ARCTIC P531 Real 5.1 Surround Sound USB Gaming Headset

Pros: Awesome sound. Best sound whoring Battlefield 3 headset. I've tried Cosair Vengence 1500(felt more snug),Razor Megalodon (little bit more comfortable) and I still feel these are better. More complete/ full sound for the price.

Cons: Durability is questionable. Be extra gentle with them since mine broke on right side, exactly at level 05 where they extend. I've seen one other comment on this. Don't know what to do when I get a REAL sound card because of USB connector on this headset

Other Thoughts: Search "Most helpful" reviews right below egg rating to get recommended setting for headset. Also, I've had buddies complain about how uncomfortable they are after 3 hrs but it must depend the size of your head and your own comfort levels because I've gone on for 5-6 hours, a couple times, without any discomfort or pain.Don't get to caught up on best sounding headsets , because your sound will only be as good as your audio drivers/ sound card

Pros: Decent sound quality
Simulated 7.1 surround (not true surround, it's hard to point direction aside from left/right on sound alone).

Cons: Wires are very weakly done, they break very easily, first in the sound control unit (which doesn't even have the support rubber that like every single cable that doesn't come from apple does), then inside the earcups. I started having problems around the 3rd month of use.

This is the kind of durability you'd expect from a 15 dollar headset.


Also Corsair's warranty doesn't cover regular wear and tear, so unless they arrived broken you can say that this product has no warranty.

Pros: Good sound reproduction, very good lows.

Cons: Microphone quit working after a few months.

Other Thoughts: Got this because it looked like it would be more comfortable to wear and less pressure on the sides of my head. Since I wear glasses, that was an important reason I bought these. Now I wonder if they're worth it, since the microphone quit working and Win 7 64-bit doesn't even recognize the headset as such, but as separate speakers and microphone. And this despite using the latest drivers from Arctic. I sent an email to their support team, hoping for an answer to my problem. Otherwise, I might have to go back to my older headset, which still works just fine, but presses against the sides of my head and can't be worn for very long before I get a headache.

Pros: good sound quality and light weight

Cons: After just 2 months of use, not abuse, the mic stopped working. Arctic has nothing on their web sight as far as warranty that i could find...not sure what will happen next but i will update

Pros: Good sound, strong bass provides powerful presence in games and movies. Easy to setup, lots of options to get them to sound the way you want them to.

Cons: Depending on the shape of your ears, you may have issues with comfort. I could not wear these for longer than about 30 minutes before it started in. It became pain after an hour and pretty much unbearable after an hour and 15 or so. Tried wearing them a few different ways, nothing worked for me. If you have ever experienced ear/head pain from supraural headphones, these will also bother you.

Other Thoughts: A good headset if supraural headphones don't bother you, I took a chance on them because of the price, returned them for a circumaural set.

Pros: Great sound, comfortable in moderate use.

Cons: They don't breathe very well, ears get hot after about an hour. They also get slightly uncomfortable after extended use. After about 6 months of daily, but gentle use, they broke on the right ear side where they extend. I have never had to extend them, but since they don't have any way to lock in place it would loosen up and eventually the plastic broke exposing the wire. It didn't break off entirely just the plastic part that covers the metal arm and wiring. Although if I wanted I would not be able to extend right side any longer.

Pros: - Great sound
*even better sound if you go into the speaker properties > Advanced (tab) and change the "Default Format" to 24 bit, 192 KHz (Studio Quality)
* tremendous bass, and the added vibration units in each earpiece provided an added immersion into games and movies

- Price is economical

- Comfortable

- Long cable

- I'm not a fan of the in-line control pod, but since it is
easy to use, and functional, I will list it as a pro

- Arctic's customer service is outstanding (more on that in "Other thoughts")

Cons: - The bass (and vibration units) in my first headset just stopped working.

Other Thoughts: I purchased my first pair about six months ago at a different online retailer (same name as the Rainforest in South America), and it is the exact same unit listed here, just cheaper ... the first pair I had, the bass just quit after about two months (moderate to high use). I contacted Arctic's customer service via email, explained the issue, provided the trouble-shooting steps I did, and they immediately issued me an RMA (they also included a free UPS shipping label), and informed me that once they received the defective item, they would ship out a replacement. I immediately shipped them the item, they received it about 3 or 4 days later, and they shipped my replacement set the very next day. All together, it took about 9 days for the entire process and that was only because it hit two weekends.

Regardless of the issue with the first headset, I am rating these a 5, not only because of the amazing clarity and surround sound they provide, but because the company clearly stands behind their product/warranty.

One more thing: In my search for a good gaming headset, I did try one of the Turtle Beach 5.1 headsets (with true surround, not just simulated), but they sounded horrible compared to these.

I lied ... this is the last thing: For those of you who watch video where the audio is in stereo, or listen to music with these, it sounds much better if - using the control pod - you turn down the rear speakers and adjust the center and front channel speakers to get the best, most accurate sound.

Pros: Pretty good sound, I enjoy it for my gaming.

Cons: The size of the ear piece is kinda small and hurts after awhile.

Other Thoughts: The mic doesn't pick up the best, I'm always told I need to turn up my mic.

Pros: Has good bass and the surround sound works pretty well. Haven't heard any complaints from people about the microphone.
Extrensive volume controls on the chord is always a big plus.

Cons: Get very uncomfortable after wearing them for a while. The fabric on the ear pieces is scratchy and the headset puts quite a bit of pressure on your upper and lower ear. Wouldn't really recommend for hours of wear.

Other Thoughts: Great sound, but somewhat uncomfortable for me. Maybe if you have small ears it wont be such a big deal.

Pros: -Possible best $60 headset on the market IMO
-Extremely good bass, and very loud.
-Inline volume controls for each channel of audio.
-The master volume control will only affect the volume of the headphones. So if you have two audio outputs, it will not change the sound of default audio, but specifically the USB headset.
-Surround sound is great for online gaming

Cons: -for the surround to sound good in game, you need to use the provided software to turn down the volume of specific audio channels, and turn up other channels.

Other Thoughts: These headphones at max volume are louder than my laptop's built in speakers