Creative Sound Blaster Tactic3D Sigma Review

Gamers looking for a good immersive experience often depend on headphones over speakers. Speakers can be loud, but they're not as accurate as headphones can be, in an online multiplayer arena. Professional gamers also need a good microphone using which they can quickly signal to their teammates what their next move is going to be. With a speaker setup, there’s bound to be issues using a desktop microphone.

Creative, a brand known mostly for their sound cards in the past and recently for their multiple audio solutions for the mainstream audiences have launched a few products designed specifically for the gaming customer. The series of gaming headsets have been labeled Sound Blaster Tactic3D and the model we’re reviewing today is the Sigma.The Sound Blaster brand goes back more than two decades and it still lives today in the form of audio solutions. This is one of the newest products from that family.

Design and build quality

The first impression is that the Sigma is a very stylish headset. It looks way better than most mainstream headphones for music enthusiasts. The build is predominantly plastic with sturdy metal strips running deep inside the headband. There are a few, fairly sharp edges along the band, but nothing that will hurt you. 

Comfy padding at the top of the headset

The Sound Blaster branding has been engraved inside each of the cans. The sides are transparent and the SB logo can seen from outside. The cans rotate sideways, so packing them and carrying them with you is really easy. The frame itself seems sturdy, so there’s little chance of accidental damage. Most headsets and headphones have a thin layer of padding that sits on your head when you wear them. In this case, the sides have plastic, but the foam padding at the top is thin and it ensures that it fits on the top of the head fine. The sides don’t make contact with your head. 

A unique feature of the Sigma are the cables. The flat cables are less cumbersome and feel strong despite their weak appearance. The volume control unit is lightweight and has a clip-on feature. The earpads are of good quality and they just about manage to cover your ears fully.

Features

The Sigma is powered by 50mm neodymium drivers, which have a frequency range of 20Hz to 20kHz, as claimed by Creative. The cans have an impedance value of 32Ohms, which is pretty standard for headphones. This makes them easy to drive. The detachable microphone has a response of 80Hz to 14kHz. 

The DAC module that comes bundled with the Sigma

The Sigma can be used without a sound card, as it includes an external one that connects to your PC using USB. The contraption looks like a small USB extension cable with a microphone and headphone out on one side. Creative rates the module as THX ready setup. Personally, we’ve heard many standard compliant speakers and sound solutions, which are vastly different from each other. We’ll have to see how good the Sigma headphones really are with this module. 

The volume control and microphone control on the flat cord

The detachable microphone also uses a 3.5mm jack and fits into the headphone on the left can. The control module that hangs off the cable can be clipped on to your shirt. It has a volume dial and a microphone-mute control as well. Remember that the cables also carry the audio input signal from the microphone.