Final Thoughts
Price
At $69.99 the MSI DS502 are reasonably priced for what they offer, but this does give them an advantage despite some minor flaws. Just take a look on Newegg and you’ll see that this price range is littered with cheap looking headsets that don’t come close to the overall build quality of the MSI headset.
Overview
I have mixed feelings about this headset, as it’s not really suitable for the things I personally look for in a headset, but I can see that it will have appeal for a lot of people. The price is the first thing that stands out, it’s not crazy expensive and it’s certainly one of the better-looking headsets in this price range.
The build quality is pretty robust, with a durable metal headband design, soft-touch matte finish on the rest of the headset, good quality padding materials, as well as a braided cable. I would have liked a detachable microphone, but it folds up out of the way, and the way the mic is mounted on the driver is pretty cool in terms of design.
The sound performance is fairly average, which isn’t a big shock at this price range and it’s about on-par with many other headsets in this range. The bass mode is fun enough, but for long-term listening, the vibration feature can be a little tiresome, but that’s going to be a subjective quality anyway. The microphone is nice and clear, though, and does well not to pick up a lot of ambient noise and overall, this is a great looking and performing headset for those only interested in gaming.
For their first ever headset, the DS502 feels like a stepping stone for MSI to build upon. The software could be slimmed right down, the in-line controller, while welcome, could be smaller and doesn’t really need the bass gimmick, a little more depth to the ear cup padding, a little more room in the headband to ensure a closer fit on the ear cups for those with bigger heads (I’m not the only one in the world), and a bit more pivot on the earcup adjustment. Right now, it’s a good budget friendly headset with a good selection of features and while these are all minor changes, if MSI can tweak them in the next model, they’ll be onto a big winner.
Pros
- Durable build quality
- Stylish aesthetics and LED lighting
- Fold-up microphone
- Good microphone performance
- Virtually surround processing
- In-line controller
- Braided cable
Cons
- Software installation seems bloated with files
- Bass mode doesn’t really add to the sound
- Some minor ergonomic improvements could be made
“Stylish, durable and ideal for online gaming thanks to the fold-up microphone, the DS502 makes for a good budget friendly headset, while still offering a good selection of features.”
Thank you MSI for providing us with this sample.
