Today we’re going to check out Boat Immortal IM1000D gaming headset, and we’re also going to compare it with two other headsets from JBL, and EKSA, because these are the headphones that I have recommended as the best value gaming headsets in this price range of 2500 rs.
UNBOXING
Inside the box of the Boat Immortal IM1000D, you get some papers, along with some very good instructions on how to Install the Dolby software, then you get a removable boom microphone, before reaching to the headset itself.
DESIGN
The IM1000D is designed with a surprisingly good taste, it does resemble some other gaming headsets, but it still manages to look great, especially in this white color, and I am really glad that they had the sense to go with gray earpads and headband, instead of a white color.
It’s build quality is also pretty good, and despite its light weight, it feels strong. The red braided cable on the white version also looks nice and feels strong.
The earcups on it tilt very well, and even though it doesn’t have any swivel adjustment, its earcups still manage to adjust properly to your head.
The earpads on it do have a budget feeling to them, but they’re still soft enough, and have good space for your ears. They don’t seem to be removable, but that’s also the case with many other headphones in this range.
The headset actually has two microphones on it, and in addition to the removable boom mic that can be adjusted, it also has an in-built mic which works when you remove the boom mic, which is a pretty thoughtful addition here.
You get a very light weight control box with this, which has 5 buttons, and you can use these to control volume, mute the headset, mute the mic, or to switch the RGB LED on or off.
Speaking of RGB LEDs, Boat really took the wording literally, and the headset has Red, Green and Blue color LEDs that keeps changing without any transitions, and you can only turn this on or off, and you can’t control it’s brightness, or make it stay at one of these colors.
I really think that having just one color on this would’ve been way better, because it really makes this headphone feel cheap in this area, and it doesn’t match the goodness it has in other parts.
COMFORT
Coming to its comfort, the IM1000D is quite comfortable. It is very light in weight, and the earpads are nice, so you can definitely wear it for long periods. The headband adjustment has a very good range, and once you put this on your head, it stays fixed on the size that you adjust it to, the metal yokes on this also do add to the feel of quality.
CONNECTIVITY
But one really big issue with the Boat IM1000D is that it only has USB connectivity, boat says that these are made exclusively for PC gaming and that’s why this is the case, but every other gaming headphone that I have tested with USB connectivity also includes connectivity with a 3.5mm jack, because the drivers are already there, so there’s no reason to not include that connection.
This means that you cannot use these with anything that doesn’t have a USB port, even if your phone has a headphone jack, you will have to use a USB adapter to use these.
This also means that if you have a dedicated DAC and amp, that can offer a better sound quality, you won’t be able to take advantage of that, and this really made this comparison very difficult for me, because I use a 1.75 Lakh rs. DAC Amp combo to test all headphones so that there isn’t a bottleneck, but the Boat headphone cannot be plugged into this, so I had to test all the other headphones with my PC’s uncomfortably placed headphone jack to make this a fair comparison. This is extremely ironic for a company that has ‘Plug into Nirvana’ as its tagline, as you literally cannot plug this into a good sound source.
The quality of the microphones on the Boat headset is actually really great, and I think it sounds a little better than JBL, the EKSA 900 Pro also has a mic that is also as good as boat, but the great thing about Boat is that it’s inbuilt mic is also very good, so you may not need to plug in the boom mic in many cases.
DOLBY ATMOS
A highlight feature of the Boat headphone is that it comes with Dolby Atmos for headphones, and after you install the app according to the instructions given in manual, you will be able to enable it and experience it in supported games and video content.
So I tested what difference Dolby Atmos makes, and long story short, it doesn’t make that big of a difference, especially on these headphones where you have very budget drivers. So you can play around with it to check how it sounds, but it’s not a feature that adds value to these in my opinion. You can’t get a 7.1 channel surround sound experience with 2 drivers, and most of these headphones have software that tries to do that, including Boat, but all of them only manage to make the sound worse.
By the way, do give this video a thumbs up if you’re finding it to be helpful.
SOUND QUALITY
Finally coming to the sound quality, the Boat Immortal is again quite better than what I was expecting. It’s sound signature is pretty balanced, and budget headphones often sound muffled because they have overpowering bass and low quality treble, but that is not the case with the Boat headset, and it does have clarity in its sound.
The bass on it is kind of lacking, which is something that I personally don’t mind, but this is definitely not for bass heads, or even for people who want to enjoy music which depends on bass to sound good. The JBL Quantum sounds very similar in character to the Boat headphone, as it also sounds clear, but it has less than neutral bass, but it still manages to sound better than the Boat Immortal because of the better range and separation in its soundstage, and it has an overall refinement and definition in its sound.
The EKSA E900 Pro sounds very different from Boat and JBL, as it has more emphasis in its bass, and the treble on it doesn’t sound as clear as the other headphones, but even though the bass on it is boosted, EDM tracks on it do sound better than the other two headphones, and if you can use an equalizer, then you can really tune it to sound pretty good. Still though, I won’t say that it delivers an overall better sound quality than the other two headphones, it just depends on whether you want a more bass heavy headphone with the EKSA, or a more clear sounding headphone that somewhat lacks in the bass region with the other two choices.
The soundstage on the Boat headset is kind of wide, but the range of it is not great, so even though sounds on it can feel distant, it doesn’t allow things to sound close to your ears. So for gaming, this will be fine, but I think that the JBL Quantum 100 is an overall better headphone here.
The JBL Headphone doesn’t have a USB DAC/Amp like the boat, which doesn’t make any difference for me, but the USB connectivity does cost extra, so Boat does have a more limited budget for its drivers compared JBL, so it’s not a surprise to me that the JBL headphone sounds better.
CONCLUSION
So overall, in isolation, the Boat Immortal 1000D is actually a good overall package, and I am quite surprised at how in spite of all the celebrity endorsements, Boat is still able to deliver a very competitive product. All three of these headphones are actually good choices, and you won’t go wrong with any of them.
The biggest flaw with the Boat headphone for me is that it lacks analog connectivity, but if you’re only going to use this on your PC, then I don’t think that would matter to you.
The EKSA E900 Pro is still an overall better choice in my opinion, but that’s only if you value removable cable, replaceable earpads, better controls on the headset, analog connectivity, and the better comfort that it offers. It does have better bass, but you will be sacrificing on some clarity in the treble.
One thing I just noticed after making this video is that the price of Eksa E900 Pro has been increased to around 3500 Rs., when I had received it, it was around 2700 to 2800 rs., but now it’s more expensive, so the Boat headphone is offering a better value for money.
The JBL Quantum 100 would also be something that I would lean more towards if I had to buy one of these, but it’s mic doesn’t sound as good as Boat, and it doesn’t even come with an adapter for splitting its combo audio jack so you will have to add around 100 rs. To its price tag, and buy that separately, which sucks.
But one thing that I can say for sure, is that I don’t think that people who are going to buy the Boat Immortal IM1000D are going to be disappointed, it does deliver well in most areas, and apart from tacky looking RGB, it is a good product.
⭐ Buy Boat Immortal IM1000D: https://amzn.to/3kPKtEb
⭐ Buy JBL Quantum 100: https://amzn.to/316X7Vf
➡ Review: https://youtu.be/S14Xbu2PNUY
⭐ Buy EKSA E900 Pro: https://amzn.to/34yTOYs
➡ Review: https://youtu.be/rLVH4HvXnew
⭐ Buy EKSA E900: https://amzn.to/2G8aBrU
⭐ Buy OneOdio A71 (better option if you don’t need boom mic): https://amzn.to/2VaSp7T