.Audio 770

The Plantronics .Audio 770 is designed with gamers in mind. It is lightweight, comfortable and delivers excellent audio. The noise-cancelling microphone does a good job of blocking out a fair amount of ambient noise but tends to sound a little muddy at times.

The .Audio 770 is big and bulky. It has a metal fixed framework connecting the two earpieces while a second soft headband makes direct contact with the head. Each earpiece is square with plush cups made from similar materials. They are technically an open-ear design but when in use, much of the exterior sound is blocked out quite well regardless. Outside noises can still be heard though, just with reduced volume -- these certainly are not noise-cancelling headphones. This makes them good for gaming situations where you need to devise strategies with team mates in the same room.

The unit is extremely comfortable to use and the microphone is fixed in place for optimal positioning. Since the microphone boom cannot be twisted, the microphone will always be pointed directly at the mouth though it can be extended for those that require it. We ran tests to check the sound quality and were more than pleased with the results. The microphone picked up voice well and the headphones produced clear sound without error. The only problem we encountered were moments where the microphone audio sounded a little muddy. It wasn't a constant issue, just at random intervals when the spoken words come out a little too distant for our liking.

The box and marketing materials state that these headphones have a "Digitally-enhanced virtual surround sound" feature but this seems to be marketing speak rather than an actual feature. No drivers are included with the headphones to power our USB enhanced sound experience and since there is no manual that explains what this term means, we are forced to give up attempting to test it.

We were very happy with the performance of the 770s. They offer excellent sound, good voice capture and are comfortable to use. There isn't much more you could want in a set of headphones. It comes in two versions, both of which have regular 3.5mm jacks but the second version comes with a USB adapter which you insert the 3.5mm plugs directly into. The cable length is good and the price point is what you would expect for a pair of headphones of this quality.

If you are in the market for a new set of PC gaming headphones, give the Plantronics .Audio 770 a try.