Many of you are probably in the same boat as me when it comes to the current 360 headset, by that I mean the wire has curled up so much I could use it as a slinky, the headset itself has broken in half and held together by a few bits of tape and to add to all that the mini console has lost its grip on the controller and now comes out so easily you have to be careful when you sneeze for fear of losing communications with your team mates.
Luckily all is not lost as Microsoft latest accessory has arrived in the form of a wireless headset. Now the first thing I noticed when I bought the little headset was just how big the packaging was, now I know it has nothing to do with the headset but it really is such a waste of excess packaging for such a small product. Of course you only then realise that the package is huge because you have to charge the little headset up using the three pin plug and sadly not your USB slots like many had hoped.
OK so I’m not off to the greatest start, luckily the future is far from bleak for the little headset. When you first pick it up you realise just how small and how light the thing weighs. Once you take a closer look you start to see just how well built the headset is and how nice it looks. The white finish to go with the console looks sublime and I mean seeing no curled up wires alongside the headset will make any gamer just feel oh so good.
Being wireless means there is now no headset console on the controller instead everything is on the actual headset. The power and volume up/down buttons are on the side of the headset and at first it may feel weird having to raise your hand to you ear every time you want to mute or change the volume but you will get used to it, and it also kind of looks all Special Ops, what with the whole hand touching the ear thing. To mute the headset you simply tap the power button once and to un-mute you just tap it again. One thing I did notice, that while in mute every sixty seconds or so the headset will give off a small beep to kind off remind you that the headset is muted which I think is very clever feature which can save you the embarrassment of accidentally sending blank message to friends.
On the microphone you see four little LED lights and they are the ‘ring of light’ if you will for the headset. When it works in unison with a wireless controller it will simply go to quadrant 1 alongside your controller, but simply press the connect button and you can assign the headset to another controller. The headset is simple to use and once you get used to raising your hand up to your ear each time you want to change its settings you will never turn back.
Being so light, when the headset is on your ear you simply forget it’s there. I was a bit dubious of the loop and how comfortable it would be, but it drops onto your ear perfectly and isn’t in anyway uncomfortable to wear. One thing about the old headsets is that your ears would blister after about four or so hours of gaming, but that is not an issue with this new headset.
Speaking of the hours of gaming, this brings me onto the next best thing this new accessory has to offer, which just how long you can keep the headset on for. Personally I have used it for three nights at about 4 hours each night. I would say, as of yet, the battery has not even come close to being depleted. I expected to be charging this baby up each and every night but that is most certainly not the case and I must commend Microsoft for making the headset last so damn long. To check how much power is remaining in the headset you can simply press the guide button and in a similar fashion to checking the Wireless Controller battery, a little headset icon and battery level will be displayed at the top.
The most important part of the headset though is the audio quality, I mean it can look good but it can still sound like crap, but luckily it performs extremely well in this department. The sound compared to the old headset is a lot cleaner, crisper and to add to that it’s louder compared to the old headset which was a tad to quiet at times. There are a few problems though, like for one if you have its volume maxed out, the headset will start to echo and also at times people have said the headset creates a rather annoying buzzing sound which the headsets’ user cannot hear, but a simple power on and off can fix that.
The wireless headset is a definite improvement over its predecessor, despite its slight bugs here and there. It’s small, lightweight, looks gorgeous and sturdy and sounds divine. Not forgetting the fact that it’s unbelievably comfortable to wear and to be completely honest I think the £34.99 RRP price tag is an absolute bargain and a must buy for any 360 owner.
XBox 360 Wireless Head Set
RRP: £34.99
Support the site: Buy from Play.com for £29.99
Originally Written By: Lee Matthews
Console Monster
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