Testing Criteria

In this round-up three main areas will be examined that a gamer would be looking for in a headset:

Sound quality – a headset’s primary utility is its ability to reproduce sounds in-game, but many gamers will more than likely be using their headsets for other uses such as listening to music, watching movies and teleconferencing on their PC or with a portable music player so sound quality should be of utmost concern.

Comfort – long gaming sessions can be made much more enjoyable or a test of endurance if the headset does not meet comfort requirements. Because they are clamped to your head constantly in direct contact, the design and materials used in a headset can really affect the performance of a gamer in extended gaming sessions.

Gamer features/practicality – these are the features that differentiate a gaming headset from a hi-fi headphone. The functionality and practicality of these added features will be compared to see how exactly they enhance the complete gaming experience.

Tests and analysis will be performed with the travelling gamer in mind, and as such onboard sound will be used and noisy LAN/internet cafes and travelling to and from competition venues will be taken into careful consideration. Not everyone will be able to relate to all of the situations; however it is hoped that this round-up will provide the most balanced impressions possible that will be of most benefit to you.

Of the headsets being looked at, three are made by companies whose main business is in mouse pads: Icemat’s Siberia, Steel’s Steelsound 5H V2 and Everglide’s S-500. The Barracuda HP-1 is from Razer who also make mouse pads but are more commonly recognised for their gaming mouses.