vital piece of equipment, just not a very a good one (Microsoft Xbox 360 Headset)

Member Name: spidercallum

Product:	Microsoft Xbox 360 Headset
Date:	01/08/08 (229 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: allows you to communicate to your friends and other games over xbox live

Disadvantages: uncomfortable, feels cheap and isn't always the best quality

The Xbox 360 - a wonderful invention and in my opinion the best console ever released! I've reviewed the Elite Version, so check that out if that's what you're looking for.

This however, is about the headset that comes with Microsoft's well known console. I personally own the black version that was released with the Elite console, but apart from the colour, it is the same as the one that comes with the normal Xbox.

The headset is wired, and plugs straight into the bottom of your wireless controller - not in to the console. So in a way it is kind of semi-wireless, I guess. You can still take it as far away from the console as your wireless control allows you (if you have a wireless control, that is - you can still buy wired controls for those of you that don't know, and they are sent out with the Arcade edition).

In case you weren't 100% sure, the headset is used specifically for communicating with friends and other gamers over Xbox Live. This causes the quality of the sound to vary, depending on the speed of your internet, the speed of their internet and the speed of the servers your playing on (the not so popular games tend to have slower servers compared to the popular ones such as Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4). You're never promised a very good quality sound when using this headset, and I personally don't think it's all that great. There is only one 'speaker' on the headset, which can go on any ear as the microphone can twist any way round making it suitable for everyone. It's covered in a thin foam coating, which I don't think is particularly comfy.

The microphone quality again varies on your internet connection etc. Although it picks up your voice, and occasionally sounds around you perfectly, depending on connection speeds the person(s) you're talking to may or may not hear your voice perfectly, this of course doesn't have anything to do with the microphone though. The microphone is also covered in a thin foam coating which does help block out breathing, rustling/moving the microphone about and other noises in the background.

The other end of the headset (the opposite end of the speaker which sits on the other site of your head) is oval shape and is padded with thicker, more 'squidgy' foam. This makes it a little more comfortable to wear, but I find it can get quite uncomfortable after having it on for a few games, or sometimes even a few minutes!

The length of the headset overall can be adjusted, by pulling the speaker/microphone side down. This however, tends to catch and pull on my hair, making it even more uncomfortable.

There are two 'buttons' on the headset, which are located on the plug which fits into your Xbox 360 controller. One of which is a switch to mute your microphone so that you can talk without your fellow gamers hearing you. The other 'button' is to control the volume, which controls how loud others can hear your voice. You rotate the 'button' from left to right or right to left - there is a diagram to show what way increases the sensitivity of the microphone and what way decreases it. I had problems with this as there are settings on both the headset and the console itself, and it took me a while until it was set right so people could hear me clearly.

The only other downer with this headset is that it is ran from the batteries in your controller, which makes them die a lot quicker.

Overall, I think having this headset wired but still being semi-wireless considering it was plugged it gets plugged into the controller itself was a good move from Microsoft allowing them to save money on the headset that comes with the console and allowing them to sell their upmarket wireless headset for a much higher price.

If you have the cash, definitely go with the wireless headset, but if not you can just about put up with the freebie like me.

Summary: if like me, you havn't got the cash to fork out on a wireless headset, this will have to do...