Xbox Wireless Headset Review – CNN Underscored

(CNN) –

The Xbox Wireless Headset just might be the ultimate gaming headset for a work-at-home world. This is because in addition to instantly pairing with your Xbox, it can also sync with your phone or PC at the same time so you can take calls or listen to podcasts while you play.

Now we’re not trying to encourage you to walk away during an important meeting to play Halo, but being able to have just one headset to work and play without having to constantly reconnect devices is a huge plus. And that’s on top of the fact that Microsoft’s new headset sounds great for gaming and is comfortable enough to wear all day – all for a tempting price tag of $ 99.

Is the Xbox Wireless Headset a must have for Xbox gamers? Here is what we think after several days of work, play and chat with him attached to our head.

Who is he talking to: The Xbox Wireless Headset is for Xbox and PC gamers looking for an affordable, good quality gaming headset that also works well with smartphones.

What would you like to know: Microsoft’s new gaming headset delivers awesome sound in a super comfortable design, but the real highlight is its ability to pair with your Xbox and phone at the same time. This way you can listen to podcasts and take calls while listening to the sounds of your favorite games.

How it compares: The Xbox Wireless Headset is similar in price and functionality to the $ 99 Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 and $ 99 SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless, but only Microsoft’s headset has Bluetooth for pairing to your console and your phone at the same time. If you want something more stylish, the Arctis 1 Wireless is worth considering.

Like the Xbox Series X console it was inspired by, the Xbox Wireless Headset has an unpretentious design designed to blend in with your gaming nook or home office. This all-black headset is only accented by two green rings on each ear cup, highlighting its convenient on-ear buttons for adjusting volume and chatting the game on the fly.

Our only major gripe with the design of the Xbox Wireless Headset is that it looks absolutely massive on our heads – it’s not a headset that we would wear in public like our everyday headphones like we would with the SteelSeries Arctis. 1 Wireless much more elegant. We’d also love to see a white version to match the sleek Xbox Series S.

Still, comfort is what really matters when it comes to gaming headset design, and the Xbox Wireless Headset delivers that in spades. Thanks to its lightweight 11-ounce design and thick foam ear cups covered with artificial leather, we had no problem wearing Microsoft’s headset for an entire day as we switched between playing games, taking calls and listen to music.

The Xbox Wireless Headset makes it easy with on-ear controls, pulling out a playbook page from the Surface Headphones 2 with a large rotating bezel on each ear – one for adjusting overall volume and another for adjusting the mix between game and voice chat volume. There’s also a power / pairing button and a mute button for when you don’t want your Call of Duty teammates to hear you munching on snacks.

The dials are a great touch, and we found them much more intuitive than the often tiny volume knobs tucked between a sea of ​​buttons on many gaming headsets. Pairing was also painless, as we were able to connect to our Xbox, to our phone and to our PC in seconds. We’re big fans of the minimalist approach to the controls on the Xbox Wireless Headset, although a button to toggle between sound presets (which we’ll cover later) would have been handy.

The Xbox Wireless Headset sounded great with just about every game we’ve thrown at it, giving us a competitive edge in shooters and allowing us to soak up tons of environmental detail in immersive single-player games.

When playing titles like Halo 5 and Gears 5 on Microsoft’s headset, we could easily identify where enemy footsteps and gunfire were coming from – a crucial audio detail for those looking to get the fall on their opponent. In addition, sounds such as the kick of an assault rifle or the explosion of a grenade had a satisfying glow to them.

Microsoft’s headset really shone when we played Ori and the Will of the Wisps, an atmospheric Pixar-style platformer with sounds as striking as its visuals. The headset’s Dolby Atmos support (which allows for more precise positional sound) allowed us to fully immerse ourselves in Niwen Forest, as we could hear the birds chirping from all directions and make out tiny details such as an enemy splashing in total clarity. Best of all, the Xbox Wireless Headset was able to preserve those rich environmental sounds without overpowering the game’s magnificent orchestral score.

Speaking of scores, the Xbox Wireless Headset delivers decent musical performance, although it isn’t going to compete with a dedicated pair of headphones. Rock songs such as “Cat’s Cradle” by Tigers Jaw quickly turned muddy, as guitars and bass tracks mingled into a wall of indistinct sound. The atmospheric hip-hop of Kid Cudi’s “Lovin ‘Me” fared better, as Microsoft’s headphones delivered full bass to support melodic croons and swirling synths.

You can change the Xbox Wireless Headset to your liking with the Xbox Accessories app on Xbox and Windows 10, which provides a number of microphone and audio output options. Here you can jump between different sound modes including Game, Movie, Music and Speech; activate the headset’s automatic mute function; and turn on mic monitoring to hear your own voice as you speak.

The difference between the EQ modes was small but noticeable. The Game preset is generally balanced, while Heavy Bass, well… adds more bass. The Movie and Speech presets were handy for highlighting the explosions and dialogue in Captain America: Civil War, respectively, while the Music preset is quite subtle and did little to improve the relatively poor musical output of the helmet. It should be noted that music sounded much better on Microsoft’s headset when played over Bluetooth through a phone or PC than on Xbox Wireless on our Xbox One S.

The Xbox Accessories app gives Microsoft’s headset some decent customization options, but it comes with caveats. You cannot use the app on PC when connected via Bluetooth (you will need to connect with a USB-C cable), and there is no mobile app.

The Xbox Wireless Headset has a 15-hour battery life, which is broadly in line with our tests. It took us two days of heavy use, including several hours of playing and taking calls, for us to even get a low battery warning on Microsoft’s headset.

The Xbox Wireless Headset offers great overall sound for gaming, but it really stands out with its ability to pair with multiple devices at once. Microsoft’s headset can connect to an Xbox console and a Bluetooth device (such as your phone) at the same time, allowing you to play games on the former while listening to podcasts or taking calls on the latter. This is a really great feature, especially in a work from home world.

Thanks to the headset’s dual-pairing capabilities, we were able to chat with coworkers and friends via Slack and Discord for hours on end while still hearing the sweet sounds of demons slashing us on our Xbox. Both audio sources appeared clearly each time, and there was no sign of delay or interference. We had to adjust the volume manually on both the headset and our phone to find the right balance, but everything sounded great after a little adjustment.

This is very convenient for several reasons. If you’re on Xbox but playing a cross-platform title like Fortnite with your friends on PC or Nintendo Switch, you’ll still be able to chat with them, thanks to universal apps like Discord. It also means you can use the same headset for gaming and taking important business calls (no judgment if you decide to do both at the same time), all without having to do annoying resync every time you want to switch between your phone. phone / computer and your Xbox. The Xbox Wireless Headset’s Bluetooth support makes it a great option for streaming Xbox Game Pass Ultimate titles to your Android phone, especially considering the few Bluetooth gaming headsets in this price range.

Microsoft’s headset also held up well in terms of actual microphone quality. Several people we spoke with said they were able to hear us clearly, and the vocal recordings we took were both loud and clear – albeit a little bit robotic. The overall good mic quality of the Xbox Wireless Headset is a relief, as the actual microphone is quite short, and while it’s bendable, you can’t retract it to bring it closer to your mouth. While there is a handy LED on the mic to alert you when the sound is re-activated, we had to strain our eyes to even be able to see it.

With immersive gaming sound, a wonderfully comfortable design, and a reliable microphone, the $ 99 Xbox Wireless Headset would be an easy recommendation even without its added features. But its ability to pair with your Xbox and phone at the same time really puts it above the edge, turning Microsoft’s headset into a device that makes it easy to take calls or catch up on podcasts while you work on it. Gears of War.

The Xbox Wireless Headset isn’t the most attractive headset out there, and a few other on-ear control options would have been appreciated. If you want something more stylish that also works well with Nintendo Switch, the SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless for Xbox is a great alternative.

Still, the Xbox Wireless Headset is fantastic value for Xbox and PC gamers, especially those who spend as much time on conference calls as they do gaming.