Microsoft Wireless Headset Review.
By Fraser Fleming
Microsoft has recently released a new gaming headset for the Xbox range of consoles. They have put their marketing department to full use to come up with the exciting product name of “Microsoft Wireless Headset” however, it is exactly what is says. The new gaming headset is actually really good. I was lucky enough to manage to get one on first release. The headset costs £89 and can be purchased from many different retailers. I got mine from Amazon.
The headset design is an over the ear headset with the outside of each ear cup being able to rotate to control volume. The Right ear cup dial will control the overall volume while the left ear cup will let you mix the gaming and chat volume. I have found this very handy. On the left ear cup is also a multi-function button located just behind the extending mic this will turn on the headset, enable pairing on bluetooth devices and turn off headphones. On the left ear cup is where the USB C charging port is. The headset also has a extending mic that can be easily adjusted to suit you. At the start of the extending arm is the mic mute button.
The headset uses the Xbox wireless connection to connect to the console, this is the same way that you connect your Xbox gamepad you simply press the pairing button on the console and then press the pairing button on the headset. That’s it. You do not need to plug in any dongles. However, to make this headset more functional Microsoft has also included Bluetooth pairing as well. This means that you can have the headset playing the sound from the game that you are playing and listen to music from your phone and if someone call you when you are playing the game you can also take the call on your phone. Now that is what I call multi-functional usages. This also lets you use the Bluetooth connection to listen to other Bluetooth enabled devices when you are out and about. Personally, I would not use them when traveling but as they say it is always good to have options. The sound quality from the Xbox Wireless Connection is fantastic. You can clearly hear the full range of the in-game audio and the headset supports surround and spatial audio. This for me enhances my gaming experience when using them. The spatial audio if the game supports it lets me hear someone trying to sneak up behind me while playing Fortnight. I have also watched a few shows on Disney Plus and found this to be a great experience. The only downside I have found to the audio is that sometimes the Bass can be too heavy. However, this can be easily adjusted in the settings. When listening to Bluetooth connected devices the sound quality is not as good. This is because the Bluetooth connection is limited to a lower bitrate to preserve battery life. This is not really an issue when playing a game and listening to music together. However, I would not recommend this headset as your prime Bluetooth listening experience. The Microphone is of a decent quality and clearly transmits you voice to your friends or stream. It has onboard noise cancellation and you can set the level of this in the device settings. It also has a sort of Pass-Through feature that you can enable. This used the Mic to pass through sounds around you that are generally silenced by the ear cups. This means that you have the option to filter out environmental sounds such as the TV, Hoover, or someone talking to you or you can let the mic pass these through to you. The battery life for this headset is very good and I can usually get around 10 hours of gaming from them. If you use the Bluetooth pairing this as well reduces the battery life.
I am very impressed with this gaming headset. I love the sound quality from the Xbox Wireless Connection. I love the comfort of the fit of the headset. The fact that you can pair it to your phone when gaming is a fantastic feature. Now you do not have to stop you game to take that all important call. It is also good that you do not need to attach any external dongle to get full usage from them and the simplicity of connecting them is great. The only downside for me is the audio quality of the Bluetooth connections. If this was better, then this would be the best you can get. I must admit that this headset has fast become my go to headset for gaming and streaming on the Xbox. I would give this 4 TopTechTick out of 5. A must have for any gamer.
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