ROCCAT’s latest headset is part of the growing AIMO illumination family, all designed for gamers and PC users who love good technology that has that extra flair of colour. It’s also an improvement over our previously reviewed Khan Pro headset.

The premium headset builds upon the strengths of its predecessor, the Khan Pro, by boasting high quality 50mm drivers capable of Hi-Res audio, pushing out 7.1 surround audio up to 24-bit at 96KHz, thanks to the integrated sound card, while remaining light to wear and feeling comfortable.

Roccat’s ‘Swarm’ app, which covers all its products, handles the virtual surround system with no need for a full surround card in the PC itself. It also handles the lighting (which I’ll get on to), voice affects, mic level and volume, though the volume can also be controlled from the headset.

The headset features a black plastic headband lined with a soft memory foam cushioning underneath, to rest on the head for long gaming sessions. Stainless-steel sliders run around this and ensure durability while providing good reach for larger heads, though the headset also remains very light. The ear cups are lined with a leatherette Memory foam and even after many hours, they still felt comfortable. The braided cable is pretty long, too, which may be of use when the PC hardware is tucked away. It’s worth noting that this is USB only, which is unsurprising given the gaming focus and need to drive the audio hardware onboard the Khan Aimo itself.

If you’ve read the review of the Kahn Pro, then you’ll already know that I support the sound quality of these Roccat headsets because it’s more than matched here. No surprise, going by the Hi-Res logo, which is a certified mark for quality. The bonus is that aforementioned 7.1 driver which really does work to bring games (and other media) to life. The effect a good surround system can have on a game is immense and the Kahn Aimo is an excellent tool for gaming, just as it is for sitting down to watch a film that makes good use of spacial audio. Watch The Matrix or Inception on these and you’ll feel closer to the film. Even listening to music, the notes in the midrange and the bass are distinctive and clear. The sound on offer here will not disappoint.

The Khan AIMO also features the new Aimo lighting system which can sync across all the range. On the headset, this relates to a small square just under the sliders and a longer strip towards the back of each ear cup. I must admit it’s slightly more under pronounced than I was initially expecting, but this is a good thing as it doesn’t make the headset look cheap or gaudy. The light effect is perfect under darker conditions and particularly when matched with the mouse and keyboard options that can follow the same light patterns, synced with the Swarm software. It can produce a staggering 16.8 million colours, with pre-set combinations and many user controlled sequences. The Swarm drivers also handle sound quality and equalisation, pretty much everything you need for a headset without wondering off to other apps to tweak settings.

It seems that Roccat have improved on the Kahn Pro in every way and the 7.1 support on this headset has really impressed me to the point of wondering if the Roccat Kahn Aimo is possibly the best gaming and media headset I’ve ever used on my PC.