All told, the Chimaera feels like a solid product that wasn't exactly executed to perfection -- the large, bulky design turned us off right away, and the shoddy 3.5mm input didn't do much to rebuild that lost confidence.

The stereo Chimaeras overpromise, I think. Their bulk is somewhat off-putting, and sound is a mixed bag — good for games, a little too bottom-heavy for music. For an all-purpose PC headset, I’m not convinced it’s worth the $130, though it’s more in its element leaning back on the couch...

At $199.99, the Chimaera 5.1 is hardly cheap, and with no chat support for platforms other than the Xbox 360, it's aimed at a very specific audience of Xbox 360-only online gamers or those who forgo online communication across all platforms.