Vokyl Erupt: Gaming Audio Redefined

Vokyl is a gaming audio brand passionate about high quality sound. We’ve seen up close the attention to detail audio engineers put into titles, and we are bringing the same dedication to our first headset, Erupt. With Erupt, Vokyl delivers a ready-to-play analog solution for immersive experiences, competitive gaming, and clear chat. No LEDs. No digital frills. Only the accurate, crystal clear sound that for years has been missing from mainstream gaming audio products. 

We believe gamers should be able to use their console and PC features to the fullest without compromising their preferences or making hardware modifications. By making Erupt analog we put you, the listener, in control of your sound. 

Vokyl focuses on quality above all else. Designed, machined, and assembled in St. Louis, Missouri, Erupt, with its CNC-milled aluminum chassis, is the new gold standard in build quality and dependability. 

Why The Erupt?

Success through Simplicity

The user experience should be as simple and straightforward as possible, providing the best clarity and sound with minimal interference. By not altering the signal with DSPs or active circuity, Erupt preserves the gameplay sound the title’s engineers carefully designed. If desired, a 3D software option of your choosing can be added, but we wanted to keep that choice for you, the listener.

Before we decided to build Erupt, we spent years using every solution on the market: high-end headsets with 3rd-party peripheral boom or desktop USB mics, wireless headsets, and lackluster all-in-one solutions. Not a single one gave us the audio experience we wanted, so we set out to build one that did.  Erupt, a simple, one wire solution. No dongles or add-ons. No batteries to charge.

Customizable Comfort

We designed Erupt for marathon raid and grinding sessions where comfort is essential. The two key elements of a comfortable headset are where it touches your skull: the earpads and headband. Our super soft suspension headband fits your head automatically. The slim profile means no unnecessary bulk or weight.

Erupt’s earpads have been ergonomically designed for both optimal comfort and sound quality. Each pad option has been optimized for acoustic airflow. The vented option delivers a linear, quick, and wide soundstage. The solid option delivers a more isolated, dynamic experience. The listener can adjust the earpad to match the specific subjective preference and environment.

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Headphone Drivers & Microphones

Most current headset manufacturers are all using the same, inexpensive driver style: 40mm neodymium. This ubiquitous driver is as common as it is mediocre.

We wanted something different. Our team decided to start from scratch, designing a driver from the ground up using aluminum magnesium, a well-kept secret from the high-end audio world.

Vokyl carefully designed our proprietary Al-Mg driver for optimal dynamic driver performance. We utilized a thick rubber surround to isolate the membrane, creating a sonic surface that vibrates singularly on its own, without influence from surrounding components. Finding the proper stiffness for the surround to match with the Al-Mg material brought about optimal resonance for a natural, punchy, and engaging tone.

To round out the driver, we used heavy (relative to drivers) and powerful N50 neodymium magnets stacked on each other to provide sound with weight, substance, and texture that will leave you listening just for the fun of it.

Vokyl chose the larger, 50mm size for the perfect balance between a large encompassing sound and low distortion. This optimal surface size decreases standing waves which can disrupt your experience.

Airflow is optimized with a multi-pore system that lets air uniformly enter and exit the driver chamber, allowing us to dampen the headphone to a specific, desired tuning.
 

The drivers themselves are protected and secured by lightweight aluminum cups machined here in our shop in St. Louis, Missouri. The drivers are placed in an angular housing for a natural sound experience and a massive soundstage.

By using stiff aluminum housing with a specific damping scheme for our semi-open design, we have created the Erupt to have the utmost in dynamic range, smoothness, and spatial clarity. We also chose an acoustic fabric to provide just the right amount of internal damping and airflow, with our airflow system designed to get the most from our proprietary Al-Mg drivers. 
Erupt truly brings the most out of movies, music, and gaming.

While Erupt’s drivers make it a great choice for games, music, and movies, the mic setup is just as unique. This boom mic is fully detachable, mutable, and houses two separate microphones that the user can toggle on the fly.

The unidirectional, noise-cancelling mic is great for louder, chaotic environments. The omnidirectional mic is perfect for quieter spaces and the best choice for studio quality chat.

Specs

The Vokyl Team & Our Story

While we’ve all worked in the audio industry for the better part of a decade, Erupt’s journey began in 2016 after one of us bought a headset for our Playstation, and another, and then another, until we realized that there was literally nothing out there that had truly hi-fi grade sound, a mic, and great design.

We’ve come a long way since firing shots at each other in Battlefield 4 to where we are today, building the Erupt. We’ve spent many long days and nights refining every aspect of the headset, from the industrial design to the fitment to the sound quality, all down to the smallest detail. We believe Erupt will profoundly change your gaming experience. That’s why we built it.

Our founders have been working together for years to bring audio hardware to market, landing in publications like GQ, CNET, and Design Milk. We see the Erupt as our next chapter and invite you to join us on this adventure.

What We Need & Our Timeline

We’ve completed all the designing, prototyping, 3D printing, machining, testing, listening, and gaming we need to. This headset is ready to be made. Your funds will be used exclusively on only what’s needed to get Erupt out the door and on to your head.

Here's where your funding will be going...

Molds / Tooling

We need to purchase tooling for the headband attachment, driver housing, and earpad clip. We are currently using 3D prints in place of these parts. The prints have been helpful and necessary for prototyping and testing purposes. However, they aren’t a scalable solution. Your backing will provide us with the funds to cover the tooling and mold costs of these parts. While a one-time cost, tooling is the most expensive part of our production equation and where we need your help the most.

Drivers

The good news? Our custom drivers are rockin’ and ready to go. The bad news? We don’t have the funds to build enough of them. With your backing, we will be able to have our proprietary Al-Mg drivers produced at scale.

Raw Materials

As good of machinists as we are, the Vokyl team can’t mill headphone cups and yokes out of thin air. We need to order aluminum stock, which is most economically done in bulk. Your support will help us get the best price possible and ensure these headsets are built and delivered at a brisk pace.

Risks & Challenges

Fortunately, we have a background in manufacturing and a shop full of machines to produce all the aluminum components. We have existing relationships with suppliers that have produced our initial sample order of pads, headbands, and halos. We are working with a driver manufacturer experienced and well-known in the high-end audio community, as we all an industry respected microphone manufacturer to round out the audio components of the headset.

Other Ways You Can Help

We've included a section in our funding tiers where you can become part of the Vokyl team with any size donation, but you don't have to stop your support there! We've included links where you can share this campaign all over the internet and social media. Join the squad by buying a headset, providing some funding, or sharing our campaign page with some kind words!

Let us know if you have any questions about the indiegogo share tools!

Thanks!

FAQs

Is the Vokyl Erupt designed for the Switch, Xbox One, PS4, or mobile?

Yes! The switch uses a completely analog signal, so you can use it for any one of these things. We will say that you will need an adapter if your phone does not have a headphone jack :(

Is the Erupt just for gaming?

No! We designed the Erupt to be your new audio secret weapon, your Jose Oquendo. It will give you a fantastic headphone experience whether you use it for gaming, movies, or music.

What about surround sound?

You probably see our headset and are thinking “Wow the Vokyl guys are a bunch of surround sound haters”. We don’t hate surround sound. We love surround sound. We think that surround sound is awesome. We just think that it's best delivery method for headphones is software, not hardware. Engineers put a lot of work into in-game sound design and there's some great free surround software out there, so we encourage you to use those options with your Erupt headset.

What if I have a studio/desktop mic?

Great! Desktop mics are top quality gear. Simply detach your boom mic from the Erupt headset and you’re good to go! You’ll use the Erupt as a pair of headphones and your mic as you always have.

What if I have a headphone amp and/or DAC?

Ooh you know what you’re doing. This is probably the best way to use the Erupt. For headphone use, you’ll use the Erupt via whatever output your amp has. For headset use, you’ll need a splitter to utilize your amp/sound card’s mic input.

I wear glasses, will this headset crush my temples?

While no one on the Vokyl team is a nerd with corrective eyewear, we have heard from several nerds that these are some of the most comfortable headphones they’ve worn with their glasses.

What if my Erupt breaks?!

Take a deep breath, it’s going to be okay. All of our assembly, testing, designing, engineering, machining, and laundry is done at our St. Louis facility. So, while we don’t have a set in stone return policy up and running just yet, shoot us an email and odds are we’ll just take it back in the nest and make it good as new.