CREATIVE 70GH013000001 Sound Blaster Tactic3D Omega Wireless Headset (Black)

First of all when i got them, i spent several hours just to sync the headset to the basestation, i needed to contact Creatives support to do it, it wasnt fully explained in my manual.

When i finally got them up and running i found the sound to be great.

After a while i heard an irritating *pulsating* low-frequent sound, i read from other reviews that the logitech g930 had this issue.
I just couldnt stand it, so i swapped usb ports, plugged out the other soundcables, changed sound options etc.

Finally i found the problem, its the led light from the earcups that got this noice!
The earcups have a *pulsating* light, luckily in the drivers that you download for the headset, you can change the light to pulsate slower/faster and to have more or less light.

I turned it off, and the sound dissapeared, if i got low-light and no pulsating, its ok, i barely here it.

The charging cable to the headset is very short, maybe 20cm. And the basestation is permablinking even when the headset is off, just a waste, hope it wont break.

For me the volume buttons on the earcups just moves my windows sound bar like 1% per click, and i cant click and hold. 10-30 clicks every time you need to lower/higher the volume is pretty much a joke.

Battery life is not great nor bad, its ok, if i still were a "pro gamer" it wouldnt last the entire nights, never. Also need to plug in mini usb every time you charge.

As you can see, ALOT of bad things actually... and i didnt even tried it for consoles.

+ Great looks and comfort.
+ Great sound
+ Wireless ofc :)
+ Fits great with my Razer Lycosa keyboard and my Razer Deathadder mouse :)

- Install
- Volume controll
- Noice from earcups - need to lower the really nice blue lights to get rid off
- Blinking base station even when headset is off, need to plug out the usb..
- price is high for all negatives.

Great headset if you get used to the negatives and use it for max 5-7 hours per day and can control the volume some other way than the headset.

These really are a must-have if you're a heavy user of PC entertainment media - I've actually binned my speakers in favour of wearing these whenever Im at my machine: Theyre wireless so you dont feel "bound to the desk", and theyre not anything like as heavy as I imagined from the robust looking images.
Yet robust they are - lovely build quality and very nicely designed - they dont look cheap or cobbled together at all.
The sound is perfect - crystal clear and a full, rich, 3D sound with minimal leak; so if youre using it in a room where people are sitting it wont irritate them. I also found they handle sound from music and movies beautifully (I was very impressed that when watching a stand-up show, the laughter track wasnt shrill as it was with my other earphones) - And I found I could actually use them on lower volume too and still get perfect sound quality - so its better for my ears in any case!

The microphone I found a bit useless for me and cant really comment on its performance, as I never use it; but the great thing is it can be unceremoniously torn off, so you dont feel like some sort of co-pilot.
And the stand is non-invasive when not in use, and holds the headphones securely and neatly when you want to hang them up. Charging is of course an essential activity with them being wireless, and again - fine for me as use was long enough to watch a movie, or listen to an album; but I think during abuse testing I got a maximum 6 hours use before needing to recharge them - so if youre a marathon gamer you probably would want more life between charges (and the charging takes a while too)

The star however is dropped for me because I could NOT get them to work using my xbox. Tried all sorts - no joy. As most of my gaming is xbox based, and they claim to be xbox compatible, Ive had to drop a star from an otherwise perfect bit of kit: so if youre a PC gamer I cannot reccomend enough: if youre a console gamer, unless you have better luck than me I would avoid.

This is my first headset, gaming or otherwise, so I didn't know what to expect! I was surprised that there is no disc supplied with the headset and instead you have to go to Creative's website and download them. While this was easy enough, it could prove a problem if you aren't on the Net! Installation was dead easy, just plug in the USB wire, cancel the automatic recognition by Windows 7 and instead run the Creative installer. Once it had installed the drivers and software I had to leave the Headset to charge for 8 hours before the first use. When fully charged and ready for use, I tried listening to music, movies, and played a couple of games. The sound quality was excellent, and while in full Stereo I can't say I was able to detect any surround sound effects, maybe it's the games I tried or my ears (I am hard of hearing). The Base was nice and 'rumble-y', while the trebles were bright and clear.

The microphone is detachable (though I found it very hard to pull out once in place), and seems of reasonable quality. The various voice effects apply-able in the software worked fine, though I feel they are a bit of a gimmick unless you're REALLY into your WoW! I would have liked the microphones flexible arm to be about 3cm longer though for better placement. I did notice that there is a delay between you saying something and you hearing it in the headset.

The Wireless base plugs into a spare USB port on the PC and therefore the headset bypasses any sound card you have, which is a shame if you have a good quality one. This also means that, unlike conventional headphones, the speakers aren't automatically switched off. In order to hear through the headphones you must go into Windows 'Playback Devices' via the speaker icon in the System Tray and change the default to the headset. While the headset itself is wireless the Wireless base isn't, so you will need a suitable spot to place it. You can however use it with or without the headset stand, whichever is more convenient. AS I already own a REcon3D external Sound Unit, it would have been nice if the headset could have worked with that, but they don't, and while there is a version with a Recon3D supplied it is a bit redundant (as well as expensive) if you already own one! It would have been nice if either the Recon3D or the Headset came with the necessary Wireless adapter as standard.

Range wise, I was able to wander to every corner of the house without loosing the signal, and the volume controls worked fine as well. It would have been nice if there were Multimedia control buttons on the cups to control you media player. As it is there is a power button (which must be held for about 3 seconds to use), volume up/down buttons and a microphone mute button. These are built into the back of the left ear cup so if your right handed (like myself) you may find them a bit fiddly to use.

Construction is good and solid, all the parts feel well made, and the ear cups are very comfortable. There is a blue glowing ring in the outside of each ear cup which can be brightened/dimmed and made to pulse faster or slower via the software. One thing is for certain, they certainly look 'The Biz' on your desk!

I don't have a game console so cannot comment on how well they work with one, but I would imagine sound wise they will be great. Though a bit more complicated to wire up judging by the Quick-Start Guide. Also none of the advanced features (Equalizer, THX, Voice Effects, etc) are available when using with a console.

Overall, I really like the sound quality and wireless-ness off this headset. However, I personally would have preferred it if the base plugged into your sound card rather than acting as it's own. I would happily recommend them.

Pros
====
Wireless (with excellent range).
Great Sound quality.
Lots of adjustments possible.
Easy to set up.
Well made.

Cons
====
Bypasses your Sound Card completely.
Can't be used with the Sound Blaster Recon3D.
Doesn't automatically switch to headset (instead of speakers) when switched on.

WARNING
=======
This does not come with a Recon3D Wireless headset adapter and it can not be bought separately. If you want to use a Creative Wireless Headset with the Recon3D then you MUST buy the bundled version: Creative Soundblaster Recon3D Omega Wireless Gaming Headset for Xbox 360/PS3/PC/MAC.