Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsGreat sound and comfort, but disappointing mic monitoring.
Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2022
It's unfortunate that these don't have the same mic monitoring that the LS35X do, which I believe is one of the best examples of sidetone on the market. I was hoping for that as my wife uses a LS35X but the specific ear cups on that model don't fit my ears well, so I thought I'd try the 100x. For me personally, I need good sidetone as I like to crank the volume when I'm playing and it can be difficult to speak clearly during large firefights without hearing yourself. This often leads to yellowing or just becoming frustrated and turning your volume down. Unfortunately with the LS100X it has leatherette earpads which are very comfortable but also good at noise isolation - this is good one one hand, but not so much if your sidetone sucks, which it does here. I'm unable to hear myself without shoving the mic right on my lips which of course isn't appreciated by my team mates when they're hearing wind noise from my breath. It's just unfortunate because everything else about this headset is quite solid for the price.
Sound quality is great. No issues and didn't feel the need to change the EQ at all. The controls on the sides of the headset are also so easy to use and I wish more companies would adopt this method of game/chat balance and independent game volume dials. Rotating a large dial the size of the ear cups is so much faster and easier to do than finding a small dial hidden somewhere on the back of the headset.
Comfort is also fantastic. The headset is very light on your head with a low clamp force. It's one of the more comfortable styles I've tried. Ear cups are big and deep enough to not bother my ears.
Build quality is a weak point. Mostly, if not all plastic construction. Even the actual band inside the headset, usually metal on most quality headsets is plastic here. It's plenty flexible and it's unlikely to break without abuse, but it definitely doesn't inspire confidence in its longterm durability. Still, that light plastic does make it comfortable to wear for long periods.
No issues with connection. It has its own dongle and so it's already guaranteed to be more stable than direct wireless which Xbox uses on a lot of Turtle Beaches and the Steel Series 9x (notorious for bad connection issues, and consequently the headset in looking to replace).
Yes, the 100x does have Bluetooth but it's not simultaneous, so you can't connect to your phone and listen to game audio at the same time. Honestly, in 2022, I don't even know why we're doing this version of Bluetooth anymore - people want simultaneous 9 times out 10 when they get a bluetooth capable headset. Weird oversight there. Kind of useless to me but if you need a Bluetooth headset when you're not gaming, hey, it can do that.
Mic quality. In addition to what i mentioned about sidetone, I didn't hear good things about this from my wife. We play a lot of stuff together and she immediately noticed a difference in quality compared to my steel series. She said it didn't sound nearly as clear, but my brother in law stated it was "fine". So, take that for what's it's worth. I trust my wife because she has heard me through many a headset, so she definitely knows what sounds good and what doesn't.
Overall for 100$, it's not bad but I'm disappointed by the pathetic sidetone. If that's important to you, look elsewhere, if you don't care or hate sidetone (you're weird but ok) then it's worth considering for the comfort and ease of controls. Honestly I can't rate it higher than a 3/5 because I believe good sidetone is absolutely crucial to a headset, especially with noise isolating ear pads.
I returned this one and went with a Razer Kaira Pro as it's currently $99 and offers simultaneous Bluetooth with game audio, excellent sidetone, and similar levels of comfort. While it lacks the easy dial controls, the other features for the price make up for it. I recommend that headset if you're looking for something comparable to this.
