Reviews
T
hanks to the growing avail-
ability of broadband con-
nections and the increasing
complexity of online gaming,
real-time voice chat has become a
viable and often necessary means
of communicating with your team-
mates and victims alike in popular
online titles such as CounterStrike
and Unreal Tournament 2004. This
month, we take a look at a pair
of 5S" headsets that promise to
add an extra layer of immersion to
your gaming experience.
—TAE KIMPlantronics DSP-500
Allow us to borrow a sentiment
from *eff &oxworthy, the
king of redneck Jokes If
you work in an office
or own a cell phone
and you use a head-
set, you’re probably
a Plantronics user.
Such a generaliza-
tion is possible,
what with the
California-based
company being an
industry-leading
headset manu-
facturer. And
thanks to the
amazing $SP-00
headset, you can add gam-
ers to the list of likely Plantronics
customers as well.
The $SP-00 looks nothing like
the headsets donned by secretar-
ies and telemarketers around the
globe. Instead, it looks and sounds
more like a pair of high-end stereoheadphones. That’s a good thing.
We were further impressed by the
$SP-00’s audio performance in our
gaming tests, and it’s no wonder
The unit is powered by a pair of large
0mm speakers and features a built-
in hardware digital signal processor
for added performance and extra
“oomph.” And the $SP-00 sounds
Just as impres-
sive playing
music as it does
playing games.
Thanks to its
soft ear cushions, the $SP-00 is
also incredibly comfortable we
wore it through several extended
gaming sessions without feeling any
outer ear-pain. Communication was
pain-free thanks to the attached
boom mic’s reliable voice recogni-
tion and response.
The only fault we could find
was with the $SP hardware hous-
ing It comes attached directly to
the headset cord and can be a bit
unwieldy. "ut, that said, we’d glad-
ly recommend the $SP-00 to any
gamer in the market for a quality
gaming headset.Logitech Stereo
USB 300 Headset
Logitech is a familiar name to most
gamers &rom keyboards and mice
to game controllers and speakers,
the company manufactures PC
peripherals for almost every gam-
ing-related need. "ut while many
Logitech products rank among the
best in their respective categories,
the Stereo 5S" 300 headset can’t
claim this distinction.
/ur biggest complaint is that the
5S" 300 lacks bass response. The
modestly sized speakers managed
some impressive audio performance
in our gaming tests, but couldn’t
produce enough bass to satisfy our
expert ears. "ottom-heavy effects
like explosions and machine gun
fire sounded muffled and distant
unless we were perilously close to
the source.The 5S" 300’s saving grace is
its microphone it offers impres-
sive voice recognition and
response. (owever, at high input
levels, the mic is incredibly sensi-
tive and prone to transmitting
ambient background noise (the
effect is similar to those novelty
“spy” listening devices, only not
as pronounced). Turning down
the input levels helps alleviate
this issue. /therwise, the mic per-
forms admirably.
We never felt completely com-
fortable wearing this set of 5S"
headphones. The ear cushions are
stiff and unforgiving, and require
an initial breaking-in period before
they can be worn for extended
periods of time. As it stands, we
can only recommend the 5S" 300
to the casual gamer who occasion-
ally ventures online, or the budget
gamer in the market for a decent
midrange headset.Headset Hostilities
Built for multiplayer gaming, these two USB headsets
will leave you talking while you playGreat microphone performance and decent audio.HOT CHOCOLATEVANILLA ICE
Bass response is lacking.
$50, http://www.logitech.comMAXIMUMPC VERDICT 6
Logitech Stereo USBBuilt-in DSP, impressive performance, and comfort-
able to use.ROBERT PLANTSEWAGE PLANT
DSP housing is slightly cumbersome.
$110, http://www.plantronics.comMAXIMUMPC VERDICT 9
Plantronics DSP-50088 MAXIMUMPC JUNE 2004
With high-
quality sound
and comfy ear
cushions, the
Plantronics
DSP-500 has
everything
we look for
in a gaming
headsetThe Logitech Stereo USB 300
delivers adequate performance
but has trouble reproducing
bass notes.