The Primer Wireless Stereo Headset by Tritton is their latest wireless headset which is designed specifically for the Xbox 360 console. Claiming to have everything needed to connect the headset to any Xbox 360 console, the Primer should be all you need to get your game’s sound pumping into your ear holes.
When taking the headset out of the box I was instantly surprised at how small the headset’s form-factor was. From seeing images online I was expecting to wear something a little bigger on my head. Usually small headsets come with certain restrictions and limitations, but Tritton claims that its high quality drivers will bring “rich bass and crisp highs.” We’ll see if that is true a little later on in the review, but first let’s see what is in the box.
Inside the well packaged box are the various cables required to connect the headset to your Xbox 360, whether it be the original console or the S version. You’ll get a 3.5mm jack to RCA adapter cable, an analogue audio adapter for the Xbox 360 S console, a Headset connection cable that plugs into the Xbox 360 controller for voice support, and finally a USB cable to power the base station from any available USB port on your Xbox 360.
The Primer Wireless Stereo Headset for the Xbox 360, from Tritton
The bundled base station unit is a shiny black box that features a Sync button, a 3.5mm Audio In socket and a mini-USB power socket located on the back. On the front of the unit there is a small blue LED light that will light up whilst the device is functioning.
As I mentioned earlier, the headset is fairly small in its overall size, but don’t let this put you off, as the build quality is – as you would expect from Tritton – very good. Having a small structure makes the Primer fit quite neat and snugly around your head, and it will not give you the look of having two coconuts strapped on each side of your face – A look that much larger headsets are good at doing.
The earcups are angular in shape rather than being the usual round or elliptical shape, and unless you have tiny ears they will mostly sit on your ears rather then over them. I have fairly average ears and I found that mine sat half inside and half on the leather padded cushions, and because of this in and out placement the earcups soon started to feel uncomfortable after a long gaming session.
Located on the right earcup is the headset’s power area, where two standard AA batteries slot into a compartment under a magnetised side plate. It is unfortunate that Tritton didn’t decide to use a rechargeable solution here, however you could easily buy a few pairs of rechargeable AA batteries if you want to avoid any lengthy audio breaks in your gaming.
What’s in the box? Various connection cables, the headset and base station
Crammed around the left earcup are all the Primer’s primary dials and button controls. On top you’ll find the power button, and underneath there is a Mute button and a 3.5mm socket to connect the bundled Headset Connection Cable to your Xbox 360 controller. On the back side of the earcup there are two independent volume dials that will control various levels of audio, one for the game’s main audio and the other to adjust the volume of chat audio.
This is where my first issue with the Primer is found with this location of the volume dials. There were many times where I found myself accidentally readjusting the main volume of the headset. Because it is the same area where my thumb would rest when putting the headset on and off, I would instantly roll my thumb along these dials and change the volume every time. This had happened too many times to be a one off issue, so I thought I’d mentioned it.
Located on the left earcup is also the headset’s microphone boom. This boom can be pivoted up to easily stow the microphone away when not in use, or be brought down whenever you need to talk to your online buddies. The boom itself has enough bend to it to be shaped and positioned however you’d like, and it has enough length for it to reach over to the left corner of your mouth – Any longer and the boom would look fairly odd mounted on a headset of this size.
Connecting the Primer is as simple as holding down the Power button on the headset and pressing the Sync button on the base station to initialise the pairing process. Once the two are paired and the audio cables are connected to your console, you are good to go, safe in the knowledge that the 5.8 GHz technology used with this headset will allow for a much greater reduction in interference over the 2.4 GHz band found in most other headsets.
The USB powered base station (left), microphone and left earcup controls (right)
A common issue found on powered or wireless headsets is the audible ‘buzz’ noise that can be heard when the headset is switched on and is connected to a source. This level of noise can vary between different headsets and it is only noticeable during quiet periods of gaming, but for the Primer this noise is more higher in pitch than most. Once the audio is pumped through them this buzz is soon forgotten about, but there are moments in gaming where there are quiet periods and it is at these times when I focused more on this buzz than the game itself, as it can be rather distracting.
Inside each earcup are 40mm audio drivers. Although this maybe 10mm smaller than the previous headsets I’ve reviewed, they do give a very impressive range of bass and treble that can sound on par with its bigger 50mm competitors. There has been no expense spared with the audio drivers in the Primer headset, and it is this quality that helps bring great sound positioning in games such as first-person shooters. Due to the headset’s size, the bass levels from explosions and weapon fire will not dig as deep as much bigger headsets on the market would, but there is plenty here to please more than the average gamer’s ears.
The Tritton Primer Wireless Stereo Headset is a great sub £100 headset for Xbox 360 gamers, and it comes in at around £40-£50 cheaper than similarly featured headsets like the SteelSeries 7XB wireless Xbox 360 headset. Both of these headsets share a very similar specification and feature set, and for being the cost of a retail game cheaper than its rivals, the Primer should certainly be on your list of wireless Xbox 360 headsets that is worth the attention of your ears.
