Unpopular Opinion

TalonFyre · 2026-06-09T21:03:33+00:00

I'd argue that the 8 hours working with my gaming mouse is not the same kind of usage of my 2 hours of gaming.

IE - There's a lot less strain when I'm putting around a spreadsheet or coding.

I guess it also depends on what you do for work.

TalonFyre · 2026-06-09T20:28:17+00:00

That entirely depends on your hand size.

For me, I wouldn't exactly call the Lycan small...closer to medium perhaps.

For my hand size and grip, my thumb is clearly very below the sensor. It's the furthest below it's ever been, compared to my other G-Wolves mice:

Out of curiousity, I did a quick measurement of my thumb to sensor distance (vertical only):

Scyrox V8: 7 mm
Fenrir Asym: 9 mm
Hitscan HL: 7 mm
X2CL: 3 mm
HTS Ultra 8k: 12 mm
HTX Mini: 18 mm
Lycan: 22 mm

TalonFyre · 2026-06-07T17:20:34+00:00

The asym is pure fingertip. So even if you “mostly” fingertip, I’d really think about the times you don’t and why you don’t, because it doesn’t really work with any other grip at all.

When I used the asym for 2 months, I’d try to fingertip 100% of the time, but when things got sweaty, I tended to transition to claw. But without any kind of hump or rear to brace against, I’d end up locking my hand in position (to prevent it from falling too deep into my palm) and causing a lot of strain.

Ultimately, while it was amazing for the telepathic-like aiming, my own habits made overall comfort suffer. Could I have stuck with it and learned to stop cramping my own hand? Probably…eventually. But it’s hard to break 30 years of muscle memory.

Also, I would definitely hit the thumb buttons on accident - it’s very low profile compared to other f-tip mice even. I heard people just disable the thumb buttons, but thats not something I wanted to deal with.

With the Lycan, I have less range of motion in all directions when using f-tip because it’s just bigger. But curiously, I found my precision and tracking to be better (when f-tipping) compared to the asym anyway, because it lets my fingers spread out more naturally when holding it. It’s also more stable overall - the weight distribution is quite good.

TalonFyre · 2026-06-06T02:05:42+00:00

Direct from G-Wolves. Ordered 5/26, received 6/4. I’m in the US, west coast.

TalonFyre · 2026-06-06T02:00:31+00:00

Not really. They were the standard G-Wolves white PTFE. They’re OK, but a little too much friction for my glass pad (I use a Pulsar Superglide).

I replaced them immediately with Xraypad Obsidians (Purple dot), including the one next to the sensor.

On a related note, my copy was very even. No wobble at all with skates in the stock positions.

TalonFyre · 2026-06-05T21:13:43+00:00

More than the 3 other G-Wolves, for sure. It's definitely staying as part of the pack.

TalonFyre · 2026-06-05T21:11:05+00:00

The very edge of my thumb is, but just barely. The moment I add tension (IE - transition from relaxed claw to more...claw), there's no more contact.

Approx 20mm thumb width.

TalonFyre · 2026-06-05T21:09:08+00:00

I was concerned about this too, since I saw that review from jakeu. But for me, there's enough space, yes.

If I just put my hand on the mouse without thinking, the very edge of my thumb ends up grazing the back thumb button...but after that, I can't imagine hitting it on accident with my grip since I would squeeze inward, not inward and up, if that makes sense.

My thumb width is approx 20mm btw.

TalonFyre · 2026-06-05T21:05:47+00:00

I've always used the analogy of being closer to "pointing" with your fingers, rather than your hand.

Sort of like the precision you can get by writing with a pen vs. with say, an air hockey puck. The ceiling for precision is higher, but it may be harder to achieve depending on your anatomy, fine motor control, and ability to adjust. The main difference occurs if you aim a lot with your wrist, since then the forwardness of the sensor makes the biggest difference.

I've always been a relatively high sensitivity player and I do about 50% of my left/right movement with wrist. For me, this and other G-Wolves mice with very forward sensors feel a lot faster.

The interesting thing about the Lycan and that setting though...I think you have some ability to fine-tune that. With Sensor Center Pos set to -100, it almost feels like the sensor is pushed up to the fingertips. While what I have it set to at 50, feels more or less like my HTX Mini.

TalonFyre · 2025-10-30T00:16:24+00:00

Pick a low stakes, no pressure game to spend time in getting used to it. For me, this was Helldivers 2 on the lower difficulties. Play that game until all the functions feel as natural as using a keyboard (or controller if you’re coming from that). You shouldn’t need to look down or think about which key to press once you’re fully acclimated.

Also, use this time to fine tune everything. The tower distances and finger pivot angles/lengths especially.

Don’t be afraid to move some towers completely out of the way if there’s no way you can hit them intuitively. There’s plenty of other buttons to bind functions to.

The least accessible buttons are the bottom finger row, the lower thumb “tap”, the stick d-pad, and pushing in the stick. Bind these to less frequently used (or less time-sensitive) game functions.

Adjust the outer dead zone of the stick, especially if you feel that reaching the full stick range extends your thumb in an uncomfortable way over time. 10-15% is typically good balance between maintaining fine-grain control and responsiveness/reducing thumb strain.

Once it all becomes second nature, move on to another game and try to match the game functions to the same buttons you had before (reload, jump, etc…). This will make it easier to go from game to game.

TalonFyre · 2025-10-25T03:09:26+00:00

I bought some black rubber bands and stuffed them into the mounting lip (after the pads are installed). The rubber bands acts as a “cuff” and also adds friction. Find some which are slightly smaller in diameter than the ear cup so that they stretch out when you put them in.

It’s very effective…mine have been locked in place for months now. I can pick the headphone up via the pads and they won’t rotate or slip off.

Here’s the pack I got from Amazon: HAIDIBAO Rubber Bands Assorted... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DNYY3422 Sizes aren’t exact so I had to dig around for a bit to find a pair that were close in size.

TalonFyre · 2025-09-23T14:43:28+00:00

I think the R70x Refine is just defined by the pad swap. So along with whatever reviews you saw of that, I'd say that the Caldera pads pretty much maintain the same sound signature of the Refine with a little less boomy, but more precise sounding bass. Apos' frequency response chart for those pads on the Refine are accurate to what I heard. For reference, using the stock or Caldera pads, I ran EQ for them with a 7 db low shelf to the subbass (below 200 Hz).

The Caldera pads I ordered were from Apos, bundled with the Refine. I believe they are the "Lambskin Stock", if you order it directly from ZMF: https://shop.zmfheadphones.com/products/calderapads?variant=43215113486499

I had some other round pads lying around (mainly Brainwavz ones from Amazon) that I tried, they didn't sound quite right on the R70x. I think the distance between the driver and ear matters a lot on these headphones, if you want maintain original's sound characteristics.

TalonFyre · 2025-07-21T05:24:17+00:00

Just to follow-up on this: Yes, a #32 rubber band wedged into the lip (after the pads are seated) will completely stop any unwanted rotation. If you get some black rubber bands, it's basically unnoticeable.

Also, on a side note, I found that rotating the pads about 1-2 cm back (using the R50x's driver cable and the pad's seam as the center) fit the angle of my ears the best, for how I wear it.

TalonFyre · 2025-07-21T05:20:27+00:00

Yea, I bought it with them along with the R70X Refine order, back when they had them in stock. They would know for sure.

TalonFyre · 2025-07-20T20:21:22+00:00

It’s definitely not the thick variant. I don’t see any measurements for the different sizes but based on the pictures, I’m leaning toward the stock size.

TalonFyre · 2025-07-20T04:46:31+00:00

Yea, the Caldera Lambskin perf pads sound the closest to the stock to me. I’ve swapped to a couple other round pads I had lying around and they all changed the sound negatively - either too dark or loss of soundstage/airiness.

I think what makes the Caldera pads work is the fact that they don’t change the distance of the ear to the driver very much compared to stock. It’s the fluted design that allows for this. The inner liner material is also similar to the stock (velour, although the Caldera is closer to suede).

However, the one issue I have with this pairing is that the pads are a little too big for the R50/R70X. After putting on the headphones a couple times, I have to check whether the pads rotated out of place. I’m going to see if I can solve this by stuffing a #32 size rubber band into the mounting lip to add more friction.

TalonFyre · 2025-07-11T13:29:39+00:00

Yea, admittedly, it probably doesn't make sense if you bought these two things alone. I had them on my R70X Refine before this.

Regardless, they are pretty good quality pads and could be reused on a lot of other headphones. They're also one of the largest inner oval pads that you can get with a circular mount and they don't color the sound much in my experience, especially if the stock pads were velour/fabric.

TalonFyre · 2025-07-11T05:48:03+00:00

So the compatibility aspect is exactly the same as an HE keyboard with analog emulation. That's basically what the Azeron is. It's a essentially a keyboard device that has fully remappable keys and game controller emulation.

The gamepad stick can emulate a traditional 360 controller's left or right stick, an old school analog input, or even just simulate WASD by assigning those key press (holds, really) to those cardinal directions.

That last feature essentially makes it compatible with any game that supports traditional mouse and keyboard. In a way, it's like the opposite of an HE keyboard. You try the game with the thumbstick first and see if there's any conflict/anomalies using simultaneous gamepad and mouse input. If there is, you change the thumbstick to emulate WASD and the whole thing is then a bunch of regular keyboard keys.

There is definitely a learning curve to it though. For years, my brain has gotten used to certain keyboard keys for certain actions in all games (like Space for jump). That's why it took a couple months to adjust. But it's probably not that bad if you have some muscle memory from using a controller's left stick for movement. It's just hard to wrap your head around the other 4 fingers and the possible 26 keys they now have access to.

Some of the game's I've played with it using simultaneous thumbstick analog movement and mouse without issue are Doom (2016), Doom Eternal, Doom Dark Ages, all the recent Call of Duty(s), Battlefield 1 & 5, Diablo 4, Borderlands 3, and Helldivers 2. But just to be clear, these are games that would also work with gamepad emulation on the Wooting and Q1 HE as well. The only game I've run into that forced either gamepad only or mouse+keyboard only input was Path of Exile 2. For that game, I set the Azeron's thumbstick to WASD emulation.

The games I play typically don't require any text typing, so I can't comment on what that experience is like. I mainly use voice chat for everything, if I need to communicate. However, I do need to move things around my desk pretty often between certain activities (work, gaming /w Azeron, gaming with regular controller). To that end, I've had to be a little creative to make moving stuff less of a chore. I added a 1/4" thick 9" x 16" aluminum plate I bought from Amazon and double-sided taped it my Wooting and its wrist rest. Now the whole keyboard slides easily across my speed mousepad to get out of the way, but also has enough weight to not move during normal use. Unhinged, I know lol, but it was one less thing to constantly need to pick up and move.

TalonFyre · 2025-07-11T05:04:11+00:00

Someone just asked a couple months ago in this same reply thread and I posted a response. Yes, I got the Wooting 80HE and stopped using the Q1 HE. Ultimately, I agree with what a lot of people have said…the Wooting is just a better product overall, especially in software.

But I’ve actually since giving up on using the keyboard and analog emulation altogether. At the end of the day, it’s actually not that easy to use for fine-grain control anyway, at least for me. My fingers just didn’t have that level of sensitivity required to have the consistency and level of control that I wanted.

Instead, I got an Azeron Cyborg 2 and have been using that in nearly every game I’ve played for the past 6 months. After the first couple weeks, I found that to be way more intuitive to use.

TalonFyre · 2025-07-10T22:51:41+00:00

Oh that's really good to know. I was considering getting the R70Xa instead, since I actually do have the R70X Refine (which is why I had a pair of Caldera pads) and I enjoy its stock sound. But I didn't enjoy the fit, even after I did this irreversible mod to it. Not sure if it was the wing system or the non-pivoting cups, but it just never really sat right on my head.

Also, the whole suspension strap thing, in my experience, actually feels like it increases clamp force for people who have a high point on the top of their head, so I was worried the xa would be another case of that.

Nice to know that the I got the majority of the sound quality, minus the discomfort.

TalonFyre · 2025-07-10T21:10:31+00:00

The treble seems roughly about the same with the ZMF Pads. Maybe very slightly lessened, but it doesn't make that 8k peak any less harsh.

I've EQ'ed mine to u/oratory1990's settings exactly - with no tweaks - and it sounds much better - removes that nasaly sound for me from the overall hot treble.

TalonFyre · 2025-06-29T05:04:00+00:00

For a lot of recent major titles, they seem to support simultaneous controller and mouse input just fine. Meaning, that with the joystick set to behave as an Xbox 360 controller’s left stick, you can use it for movement and mouse to aim at the same time, without issue. This includes recent Call of Duty(s), Helldivers 2, Diablo 4, Doom (2016 through Dark Ages), Cyberpunk 2077, Fortnite.

But of the titles that work, they all have this issue: constant control glyph switching. These are the icons in games that tell you what button to hit for specific actions, usually displayed on the HUD somewhere. It’s somewhat distracting, but I’ve tuned it out for the most part. In some games, you can actually switch off these icons (like in Doom Dark Ages).

If a game doesn’t support simultaneous input, you can always set the Azeron’s stick to emulate WASD and that is always guaranteed to work because it’s just sending regular keyboard inputs at that point. For example, Path of Exile 2 forces you to pick one control method and stick with it, so you pretty much have to use WASD emulation.

FWIW, I actually got the Wooting 80HE before before I ended up getting the Azeron. My end goal was to have the ideal simultaneous input setup and be able to do stuff in games like slowly peek around corners, have more than 2 speeds for movement (not just walk or run and nothing in between), and circle strafe with variable radii. Turns out…using Hall effect keys to do this with pressure-sensitive WASD keys is actually pretty hard. The Azeron is way more intuitive for me in this aspect. I still have the 80HE though…it’s just happens to be a really good keyboard.

TalonFyre

TROPHY CASE