Portable wireless
When we started with the portable wireless
category we were amazed at how similar the products were. Of course we don’t
mean sonically similar but rather the build, design and overall quality. What
was even more disappointing was that there was nothing that stood out from the
herd. They were all in the same league – all ho-hum humdrum devices. It
would’ve been rather abominable if one of them was priced absurdly higher than
the rest but thankfully they all were priced similar too – all between $85 and
$139. In terms of performance, sadly none of the headphones in this category
were good enough.
Roundup
Be it headphones or iPod docks or speakers,
Creative has that typical sound signature – fuzzy mids, mellow bass, and a
somewhat clear upper midrange. Both the WP 300 and WP 350 are exactly the same,
except the WP350 has a microphone. Overall they’re sharper than the Genius
clone, but don’t have a well-rounded sound. The Genius HS-980BT has lesser
emphasis on any one frequency range, so more natural sounding than the Creative
ones. Again we must reiterate this does not mean headphones sound good, it’s
just a relative performance boost that we’re talking about.
Both
the WP 300 and WP 350 are exactly the same, except the WP350 has a microphone
Going by the M6 in-ears and HT-21 we had
with us for some time, we expected great things from the Meelctronics AF32.
Sadly the entire frequency range is muddled especially the mids. Dream Theater
sounded especially distorted. On Cris Rea – Call On Me the bass was bloated and
distorting in some places. Thankfully the bass wasn’t boomy like the iBall Base
09. The AF32 is good if you want to listen to genres with limited detail. For
rock and metal where the instrument density invariably scales rapidly, these
fumble. Except the loose bass the iBall Base 09 overall isn’t bad. Dream
Theater with all the complexity and instrument density sounded decent enough.
But the bass on Call On Me was quite boomy but the vocal clarity was passable.
Nominally the best performer was the Logitech H800 but not by a great margin.
In fact in the wireless space we had a much better wireless portable with us
last year – the TDK WR. Neutral sounding, and high fidelity over the air
transmission thanks to Kleer technology, it left a lasting impression. Sadly it
wasn’t in attendance for this comparison. But overall none of the headphones
performed as per our expectation, so there is no best performer award. Going by
our price to performance index, the iBall Base 09 gets the Best Buy.
Nominally
the best performer was the Logitech H800 but not by a great margin
Gaming Headsets
Gamers are a very varied and interesting
breed. Picking out the right headset for such a creature is an arduous task and
is more akin to trying to settle a Quake 3 vs. DOTA debate. After much
head-scratching, we settled on the following.
Hardcore gamers
This is a special breed of gamer, one that
will quake in its boots at a “boo” from a little sister, but will dance with
abandon on the grave of a desecrated opponent. A cut-throat creature whose only
aim is to win, at any cost, come what may. A mild creature on the outside,
harmless even, but when in a gaming environment, it completely transforms into
a feral beast. A primal terror that will rip the enemy apart with skill,
precision and utter ruthlessness. Such a creature only lives for one thing,
death on the battlefield and the glory that follows.
For such a creature, only the utmost
precision will suffice and the SteelSeries V2 based Diablo III and Frost Blue
headsets are the only ones that can satisfy them. These headsets impressed us
with the precision of their reproduction and pin-point positioning of the in
game source.
The design has compromised on bass in favor
of precision of reproduction and it shows. Games and multimedia are not as much
fun as they can be, but for a hardcore gamer with only gaming performance in
mind, these are among the best headsets at their disposal; if a little
expensive. So essentially, both these sets win the much coveted Best Performer
and Editor’s Pick awards, since they’re both the same.
For
such a creature, only the utmost precision will suffice and the SteelSeries V2
based Diablo III and Frost Blue headsets are the only ones that can satisfy
them
Enthusiast gamers
These are the more mundane gamers. Ones
that want to experience a game for what it is, enjoy the experience, revel in
the ambience and are transported into another world. Such a gamer only expects
an enjoyable experience and has not yet been bitten by the bug of pro-gaming.
One who would rather play Crysis 3 than Counter-Strike
This type of gamer has two options at its
disposal; one is the ROCCAT Kave which, as a true 5.1 set, provides by far the
best surround-sound experience on any headset used thus far. Headsets like the
Sirus S do have multiple drivers but don’t even come close to providing a
definitive 5.1 experience. The Kave’s performance is only second to the
SteelSeries and while these sets will not enhance the experience in games like
Quake or Counter-Strike the way the SteelSeries sets can, the immersive 5.1
experience provided in games like Dead Space 3 and Crysis 3 need to be heard to
be believed. The Kave was the only set in which we could clearly discern rear
audio and actually felt like there was something behind us. The build quality
is very nice and while we wish the cables were braided, they seem sturdy
enough.
The Creative Tactic 3D Omega (or the Sigma
if you want a wired set) is another excellent option in this category. It’s
expensive, but it’s a wireless set with a SoundBlaster adapter that is quite
good and negates the need for an additional sound card. The headset is large and
comfortable and while the set is good, the mushy and overpowering bass leaves a
lot to be desired in terms of actual quality, but is enough to provide you with
an enjoyable experience. The bass is so strong in fact, that the headset
actually starts vibrating in bass heavy sequences.
The
Creative Tactic 3D Omega is another excellent option in this category
Casual gamers these are normal human beings
who just play games for fun and aren’t really concerned about how they’re
faring in the game. A creature that will just start a game without touching the
settings or even pushing up the difficulty a notch
For such a gamer, the right headset is
almost impossible to pick. If it wants a set that just looks cool and performs
reasonably, the Creative Tactic 3D Alpha or the ASUS Orion PRO or Vulcan PRO is
what it’s looking for. That said these headsets leave much to be desired in
terms of audio quality and at the prices they retail at, there are far better
options available in the “audiophile” category, even for gaming.
The Creative Tactic 3D Alpha wins the Best
Buy award here. It’s a good set but there is nothing especially remarkable
about it and while it does offer better value than its competitors, its value
is more a product of simple mathematics than appreciable quality. It’s a good
set nonetheless and while still possessing the signature “boom” of the Creative
Tactic series, manages to do a decent job overall.
