Plantronics Gamecom X20 Headset Xbox Review

Based in California, Plantronics have been around for a very lengthy period. In fact in 1962 Plantronics introduced the first lightweight headset so they certainly have the experience to create something special for Xbox Live headsets. Even Neil Armstrong’s historic “One small step for man” transmission from the moon in 1969 transmission used a Plantronics headset. I remember watching the film “Volcano” and at one point in the movie Tommy Lee Jones was seen wearing a headset with Plantronics written on.

The Gamecom X20 is amazingly small. It makes other Xbox Live headsets seem incredibly large, although this does not impact the function of the headset one bit. Rather more alike to mobile phone portable headsets for hands free operation. Do not be fooled into considering this though as a mere secondary headset apposed to the Official headset currently available. The size of the little cute bit of technology actually represents good value when it is at the time of writing this review retailing for $20.

First of all though lets start with some of the negative points so we can sweep them under the carpet straight away. This is more aimed as a replacement headset as it does not come with the ‘widget’. This is the part with the volume control and mute button which slots into your controller to which then the headset itself plugs in. This means you will have needed the official headset at some point before you can purchase this little bit of kit.

The sound quality is a little tinny for the people listening to you unfortunately. Although the voice is still extremely clear, users can notice a change in quality but people will just have to get used to it. Really that is all the negatives so now onto the positives.

For you the listener, the audio is fine. Everything is audible, the only thing you will notice any different is the sound is slightly of less quality then the official headset version, although consider the size of the speaker is much smaller so you have to expect some loss, but remember you can still hear the conversation perfectly as you would expect from Plantronics.

The part which really impresses me with this device is the way it attached to your ear. That’s right not head, but ear. To further decrease the size of the unit, the usual bit of plastic that would sit behind your head is no longer there. Instead the device cunningly has a little rubber flap that sits under the tab of your ear. This with the microphone helping to position and secure the headset, it is surprisingly well thought out and reduces any aches when wearing for lengthy gaming sessions online plus enjoy how light the headset is as a result of this.

The headset can be worn in either ear and comes complete with extra speaker covers if they get a bit grotty over time. It is very simple to attach after you have mastered the strange way it sits in your ear.

Conclusion

The adage, great things come in small packages actually does this cute little headset justice. Very light and good quality allows this small contender to be a worthy replacement for the official headset.