So this morning my old Plantronics headphones died a valiant death at the hands of my 2 year old son. At some point, he exploited a pathing hack in the door my
home office man cave, and managed a crit on the right side earpiece wiring. Thus, a trip to Best Buy was hatched. So, we load up in the wife's
SUV epic mount and begin our quest for Dad's new gaming headphones.
I figure I'll take it out of his allowance at some point in the future.
I was skeptical of any 5.1 headset. Just didn't see how it could truly offer any sort of true surround given how close the speakers would be to the ears.
Boy, was I wrong.
Plantronics GAMECOM 777 Surround Gaming HeadsetSound:Now, I'm not blessed with the best hearing in the world. Years of riding motorcycles and dirt bikes, bartending in shithole dive bars with live music, and listening to music just a little too loud in general have certainly taken its toll. But the difference between these and my old Plantronics was like night and day. Voices are crisp and clear, gun fire and other special effects leave no doubt for the direction from which it came. The only qualms I've had with it thus far is that every so often voices get a slight echo to them. I'm not sure if that's a result of the DRS fob/system or if its a setting I've goofed in the game or what, but it only happens every so often. It's like the DRS is getting a bit confused on where the voice is actually coming from and spazzes out a bit. That said, that's the only bad I've come across. Highs, mids, and lows are all very pleasing to the ear. And the surround
works. The difference between FEAR2 on my old busted and FEAR2 using the new hotness is like night and day. They truly bring out gaming to a new level, and it honestly is the best investment to this hobby I've made.
The best compliment I can give to them is that the sound coming from the speakers feels/sounds far away. It doesn't sound like it's as close to the ear as they are. They have a nice spatiality (if that's a word) to them and I caught myself several times looking at my desktop speakers to make sure they weren't turned on.
The mic picks up load and clear despite being a bit on the shortside. Actually had to turn my outbound down on ventrilo when talking to some old friends.
Construction/Fit/Ergonomics:Very solidly built, using a high quality grippy plastic. Lots of nice felt padding around the earcups. A couple hours of gaming with them left no ear fatigue, not too heavy that you really notice they're there and not too light as to want to slide off your head on any quick movements. They're a bit tight, but that's a result of me having a huge melonhead, so YMMV. Over time, they'll stretch out and feel like a comfortable pair of gloves. The volume control has a nice tactile feel to it.
A nice feature is that the mic rotates up, and into a slot in the main frame completely out of view. You wouldn't know it was there.
Pros: Awesome surround sound, comfortable ear pieces, ease of use, clear mic, built like a tank.
Cons: Occasional echo in voices, price
If you're looking for a desktop speaker replacement (or are looking for a new gaming headset period), I highly recommend looking into these. They're a bit pricey (100 bucks), but well worth the money.
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