Published on December 15th, 2012 | by Greg
0TRITTON Pro+ 5.1: A Gaming Headset With Direction
It's the season for gaming. We've been using our controllers in overdrive, making our way through everything from Dishonored to the latest Call of Duty. Though a Wii U has yet to grace our shelves, we've gotten plenty of use from the Xbox 360 and PS3 lately. And through the last four weeks, we've been testing a headset that is a great value proposition. MadCatz makes some of the best gaming gear around- witness our recent review of their super-powered PC keyboard- and we've got a headset from one of their family.
The Tritton name is well-known for their audio equipment and we quite liked the original AX Pros- the Tritton Pro+ 5.1 True Surround Headset is the latest in the line of platform-agnostic models. Eight total speakers- four in each ear- mean that surround sound doesn't have to be simulated but is truly immersive. There is a lot to like here, starting with the build quality and the reasonable price tag. They call these over-ears, but depending on the sized of your ears, might be more similar to on-ears. Isolation was pretty good, blocking out external sounds so we were able to focus on the sounds of shooting and walking.
Dolby Digital audio allows pinpoint identification of sound sources, thanks to the decoder box. Most higher-end systems have a similar box, and this one was fairly sleek, offering a surprising degree of control over each channel. The Tritton Pro+ offers the nifty Selective Voice Monitoring, a feature that we don't need very often but is handy on occasion. You can choose to hear your own voice through the audio mix or disable it, as well as the voices of other players, separate from the gaming audio. The microphone is adjustable and even removable, but we did notice that it lacked baffling and thus picked up a lot of background noise.
One oddity that it is important to note- the US version of these do not include a PC connector or adapter. The European version does, leading to some confusion. Other than that, cables are included and are decent- the 12 foot long primary cord is pretty nice and felt sturdy, and even an optical one is included. The padding on these is only so-so- the earcups a little less than fully cozy, and while the headband is adjustable, we liked the flexibility of the (more expensive) model we recently checked out. Marathon gaming sessions were a bit better once they were broken in a bit, or we had adjusted to the slightly thinner pads. Further, we wished for a power button on the in-line controls.
The price is certainly right though- it's hard to ask for more from a $200 set. The Tritton Pro Plus headset offers better surround sound than more expensive models, and works well with both of the major gaming consoles. Especially for PS3 users, we'd choose these over the Warheads that we checked out a bit ago, but for 360 users it might come down to a preference of wireless versus wired, and the $100 premium for the Warheads over these.
Tags: audio, gaming, headset, review
About the Author
Greg Greg dreamed up the idea for the Truly Network while living in Hawaii, which began with a single site called TrulyObscure. In 2010, when advertisers and readers were requesting coverage beyond the scope of that site, TrulyNet was launched, reaching a broader audience over a variety of niche sites. Formerly the head technology correspondent for the Des Moines Register at age 16, he has since lived and worked in five states and two countries, helping a list of organizations and companies that includes the United States Census Bureau, TripAdvisor, Events Photo Group, Berlitz, and Computer Geeks. He also served as the Content Strategy Manager for HearPlanet, a multi-platform app that has reached over a million users and has been featured in the New York Times, Hemispheres Magazine, National Geographic Adventure, Fox Business News, PC Magazine, and even Appleโs own iPhone ads. Greg has written as a restaurant critic and feature journalist for a number of national and international publications, including City Weekend Magazine, Red Egg Magazine, the Newton Daily News, Capital Change Magazine, and an arm of China Daily, Beijing Weekend. In addition, he has served as a consulting editor for the Foreign Language Press of Beijing, as well as a writer and editor for the George Washington University Hatchet, the school newspaper of his alma mater. Originally from Iowa, Greg is currently living in the West Village of Manhattan.
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