This heavy-duty kit from Plantronics can take - and give! - a beat(ing).
In a throwback to the solidly-built audio gear of the past, Plantronics' Gamecom headset was met with more than a few quizzically raised eyebrows around the Labs - it's very old school in appearance. In functionality though, it's every modern convenience you can expect from your audio gear, especially for the target audience of PC gamers.
It's got a cable length of approximately one tech writer (just shy of two metres), which is rubber-coated with a texture almost like liquorice. There is a handy control unit that can alter volume through a large wheel, and turn the inbuilt mic on and off. The connectors are gold plated 3.5mm audio jacks, standard for any decent product.
At the other end of the cable, it attaches to the left-hand cup securely in a thick plastic mould. Each cup is very large and deep, and each fits into an open palm to fill it completely. They're made of tough plastic, and are closed to keep out external noises at the loss of cool air - these got a little toasty after extended listening, but shouldn't be too much of a problem once you're used to them.
The cups house a 40mm speaker driver, which has a frequency response of 20 - 20,000Hz. There's also a mic boom that swings down over the left cup, and tucks neatly out of the way into the headband when not in use.
The headband itself is made of the same tough plastic as the cups - you can chuck this set around and not be too worried about it. There's a thick cushion-ey felt-covered foam used around the cups, and just underneath the band, though the whole headset never feels heavy. It's got nice sound too - with just a hint of extra bass and a slight inability to handle the really high-end frequencies. For fifty bucks, however, it's a steal.
Issue: 106 | November, 2009