XPG Precog S Gaming Headset Review

There’s certainly no shortage of great headsets these days, and there are almost countless models to pick from in just about every price bracket. But is there room for one more? Of course there is! The latest headset from XPG is certainly grabbing my attention. The XPG Precog headset came out a few years ago now, and it was absolutely stunning, with stylish aesthetics and killer performance at a great price. While the new XPG Precog S looks a lot more toned down and is more affordable, if it can capture even a part of the magic of its predecessor, it should be pretty fantastic.

XPG PRECOG S

The latest XPG gaming headset is pretty well equipped, with a pair of 50mm drivers that promise to deliver “superb sound-quality” and “an immersive gaming experience.” Marketed as a gaming headset, I’m expecting it to offer some great immersion, and with Windows Sonic support, perhaps some competitive surround sound too. It also comes with a built-in microphone and runs off a 3.5mm jack, so it should be broadly compatible with consoles, mobile devices and PC, furthering its overall value for money. Plus, at just 300g and with soft ear cups, it promises to be pretty comfortable too!

What XPG Had to Say

“XPG PRECOG S is well-engineered with sound chamber delivering clean and crisp sound output with deep, powerful bass, ideal for audio heavy game genres from FPS to MMORPG, for an immersive gaming experience. XPG PRECOG S is designed to be a comfortable gaming headset that makes no compromises in audio quality as a result. Spatial 3D Audio Support via Windows Sonic delivers an immersive, spatially aware experience.” – XPG

Specifications

A Closer Look & Performance

XPG is out to impress with their new headset, and while the cost is lower than their last Precog headset that targeted the enthusiast market, this one still looks pretty fantastic. It’s part of their design to make the “gamer’s tax” a thing of the past. Promising quality hardware at a more wallet-friendly price tag.

So far, the quality part seems to be holding true. The headset feels very nicely made, and it feels good in my hand and I don’t see any obvious manufacturing or design flaws.

One thing I do notice, is that it’s very lightweight, and at around 300 grams, it’s going to remain pretty comfortable to wear, even during those all-night gaming sessions.

It’s a 3.5mm headset, so plugging it into your phone, Switch, console controller, or your PC is easy enough. There’s a 4-pole jack too, but there’s an included splitter should you need to use dual ports for headphones and microphone. The cable is hard-wired to the left ear cup. I would have preferred a fully removable cable, but it’s hardly a deal breaker if the price is right.

The headband looks great, with an outer band design that provides a moderate clamping force to keep the ear cups snugly in place.

Of course, there’s a suspended inner band too, which allows for auto adjustment, making it quick and easy to deploy. It also means there’s no need to adjust the length when switching between users. My kids can wear it, I can wear it, and there’s no tinkering required.

The ergonomics are pretty great throughout, with a slender profile around the ear cups, and a close-fitting arm that keeps things looking stylish.

The mount allows the ear cups to rotate too, ensuring a cleaner fit around your ears. Of course, it also makes it easier to wear the headset around your neck between games too.

The ear cups themselves are a closed-back design, which will help lock in the sound, and it’ll help provide some passive noise isolation too, so you can stay engrossed in your favourite digital world.

The ear cups house 50mm drives, which operate from 20hz to 20,000 Hz, which is pretty standard stuff these days, but certainly good to see they’re a good size, and should deliver a robust sound.

While the headset doesn’t provide any additional processing or amplification itself, it does feature onboard microphone mute and volume controls, which are certainly welcome.

However, when it comes to sound quality and performance, quite a lot of that will be reliant on your output hardware. While I’m not saying you need a high-end desktop amplifier for it, at least ensure you’re using good quality onboard audio for it and that you set the output to the appropriate format in sound manager or your motherboard/soundcard software suite.

The headset actually sounds pretty potent, the drivers pack a pleasing punch thanks to their 50mm design. Again, the amplification makes a big difference too, they sound great on my ASRock X570 motherboards on-board audio, but they sound a lot better if I use my Creative Super X-FI USB-C Amplifier.

The sound quality is nice and clear though, there’s no distortion at the high-end and there are still good dynamics even at lower volume levels too. Again, the amplification dictates the peak volume, but overall, the headset seems to have plenty of punch when you need it. Plus, having the onboard volume control makes it easy to live with too.

The bass is decent enough and from what I’ve tested, it handles a bit of EQ rather well. A little push on the mid-range of the EQ adds a nice warmth to the sound without making it too muddy sounding. The clarity is good tho, with a decent stereo image that’s great for media consumption. Plugging into my old iPod and rocking out old man style was good fun. That means a lazy nap on the couch listening to Rush, of course.

While XPG says they’re suitable for Windows Sonic, I find Sonic to have somewhat hit-and-miss performance for surround processing and imaging, but it does work rather well here. From my testing, the paid-for Dolby Atmos Headphone plugin for Windows worked a lot better though, and there’s a free trial of that should you wish to tinker with it. Either way, I’m impressed with the headset, and playing a fair few games of Apex Legends, I was able to accurately hear the direction of my impending doom.

The microphone is good too, a nice and clear sound that’s nice and bright. It’s a little sensitive though, so be sure to put it off to the side of your mouse so you’re not giving everyone the full Darth Vader experience, or at least just use push-to-talk. It’s basically the same microphone we see on hundreds of headsets of a similar price though, no big problems, but no big surprises either.

How Much Does it Cost?

The XPG Precog S Gaming Headset is out now, but unfortunately, I think it’s out of stock, doh! Of course, you should be able to find up-to-date prices and stock on Amazon here, but with any luck, I’ll be able to update this section fairly soon. Stay tuned! However, the old model is down to around £80 these days, which is impressive given it was closer to £200 when I first reviewed it.

Overview

XPG is a huge brand with a pretty awesome product range that spans everything from peripherals to high-end gaming PCs. While the new XPG Precog S isn’t their most extreme product, it’s honestly a lot more high-end in regards to its quality and performance than I expected it would be. It’s a more affordable model than the XPG Precog, but given that was nearly £200 when it launched, having a sub £100 model to fill out the range certainly makes sense.

The headset is very capable though, and while seemingly most gaming headsets these days are either wireless or USB, it was actually quite nice to see a 3.5mm model come into the office for a change. While wireless or USB have their place, the simplicity of a passively powered 3.5mm headset makes it very easy to use. You can simply plug it into just about any device with an audio out and you’re good to go. This includes most console controllers, handheld gaming devices like the Switch, and mobile phones (albeit many new ones lack a 3.5mm port), to name but a few.

The sound quality is great, overall, but the real quality comes from your device’s amplification. The Xbox and PlayStation sound decent, but I can get a better sound on my PC too, as I have a more powerful DAC and AMP configuration there that I can tap into. Plus, if you have something that can output virtual surround the headset benefits greatly from this. They suggest Windows Sonic, which is free, a pretty decent, but prefer the Dolby Atmos Headphone processing, and it sounded great on the XPG Precog S.

There are signs this is a budget headset, such as the pre-fixed microphone and hard-wired cable. However, that’s about it, everything else screams premium! The stunning quality of the cable sleeving, the luxurious memory foam and fabric of the ear pads, the quality and finish of the plastics, the slick ergonomics and the superbly lightweight yet durable design are all very impressive.

Should I Buy One?

The XPG Precog S is a gorgeous headset with competitive performance and features. The multi-format support makes it very appealing for those with a variety of gaming systems. Overall though, if you’re looking for a lightweight, stylish and comfortable headset, the XPG Precog S ticks all the boxes!