We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-10-07 · 8 min read · Independent comparison
If you want a desk organizer that adds virtual 7.1 surround sound and extra USB and 3.5mm connectivity to your PC setup, choose EKSA Headphone Stand; if you need an actual wireless gaming headset with a detachable noise-canceling mic and up to 130 hours of battery life, choose ATK N9. I also want to flag one thing up front, because it changes the whole comparison: if you're shopping for small ears, the ATK N9 is the only one of these two that actually goes on your head. The EKSA is a stand that processes sound — it has no ear cups at all. Keep that in mind as you read, and I'll come back to it in my verdict.
• EKSA Headphone Stand — biggest strength: it's a headset holder, a virtual 7.1 surround sound processor, a 2-port USB 2.0 hub and a three-jack 3.5mm audio panel in one aluminum tower, with RGB lighting on top.
• EKSA Headphone Stand — biggest trade-off: it makes no sound by itself. The 7.1 effect needs a driver download from EKSA's site, that driver doesn't work on Mac or Windows 8, and not every headphone is compatible with the 7.1 processing. You also need a headset to plug into it.
• ATK N9 — biggest strength: a complete headset — stereo drivers, a detachable noise-canceling boom mic, and tri-mode connectivity over 3.5mm wired, 2.4G wireless or Bluetooth, with a claimed 130 hours of average battery life.
• ATK N9 — biggest trade-off: it's stereo, not surround. If you specifically want virtual 7.1 positional audio, the N9 doesn't offer that; it gives you balanced stereo cues instead.
• Who each pick is for: EKSA for the desk-first PC gamer who already owns a headset and wants cleaner audio routing, tidy cable management and some RGB atmosphere; ATK N9 for someone who needs the headset itself and switches between console, PC and phone.
The EKSA W1 is best understood as a small desktop audio hub shaped like a headphone tower. It's built from aluminum alloy with a non-slip ABS rubber base, finished in black, and measures about 5 x 2 x 2 inches — small enough to sit beside a monitor without eating your mouse space. Assembly is a screw-together job: you line up the bracket's screw holes with the base and tighten four screws with the included screwdriver. Five items ship in the box, and a cable is included.
What it does best is consolidate. Two USB 2.0 ports handle charging and data transfer and support USB headphones; three 3.5mm jacks cover a mic-and-sound 2-in-1 port, a dedicated sound port and a dedicated mic port, so a wide range of 3.5mm headsets will connect. The 7.1 surround sound side is the headline feature: install EKSA's driver from the official site and the stand applies virtual 7.1 processing to help you place direction in-game. The RGB base has three modes — rainbow loop, single static color and breathing — toggled by a fingerprint-touch switch, and it's all plug-and-play once set up.
Buy it if you're a PC gamer with a headset you already like, you want 7.1 virtual surround without replacing that headset, and your desk could use a charging point plus a tidy place to hang your cans. Skip it if you game mainly on Mac or Windows 8, since the driver isn't available there; skip it if you need a headset rather than a holder; and skip it if you want surround sound you can carry to a console or a phone, because this is a desk-bound PC accessory. Also skip it if you were hoping for something that physically fits small ears — that's not what a stand does.
The ATK N9 is the opposite kind of product: it's the thing on your head. It's a black over-ear headset built from polycarbonate and silicone, weighing 270 g, with soft ear cushions and an adjustable headband. That combination of light weight and a soft, adjustable fit is exactly what I'd point a small-eared shopper toward — over-ear cups with soft cushions and a headband you can dial in tend to sit better on smaller heads than fixed-size designs, and 270 g is light enough that long sessions shouldn't feel like a chore. If you've been hunting for memory foam ear cushions on a Bluetooth headset, this is the category of design to look at, though note the sheet doesn't specify memory foam, so judge the cushions by their described softness rather than a foam claim.
Audio is stereo, not surround. The dynamic drivers are tuned for balance and detail, which is the honest way of saying the N9 is trying to make footsteps, gunfire and environmental cues clear and separated rather than simulating a 7.1 field. The detachable boom mic adds noise reduction for team chat, online gaming and calls, and you can pull it off entirely when you're just listening.
The real story is connectivity. You get three modes — 3.5mm wired, 2.4G wireless and Bluetooth — so the same headset moves between an Xbox Series X|S, PS5, PC, Switch, phone, laptop or desktop. There's a rechargeable battery included, with an average life of 130 hours, plus volume control on the headset, and the box includes an adapter, a cable and a user manual. Wireless means noise cancellation here refers to the microphone, not active noise cancelling for your ears — so if you specifically want the best active noise cancelling headset for small ears, this isn't that; it's a noise-canceling mic headset.
Buy it if you want one headset for everything, you value battery freedom over cables, and you care more about clear stereo positioning than simulated surround. Skip it if virtual 7.1 is a must-have, or if you want a wired-only, no-battery, no-charging setup.
• Best for virtual 7.1 surround sound → EKSA Headphone Stand. It's the only one of the two that does surround processing at all; the N9 is stereo.
• Best for actually hearing the game → ATK N9. The EKSA has no drivers or ear cups, so on its own it produces no audio.
• Best for multi-device use → ATK N9. 3.5mm wired, 2.4G wireless and Bluetooth cover consoles, PC and mobile; the EKSA is a desktop PC unit.
• Best for desk organization and charging → EKSA Headphone Stand. Two USB 2.0 ports plus three 3.5mm jacks and a place to hang your headset.
• Best for long sessions without charging → ATK N9, with an average battery life of 130 hours.
• Best for team chat → ATK N9, thanks to the detachable noise-canceling boom mic; the EKSA can route a mic through its 3.5mm mic port but has no mic of its own.
• Best for a small-eared fit → ATK N9, with soft ear cushions, a 270 g build and an adjustable headband.
• Best for RGB atmosphere → EKSA Headphone Stand, with three lighting modes on a touch switch.
If I could only buy one, I'd buy the ATK N9 — and it's not close, for one practical reason: it's the only one of the two that's a finished product. You plug it in or pair it and you're gaming, with a mic, a 130-hour battery and three connection modes covering console, PC and phone. For anyone shopping for small ears, the soft cushions, light 270 g weight and adjustable headband are the specs that matter, and the N9 is the one that delivers them.
The EKSA is a genuinely nice accessory for a specific person: a PC gamer who already owns a good headset, wants virtual 7.1 and could use the USB hub and 3.5mm panel. But it can't replace a headset, and its 7.1 driver has real platform limits. Buy the EKSA to organize and process; buy the N9 to play. If budget is your deciding factor, check the current price on Amazon for each before you commit.
FAQ
is surround sound headphones good for gaming
is 7.1 surround sound good for gaming headphones
It can be, and the EKSA stand is built around exactly that idea — install the driver from EKSA's site and it applies virtual 7.1 through its USB or 3.5mm ports. Two limits matter: the driver isn't available for Mac or Windows 8, and not all headphones are compatible with the 7.1 effect. If you want guaranteed surround-style audio across consoles and phones, the N9's stereo tuning is the more predictable choice.
do gaming headphones have surround sound
Not automatically. The ATK N9 is a stereo headset, and its spec sheet lists stereo-tuned dynamic drivers — the "surround sound" tag in its feature list doesn't mean it simulates 7.1 the way the EKSA stand does. The EKSA, by contrast, is the product that explicitly adds virtual 7.1 surround processing. So in this pair, surround comes from the stand, not the headset.
is surround sound good for gaming headphones
For competitive play, virtual surround can help with directional cues, and that's the EKSA's whole pitch. For everyday all-round gaming, chat and multi-device use, a well-tuned stereo headset like the N9 with a detachable noise-canceling mic is simpler and travels better. Neither is wrong — it comes down to whether you want simulated positional audio on a PC desk or a flexible wireless headset everywhere else.
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