Xbox Wireless Headset for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Windows 10 Devices
If you care about sound quality, this review is for you. If your idea of great sound is Bose or Beats...ignore the reviews and buy these, you'll love them because they sound just as good as the typical offerings from these brands. life. What's not to like? Well, for one thing, they sound worse than my 25-year-old $29 Sony headphones. Deep bass is completely non-existent. What you're left with are insanely strong, mellow mid-bass, and heaps of stuff. The midrange is compressed and details get lost in a sea of noise during any complex part of the audio. Both of which are pretty big issues since they're meant for listening to simulated battlefield sounds that have a lot of deep bass and complex passages (teammates talking, NPCs shouting, weapons firing, bombs exploding, level insignias that sound, helicopters flying overhead, missiles firing - all at the same time). I have to admit I didn't bother to test them on just music... I just can't deal with the horror and I'm scared of what I might do to them in a fit of righteous indignation. Another issue is that the mic is poor and the design is weird. Don't get me wrong, the sound from the mic is nowhere near as big as the sound drivers, but I was hoping for better quality here too. The voice sounds flat and electronic. The arm the mic rests on is also too short (like 50% of the minimum acceptable length). This is a problem because it's hard to see the LED on its tip, and since the mic seems to be permanently attached, I guess you're stuck with this problem and need to check every time you want to be on or off mic. I've heard several reviews say that in the $100 price range this is a great option (really costs $115, see note at bottom of review). I can't say I've listened to enough gaming headsets to have an opinion on this other than this: if it's the best you can get for $100; so don't sell $100 helmets. Give your engineers an additional $20 budget and charge $150. People who can spend money on $70 games, $500 consoles, and $200 elite controllers can afford to spend a few dollars more without major compromise. The worst part is that in the end, I'll probably end up reluctantly keeping them. I currently don't have any other gaming headsets and am not interested in mic amps and workarounds for the unnecessarily shut down Xbox Wireless Sound System. I've also read a lot of complaints about other headphones that sound good and don't hold up to everyday use. These just leave me feeling abandoned and like I'm settling for less (which I am). If only they sounded as good as they look and feel. What a pity.Sound quality 3/10Mic quality 6/10Mic mute indicator: 1/10Appearance: 9/10Functionality 10/10Comfort 9/10Battery life 8/10Ratings -1. I may have gone for an overall 2.5 star rating if the system allowed it, as the comfort and features are great...but again that sound quality, ugh.2. So these are really $115... When you get them you'll find out that you need to download and install the Dolby Access app on your Xbox to use this feature. I was confused about this initially thinking it was a built-in headset - as the product's advertisement led me to believe. The app has a 7-day free trial and then costs you $15. I don't know if the Atmos virtual surround helps or not in the FPS games I play. First impressions are that it confuses me about enemy locations as often as it helps. That being said, I consider the app a must-have because it has a graphic EQ feature and you can use it to reduce the ridiculously loud mid bass to a level that won't cause instant headaches. Edit - I discovered that the Xbox Accessories app has a built-in (basic) EQ feature for headphones. I still chose to buy the app.
