Altec Lansing AHS615 Gaming Headset Author: faceless105 -- Posted: 2007-04-02
Performance and most importantly comfort are what you want in a headset; and Altec Lansing knew this when they made the AHS615 Gaming Headset. This headset has more features that I've seen on any headset before.
Now straight out of the package, this is a pretty nice gaming headset and like I said, performance and comfort were obviously the main focus behind these. Some of the features Altec Lansing brings focus to is the SRS 3-D Audio, High Performance Headphones, Gold-plated Audio Connectors, Noise Canceling Microphone, and finally, the Audio Controller.
I'll be honest; this audio controller was the first feature I noticed. It's an external piece of hardware so it stood out to me. This controller has an on/off switch for the headset, which is a nice feature to have on hand when someone is trying to talk to you while gaming or listening to music. This also offers volume control for the headset as well as for the microphone. The final and coolest feature is the 3-D surround controller. I'm not sure how it works but it does give you far more realistic sound.
Additionally, as far as volume, I've had stuff really low just to test out if you needed a reasonably loud sound source. This has no problem upping it to a good level. Though I imagine you lose some quality from that, but from the amount I did, it wasn't noticable.
Now that I've already talked a bit about the impressive functionality, I want to talk about the comfort. I counted four different areas that Altec Lansing worked into their head set. The first is the strap at the top of the headphones, and these are automatically adjusting. You don't have to fiddle with them to get it just right any more. The second is the entire each phone is on a swiveling base. Then the pads have their own swivel as well as the ear phone itself. I though the last two were really cool because I've had headsets in the past where they'd feel comfortable on my head but hurt my ear after a while, but not these ones.
So it's time for the first hand experience. I decided the best way to test these out would be a good long night of gaming. So I fired up F.E.A.R. and War Rock and ended up playing just about the entire night. The audio really was crystal clear and the SRS 3-D really does enhance it. The microphone worked out great as well on teamspeak. At one point I asked everyone if I sounded clear and had nothing but positive feedback.
The comfort was also great. Playing all night I almost expected it to start making my ears sore, but not with this headset. After wearing it for a little while you really don't even feel it anymore.
Now I know I've listed a lot of cool features and for my credibility I wanted to try and talk about the good and the bad and I'll be honest there was only one thing that I could find. The audio controller takes one AAA battery, and this wasn't included. So there it is, the good and the bad of this headset.
Again, I'd like to thank Altec Lansing for giving me the opportunity to review this gaming headset. It is defiantly a quality headset that I wouldn't hesitate to my recommend to my friends. I recommend everyone checking out the AHS615 Gaming Headset before making your next purchase because like I said, this one is defiantly worth the money.
If anyone has any questions or comments I'm always up for some discussion :)
