Plantronics GameCom 367 Closed-Ear Gaming Headset

Before deciding on this model of headphones, I had debated between the Creative Fatality's, Sennheiser 350's, and Audio Technica ATH-AD700's. I almost went with the AD700's but wanted a headset with an integrated mic, I wouldn't feel bad about loosing or throwing into a bag for travel, sounded decent, and didn't cost an arm and a leg (ruling out the Sennheiser's, as well). It was a difficult debate, to be sure. As you can guess, in the end, I went with the Gamecom's. Having now owned them for about a week, I now wish to offer my review.OVERALL QUALITYOverall quality of this headset is very good. As others have noted, the majority of the headset consists of a sturdy, durable plastic that feels as though it will last for years. The ear pads are covered in a black velour that, while very soft and comfortable, will attract dust and hair very easily. Also, I don't know if any of the pads are replaceable. If not, they should be.The mic folding up into the headset is a very nice touch. However, it does rub up against the headphone itself so that it never stays tucked in all the way. Further, when rotating the mic down to mouth level, it tends to scrape along the raised edge of the headphone. This will eventually begin to show signs of wear.The cable is a very nice, thick gauge. The volume dial feels very solid and is constructed of the same plastic as the headset itself. It is a few inches further from the headset than I prefer, but that is easily solved with the on-cable clip. The y-split at the end of the cable is set with a rubber cover and the cables after the split are pretty short, thus limiting its functionality. This could be a problem for some.Finally, the extension pieces (the part that the headphones slides on, at the top) are much thinner and flimsier than the plastic used elsewhere on the headset. I could see this easily breaking in the not too distant future, unfortunately.COMFORTAs headsets go, these are among the most comfortable I've used. As I said, the plush velour pads on the ears and band are very soft. They will keep your ears quite warm, unfortunately. I had read reviews stating that the headset gave people headaches from the pressure. On the contrary, I found them to be about average in the amount of pressure they exert, and I have a larger than average head size. Also, I absolutely love how the ear cups themselves pivot allowing the headset to better adjust to the contours of your noggin.SOUND QUALITYOn its own, this headset is OK when it comes to sound quality, not great but not terrible. Highs are decent (a tad trimmed, actually), mids are decent, and lows are generally heard but not felt. I would describe the sound as airy and subdued as if there's unrealized potential. (I feel it fair to mention that this headset should be burned/broken in for at least three hours but preferably longer. The sound signature changes dramatically within that time.) The soundstage (how well you can tell where individual sounds are coming from), on the other hand, is absolutely phenomenal. For the twenty-five dollars you pay, I can't think of another headset with this good of a soundstage. This makes them an excellent recommendation for gaming, obviously. For general listening (movies and music), this headset is generally good. I would say it's above average for it's class/price range.When amped and equalized, however, this headset comes to life. Hooking the Gamecom's up through my cmoybb headphone amp (with bass boost on, of course) and tweaking the equalizer in iTunes dramatically changes how these headphones act. Highs are amazing, mids are great, and lows are heard AND felt (seriously, this headset goes surprisingly low). For the price-point, the sound quality, when amped, is amazing.The only other point I would like to mention here before concluding is that the headphones, despite being labeled as "closed-ear," will NOT block out external noise. Keep this in mind when considering these headphones.CONCLUSIONI would HIGHLY recommend this headset to any budget conscious gamer looking for a very reasonably priced headset that offers good sound quality, comfort, and durability. On the same token, I would very strongly suggest that you purchase a good headphone amp to accompany this headset, in order to realize their full potential. It will make a night and day difference.Pros:Sturdy ConstructionGreat sound quality, when ampedOverall very comfortableDoes not block out all external noise (good for use at the office)Cons:Need an amp to realize full potentialDesign issues with micCan be quite warm after long periodsDoes not block out all external noise (bad for noisy environments)

Well im not gonna be just saying good stuff about things here but also the most important key points for buying a headset. Firstly i bought this last week and decided to give it a go considering its price and reviews i've seen for it. Of course, the comments do persuade part of my decision to get it a little but nonetheless i decided on it based on my own gamble.Firstly i decided to get this because the first thing i wanted to get this headset was for its closed ear build. If you dont like a headphone to go over your head but instead around the back of your head, dont get this. this is a mighty bulky headphones. You'll get a massive feeling of something grasping your head when you first put it on. From the pictures seen online and how people use it, i must say i thought it was smaller in size but IT IS HUGE. A few things to note too is that it really grips your head well and the ear muffs are not really gonna cover the whole of your ears. Its not built that way. I suppose plantronics might wanna come up with a new model where the muffs arent squarish but rather rectangular to fit the whole ear in it. Try googling Logitech G35 Headset and you'll know what i mean. Even though i've tried many ways to fit my whole ear in it, i still end up with part of my ear lobes sticking out, and this is a problem after long hours of gaming as it will hurt once you start removing the headset. Im a heavy gamer who plays games for some long hours (6 hrs min and i wear glasses and this is an issue as the muff pads will squeeze the bottom part of my ears to the glasses frame. If you dont wear glasses like me, i suppose it wont hurt so much. Some reviews explains that its comfortable and soft. Yes it is soft, but its not really comfortable since the muffs kinda squeeze your excess earlobes a little so you might want to consider the "comfortable" portion when buying this. The headset frame is adjustable to give you that required adjustments to fit your head size, be it big or small. The material of the muffs are pretty good,and because its soft, it actually tries to fit your skull structure which is good.Now we come to the sound and mic. BASS is awesome. I'd say im impressed with the bass for this one considering its only a basic headset. You could hear very detailed bass echoes and crystal clear trebles with this one, and im really impressed. I play games which require voice chat and its so clear that you could tell if other players had bad mic on their headsets cause of their scratchy voices. Oh and did i mention its noise cancellation for the mic? Oh my Gawd! Its so good. Tested on Skype's Echo test and boy was i surprised. It sounded like i was in a recording studio! Its so clear and you dont have to speak loud to be heard. To get the best out of the sound and mic, AMP up the sound settings in your system and you'll hear a major difference. Its so good, its wicked. I have a Logitech G330 Gaming headset and i love the mic on that because of the crystal clear sound you get from it, and this i must say is 90% on par with that. Not that im saying its not good enough, but if you own both of them, you'll know what i mean. The mic tucks in neatly on the side and makes part of the headset frame when not in use so you could also treat this like a normal headphone when you go out without having people staring at you if you had a headset with a mic jutting out on one side of your muffs. It has a 3.5mm jack so it fits to most of your devices. If you plan to use it on your mic xbox controllers or ps3 sets, you'd need to get them special adapters to fit these in. The down side to it is although you could use it, the sounds kinda soft and you sound pretty soft as well so you might wanna speak up a little when doing this.Side tracking a little, if you're thinking wearing these will block out all the noises from the background, well.. sadly it doesnt. I could still hear when someone talks (on a normal speaking tone) to me even when i wear the headset, so its kinda has its pros and cons. But tbh a little bit of volume increase will solve this problem.So overall i'd say i'd give this headset a 7.5 out of 10 rating since the quality of build compared to its quality of sound and mic is great. Would i recommend all of you to get it? Sure do! :) Have a little fun, get one, and see for yourself if its great. I wont promise you'd be so gawdfully jawdropped by its performance (i know i did), but i can promise you'd smile for a whole 2 hr while you watch your favourite movie on the computer. Its a cool bling to have, and that GAMECOM label on the headset frame will turn heads on you when you're taking the train or bus, trust me. Enjoy the set!