Plantronics GameCom Commander Gaming Headset Review

1. Introduction2. Packaging & Bundle3. The Plantronics GameCom Commander Headset4. Comfort and Performance5. Closing Thoughts6. View All Pages

The Plantronics GameCom Commander headset is a solid solution that delivers excellent acoustic performance with a great variety of tones. With a 357g weight and questionable headpiece design, the strong audio performance seems to come at the cost of comfort.

As far as a gaming product goes, the GameCom Commander is a very good choice, provided you can bear the uncomfortable wearing style for extended periods of time. The variety of effects and sounds accurately and effectively reproduced by the GameCom Commander made the gaming experience thoroughly enjoyable.

With Dolby 7.1 surround sound mode, the GameCom Commander can help to identify enemy vehicles, pick out snipers, and pinpoint team commands. Battlefield 3 showed good benefits when using the Plantronics GameCom Commander headset. The listening experience of action movies was also made more immersive by the surround sound, but speech clarity was clearly suffering from an echo effect.

Comfort is the Plantronics GameCom Commander's biggest shortfall. The questionable design of the headpiece and decision to use quite a stiff metal material pushes a noticeable amount of force through a user's ears. This then has the side effect of increasing heat inside the ear cups quicker. One suggested improvement would be to use more flexible material, but this may contradict Plantronics intentionally rugged design.

Another slight disappointment is the somewhat basic bundle. Yes, Plantronics supplies two QuickDisconnect cables with the GameCom Commander, but other headsets in this market segment offer intricate equaliser, volume, and preset controls. Some headphones, such as the Turtle Beach Ear Force XP Seven, even offer a software package to fine-tune the audio characteristics.

Priced at £229.99 from Dabs, the Plantronics GameCom Commander is an expensive headset. The investment required is serious, and the market that the GameCom Commander lies in is very competitive. For example, the Turtle Beach Ear Force XP Seven headset is priced similarly and offers a strong feature set.

Pros:

• Excellent sound quality.
• Very good Dolby 7.1 surround sound capabilities.
• Strong microphone reception.
• Sturdy design.
• High-quality carry case.

Cons:

• Uncomfortable for extended periods of time.
• Ears can get warm quickly.
• Expensive.
• No fine-tuning components or software.

KitGuru says: A good headset with strong audio performance and an immersive surround sound experience. Unfortunately, the comfort levels aren't great and the price tag gives Plantronics' GameCom Commander very stiff competition.

Become a Patron!