicate pretty well with your teammates or insult your opponents. Either way, it isn't so good as a pair of gaming headphones either because of its lack of immersion.

Overall Sound Quality: 3.1/5

Conclusion

The Kotion Each G2000 is a pair of headphones with quite a lot of positives as well as drawbacks. It has quite a lot of attractive physical features, but it grossly lacks what headphones are supposed to do: produce sound. These headphones look awkwardly stylish and are not only very comfortable but also very durable. On the other hand, they have severe portability issues, as you might as well carry around a piece of rock because you can't listen to music or talk using these headphones on the go anyway owing to two primary reasons, the foremost being that it uses a three source I/O stream with one pin for Input and one pin for Output, and the second reason being that even if you manage to find a suitable platform to use these headphones, chances are that the 320 Ohm of impedance will not let you use them. Not only that, these headphones are optimised more for clarity of vocals, and stress quite highly on communication, rather than providing a more immersive experience which video games are all about. Sad to say, these headphones don't quite live up to their names as Gaming Headphones and should rather be rebranded as Communication Headphones. While they are available at a low price of Rs. 1499 ($22), they still aren't worth the price to pay unless you're willing to buy these headphones for the sole purposes of looking uber cool while wearing them. You can get much better products out there in the same price range.

The final verdict: 3.08/5