EKSA E900 Pro Wired Gaming Headphone

Two people can buy the same EKSA E900 Pro wired gaming headset and get two different products. On a Windows PC with the vendor’s own driver installed, the headset runs 7.1 virtual surround through EKSA’s SoundBase software. On a Mac, according to EKSA’s own download page, the 7.1 driver will not install at all — the headset still works, but it works as a stereo headset using its built-in sound. That single sentence decides whether this is the right purchase, and it is not on the box. The rest of the decision is about where the headset will be plugged in and what the machine at the other end can do.

(Last modified date: October 2, 2026)

What is the EKSA E900 Pro, and what does 7.1 actually mean here?

A wired stereo headset with a software layer that virtualises surround sound on Windows.

The headset itself is a wired device with dual chamber drivers, a detachable cardioid microphone and replaceable cloud-soft ear cushions, and EKSA lists multi-platform support for the hardware. The 7.1 part is not a set of seven speakers. It is EKSA’s SoundBase software processing a stereo signal into a simulated positional field. That distinction matters because the processing is the part that depends on the operating system, and it is the part most buyers assume is built into the headset.

Which machine will this headset be plugged into?

Four common cases, and only one of them gives you everything the headset can do.

Setup	What you get	What to check first
Windows 10 or 11 desktop or laptop	The full feature set, including the 7.1 virtual surround via the EKSA SoundBase driver	That the driver for the E900 Pro is installed from EKSA’s own download page before the headset is judged
Windows 8	Stereo only	EKSA states that the E900 Pro driver does not work on Windows 8, so the surround feature is not available on that system
macOS	Stereo with the headset’s built-in sound effect	EKSA states the 7.1 driver is Windows-only; the built-in effect still works on a Mac
Console or phone over the wired connection	Stereo audio and microphone, subject to the console’s own settings	Whether the console routes game audio to the headset jack and whether the manufacturer’s software exists for that platform

Read the download page before you buy, not after. A customer who expected simulated surround on a Mac and received a stereo headset is a return that had nothing to do with the build quality of the product.

What does the driver change about how the headset sounds?

Positioning, mostly, rather than tone.

Stereo audio on a gaming headset already tells you left from right; what virtual surround adds is a front-to-back and above-and-below cue, which is what a player uses to place footsteps and gunfire without looking. That is the argument for running the driver on a gaming PC, where the machine can afford the processing, and it is also the reason a headset judged without the driver installed always loses the comparison.

Two related faults reach repair counters and are worth ruling out before blaming the headset. A microphone that is not working is often the plug and adapter rather than the boom, and checking the plug and adapter first takes a minute. A headset that connects but produces no sound from one source is usually an audio routing setting, which is the same diagnosis as Bluetooth earbuds that connect but stay silent.

What should a buyer ask before ordering?

• Written confirmation of the operating systems the surround driver supports, and the version of that driver.
• Whether the microphone is detachable and whether a replacement boom is available as a spare part.
• Whether replacement ear cushions are sold separately, because they are the first thing to wear out.
• The warranty length and what it covers — cable and connector faults are the common failures on a wired headset.
• Confirmation that the retailer will accept a return if the driver does not install on the customer’s system, and within what window.

These are answerable questions for any supplier that holds the product, and they convert a specification argument into a documented one.

Is the price the deciding factor?

Only after the platform has been decided.

A wired headset in this class competes on value: the specification is fixed, the driver is a free download, and the difference between retailers is carriage and after-sales. Work the total openly. If the headset is £40 and free UK shipping applies on qualifying orders, the delivered cost is the number to compare, not the sticker. If a customer is choosing between this and a wireless headset, the honest framing is that this one has no battery to age, no pairing to drop and no charging cable to forget, and in exchange it has a cable that will eventually be the first thing to fail.

Why does the 7.1 surround driver only work on Windows?

Because the surround effect is software running on the computer, not hardware built into the headset.

The headset itself is a stereo device: two drivers, a microphone and a cable. What EKSA calls 7.1 is its SoundBase software processing a stereo signal into a simulated positional field, and that processing has to run somewhere. On Windows it runs on the PC, which is why the page that documents it is a driver download rather than a specification of the headset. On a Mac or a console there is no equivalent software layer, so the headset operates as what it physically is.

Three consequences follow, and all three are worth knowing before the sale rather than after:

• The driver is the product on a Windows PC. A headset judged without the driver installed has not been tested — it has been tested as a stereo headset.
• Platform support is documented, not implied. EKSA states that the 7.1 driver works only on Windows systems, not Mac, and that the E900 Pro driver does not work on Windows 8 either.
• The hardware still works everywhere. On any platform the headset plays audio and the microphone works; what changes is the processing, not the driver.

What should you check when a wired headset arrives?

Five checks, and two of them are only possible in the first few minutes.

• The cable and plug. A wired headset’s most likely failure is the cable joint, so flex the cable where it enters the plug and the earcup while something is playing.
• The detachable microphone. Seat it, listen, then unseat and reseat it. A cardioid microphone that crackles usually has a socket problem rather than a capsule problem.
• Both channels. Play a stereo test and confirm left and right are not reversed and neither is silent.
• The cushions. Check the stitching and the foam before the headset is used, because the cushions are the first part to wear.
• The driver. Install it and confirm the surround panel appears, on the platform the buyer will actually use.

What to ask the supplier for is short: the driver download page, the list of operating systems it supports, whether replacement cushions and a spare boom are sold separately, and the warranty length on the cable and connector. A headset with documented spare parts is a headset that lasts longer than its first cable.

How do you fix a microphone that has not worked since it was unboxed?

Work from the plug outwards, because the fault is usually outside the headset.

1. Check the plug and any adapter. A TRRS plug in a TRS socket, or a cheap splitter, gives audio without a microphone. Adapter faults are the most common cause of a “dead” headset microphone, and the checks are set out in the plug and adapter guide.
2. Check the input device on the computer. Windows and macOS both allow the wrong input to be selected, and a headset that works in one app and not another is a routing problem.
3. Check the physical mute. Most boom microphones have an inline mute switch or a mute position on the boom itself.
4. Check the console or phone settings. A console routes game audio to the controller or the console’s own output, and the headset has to be selected as the input device.
5. Then condemn the microphone. If a second device and a second cable both fail, the microphone or its socket is the fault, and it is a warranty conversation rather than a settings one.

What are the limits of the 3.5 mm connection?

Two, and both matter more than they used to.

One plug has to carry both audio and microphone. That is what a four-pole TRRS plug does, and it is why the adapter on the end matters: a phone or tablet that expects the microphone on a different pole will give sound and no microphone. Where the phone has no headphone socket at all, the adapter becomes the whole connection, and the choices are covered in choosing a USB-C to 3.5 mm adapter.

There is no battery to charge and no pairing to break, which is the argument for a wired headset over a wireless one: nothing to age. The trade is a cable, which is the part that will eventually fail — and a cable is a cheaper consumable than a battery.

What should the warranty cover?

Cable and connector faults, and the buyer’s rights survive the retailer’s policy.

A wired headset fails in one of three places: the cable joint, the microphone socket, or the drivers. The first two are the common ones, and both are goods sold to a consumer, which puts them under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 rather than at the retailer’s discretion. Keep the packaging and the order confirmation until the return window has passed, test the headset properly in the first week, and photograph a fault before sending anything back. The same discipline applies to any accessory that fails early, and it is the reason the checks above are worth doing on the day the box arrives rather than the week the audio stops.

References

• EKSA: E900 Pro 7.1 virtual surround sound gaming headset — the manufacturer’s feature list.
• EKSA: 7.1 surround sound driver downloads — the platform limits on the driver, including the Windows-only restriction and the Windows 8 exception.