Plantronics Halo 2 Special Edition headset

Sam covers his ears...

Halo 2 features the best online multiplayer of any console shooter, possibly even of any FPS on any platform. So in a commendable display of canny opportunism peripheral manufacturer Plantronics has released a special edition Xbox Live headset to coincide with Halo 2's arrival.

The headset itself is a vivid transparent sliver of green plastic. There's no headband for the unit; rather it has a half-loop that is meant to sit on top of and behind the player's ear. The earpiece itself is on a pivot which can be angled to sit snugly in the ear hole. It can also be twisted either way so the headset can be worn on both sides of the head. There's a reasonable range of movement although it could have done with a little more travel in an upwards direction. The unit comes with a selection of four different plugs to fit onto the earpiece. There are two soft plastic mushroom-shaped fittings of differing sizes, and two traditional foam covered flat-head fittings, again in differing sizes. These are fixed onto the pivoted ear-piece by a clever little locking system, so there's little chance of a structural catastrophe in the middle of a race or fire-fight.

Getting the headset attached to your head is not the easiest thing in the world. Because of the lack of headband the unit just sits on top of your ear. But because of the small gap between the curved ear-clip and the pivoted ear-piece a certain amount of dexterity - along with some cartilage folding - is required to get the headset in place. If you have ears like Prince Charles or Yoda then this device may not suit. However, if you have fairly standard lugs then after a short while any difficulties should be overcome, even if it is still a fiddly process. Glasses cause no issues either.

Once the headset is firmly nestled up to the side of the skull and the ear-piece wedged into the ear the low weight of the unit becomes apparent. While the original Microsoft headset can get rather uncomfortable after a short while in use the Plantronics version is for the most part unnoticeable. I say mostly because the ear-piece plugging up your ear canal does take a while to get used to. After a few hours use and some minor adjustments I found the headset most comfortable, even if I did get much satisfaction from jamming a finger down my lug-hole and giving it a good rubbing after a long session. Audio is both crisp and clear and while there's no real noticeable improvement over the stock headset the extra comfort provided makes listening a more pleasing experience.

The Plantronics headset also features a noise-cancelling microphone, and I imagine this is where the company tries to justify the headset's high price. Breathing, small coughs, ambient room noises, 5.1 speaker systems and throat clearings all fail to register with the software, thereby saving your team mates and opponents from having to listen to the muffled sounds of a sexually aroused orang-utan. Fellow gamers didn't report any noticeable improvement in clarity but the mike does a great job in minimising unwanted noises from being broadcast. The boom for the mike is fully adjustable while remaining sturdy and steady once a position has been chosen. Plantronics also provide a small selection of foam coverings if you wish to dress up your headset.

So far the Halo 2 Special Edition headset is a total winner. Even the mild dexterous gymnastics required to get the unit in place cannot take away from the very high build quality and flexibility of the unit. It's very comfortable to wear and use and, if you are in possession of a decent set of manners, will make your gaming experience a less jittery affair. So is it perfect? Unfortunately not. And that is because of the price. The headset costs £40 (or $50), and for that amount of money you do not even get an extra Communicator dongle. Seeing as original Microsoft headsets cost twenty quid and includes all you need to get a listening and a hearing this omission, at this price, is unforgivable. Especially when you consider that one of Halo 2's greatest achievements is the sharing of a single Xbox Live account by up to three guests. So if you had hoped to use the Plantronics headset for yourself and allow a guest to use the original Microsoft version for themselves you will be out of luck. Even if the dongle had been included some may baulk at the steep price, which is only a few notes shy of a years sub and headset bundle.

It's a real shame that this is so. In every other respect the Plantronics device is far superior to the vanilla version from Redmond. Ten notes off of the asking price and a dongle thrown in and I would not hesitate to recommend this piece of kit to any Live subscriber. As it stands, I can still recommend the Special Edition headset, but only so long as you don't mind paying over the odds.

80% (90% if found cheaper, 95% with a Communicator)

By Sam Gibson