(CNN) –
The Xbox Wireless Headphones are perhaps just the best gaming headset for a work-from-home world. In addition to being instantly connected to your Xbox, it can also be synced to your phone or computer at the same time, so you can take calls or listen to podcasts while playing.
We do not try to encourage you to play a little Halo during an important meeting, but having a single headset for work and play without constantly reconnecting any devices is a great blessing. And on top of that, Microsoft’s new headset sounds good for gaming and is comfortable enough to wear all day – all for an enticing $ 99.
Is the Xbox Wireless Headset a must for Xbox gamers? This is what we think after a few days of work, playing and chatting with it stuck in our head.
For whom it is: The Xbox Wireless Headset is for Xbox and PC gamers looking for an affordable, good-sounding gaming headset that also plays nicely with smartphones.
What you need to know: Microsoft’s new gaming headset delivers impressive sound within a very comfortable design, but the real standout is the ability to connect to your Xbox and phone at the same time. This way, you can listen to podcasts and take calls while still hearing the sounds of your favorite games.
How it compares: The Xbox Wireless headphones are similar in price and functionality to the $ 99 Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 2 and $ 99 SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless, but only Microsoft’s headsets have Bluetooth to connect to your console and phone at the same time. If you want something slimmer, the Arctis 1 Wireless is worth considering.
Like the Xbox Series X console on which it was inspired, the Xbox Wireless headset has a modest design designed to blend into your playroom or home office. These all-black headphones are accentuated by only two rings of green on each earphone, emphasizing the handy up-and-over dials for adjusting the volume and spell calls on the eye.
Our only major gripe on the design of the Xbox Wireless Headset is that it looks absolutely massive on our head – it is not a headset we will wear in public, like our daily headphones as with the much slimmer SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless . We would also like to see a white version that matches the slimmer Xbox series S.
Yet it’s convenience that really counts when it comes to designing a game chapter, and the Xbox Wireless headphones deliver it in a shovel. Thanks to the lightweight 11-ounce design and the thick foam covers covered with artificial leather, we had no problem with Microsoft headphones all day long, while playing games, making calls and emphasizing music. bounce.
The Xbox Wireless headphones keep things simple with controls on the ear, and pull out a page from the Surface Headphones 2 playbook with a large rotary knob on each ear – one for adjusting the overall volume and one for adjusting of the mixture between spelling and voice chat volume. There’s also an on / off button and a mute button for when you don’t want your Call of Duty teammates to hear you feast on snacks.
The rotary knobs are a wonderful touch, and we find them much more intuitive than the often small volume knobs located between a sea of knobs on many game headsets. The connection was also painless as we were able to connect to our Xbox, phone and computer within seconds. We are big fans of the Xbox Wireless Headset’s minimalist approach to controls, though a button to switch between audio presets (which we’ll get to later) would come in handy.
PHOTO: Mike Andronico / CNN
The Xbox Wireless headphones sounded great with almost every game we threw at it, giving us a competitive edge in shooters and allowing us to enjoy many environmental details in immersive single-player games.
If we play titles like Halo 5 and Gears 5 on Microsoft’s headsets, we can easily determine where enemy footsteps and gunfire are coming from – an important audio detail for those who want to drop their opponent. In addition, sounds such as the kicking of an assault rifle or the explosion of a grenade have a satisfying feeling to them.
Microsoft’s headset really shone when we played Ori and the Will of the Wisps, an atmospheric, Pixar-like platform with sounds as striking as the footage. The Dolby Atmos support of the headset (which enables an accurate positional sound) enabled us to be completely immersed in the forest of Niwen, as we could hear birds chirping from all directions and make small details, such as’ an enemy splashing around in the water full of clarity. Even better, the Xbox Wireless Headset was able to retain these rich ambient sounds without overpowering the game’s beautiful orchestral party.
Speaking of parties, the Xbox Wireless Headset delivers OK music performance, though it will not compete with a dedicated headphone. Rock songs like “Cat’s Cradle” by Tigers Jaw quickly became muddy, while the guitars and bass songs merged to form an indistinct wall of sound. The atmospheric hip-hop of Kid Cudi’s’ Lovin ‘Me’ fared better, as Microsoft’s headset brought a full bass to back up the melodic crown and synthetic synthesizers.
You can customize the Xbox Wireless Headset with the Xbox Accessories app on Xbox and Windows 10, which offers a number of microphone and audio output options. Here you can jump between different sound modes, including game, movie, music and speech; switch on the headset’s automatic damping function; and enable microphone monitoring to hear your own voice as you speak.
The difference between EQ modes was small but noticeable. The preset of the game is generally balanced, while Heavy Bass, well … adds more bass. The movie and speech presets were handy for highlighting explosions and dialogue in Captain America: Civil War, respectively, while the music preset is pretty subtle and didn’t do much to improve the headset’s relatively poor music performance. It is noteworthy that music sounded much better on the Microsoft headset when played via Bluetooth via a phone or computer, than it did on Xbox Wireless on our Xbox One S.
The Xbox Accessories app offers some decent customization options to the Microsoft headset, but it comes with reservations. You can not use the app on a computer if you are connected via Bluetooth (you must connect with a USB-C cable) and there is no app for mobile devices.
The Xbox Wireless headphones have a solid battery life of 15 hours, which is largely in line with our testing. It took two days of heavy use, including several hours of playing games and making calls, to first get a low-battery alert on Microsoft’s headset.
PHOTO: Mike Andronico / CNN
The Xbox Wireless headphones offer excellent sound for gaming, but it stands out with its ability to connect to multiple devices simultaneously. Microsoft’s headset can be connected to an Xbox console and a Bluetooth device (like your phone) at the same time, so you can play games on the first while listening to podcasts or taking the latter calls. This is a great feature – especially in a work-from-home world.
Thanks to the dual connectivity features of the headset, we were able to chat for hours with colleagues and friends about Slack and Discord, while still being able to hear the sweet sounds of our demons being cut down on our Xbox. Both sound sources came through clearly each time, and there was no hint of delay or interference. We had to adjust the volume manually on both the headset and our phone to find the right balance, but everything sounded good after a little bit of adjustment.
This is very handy for a few reasons. If you’re on Xbox but playing a platform like Fortnite with your friends on a PC or Nintendo Switch, you can still chat with them, thanks to universal apps like Discord. It also means you can use the same headset to play and take important work calls (no judgment if you decide to do both at the same time), all without having to do any annoying syncing when switching between your phone / computer and your Xbox. With the Bluetooth support of the Xbox Wireless Headset, it’s a great option to stream Xbox Game Pass Ultimate titles on your Android phone, especially considering how few Bluetooth headphones are in this price range.
Microsoft’s headset also held up well in terms of actual microphone quality. Several people we spoke to said they could hear us clearly, and the voice recordings we took were loud and clear – if it sounded a little robotic. The overall good microphone quality of the Xbox Wireless Headset is a relief, as the actual microphone is quite short and although it is flexible, you cannot pull it in to pull it closer to your mouth. Although there is a handy LED on the microphone to let you know if you are not muted, we had to strain our eyes to even see it.
PHOTO: Mike Andronico / CNN
With an immersive gameplay sound, a wonderfully comfortable design and a reliable microphone, the $ 99 Xbox Wireless Headset would be an easy recommendation, even without the extra features. But the ability to connect it to your Xbox and phone at the same time really puts it over the edge, turning the Microsoft headset into a device that makes it easy to take calls or catch up on podcasts while working out Gears of War .
The Xbox Wireless headphones are not the most attractive headset out there, and a few more on-ear control options would be appreciated. If you want something slimmer that also plays nicely with Nintendo Switch, the SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless for Xbox is a worthy alternative.
Still, the Xbox Wireless headphones are a fantastic value for Xbox and PC gamers – especially those who spend as much time on conference calls as they do playing.