Sony Official PS3 Wireless Headset - Review

[MjolnirActual]

Ok so some of you guys who are playing BF3 with me lately know that I just went and begged the finance minister (wife) to let me get the new PS3 wireless headset to replace my wired Tritton ones. I heard that there was some speculation on weather or not they were a good purchase so I wanted to write a review.

First here is the link to the Sony page that details the specs for the headset and has a promotional video:

http://us.playstation.com/ps3/access...adset-ps3.html

That does a rather thorough job of letting you know what makes them tick.

However the real question is how well do they work, and I can say now after 3 days of use they are absolutely incredible. The sound that they produce is sharp and clear and it does a decent job of simulating a full surround experience. (Footsteps of enemies being the most startling thing as they really come through.) One thing that is lost in the audio with these headphones is that horrible "hiss" that came through the Tritton set. There is none, zero, nadda, ambient noise in these things it's unreal. You literally hear everything. Not to mention my Tritton set's speakers were not all that ballsy to be honest and they would not handle lower range sounds well, you could tell that the sound was distorting because the speakers just could handle it. Absolutely not a problem with these at all.

Apparently with the feedback I am getting from guys like River the mic is very clear and produces good in game VOIP sound for teammates too.

All the controls are located on the left stalk of the head set.

The on/off mute is a switch located on the top front face of the of the set, as well as the control for the Surround Sound on/off too.

This set just like the Tritton set has separate volume controls that let you select VIOP over Game or vice versa depending on what sound "track?" you want to hear more over the other. The control for this is a slider located on the left front of the set just above the ear cup. It's simply a fader with both extremes and a center dimple to have each volume equal.

There is also a master volume control located on the left rear of the set that lets you select an overall volume level for the headset.

The Mic is located on a collapsible stock by your left cheek. It has a multi color indicator at its head that helps alert you to the status of the set while in use.

The unit charges via a USB located on the left stalk. The manual states that initial charge time should take approx. 3hrs ... I was right on target for that.

As for battery life, I am getting about 9 hours of play time (with some sand-by time mixed in) out of a charge ... IMHO that is rather good.

Now that I have said I've played with the headset on for long periods of time you are asking, "Well is it comfy?" Yes, yes it is thanks. Actually the whole thing is not heavy and the ear cups are VERY well padded as is the halo making the whole thing kinda effortless to wear. Don't get me wrong you know it's there, but you really are not worried about it in the least.

Set up is unbelievably simple. All of the software for the unit was included in system patch 3.70 so the PS3 is all ready to go. Unlike the bluetooth headsets this unit runs off of a USB fob. Literally all I needed to do was plug the fob in, turn on the headset and bingo I was all set. I have never seen plug and play work so flawlessly.

As for drawbacks at this point I can only think of 3 offhand.

1. The whole thing really doesn't way much at all and I feel like I should baby it and make sure that it is treated with care. So I'm not looking to let in get in reach of my twin 2 year olds. However it doesn't feel chinzy or weak at all but it's lightness makes you feel like you should treat it with care.

2. The mic boom, honestly works like a champ, and I like that it collapses out of the way when not needed. However it is an extra set of moving parts so it does on some level violate my K.I.S.S. principle. Again I think treat it with care and it's no big deal ... again the boys will NOT be playing with Daddy's headset.

3. Charging, apparently depending on the "hub" you use to charge your devices (I have a Pelican one to charge my controllers with 2 extra USB slots) some do not pass enough power to to charge the set. So I am kinda slave right now to the PS3 for charging and I'm not a fan of just letting my PS3 run when it's not actually in use. (feels like extra wear and tear on the system to just have it "on" to charge a device)

Other than those 3 things (that are in my opinion minor really) this is one of the best devices I have ever purchased for the PS3.

Now about cost:

Low maybe mid end hissy, wired Tritton set: $88. bucks at GameStop.

PS3 wireless, crystal clear headset awesomeness: $99. bucks at GameStop.

Literally 10 bucks more got me into a whole new world of gaming headset. I say 10 bucks well spent.

Over all on a scale of 1-10 ... I give the PS3 headset a solid 9.5

Hope this helps

Dave

[Ironhide400]

Awesome review! Thanks for the input!

[Port66]

Great review.

I also really love my Sony headset. Also a note that most wireless headsets cannot do, but I many times charge it while using it and the sound is so powerful that you dont have to max it out to hear everything.

Also I charge mine with my TV's USB port or thru my powered usb hub that is plugged into the surge protector for power.

[Tblazer13]

Agreed, it's an excellent headset, I love mine. Even though more expensive headsets are better, they have so many cords that they are a pain the ass to use. And it matches or beats cheaper alternatives IMO.

[Crusty]

Yeah I have the Sony bluetooth headset from a couple of years ago and I like it a lot. Partly because I can also use it as my hands-free with my phone while I'm driving.

[SSMayNV]

I use this headset and it rocks!

[angrysake]

i love that headset its just i wear glasses so yea kinda hurts after awhile

[Port66]

I wear glasses and have no problems. Sorry that it hurts. I do make sure it sits just right.

[angrysake]

lucky! idk whats wrong with me cause me and my friends who wear glasses all have headset problems lol

[XxSilentxFartxX]

Xbox finally released a bluetooth headset and I love it so far. It can also be used for my phone.

[David_3033]

Thanks for the review I just purchases a pair of these for myself! So far these are amazing compared to the TB that I used to have.

[MaximusR3]

I decided to pick some of these up too and I am really enjoying them. The one thing that was a little weird was the headphones doing a good job of noise isolating also made it so i couldn't hear myself talking and had no idea how loud i was speaking. Luckily the new PS3 firmware released last night (4.10 i think?) added voice monitoring so now i can hear myself just fine

[David_3033]

I decided to pick some of these up too and I am really enjoying them. The one thing that was a little weird was the headphones doing a good job of noise isolating also made it so i couldn't hear myself talking and had no idea how loud i was speaking. Luckily the new PS3 firmware released last night (4.10 i think?) added voice monitoring so now i can hear myself just fine

I was the same way. I couldn't tell if I was screaming or talking really quitely. Since I didn't get feed back I figured noone could hear me, I found myself repeating myself a bunch thinking noone caught what I was saying. I love this headset though.

[Port66]

I have had these almost since they came out. I will have to try the voice monitoring, it is a nice feature. I love the large area for mute so I don't have to struggle for a quick muting mid game when the phone rings or the kids pester me.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[MaximusR3]

oh something i forgot to mention, this headset also works with my computer effortlessly. All you do is plug in the USB dongle and it does the rest automatically (running windows 7 anyways). I've used it for listening to music and used the mic on skype. I thought it was onlt going to work with a PS3 so i am really pleased to see it has multiple uses