Afterglow AX.4 Review

I know I said that I would not write reviews on this site, yet here I am only a few months into the blog putting one up, but I have what I believe to be a reasonable justification for doing so. I have a civic duty to fulfill in providing a critical review of this particular product because there are not that many out there. A Google search for the phrase "Afterglow AX.4 headset" will turn out several different pages of merchants trying to sell you one, a few sites that provide basic information on the product (such as from the manufacturer itself), and some video reviews for the Afterglow Xbox 360 controller.

The reason I know that is that I did that exact search. The reason I did that search is that I was considering purchasing them and I wanted to know if they would be worth it. But the closest thing I could find to a review was a page on gamespot.com on which users of the site had written about their own personal experiences with it.

Amateurs.

This is the kind of headset that Sam Fisher might use if he were trying not to disturb his wife in the middle of the night.

The first two things you will notice about the headset as you are perusing the Xbox 360 headset section of your local video game boutique are its price and its illuminative properties. Priced just slightly under the standard, official Microsoft headset it seems attractive to the thrifty shopper or the errand runner who was asked to pick up a new headset for the gamer of the house. Yet somewhat more noticeable due to its more striking package design and the fact that it lights up, Performance Design Products has presented a double whammy of shelf appeal to those buyers who are on the fence about the best tool to use for trash talking other players.

However, as with most things in life, it's what is inside that counts. The two features I was most concerned about in a headset were sound quality (for both myself and my friends on the other end) and comfort.

As far as sound quality is concerned, they sound as good as they need to. I did not notice a significant difference in the quality of the earpieces between the AX.4's and the Microsoft headset, but having said that, I should point out in the interest of full disclosure, that for the last few months I have been running all my online communication through my external speakers because the earpiece on my Microsoft headset ceased to function. So to be fair, I cannot accurately recall what it sounded like. But the AX.4's sound good enough to effectively chat with people. In fact, the speaker in the earpiece is loud enough that it does not need to be operated at full volume. As for what it sounds like on the other end, I cannot personally speak to. Besides which I would imagine that it would depend on the quality of the other person's headset. Nevertheless, my dear friend Joe let me know that I sounded "crystal clear" when he was hearing me. But again, I do not know how I used to sound with my old rig, but I doubt there was much of an improvement. But it still should be noted that the voice quality came in as clear as it did, because I have played with other people whom I was barely able to understand due to the fact that they were using cheaper, lower quality hardware, so thus far, PDP has proven their worth.

Here is where there is a marked difference between the two, though. With the Microsoft headset, there is a microphone boom that extends about five inches or so and is flexible. The mouthpiece on the AX.4 is only about two inches long and rigid (though it does have a pivot range of about 225 degrees allowing it to be worn on either side). Where some might see that as an immediate disadvantage, here are the facts: if someone has his/her microphone directly or almost directly in front of his/her mouth, some distortion can occur. That distortion will become amplified if that person starts yelling in the heat of an intense session. Having the mic off to the side of your face will increase the level of speech clarity.

Having clear and loud voice communication does not matter much if the headset cannot be worn for an extended period of time, though. So I was pleased with the ability of the AX.4 to remain soft and comfortable for several hours worth of playing time. The foam on the earpiece is more substantial and noticeably softer than that of Microsoft's earpiece which is flimsy and thin, and doesn't offer enough cushioning. However, you will definitely feel the AX.4's pressing on the other side of your head as the clear plastic adjustable headpiece presses into your temple. To be fair though, I have a pretty big head so I can imagine the headpiece pressing more as it is stretched out more.

Now that we've gotten past the hard outer shell of the coconut and eaten the flesh, let's take a sip of that sweet milk.

As I mentioned before, the first thing you might notice when you see the box for the AX.4 is that it lights up. This is a purely superficial feature and is really only effective if you are in the same room as someone because you cannot see the lights while you are wearing it. And the lights themselves are simply a pair of unspectacular LEDs.

Look how awesome this guys looks with his hot AX.4's!

The AX.4 also sports the expected mute and volume controls, but this is the clearest aspect in which it fails compared to Microsoft's headset. The controls are located on the earpiece so in order to adjust the volume or mute your own speech you have to remove your hand from the controller. This is a problem for people who like to play fast paced action games, in which reflexes and accuracy are key to good performance, yet who might be having a real life conversation with a roommate or significant other in the same physical room. From what I understand, though, that is the case with even some of the more pricey alternatives out there.

All things considered, it's not a bad piece. It's not going to win any awards or blow any players away with its audio considering how far headset technology has come this generation. But for the gamer on a budget, it could be a lot worse. It easily trumps the Microsoft headset, so anyone looking to pick up a spare to go with their extra controllers for their real-life companions would be well served to part with the few bucks that it costs.

Until next time, happy gaming.