Creative Sound Blaster Wireless WoW Headset

3. Specs and Audio Quality

Wireless headsets are rarely on a gamer's radar. Creative thinks its new World of Warcraft Wireless Headset can change how gamers view cordless audio.

On paper, the WoW headset looks pretty average; the drivers are 40mm neodymium magnets, with frequency response ranging from 20 Hz-20 KHz. In layman terms, this is what you would expect from most gaming headsets. The microphone is of the noise-cancelling condenser variety, also standard. Of course, since this is a wireless headset, the most important feature is the kind of wireless connectivity inside, and how well it works. The wireless type is narrow-band 2.4 GHz.

A quick trip to Newegg will show you that most PC headsets, whether they’re for gaming or not, do not use this kind of technology. In nearly every case, the implemented standard is Bluetooth or RF wireless. Bluetooth can murder battery life, and RF can be very temperamental and often relies on line-of-sight. Even the $200 X41’s from Turtle Beach use RF, so the 2.4 GHz wireless tech is probably a first for the gaming headset market (let us know in the comments if you know of another gaming headset that uses 2.4 GHz). The range on the WoW headset is impressive. 15 feet and two closed doors later and the headset still picked up audio. With no solid walls or doors around, the headset will work at 20-25 feet with no cut-out or distortion.

The WoW headset communicates with your PC via a USB key, which is slightly longer than an average flash drive, but not to the point of inconvenience. After you plug the USB key in and power on the headset, you’re done. The WoW headset doesn’t require special software, but it is available for download and it’s rather robust. Since the headset isn’t available for purchase yet, Creative supplied the drivers via FTP. The executable file installed seamlessly on XP and Windows 7. A reboot is required, but the process was painless.

The Creative Audio Control Panel offers a plethora of options tied to the WoW headset. This is where you will control the lighting effects on the cans as well as your hotkeys. Since WoW is all about keyboard micro-management, Creative has a full list of headset features that can be assigned to the keyboard, including push-to-talk, mute/unmute, and EQ controls. If your keyboard just won’t cut it, Creative also has a USB foot pedal in the pipeline. Once connected to your PC, the footswitch will act as a push-to-talk button, allowing your fingers to concentrate on spells and buffs. At this point, the WoW headset will occupy three USB ports, however, one each for data, the recharge cord and the foot pedal. This will be fine on a desktop, where you’ll probably have eight or more USB ports, but it could prove troublesome on the average laptop, where USB ports are more precious.

The software panel also controls many of Creative’s own features, including the Crystalizer, Smart Volume, surround sound modes, and bass boost. One of the more interesting features is Dialog Plus, which will be a boon for all the Ventrilo and Teamspeak users out there, as it raises voice frequencies without distorting in-game sounds. Instead of trying to normalize everything in your VoIP server, all it takes now is one mouse click. The panel also has a fully-featured equalizer, with all the standard music presets (rock, jazz, etc.). Creative also plans on releasing EQ presets that go with specific games, too. Again, the Creative software is optional, but it will definitely help you get the most out of your headset.

The WoW headset was used in the same way any other headset is used. Gaming was prominent in testing, but movies and music are just as important. The positional audio in the WoW headset, powered by THX TruStudio PC (also known as Creative’s next-gen X-Fi tech) does a great job of telling you where the rockets are coming from, whether it’s on your own plane, or above and below you. This is especially important with newer FPS titles like Team Fortress 2, where levels are usually three or four stories tall.

One area where the WoW headset really excels is bass. With the volume cranked up and the bass boost activated, the headset literally shakes, but doesn’t suffer from distortion or muddied tones. The overall quality of sound is the best we’ve heard in a wireless headset, hands down. While watching Blu-ray rips of Terminator Salvation and Iron Man, the bass roared and the mids and highs were well-represented. The same goes for music, and the built-in EQ presets make metal and rock that much more enjoyable.