The Onikuma II Stereo Gaming Headset

I’ve reviewed headphones in the past for GeekDad, and one thing I’ve always said and I’ll say it again — I’m not an audiophile. I’m not an expert in the hardware that goes into a good sounding rig for gaming or just watching a movie. For me, it either sounds good… or it doesn’t. I won’t be tossing details such as Sensitivity Range or Impedance or Frequency Range. (I’ll give them to you below, but they’re coming straight from the side of the box!)

In my house, it used to be that I was the only one who wore headphones. My wife doesn’t like wearing them, and my boys were too young for gaming or listening to playlists. But that’s changed. I’ve now got two all-star gamers (in their own opinions) who game on an Xbox and iPad and computer… and sometimes all at once. I was asked by Onikuma if I’d like to try out their new Onikuma II Stereo Gaming Headset. I told them I’d like to, but that I had two boys who would probably never let me get a moment’s chance to try them out. I was almost right.

True story. When the gaming headphones arrived and I unboxed it, my boys actually argued for over 10 minutes on who would get to try them out first. We flipped a coin. 11 year old won. 8 year old stormed off. Some possible side-of-box quotes for you:

11 year old: “Those are awesome!”

——

8 year old: “They’re mine. I carried the box in.” (He did.)

——

Me: “What do you think?” (Later, after about an hour of play.)

11 year old: “Huh?”

Me: “What do you think of the headphones?”

11 year old: “WHAT!?”

Me: “Take them off!”

11 year old: “I couldn’t hear you!”

Me: “What. Do. You. Think?”

11 year old: “They sound good. You’re gonna get me killed!”

——

Me: “Do they sound good?”

8 year old: “…”

Me: “Take them off.” (International gesture for taking headphones off.)

8 year old: “Huh?”

Me: “Do you like them?”

8 year old: “Yeah.” (Puts them back on.)

——

Okay, so kids are probably not the best for helping me evaluate the quality of many types of products… and headphones are now on that list. But once they were back in school and I had a few moments to test them out myself, I did. And I can tell you with 100% honesty that the headphones are now MINE. I played a game of Bioshock Infinite. Loved the deep sound quality, and these things REALLY are difficult to hear someone trying to talk to you. They’re not noise-cancelling, but the ear cups are well-insulated and large enough to cover my adult ears and I did have trouble hearing anything other than the game.

Music? I plugged them into my iPad and the sound quality is great. They are a bit deep (more bass?) than my existing pair, so some songs that don’t have a lot of bass didn’t sound bad… I just had to crank up the volume a bit. Not sure if there’s a technical term for that or not… but it didn’t take away from my music.

As for gaming… I don’t play multiplayer computer games much… really hardly ever. But I do a lot of FaceTime with my parents and friends and my wife when she travels, and the microphone (according to those who were hearing my voice) was of good quality with no popping or fading. The mute button on the control pad works great, as does the dial volume control. And the cable is covered in a heavy-duty cloth… almost like a boot shoelace. Bendy but obviously very durable and unlikely to break or rip open.

I’m more into function than form, but I will admit the things look incredibly cool. The blue-on-black graphics look amazing, and the padding on the cups and the part that wraps over your head… very comfortable and soft.

Would I pay $29 for a pair? Absolutely. (And I’ve spent more than that on a standard pair of just headphones/no-mic that didn’t sound as good.) Again, I’m not an audiophile, so maybe there are things I should be testing or evaluating, but all I know is… they sound good and my boys are still fighting over them. They have the standard Xbox headphones/mic and it really does look like a pair of coasters and a pipe cleaner compared to the Onikuma II.

Thumbs up, Onikuma. We’re keeping them, and I’ll be buying a second pair to keep the peace.

Oh, yeah… I owe you some stats:

Speaker impedance: 32 ohms

Sensitivity: 108dB +/- 3dB

Frequency range: 20Hz-20KHz

Microphone: 6.0MM

Mic Sensitivity: -38dB +/- 3dB

Frequency Range: 100Hz-16KHz

Impedance: 2.2K

Works with Nintendo Switch (audio),Nintendo New 3DS LL/3DS (audio), Nintendo 3DS LL/3DS (audio), Windows PC, Mac OS PC, IOS device, Android device, PS4, PS vita, PSP and Xbox One. One year warranty.