Over the past several years I have been in the market for an affordable Xbox 360 wireless headset that could connect to my home theatre system and allow me to chat away with others on Xbox LIVE. Sure, I have demoed wired other headsets and was impressed, but at the end of the day I always found them to be a tad expensive as you get in to the upper end of quality. Given I spend the majority of my gaming, both offline and online, later at night when everyone is in bed, I generally have to keep the volume down so I do not wake the entire house. This somewhat robs me of the entire experience as gaming with the volume down is just not as fun as cranking it up. As a result, I have always kept my eyes open for an affordable wireless headset for my Xbox 360 set-up.
Over the past few days, I had the opportunity to give Tritton’s Primer Wireless Stereo Xbox 360 headset a spin. The Primer is co-branded by both Xbox 360 and Tritton; and is the only official headset in its price range for Xbox 360. Priced at approximately $100.00 dollars, the Primer Headset is reasonably affordable and considerably less than many similar head-sets already on the market; yet it is the wireless technology that is inevitably the biggest selling feature.
Un-boxing and setting up the Primer was surprisingly very easy. There is a large manual that caught me off guard, but there is also a shorter set-up guide to help you set up your headphones. Everything you need to hook up your headphones is included in the box so there is no need to go running out to your local Future Shop or Best Buy to pick up a USB cable, audio cables, or any adapters. The Tritton Primer’s packaging box includes audio cables to link the sleek looking wireless transmitter directly to the Xbox 360. You can hook up the audio cables directly to your TV or go through your Xbox 360. Regardless, those with high-end (or any level for that matter of fact) home theatre receivers will have no problem hooking up the transmitter. The only cord running from the headset is to your controller for the purpose of the microphone. Throw the included “AA” batteries into the headset and you are good to go.
The only issue I had when hooking up the headset was that I noticed the Primer did not connect to my Xbox 360 controller chat pad. This was a huge let down for me considering the amount of time I use the chat pad to send messages and redeem codes. So needless to say I was disappointed and curious how the developers could have overlooked something like this. Perhaps there will be an accessory introduced somewhere down the road to allow us to connect the Primer to the chat pad, but for now we have nothing as far as I know.
On a more positive note, the Primer headphones themselves are ecstatically pleasing. They are less bulky than many other wired headphones on the market and they are quite comfortable to wear. Luckily I do not have that big a big head so I found the head set to fit just right and I think even larger noggins should have no issues. The cushioned ear cups fit nicely on my ears and overall the unit did not feel too heavy on my head. The headset felt securely in place and even when I jerked my head back the Primer did not fly off.
The game and chat volume controls are located one on top of the left ear cup as are the microphone mute and power buttons. I really liked how all the controls, and buttons were located on one side. I was amazed how quickly I was able to adjust the volume and mute the mic after only minutes of having the headphones on. There was no fumbling around or getting confused with the controls and I found that this was particularly important when I was gaming in the dark.
The headphones appear durable and even though they come in a little cheaper than some of the competitor’s headsets, they do not look cheap at all and have a nice overall design as you can see in the screen shots. Even the wireless transmitter has a piano black finish, which is somewhat fancy looking, and will not be an eyesore in any home theatre set up.
As far as sound quality is concerned, the Primer Headset delivers. Equipped with 40mm speakers, the Primer produced crisp and clean sound when playing the game. I played Modern Warfare 3 and Madden 12 with headphones on during my review time. I was amazed how I could hear every little thing. During one of my Madden games I even heard one of the players yell a faint, “come’on lets pick it up” after his team had failed to convert a first down. This is something I never heard before with my existing audio set-up and even when I played Madden at louder volumes. As for Modern Warfare 3, I was able to hear all the game’s destails and all the voices from the supporting characters was more then audible.
On the downside, I think the headphones could have used a little more bass. I noticed this especially when playing MW3. Some of the explosions, and even some of the music, seemed to be lacking a little depth or boom. A bass volume control would have been a nice addition and I assume larger drivers may also help with this. Otherwise, I did not have any complaints with the headsets audio. I also found that when playing online, chatting was loud and clear as I could hear other gamers online without any issue. It is definitely much more clear than the flimsy Xbox 360 headsets that come with the console.
The Primer Headset has 5.8GHz wireless technology and the range is impressive. I walked around all over the house with the headset on and the music from the game’s menu never cutout once and sound from the demo of the games (e.g. when you are away from the main menu for awhile) never stopped. Also, when I shut off the Xbox, it was nice to see the headset automatically shut down as well. This will indeed save you some batteries.
When you consider the price tag, the Tritton Primer wireless headset is very good bang for the buck. While the ability to control the bass input would be have been nice addition, and the inability to plug into the chat pad was a significant let-down, the reality is the Tritton Primer wireless headset delivers solid audio, has a slick design, and they are simply comfortable to wear. So if you are looking for an affordable pair of wireless stereo headphones for your Xbox 360 then you may just want to give the Primer some serious thought.
