I am seeing a lot of superlatives being thrown around in these
reviews. It can make it difficult to determine if this is the right
product for you. I would say that for MOST audiophiles and nearly all
other ps3 owners, this is a worthy purchase. There is however a segment
of highly discerning audiophiles that this will simply not suffice.
I
struggled at first to determine what I thought about the product. What I
ultimately concluded was that for convenience and ease of use alone,
this is a worthwhile product that is close to the correct price point. I
locked in when the preorder price was $65 here on amazon, so I am
definitely satisfied with the value. $100 may have been close to the
high point, but I still think it is a decent value for what you get
here. Here is the breakdown:
- The virtual surround is not going
to blow you away. Like others have pointed out, it makes the low end
sound a little thin, and some realism is lost in the process. I have a
difficult time determining which I prefer, stereo or virtual surround.
For sports games, I prefer stereo. For shooters, virtual surround does
offer a little bit of directional recognition, so it is useful, but
again, nothing impressive.
- I am a borderline audiophile. I have
spent upwards of $500 on headphones before, and have considered the
purchase completely worth it for the fidelity provided. My current
favorite is the Shure SE 535: [...]
I would say that high end
headphones have spoiled me to the point that I could never consider this
sony product as exceptional sounding. It is not. I can't really listen
to this product at high volumes without getting ear fatigue very quickly
and noticing the sound signature short comings. I prefer to listen at a
very low volume (~25%) because it still provides a degree of immersion
that I was not able to achieve at night, or even during the day, if I
didn't want to be blasting the home theatre. Which brings me to my next
point:
- For pure convenience and reliability, this purchase was
worth it. If I want to watch a movie with headphones on, I will be using
my shures, no doubt. If I am going to sit down to a long session of an
epic single player game, I will probably plug in the shures (I use a 25
ft headphone extension cable to reach the couch BTW). But if I'm gaming
online, or just playing a quick game of Fifa or NBA 2K11, or any other
casual session of gaming or online browsing, I am definitely not going
to put myself through the inconvenience of tethering myself with cables
from my ears to the receiver. It's just not practical. And that is where
this headset will earn its value in spades. It's so easy to just pick
the headset up, turn it on, and get a fairly immersive gaming
experience. To be honest, since receiving the headset in the mail last
friday, and a weekend of gaming, I have not had the desire to use
anything except this wireless headset. It's so nice to not have anyone
in the house even know I'm there, whereas before I would be getting
constant requests to turn the sound down.
- Comfort is a huge
plus. These are among the most comfortable headphones I've ever placed
on my noggin. The leather used is plush and of suprising quality. I'm
impressed. They are lightweight and just barely noticeable. Another
valuable aspect of this product that makes me happy I ordered them.
-
Being able to use this wirelessly with my laptop is also a plus. Plug
the dongle into the usb, press play, and listen to some tunes. I won't
be doing this much, since the shures are already so minimalist. But it's
nice knowing I can.
- The ability to have crystal clear chatting
is the icing on the cake. Can't do that with the shures. I had not used
voice chat since the original Xbox days, and I forgot how fun it can be
when gaming with friends. It's like they are right there with you.
So,
even for audiophiles, I would say this is a product to consider.
However, there is that 10% segment of audiophiles that constantly get
upgrade-itis, and only want the highest end product out there. If this
is you, you already know that you should be seeking out a better
headset.
For me however, I'd much rather save the extra money for
a worthwhile audio upgrade that isn't specifically tied to gaming or a
computer. Why spend an extra few hundred dollars or so on a gaming
headset when that money could be used more effectively to upgrade some
other area of your audiophile life. Unless you game an unhealthy amount,
the money can be better spent elsewhere.
*****Update (9/13/11): I
just wanted to mention something that I am noticing about the negative
reviews. Some people are complaining of static. I have absolutely none.
In fact, you would think the headphones were off completely during
loading screens it is so quiet. The people complaining of that are
experiencing interference with some other device, probably a wireless
router near their ps3. There may be other devices that create
interference. I have experienced none whatsoever. I use a powerline
adapter to get internet to the ps3 from the computer on another floor
rather than a wireless router, so it is not an issue for me.
*****
*****Update
(9/21/11): I just wanted to say I now prefer the virtual surround
exclusively when gaming. Maybe I just had to get used to the sound. It's
still not very convincing, but the sound stage is wider and more
realistic than the stereo, even on games that don't require much
directional recognition of sound.
I hope this review helps
customers to better evaluate whether this is the right headset for them.
Feel free to leave comments or questions and I'll do my best to provide
more information.
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