Review – Tritton Pro+ True 5.1 Surround Headset For PC and Mac
Overview
Type: HeadphonesPros:
+ Great sound quality
+ Solid build quality
+ Comfortable fit
Cons:
- Long cable tough to manage
- Cable not detachable
- 5.1 sound card requirement
This headset is a great buy. It is a quality product, has great sound quality, and is in a reasonable price range for gaming headsets.
Packaging
Unpacking the Tritton Pro+ caught me a little off guard. The packaging on the outside looks elegant, yet once you remove the outer sleeve the minimalist inside me screamed with joy.
The packaging for this headset is plain and simple. Underneath a quick start guide lies the headset, upon its black plastic molded throne. The detachable microphone sits at the head of the package, and the cabling is coiled in the middle. Tritton stickers are included, and this rounds the packaging out.
Build
The moment I pulled this headset out of the package, I was immediately impressed. This over the ear headset feels solid, but is made of light material. The earpieces swivel 180 degrees, to allow you to wear them around your next and still jam out while wrecking noobs.
The padding on the earcups is nice and thick, but is soft to the touch, and retains its shape after use. The padding across the headrail is just enough to keep resting peacefully across the top of your head, but not enough to put pressure on it. The adjustable arms seem to be arched in a way to keep the headphones tight against your head, and this also helps keep pressure off the top of your head.
The headset has a sturdy feel to it; extending the earcups out, I felt comfortable and was not concerned with damaging or breaking them like other headsets. In addition to this, notches in the arms show how far extended out the earpieces are, making readjustments quick and easy.
The cables for this headset are quite lengthy; 12.3 feet in length is the standard for this model, so you have plenty of cabling available for your PC or Mac setup. The cables end in 4 3.5mm audio inputs, providing you a 5.1 Dolby experience.
The first thing I did with these headphones, is find a way to plug them in, and secure the remaining 11.5 feet of cabling. Now, keep in mind these are wired, and wired is definitely what you get. The one issue that I ran into is that after I hooked these up to my PC, and had several feet of cabling to deal with. Once I secured the cabling, I moved on to connecting and listening to some music. I wanted to get a good test run listening to music before I jumped online and beat some scrubs into submission. This also would allow me to get a good sense of how the audio sounded when my gaming headset was doubling as my audiophile headset.
The headset fit very well. Instead of resting on my head, it felt as if the entire headset was working together to stay in place, and I noticed the arms did a lot of the heavy lifting, without putting too much pressure on the sides of my head. The design seemed to favor this approach, as the arch and cushioning held the headset in place.
Sound
The audio on this headset is terrific. The sound is clear, and the distortion is low. There is no emulation or virtual sound of any sort. In place of this, there are front, rear, center and subwoofer channels within each earcup. Every song I tested had crisp, high notes, and solid bass. Some users have reported issues with the surround aspect not working in this headset, but I did not experience in the least. That surreal feeling of sound coming from behind you or around the back of your head was definitely there as much as any other surround headset I’ve tried. Each game I played exhibited the same qualities – footsteps creeping up behind me, someone walking above me on the second floor – each sound came through with absolute clarity, including the trash talk of the scrubs.
This leads me into the microphone – the microphone is detachable, and when connected to the headset with a turn, it locks into position. Two things about this impressed me. First, you can easily remove the microphone to reduce wear and tear when not in use. Second, if the microphone goes bad, you can easily replace it, without having to ship or return the entire headset. Overall, little things like this show that Tritton has the end user in mind.
On that same note, I was disappointed to see that the 12 foot audio cable was attached to the headset, and was NOT removable. Although the cables were hearty and well shielded, any issues with the cable means you are returning the whole setup.
Style
Style is by far one of the things this headset is rocking. The design is simple, but elegant, yet you can tell each piece of these headsets were thoughtfully crafted with the customer in mind. You can tell the guys at Tritton are pros!
Take for instance the quality of the material. It is solid, but it is not heavy. Wearing this headset for several hours, I didn’t run into the standard problems. No sensitivity around the ears or temples, and my neck had no fatigue. The large earcups fit perfectly over the ears, and the adjustable arms made the fit perfect.
Overall the build is sturdy, the headset is sleek, and the design is focused on providing the end user with nothing but a comfortable fit. When I was not wearing the headset, I was staring at the sexy white gloss illuminated by the bright orange double Ts.
Value
The Tritton Pro+ headset is priced at a very fair $129.99. There are cheaper headsets on the market, but the build and sound quality exceed most any headset you’ll find under $100. There is a strong pedigree behind this headset and it shows through in every application. A detachable cable would have been a nice touch, and some Mac users will find the need for a 5.1 compliant external sound card a deal-breaker, but for everyone else, these are a great buy.
