After I got a Playstation 4, I quickly realized that the time I was able to play was often after my toddler son had gone to bed, and that also my LCD TV had terrible stereo separation. So I started looking into headphone options. While some get amazing reviews, they often cost $250, which I wasn’t willing to spend. However, Sony produced a set of headphones called the PlayStation Gold Wireless Stereo Headset that got good reviews, sounded good, were comfortable, and only cost $99. For $99 on Prime, with the Amazon credits I had, I was more than willing to give them a go. So, I ordered a pair, and waited.
They showed up pretty quickly (Prime and all), and first thing off the bat is that they’re big. They’re not Sennheiser HD280 big, but they’re close. That said, they’re comfortable. They may actually be MORE comfortable than my HD280’s with my glasses on. You do have to fiddle with the headband a bit though, as if it’s too “loose” the ear cups tend to dig into your “TMJ” joint, and cause some discomfort (at least they did on me… but that was fixed my tightening the headband so the cups sat more “off” my jaw). The other thing of note is the headphones require the USB dongle (i.e. they’re not bluetooth). Meaning on the PS4, one of your two precious USB ports is now dedicated to your headphones (but, the advantage is, they should work on any device with USB (that supports sound))! The disadvantage is you can’t really charge your headphones and controller at the same time without unplugging the dongle. On the plus side, they configured immediately, and sounded awesome.
I usually find myself disabling the mic (button on the headphones) when not playing with others as the sound it picks up is replayed into the headphones and causes some odd audio effects (though it is nice if you’re expecting to get called to dinner). There are other sound profiles for the headphones that you can load via the PS4 app, but I haven’t found myself needing them. The difference playing Farcry 4 with and without them, is awesome. Before, eagles or honey badgers would sneak up on me, and I’d be trying to frantically kill them after they had already hit me. With them, I can hear them a mile away and am facing them as they “charge”. Fallout 4 has been much more enjoyable than 3 or New Vegas were because of the headphones (I may actually replay them both with the headphones now that I have them).
I liked the headphones so much, I bought a second pair on eBay and brought them to work to use on my computer there. I’d give them a perfect rating if they were bluetooth, but sadly, they’re not.
[xrr rating=4.5/5]
