Hands-on review by John Rudol.
I was looking for a while for a new headset after my 2-year-old boy got his hands on my Rig 800LX headset.
I did so much research on all the top brands of headsets for gaming, I looked at reviews on them and the prices.
Although there are some great headsets out there I was still unsure of which ones to buy. The reviews would pull me one way, and the price would pull me the other way.
16th of February came along and Xbox had announced that they were releasing a wireless headset for the Series X/S and Xbox one (the same headset).
I was quick to pre-order as I wasn't sure how fast these would sell out. All I had to do now was wait till the 16th of March.
16th of March was here and it was probably the longest day of work I've had all year. At least I had something to look forward to when I got home.
The first thing I did was look over the packaging, it was crisp and sharp. The weight of the box was somewhat lighter than I was expecting. So far so good, the box was neat and tidy. Anyway, I'm not here to review the box, now for the contents.
I lifted the lid and there it was, the Xbox Wireless Headset, damn it looked sleek and smart. As soon as I took it out of the box I knew it was very well made and would probably last the life of the battery inside, (unless my 2-year-old gets his hands on them).
At this point, I just want to point out that this is the first time I've owned a wireless headset.
It came with a USB Type-C charger, some setup instructions, altogether these were just pictures and a warranty booklet.
My Xbox Series X was switched on, now was the time to switch the headset on. The first thing you have to do when you switch the headset on is sync it to the Xbox, you do this the exact same way as you would sync your controller.
With the headset synced it was finally time to put it to the test.
Of course, there was an update to do, why wouldn't there be?
After placing the headset on my head I could already tell this was going to be perfect for me. The ear cushions are very comfortable and the headband was too. I had a quick play with the controls, which are situated on each ear cup, the right cup controls the volume and the left cup alters the voice chat and game sound so you can get a perfect balance.
The first thing I did was open the Dolby app on the Xbox. I already own Dolby Atmos after purchasing it a couple of years ago. Don't worry if you don't own Dolby Atmos as the headset comes with a free 6-month trial. I set the Atmos demo going on the app and I have to say I was absolutely shocked by the sound. I could hear sound whizzing all around me, not just around my head but in the distance too.
I could already tell these were better than the Rigs I previously used.
I decided to load Cyberpunk 2077 up as I know this game supports Dolby Atmos, and yes you're right, it didn't let me down one bit. At some points, I actually thought there were people in my living room. The sound is crystal clear, the spatial sound quality is impressive and the bass rumbled as it should. By this point, I'm already in love with this headset.
A little later on I joined a party chat to get feedback from a couple of people. They told me they could hear me loud and clear. When I wasn't talking they said they couldn't hear a thing (well that's good, it means the mic has self-muted as it should).
I later went on to Netflix and watched a film with Dolby Atmos. It truly did feel like a cinema experience.
I never thought a headset would be this great at such a low cost. I really am impressed with them, and that's not me just saying it because I bought them, that's me saying it because they are! I'm so glad these got announced before I decided which other headset to buy. These are the real deal.
There is just one thing that didn't work too well and that was when I put a DVD in to see how that worked. The sound was a little out of sync with what was happening on the T.V. That doesn't bother me in the slightest as I don't really watch DVD's, but I thought I should give it a try.
There are other features to work with too, like the Xbox accessory app where you can go into the headset equalizer and adjust it so it's the right sound for you. You can also play around with some bass settings on there.
It easily connects to your portable device via Bluetooth but I never got around to testing that (sorry will update the article when we do)
My overall opinion is that if you need a new gaming headset don't be a sheep and spend your money on an expensive headset. These are a real bargain and well worth the money you spend for them. Microsoft probably could have charged more for them there that good.
As always this is my own personal review and opinion and I will continue to enjoy this amazing bit of tech at an amazing price of $100.
Thanks for reading.
Comentários