With an emphasis on esports and tournament play, the Victrix Gambit wireless gaming headset features a lightweight frame and long battery life for all-day play. Paired with Dolby Atmos support, you’ll be completely immersed in true 360-degree audio. However, its overemphasis on bass can cause you to miss some important audio cues, which could mean the difference between victory or defeat.
Victrix Gambit – Design and Features
The Victrix Gambit headphones feature a relatively subtle design that doesn’t immediately announce “these are gaming headphones” to everyone in the room. Sure, they are a bit chunkier than many contemporary headphones – both those designed for gaming or otherwise – but the subdued black colorway and vegan leather earcups add a touch of sophistication.
The headphones are wireless, able to transmit sound up to 40 feet away via USB adapter that’s compatible with Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC. They are also Dolby Atmos-certified, enabling you to take full advantage of immersive 360-degree audio in supported games and apps. It includes a lifetime subscription to Dolby Atmos audio on Xbox and Windows, which normally runs you $15.
Sound-wise, each side of the headphones features a 50mm driver for audio, with an around-ear cup design that helps isolate audio from outside noise. As previously stated, the earcups are made from premium vegan leather and feature a subtle purple stitching to match the purple accents on the headset.
On the left side of the headset is a flip-style microphone, which automatically mutes when you flip it up and out of the way. It’s extremely bendable from the base to the tip of the microphone, making it easy to position for optimal speaking distance from your mouth. The mic itself is a bi-directional noise-canceling microphone that produces mostly clear audio for your teammates to hear. Just below the microphone is a three-stage profile for voice monitoring. By pressing this button, you can toggle between no voice monitoring, low monitoring, or high monitoring – depending on whether you like hearing your own voice while you chat.
Additionally, you’ll find a 3.5mm audio port if you prefer to play with wired headphones – a nice feature if your battery happens to run out mid-game, as you can simply plug in and continue playing. The corresponding cable includes in-line controls for mute and volume. Near the auxiliary port you’ll also find the Micro-USB charging port. While this port is still fairly common on consumer electronics, I would have much preferred to see USB-C here as most devices have shifted to the newer standard in previous years. The fewer cables I have to worry about keeping around, the better.
Towards the front of the left earcup you’ll find a disc-shaped dial to easily adjust between game and chat audio on the fly. It has very smooth rotation and is extremely satisfying to scroll. On the right earcup there’s a lone dial (also very smooth) to adjust the overall volume. The only downside to these dials is that there is no physical or audible feedback other than the two stopping points to let you know how far they’ve been adjusted.
The overall shape of the Victrix Gambit headset is wider than it is tall, which favors those who find headphones to be a bit tight as it can stretch horizontally more easily. Aside from the earcups, the entirety of the headset is made from a lightweight plastic that has a decent amount of flexibility, although it surely feels as though it could snap if stretched too far. It also features two small memory foam pads on the top of the headband where it rests on top of your head.
Victrix Gambit – Software
The Victrix Gambit wireless headset features plug-and-play support for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC. There’s no additional software required to utilize the headphones.
Victrix Gambit – Gaming
While testing the Victrix Gambit headset, I found the lightweight frame to be favorable for long sessions, though the small memory foam pads underneath the top of the band did little for comfort. The leather earcups are soft and extremely cushioned, but aren’t as breathable as many other mesh-style cups, leading to my ears feeling a bit warm during play.
The overall listening experience definitely favors the lower-end, with deep, punchy bass akin to Beats headphones. For games with lots of explosions or bass-heavy music, these headphones sound great. For everything else, though, some of the audio gets drowned out.
Most of my time spent was driving around Mexico in Forza Horizon 5 and for the vast majority of the game things sounded great. The directional audio provided by Dolby Atmos sounded fantastic, as I could easily determine where my opponents were during a race. Whether they were far behind me or quickly passing me by, I was able to locate them with pinpoint accuracy.
Driving around Mexico was a surreal experience. From the sound of loose gravel cracking underneath my tires or telephone poles whizzing by as I sped down the freeway – everything felt incredibly alive. All too often I’d find myself closing my eyes and listening to the sounds of birds chirping, locusts buzzing, and trees rustling which instantly made me feel as though I had been transported out of my home.
Where my immersion was broken, however, was any time there was a deeper sound, like a plane flying overhead, or the latest music tracks popping up on the in-game radio station. The overwhelming emphasis on bass drowned out almost everything else around me. I tried another set of headphones to ensure this wasn’t a sound issue within Forza Horizon 5, and found the other pair of headphones was able to accurately reproduce all of the audio, including the sounds of my car driving, music playing, and ambient sounds in the world – all while the plane soared by.
I also spent some time in Destiny 2, as it features a great mix of gunplay, various intergalactic sounds, and music. However, when things got hectic, I experienced the same issues as I did while playing Forza, with much of the audio getting crushed down in favor of explosions and bassier sounds. At one point, I even encountered a scenario where one of the music tracks was straight up missing some of the instrumentation due to the overwhelming bass. I once again tested with another pair of headphones and could instantly hear more of the arrangement. The limited dynamic range on the Victrix Gambit is concerning to say the least, as every game’s audio is different and it’s impossible to say whether or not you’ll miss out on critical sound cues when it’s most important.
My only other gripe with the Victrix Gambit is the built-in microphone. As with most gaming headsets, the microphone isn’t great. It does a decent job of isolating external audio to focus on your voice, but suffers from crackling issues – especially when your voice gets loud. Just about anytime I raised my voice above a normal level, I was met with audible feedback and crackling. If you tend to get passionate during multiplayer matches, this microphone probably isn’t the best option for you.
from IGN Reviews https://ift.tt/3HpGaZ1
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