I remember it as if it was yesterday. The UPS guy pulled up and dropped off the box as I rushed down to the door full of excitement. I opened up the end and slid out all the insides to see my shiny new PS4 in all its glory. Piece by piece I examined everything inside the box until I came to that pitiful piece of string with an ear bud in it that I was supposed to use as a chat mic and headset. If your reaction was anything like my own your first thought was likely “You’ve gotta be joking, right?”
For those of you who were less than happy with what was offered the people at Tritton have offered an alternative with the Kama stereo headset exclusively for the PS4 and Playstation Vita. Now don’t get too excited here as the Kama are not a high end pair of cans but rather a very affordable entry level model. Simple design and easy plug and play use for a $35.00 price point.
Pulling the Kama headset out of the box you’ll notice the sleek black finish with a nice blue line down the headband that mimics the blue light on your PS4. Easy on the eyes for sure they look pretty slick for their low cost and for the most part they’re very comfortable to wear. The ear phones themselves are a little awkward in that they’re both small and rectangular. Last time I checked my ears were not the size of a 5 year olds nor were they shaped like a building block. In spite of the odd choice in shape they still manage to feel comfortable and even over long stretches of play they remain that way.
Depending on the game that I was playing I found that the Kamas were a bit on the quiet side even at full blast. On Assassin’s Creed 4 for example the sounds were audible but if I wanted it to be super loud it just didn’t deliver. Thief on the other hand was loud enough that full blast was uncomfortable and a little distorted. I guess that amounts to how loud they mixed the sound in the game but it would be nice if the full volume setting accounted for quieter games… if that makes sense. In the long run this is a very minor issue and not so much a complaint as something I noticed. Even on AC4 it wasn’t like I was straining to hear anything. I did find that with the sound being stereo only as opposed to 5.1 that any sort of directionality was lost. When playing Thief I was quite often jarred by the sounds of guards that were outside in the streets while I was tucked away on the second floor of a house I was pillaging. Again, this could come down to sound mixing for the game itself but with no other basis for comparison it’s hard to tell. I can definitely compliment the chat function though as friends could hear me very clearly without any static or interference and vice versa.
I did appreciate that the setup was extremely easy for the headset. Plug it into your dualshock and make a couple of system setting adjustments and you’re up and running. Seeing of course that they’re powered by the controller you should be prepared to have an even shorter lifespan before charging up again.
One thing to keep in mind here is the low cost price point of the Kamas that I mentioned earlier. It sounds like I’m being a bit hard on Tritton for their product but the reality is that for $35.00 they’re a very good set of headphones. You pretty much know going in that you aren’t getting top of the line earbusters. If you’re less than happy with your piece of string included with your PS4 the Kama headset is a viable alternative that will serve its purpose very well unless you’re a hardcore audiophile. If you are however, you might be best served to wait until you can pick up a more expensive pair.
