Review – Oblanc UFO Headset (PC)
There’s one extremely important aspect to gaming on a computer, and that would be sound. Obviously your mouse, keyboard, and monitor play a pretty huge role in things, so don’t try to get all technical on me. When it comes to the first two, you don’t really need precision instruments unless you’re so proficient at gaming that those split-millisecond moments actually matter. Your headset however, is a different matter entirely. If the sound quality is terrible, you’re not going to hear the enemy sneaking up on you, which can obviously make things take a turn for the worse.
First Look
This is one snazzy looking headset, albeit a little on the bulky side. I can’t help but think I should be directing planes or using a jackhammer from the size of these things as they jut out about two inches from my head. The only two color options for the Oblanc UFO are a bright green or dulled yellow accent for a primarily black setup with silver details.
There’s a 6” boom mic that can be bent to your specifications, and rotates in an almost full circle so it can sit on the right or left side. It sports a long cable at 84” in length, and is fairly thick. The volume controls are found on a small box in the line. There’s a master volume knob on the top near the line, with center, sub, front, and surround dials on the sides. There’s also a switch which will let you mute your mic. Even though you have to perform the action of moving the switch, I often found myself forgetting to switch my microphone back on.
The front of this aspect has a logo with a section that lights up a diamond shape. I haven’t ascertained why they chose this shape, but to each their own (why not use a circle like the one in your logo?). There is a blue, green, and red light behind this diamond shape that will indicate whether or not your mic is on (green), muted (red), if it has received a signal (flashing blue), or if it’s plugged in (blue). All the leatherette for the ear cups and headband are black. On the headband, there are metal slats that will help prevent it from breaking, and metal screws to hold everything in place. Overall, it has a pretty solid build, but does feel a bit on the plastic-y side.
Comfort
When you game for several hours at a time, you’re going to notice if you’re wearing a heavy headset. Sadly, this does have a bit of weight to it, and I found it pressing on the top of my head after a while. On the occasions I wore glasses, it also had a penchant for squeezing them a bit into the sides of my head, but it’s honestly far better than other weighty headsets. I should note that they seemed to be a lot tighter when I first started using them, and now that they’ve seen a bit of use, they’re a bit more pliable much in the same way you break in a pair of boots.
Like I said, it takes quite a while to get to that point of pain, but if you’re going strong for that long, it’s likely time for a break anyway (who am I kidding, that never happens). The good aspect about these massive ear cups is that it actually covered my entire ear. Nothing was pressing my earlobe or the top of my ear down uncomfortably, and it helped to keep all those savory sounds in.
Performance
The sounds that come from this device are tres magnifique. There is a crisp nature to the sound, and it can handle the lows or highs with almost equal proficiency, but it tends to have favor towards the lower end of the spectrum. The super-cushioned ear cups block out a lot of extra sound. Even if I wasn’t listening to anything, I found myself leaving them on just to have a quieter space to myself. It doesn’t block out sound completely, but it does muffle everything to a reasonable degree.
The dials for center and surround didn’t seem to do much of anything, and the front drivers dial became my mortal enemy. It had a penchant for going so low that I may as well have turned the master volume almost all the way down. These dials should definitely have a little more resistance to being turned, or click into place. It sports 30mm vibration drivers for the subwoofer, and neodymium for the rest.
Conclusion
Even though the build is fairly solid, it does take a bit of use for it to not be painful. I understand they did this to be a one-size-fits-all for anywhere from children and up, but it’s not that comfy for a while to adults. Once it settles, it’s hardly noticeable (unless you’re wearing glasses, but that seems to be every headset). The sound is crisp, but it does lean a bit more towards bass than the highs. The volume adjustments are nice, but the wheels should be a bit more set once you fiddle with them as they like to adjust themselves from brushing against things. This is a pretty decent headset, but it is a bit pricey at $180. Thanks to the world wide web, we can find it for $99 if not less which is likely a far more suitable price for its misgivings. I’m still going to use this as my primary headset as the sound is pretty great, and the mic is good, but we’re going to have a little bit of a spat from time to time.
