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When it comes to gaming, what you can hear can sometimes mean the
difference between winning and losing. Maybe, its the footsteps coming
from behind or just being able to hear where gunshots are coming from.
These are the kinds of situations where sound can make a big
difference. Theoretically, being able to hear sounds clearly and
knowing where sounds are coming from should allow a player to react and
make better decisions. This is the world of gaming.
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Today, we will be reviewing the Everglide s-500 Professional Gaming
Headphones. Some questions may immediately pop up in your mind. For
instance, "What are 'gaming' headphones and how are they different than
'regular' headphones." In this review, we will go over the features
this product has to offer and whether it really is suitable for gaming.
Well Padded....Yet Large
The s-500 headphones can be considered one of the larger headphones that I have seen. In fact, don't be surprised if someone thinks they look like 'studio' or 'DJ' headphones. This is mainly due to the large size of the left and right 'phones'. The left and right sides of the headphones are thickly padded with a leather-like membrane on the surface. While these pads are comfortable, they will have a 'wet' look after using them if you tend to sweat a lot or have oily hair. This may not appeal to someone if they use their headphones frequently and don't like the habit of wiping them clean.
The headband is thick and looks unbreakable. It has thick padding underneath which supports the top of the head when the headphones are worn. When placing the headphones over my ears, my ears fit in the large holes and the pads surround my ears. This is obviously different than headphones which place pressure directly on the ear. The larger surface area of the pads support behind the ear to prevent the headphones from feeling heavy. Therefore, what you have again are large headphones. Large headphones aren't necessarily bad, but some people may not want to look like a space pilot or something of that nature.
Noise Cancelling?
When wearing the headphones, I immediately noticed a reduction in ambient noise. My computer sitting less than a foot away from me was less noticeable since the fan noise seemed to deaden down. The fan in my computer didn't deaden completely, but it did feel soothing that the fan was not as noisy. I can also still hear myself typing while writing this review, but then again, this is not exactly active noise cancellation. These headphones were designed well since it does seem to provide more noise isolation making them much more quieter than your typical headphones.
Sound Quality
I tested these headphones through the entire works....I tried them in games, listening to music, and even watching movies. In games, most of the sounds you hear (especially in first-person shooters) are quick and come in bursts. More important of all, sound positioning was excellent. Compared with other headphones, sounds coming from the rear actually did sound like they were coming from behind. In music, as well as in movies, I found that these headphones worked the best on voices. Voices are accentuated and are extremely clear and crisp. Because of the larger headphone 'cups', the sound does sound more spatial adding more depth to human voices and more full-bodied sounds. The bass was sort of a mixed bag. In some material, the bass was acceptable, but the very low frequency sounds sounded just a bit weaker than expected. In material, where there were quicker 'thumps' in the bass, the headphones were able to reproduce without a problem. In terms of clarity, you will definitely notice more subtle sounds in material if you listen closely. I could even hear artifacts in several of my MP3's that I didn't notice before.
Little Extras
Common with gaming headphones is a microphone. Everglide chose to include the microphone separately taking into consideration that some people may not always want to use a microphone. The microphone is basically a mini boom microphone that worked well on online gaming. People were able to hear me very clearly without any problems. There is a bag that is included allowing you to carry the headphones, but there's nothing really more special about it. It gets the job done if you want to be able to carry your headphones while providing some minor protection from potential scratches.
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Conclusion
The Everglide s-500 professional gaming headphones are good overall. It was designed well and is one of the better sounding gaming headphones. The only negatives about the heapdhones will mostly depend on personal preference. Some may not find these headphones portable and just a tad heavier if someone is used to very light headphones. Otherwise, these headphones have all the features you could ever ask for. These headphones can be bought online directly from Everglide's website at a retail price of $99. This price is on par with other gaming headphones and is a good choice if you do a lot of gaming.
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