The little holes in the recessed areas between the faux leather ear pads and the dials seem to be there just for cosmetic reasons, but it looks fantastic nevertheless.- On Windows 10: Verify that the microphone of the headset is allowed to be used by applications in the Microphone Privacy Settings. Next to the Series X, it looks the part with a touch of glossy green detailing around the ear cup dials, covered in matte black plastic. Its design is stellar, a logical fit in the company’s headphone lineup. Microsoft’s latest headset just stands out as being particularly impressive for the number of things it gets right for $99.Buy Wired Stereo Gaming Headset for PS4, PC, Xbox One Controller Laptop Mac, Noise Cancelling Headphones with Mic, Bass Surround, Soft Memory Earmuffs at.Buy for $99.90 from Best Buy Buy for $99.90 from GameStop Buy for $99.90 from AmazonCrucially, these are comfortable, even though my head size nearly pushes them to their size limits. Uni-directional mic, in-line volume control, and flip-to-mute functionality delivers total control of your. Tuned for Gaming with ASTRO Audio gives you 40mm drivers so you can hear your game and your teammates with clarity and precision. Lock in your loadout with the ASTRO Gaming Call of Duty® Black Ops: Cold War A10 Headset.Unlike the company’s more premium headphones, there’s no active noise cancellation here (I’d complain, but they’re $99), though the passive noise isolation is better than average for this price. And while I wish this model had a bungee-style headband and swiveling ear cups like most SteelSeries headsets, not having these features didn’t equate to comfort issues here.In addition to how the headset looks, its functionality is similar to the Surface Headphones, with twistable dials on the outside of each ear cup for adjusting elements of the audio. There’s no worry that they’ll resize just from being moved around.
![]() ![]() The soundtrack and all of the various hellish sound effects have an adequate amount of crunch and punch, and I was head-banging to the music while I played. And for that price, I’m pleased.These charge via USB-C, and they also work wired via USB-C to a Windows 10 PC.Hopping over to gaming, I instantly booted up Doom (2016) on the Series X. But again, these are $99 and meant for gaming first. People with a knack for stellar audio quality will find quibbles, like that the sound can come off as muddled at times, and the soundstage isn’t as expansive as you’d find in a more expensive set of headphones. During my tests, I listened to Spotify, and the music sounded good enough to stick with this headset instead of automatically reaching for my Sony 1000XM3s. There’s no way to independently control, say, a phone outside of just adjusting the volume.The sound performance from this headset is better than I expected. Microsoft claims 15 hours per charge, and both times I ran the non-replaceable battery down during testing, it lasted for about that long. But for the purposes of this review, I tested just the out-of-the-box experience.The battery life and range are competitive with other gaming headsets I’ve tested in this price range. This headset works with the Dolby Atmos (Microsoft is giving buyers a trial of Dolby Atmos with purchase that will last until the end of September) and DTS: X paid apps available for Xbox and PC, which might enhance the sound. I didn’t notice that as much in Yakuza: Like a Dragon, for instance. When there’s a lot happening in the mid and high frequencies, the sound can lack clarity if you’re listening closely. Headset Mic Full Charge InIn case you were wondering, you can use the Xbox Wireless headset while it’s being charged, but obviously, it’ll then take longer to recharge.A closer look at the left ear cup shows the instructions for the chat / game audio mixer and the pairing button.To give you a sense of how this headset handles connections, I first paired the Xbox Wireless headset to my PC with Microsoft’s USB Wireless Adapter (not included with this headset, but it operates on the same Xbox Wireless protocol as the consoles) for music and to take some video calls. As for charge speeds, Microsoft says it can gain four hours of use out of a 30-minute charge, or a full charge in three hours. It started cutting out when the signal had to go through multiple walls, but that’s to be expected. Microsoft webcam for macThis won’t be a problem at all if you connect to your PC via Bluetooth (as I imagine most people will) since the headset can connect to both concurrently.If you’re someone who’s likely to lean heavily on the concurrent wireless connection feature, I like that this headset automatically lowers the audio streaming from the Xbox Wireless protocol device when a call is incoming so you can hear it. Microsoft’s pairing process for Xbox accessories is very simple. I don’t want to overblow this issue, though. Frustratingly, the headset can’t handle juggling between two previously paired devices that use the Xbox Wireless protocol, so I had to manually re-pair it when I wanted to hop between my PC and the Xbox. To use them on the Xbox Series X, I had to run through the same process. Additionally, there’s an auto-mute feature that can mute noises happening in your surroundings. Through the Xbox Accessories app for Windows 10 or Xbox, you can adjust the equalizer (movie, music, game, heavy bass, and speech are the presets, or make your own) and boost the bass. The Xbox Accessories app on PC and Xbox lets you fine-tune adjustments.The level of customization this headset allows is also impressive for the price. Cranking the volume with the dial makes it louder for both devices you’re connected to. Of course, the effectiveness of this auto-mute feature can vary depending on your household situation. The person on the other end said that my speech wasn’t getting cut off, which is something that can happen with these kinds of features, and that happenings in the background weren’t noticeable. During a video call, it seemed to work as intended, if not better than I expected. But by design, it can’t connect to other gaming consoles. I would have loved it if a USB dongle was included for more support with devices, like the Nintendo Switch. Sony’s model is comfortable and looks equally dashing next to the console it was made for, and it has a 3.5mm headphone jack and 3D Audio support in its court.But it’s tough to compete with the Bluetooth support and button-lite design built into Microsoft’s model. Microsoft’s new Xbox Wireless headset is well ahead of that model in terms of design, ease of use, and functionality — all in a more affordable package.If it fits my head and can also fit around the Series X, it should fit you fine.If Microsoft is to be judged compared to Sony on how well it designed a headset to accompany its latest consoles — as it inevitably will be — this one handily edges out the Pulse 3D even though they’re the same price. You can also customize the level of mic monitoring or how much outside sound is fed through the mics and then funneled into your ears.Up until now, the $150 Razer Kaira Pro was the Xbox-specific headset I told people to get because it’s comfortable, and it supports Bluetooth in addition to the Xbox Wireless protocol. This review incorrectly stated that a 15-minute charge could get you three hours of use. If you’re in the family, though, you’re in for a treat.Photography by Cameron Faulkner / The VergeCorrection: The Xbox Wireless headset can get four hours of use from a 30-minute charge.
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