Thanks to Gaming Zap for the product to review.
Headsets for console gaming begin at a very cheap price, for a reason. These headsets almost always produce a very tinny noise, and poor chat input & output. The ‘hardcore’ gamer will spend hundreds on a good headsets, which never fail to manage your speech whilst giving you the best surround sound gaming effects money can buy.
The ORB GX1 costs just under £25, which is a little more than a ‘budget’ headset, but a lot cheaper than those usually considered for the serious gamer. But how do they perform?
Design & Comfort
The GX1 is nothing extravagant in design to stand out alongside competitors, but keeps it simple by offering a very bold, black & white design. The volume control options on the wire look plain at first, however when turned on lights up – blue when the microphone is un-muted, red when it is muted. Whilst very useful, the bright LED may distract you when playing in a dark room.
I wasn’t at all surprised by how comfy the headset was when gave them the first try. I could see taking them out of the box that they would be very comfy, thanks to the extremely padded headband. The padded earcups can be extended to fit to your liking, and the surprisingly light weight provides a very comfy gaming experience. Whilst very comfy in short periods, the headset begins to cause discomfort when used for more than a few hours, however this was resolved by taking a 5 minute break without the headset.
Chat & In-Game Audio
The audio is where the GX1 really shines. Speech was very easy to hear when playing in an Xbox Party, or in a game lobby. I was pleased to be using the headset as the main audio source of ‘Battlefield 3’, a game which has received critical acclaim for it’s brilliant sound effects. The base boost system created great surround sound and aided in identifying my enemies, their location, and bullets that were coming my way. The sound maintained it’s consistency from beginning to end, without a single slip up. No matter how loud or quiet, the headset was able to give me a great audio experience.
Both the chat and main game audio were able to play hand in hand, and the volume control buttons on the wire allow you to adjust to your liking.
Summary, Pros & Cons
Pros
Brilliant bass boosting sound.
Creates great surround sound.
Microphone never fails record your full message, sentence or taunt.
Volume control allows you to adjust chat and game volume to your preference.
Very light weight.
Cons
Design isn’t anything special.
Bright LED can be annoying in low light.
Can cause discomfort after several hours of use.
Summary
What the headset lacks in design, makes up for by offering a great customizable audio gaming experience that comes very close to matching that of mainstream headsets like ‘TurtleBeach’. The bass boost system makes it a very good option for competition gamers, who need to know the location of others and events at all time. The trouble-less set up and simplicity of controls means that the Orb GX1 can be used by any form of gamer, both serious and relaxed.
