TteSports Console One Headset Review

Today we take a look at the latest product from TteSports, the Console One headset which is effectively a multi-format edition of their popular Shock One gaming headset for PC. Console gaming is big business and it is understandable that the company would want to get a bigger share of this market given their dedicated support for all things pro gaming and eSports related.

Priced at a little under £50 the Console One is a budget friendly solution, especially for a multi format headset which often start around £70 for something featuring a well-known brand name, so it will be interesting to see just what TteSports have to offer for this kind of money. TteSports have proven themselves time and time again to us here at eTeknix, not necessarily for their performance, but for their value for money and while they do make some incredible premium products, their special power seems to be offering consumers some of the best budget friendly solutions in the industry, especially when it comes to gaming mice and that is something I am hoping to see here today with their headset.

With support for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 the Console One is great for those who own multiple gaming devices and it is not ideal for someone to buy three different headsets, especially if they’re on a tighter budget. So lets take a look at what TteSports have to offer and put the Console One to the test.

As you can see, the Console One comes in a box that looks designed towards the Xbox crowd, at least with the similar white and green colour themes that have branded the Xbox for many years. There are a few technical details on the box that list the headsets features, these include 40mm drivers, a 3m cable, in-line controller and a foldable design.

In the box I found a small insert with a user guide, warranty information and some stickers, two connection cables and a handy protective carry bag, perfect for keeping your headset scratch free when you put it in your backpack.

The headset comes hard wired with a good quality braided cable, there is a USB and 3.5mm connection on one end and the in-line controller in the middle.

The controller is pretty basic, but features a large and easy to access microphone mute button with an LED indictation so you know if you’re muted or not. There is also a master volume control and a switch for toggling between USB or 3.5″ inputs.

The headset is brightly coloured with neon green and jet black, the only break from that being the LED backlit red Tt logo on the side of each earcup and the “R” and “L” in silver on the adjustable headband joints.

The microphone can be folded up out of the way or pulled down when needed.

The ear cups features a soft leather-like padding that provides a snug fit, but these covers can also be removed and this makes cleaning them very easy. The back of the drivers features a black mesh that gives a little airflow to the drivers, but it also means there will be some audio-leak.

The glossy plastics on the headband look fantastic and give the headset a premium look and feel, there is also a TteSports By Thermaltake logo on the top.

The adjustable headband can be folded inwards and this makes the headset much easier to store, it’s also the only way the headset will fit in the included carry pouch.

The ear cups are quite large but they are an over-ear design, plus the ergonomics are good so they don’t feel overbearing when worn.

The back of the driver is covered in a green cloth, that matches the rest of the headset.

Setup & Installation

Setup is quick and easy, the included information leaflet was easy to follow and I see no reason why people new to this sort of hardware couldn’t have it setup within a couple of minutes on Xbox or PlayStation, especially on PC where it’s just a case of plugging the headset’s USB cable directly to your computer. The microphone is plug and play compatible so within seconds I was able to use the headset on Skype, Mumble and for gaming, movies, music etc.

Performance

I decided to put the Console One through their paces on Forza 4, the heavy bass notes of the cars and the general ambience of the tracks are a great test of the dynamic range of the headset. First impressions were not overly grand though and when bass gets a little heavy its apparent that things can get a little muddy sounding for the Console One headset. High frequencies keep nice and clear though and this means that game chat favours very well regardless.

I tried out Battlefield 3 and found a similar result, the volume is punchy and more than enough to impress but when things get really chaotic the bass distorts a little and the drivers struggle to keep an accurate grip on the sound.

Hooking the headset up to my PC I found the same was true with music playback, although much of this was fixed by pushing the EQ up on the mid ranges, something that unfortunately cannot be done on consoles.

Many of these issues are only true at high volumes and with things dialed down a little they become less noticeable and in many cases the problem vanishes completely.

The microphone is of nice quality and in-game chat is loud and clear on both ends, the same is true for performance on PC when using Skype and mumble.

Final Thoughts

Over I found the Console One headset to be a little lack luster, the falter in the sound quality at higher volumes or in intensively bass heavy scenes really spoilt the experience for me, but fortunately this isn’t a huge fault and the Console One does make up for this in other areas, more so than most other headsets in this price range.

Generally you find that in this price range there is “something” wrong with any headset, be that build quality, performance, features etc, for the Console One I would say the performance is still really good, it just lacks that upper edge that some other sub £50 headsets offer. Yet for all the improvements in sound quality a rival headset may offer, that will more than likely not beat the Console One on design and build quality, nor will you have much luck finding a better multiformat compatible headset for this price range, certainly not one that looks this good or that features a trusty brand name such as TteSports.

The Console One is a good headset, while I’m sure TteSports would love me to say it’s incredible or amazing, that simply isn’t the case and that is ok, because at around £50 it was clearly never intended to be the best solution in the world. It does however offer an impressive feature set for this budget, something that is certainly going to appeal to those with a tight budget and a need for a headset that works on all their gaming systems.

Pros

• Great price
• Works on Xbox, PlayStation & PC
• Works really well on services such as Skype
• Cool design

Cons

• Sound quality can falter at higher volumes

eTeknix says: “TteSports have made a great value for money product here that gives a lot of features in return for a wallet friendly investment. Maybe everyone isn’t a fan of lime green, but I also think it’s one of the better looking headsets in this price range, which is often filled with dull grey and black plastic peripherals.”