Thrustmaster Y-400pw PC/PS3 Wireless Headset Review

I have had seven headsets in the past 3 years. Good headsets as well, ones that advertised themselves as ‘Rugged’ and ‘Hard Working’. I’m not sure why my headsets desire to have the same descriptions as 90% of my past girlfriends dream man but just as they wanted a man with “more than one pubic hair” I wanted a headset that could take being trod on a few times.Two drunken stomps later and my Thrustmaster Y-400Pw are still going strong. Consider it my new favourite headset, so much so that like all my favourite things I have personified it and hereby named thee Larry the headset. Take your place on my desk with your noble brethren, Sam the mug, strong of heart and loyal till the end, John the Pint glass, as honourable as he is tall and Peregrin the nice stick I found recently who is actually kind of a ****.

Wireless

This is my first experience with a Wireless headset and if they are all as good as the Y-400Pw then I regret sticking with wired for so long. Spinning round in my chair no longer comes with a risk of strangulation or self-mummification after accidentally cocooning yourself in the 40 metre long headset cable. I can cook omelettes in the morning while listening to soft Jazz and drowning out the sounds of other household members and their mid-morning rants about washing up. Because of my computers central location in the house I can actually go anywhere without losing reception because of the impressive 10 metre, latency free range.

There is also a pretty sweet remote that allows you to change a lot of the headsets settings on the fly, very handy if you just get deafened by nearby explosions or hear a suspicious creaking sound behind you but are too into your game to take the headset off.

Microphone

The technical quality of the microphone is really phenomenal with audio so crisp my Dutch friend remarked that I sounded “even more annoyingly charming than before”. There is also adjustable levels of microphone relay to the speakers to avoid screaming over the mic, and because of the design of the microphone (tiny little hole facing your mouth) the ambient occlusion is so good my friends couldn’t even pick up any of the sounds of thunder as lighting danced seemingly directly above my house. The mic’s detachable which is great but it’s also incredibly un-flexible with only a 2inch section of flexible rubber and the rest being hard plastic.

Design

I’m not a huge fan of the design of the headset from an aesthetic point of view because of how ridiculously wide it is however, the range of motion this gives the head cans means it can better fit around the head, making a beautifully tight fit that is a necessity for great audio. A little more effort could have been made to add a little colour to the design considering how good the recent batch of headsets are looking with the Logitech’s G430 and Astro A50 while also still being great technically. My Thrustmaster Y-400Pws does feel like they could stop a tank however and they have metal connectors between the headband and cups, something I think every single headset should have.

Being of English nobility I have exceptionally large ears and although admittedly the Y-400Pws do allow for ears higher on the Kanye West to Prince Charles spectrum, I find it very uncomfortable to wear for more than a few hours at a time. I sorted it out by sewing the extra pads that come with the headset to the ones already attached but this made me feel like some kind of freak so thanks for that Thrustmaster.

Audio

In many ways I hate my headset. It opened up a whole new world of audio quality to me that, much like a first time heroin user experiencing the dopamine bliss, meant I could no longer return to my old life with low quality mp3s again. With hefty 50mm drivers on either side delivering some thumping bass on my ear drums the immersion factor during intense fire fights in Battlefield 3 and trouser filling terrifying moments in Amnesia was something I had never experienced before.

I scoured my game collection looking for a stronger dose of audio enlightenment, Skyrim? Journey?! Mario Galaxy?! NO! ARGH It’s just not good enough! I need more depth! More explosions! More quivering in the voice acting as they hold back tears!
I can imagine myself in an AA meeting,
“Hi everyone, my names Charlie Ewing and I have gone without High Quality sound for 2 months now… But I miss it man, I miss it every god damn day.”
I wish I had never got this headset… but in many ways I do so yeah, highly recommended by me and the gang at Audiophiles Anonymous.

Tech Specs