If you’re into competitive gaming or you just enjoy casually playing games with friends online, you’ll no doubt be using a gaming headset. Now I’d expect competitive gamers to be using higher end bits of kit like those made by Astro or the more premium SteelSeries headsets, and casual gamers will more likely use a cheap Turtle Beach headset or the standard freebie that comes with your console. Despite the two different ends of the market though of which there can be a massive quality gap, the cheaper and more expensive headsets do share one thing in common; their size. Yep no matter how little or much you spend, headsets tend to be a chunky bit of kit that can take up quite a bit of room resting on your desk (or wherever you dump them). But what if you don’t want a big clunky headset, what do you do then? Well, maybe you should check out something like the Gioteck LP-01 headset.
If you’re on the lookout for a smaller sized headset for your gaming or just general chatting needs, then the LP-01 might be for you. First impressions were quite good; it was well packaged in a small box that has a little window to show the kit inside. Upon opening the box you should have one LP-01 headset, a wire to charge the device with (because this bad boy is wireless) and finally a small USB dongle which the headset will use to connect to some of your devices. Now mine came in black so it wasn’t the brightest or most snazzy of colours available (they also blue and red), but it suited the sleek design well. Think of it as the shape of a bird head with a long beak; you’ve got the tip of the beak where the mic is located and on the main head you’ve got buttons for volume control and to answer/drop calls.
On the inside of the headset, you have a soft rubber hook that latches over your ear rather snugly. However, if you don’t like it on the side it comes set up for you can remove the hook and turn it around so you can use it on your favoured ear. This is a nice little feature because you see some Bluetooth headsets of a similar design which aren’t as easily modified to wear comfortably. To add to the comfort there is no sticking anything in your ear for the LP-01 either, it’s a small speaker covered in a soft sponge that just rests on your outer ear, meaning no sweaty sessions like when you use leather cups on an over-ear headset. Unfortunately, this is where the positives stop for the headset, besides it being compatible on numerous devices such as the PS4, PC, Phones, Tablets and more.
The design gave me a lot of hope, even the set-up was simple and had me smiling as I was about to test this out on my PS4. I put in Payday 2, plugged in the dongle provided and as my settings were already set-up for a headset to be used it connected right away. Then came utter disappointment; a horrible crackly and tinny sound. I thought maybe there was something wrong with my settings, so I switched from prioritising all audio to go through the headset to just chat after all that’s the main thing this is for. However despite a small improvement it was still a woeful performance (almost as bad as the one my beloved Liverpool gave against Man United last weekend). I then thought maybe I was too close or far away from the dongle, but moving around solved nothing either. I was at a loss but continued anyway to test the mic.
So there I am suffering from this poor quality sound when I invite my mate to the chat party before we embark on some bank robberies and heists. I thought I’d welcome him with a big HELLO, but what I got back was not a warm welcome. Instead, I was asked “what the f*** was wrong with your mic?”, because that too appeared to be poor quality, so much for crystal-clear clarity. I can understand this a little like if it was a bit quiet because the mic is a good couple of inches away from the mouth and I am softly spoken anyway, but with an RRP of £39.99 this is shocking stuff. Then as usual my Mum pops in for a cup of tea and being a wireless headset I am able to stay connected to my PS4 whilst I get up and put the kettle on. But once again I am shocked to find more issues as the noise cancelling crystal-clear mic picks up background noise better than I do girls on Tinder, and the next thing is my mates having a conversation through me because he can hear everything going on.
I really was hoping that the LP-01 headset would be a home run that would nicely fill a gap in the market for smaller gaming headsets, but alas, I was wrong. Instead what we are given is a well-designed headset which talks the talk, but ultimately fails to walk the walk. Being wireless, adjustable for either ear, able to connect to a wide variety of devices and having on-ear controls, this headset should be so much better than it is. Unfortunately though having a quality look and boasting great features is only half the battle, and if you fail to deliver quality goods then in the end you’re going to lose the war. Poor sound quality and what I was told is a poor mic have really let the LP-01 down, and because of that I can’t give anything more than a 1.5 out of 5 for this.
NB: Having tested only the one headset it is possible my item was defective and if you purchase your own it may not have the issues I’ve been made to suffer with. That said, despite my negative review I did report my experience to the PR Company for Gioteck before releasing my review because it’s only fair I give them a chance to possibly correct any issue. However, they were unable to provide any answers as to why I’ve had such a poor experience and they did say they could send another so if I get it I will update my review if my findings change.
Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.
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