Well, last night I did something rather crazy which involved jumping up from a game of Counter-Strike and running to the living room. Unfortunately, I took the headset cord with me. I literally ripped the cord in half at the Y connector. I attempted a really horrible splicing job, but couldn’t get it to work. So, off I went to purchase a new headset. There were 3 models on the Best Buy website that seemed like they’d work: GameCom 377, GameCom 777 and the Logitech ClearChat Pro USB. Needless to say, I cheaped out and got the 377.
GameCom 377 Headset
Initial impressions were definitely mixed. The sound was good, the cord was reinforced, and the controls were huge. Of course, everything about this thing was huge. For $40, you really got your money’s worth in plastic. The mic tucks away very nicely, but in comparison to the ear cans you’d probably miss it entirely. I honestly looked like a space cadet with those things on. They were pretty heavy, and they made a clear statement: “I have no idea why I’m wearing these, but aren’t they wicked cool? No? Aww, seriously?”
So, my wife came home and I displayed my inner uber nerd and then realized just how crazy these things were. So, a quick check on the return policy, and back to the big blue and yellow box they went. Shay, a good friend of mine and one heck of a shot in Counter-Strike, recommended the ClearChat Pro USB from the start. I gawked at using USB for audio, but this time around I decided I better heed someone’s advice since I apparently have horrible judgment.
Logitech ClearChat Pro USB
Snapped up a pair for $10 more than the 377s and headed home. Opened the horribly designed blister pack and threw them on my head. These things are light. To be honest, it hardly feels like you’re wearing anything at all. The cable is just long enough to comfortably reach my tower, and the thing was plug and play. Vista 64bit just installed them and set my defaults for me. One game of Command & Conquer 3 later and I’m happy with them. Logged into Ventrilo and someone even commented that I sounded much better, easier to hear. Weird. It’s just a headset, right? The build quality is just okay, but if you’re relatively careful (unlike me) they should last awhile. The on ear controls aren’t as strange as they sound. You get used to it.
Anyways, I hope that helps a few people make some decisions on headsets. Just remember that return policy.
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