Plantronics have decided to use matte black plastic exclusively in the construction of the GameCom 777 which reminds us a little of the impressive SteelSeries 7H headset that we reviewed a while back. This minimalist approach may be appreciated by some gamers but, in our experience, the majority will favour the bright colours and exciting designs of products like the SteelSeries Siberia V2.
Build quality seems very good considering the price of the GameCom 777. The plastics used in the construction of the headset have a reassuringly solid feel so we expect that you will get a good few years use. The only minor issue we noticed is that the adjustable parts of the headset move a little to easily so when you take the headset on and off, the length of the headband will change. This could become annoying if you're taking the headset on and off repeatedly.
It's clear that Plantronics have put a lot of thought into the connectivity of this headset. Rather than integrate the USB sound card into the headset itself, Plantronics have kept it as a seperate piece which connects directly into the PC. The headset itself then connects to this using two 3.5mm connectors for headphone and microphone. This means that you can use the headphone part of the headset with any devices that features a 3.5mm output.
The included USB sound card is reasonably compact, measuring only 49 x 38 x 15 mm. This means it can easily be carried around in a laptop bag without issue. On the side of the sound card there is a small slider switch which enables the Dolby Headphone virtual 7.1 surround sound function.
Plantronics have also decided to keep the in-line control separate from the sound card, choosing to locate it on the headset cable. This means that you can still make use of the volume control wheel and microphone mute switch when you're using the headset without the included sound card. The cable itself carries a reasonably thick plastic coating and the 3.5mm connectors are gold plated.
The inbuilt boom microphone is stowed up against the headband, making it almost invisible when it's not extended. When folded down, it does enter your field of view but it isn't as intrusive as some we've experienced in the past. The boom of the microphone is flexible and extendable so you can find the optimum position for the best results.
I like the looks of their headsets, they are very distinctive.
I actually like the design for the same reason that a lot of other gamers wouldn’t. I like the simplistic, no frills approach to this headset.
will this headset work on both a PC and Playstation 3?