Plantronics GameCom Commander Gaming Headset Review

1. Introduction2. Packaging & Bundle3. The Plantronics GameCom Commander Headset4. Comfort and Performance5. Closing Thoughts6. View All Pages

Built for competitive gamers and fun-loving enthusiasts, can the Plantronics GameCom Commander Pro Gaming headset deliver the top-class performance that its ruthless target audience will demand?

With 40mm drivers and Dolby 7.1 surround sound, the Plantronics GameCom Commander aims to offer an immersive gaming experience. A rugged microphone and in-line volume controls further its appeal as a pro gaming headset.

Claiming tournament-level noise isolation performance and a pro gamer target audience, how will the GameCom Commander fair in our usage tests?

Specifications:

• Type: Gaming headset.
• Frequency Response: 20-18,000Hz.
• Microphone Frequency Response: 100-10,000Hz.
• Driver Size: 40mm.
• Noise Reduction: Up to 18dB.
• Cord: 2m, coiled.
• Product Net Weight: 357g (without cables).
• Warranty: 2 years (UK).

Plantronics ships the GameCom Commander in a plain all-grey box that features no product information whatsoever.

Lifting the box's top section reveals the GameCom Commander's carry case. Plantronics sinks the case into a foam-padded base in similar fashion to how a precious artefact is displayed in a museum.

The main cable is 2 metres long, without the coiled section extended. A USB adapter is used to provide Dolby 7.1 surround sound, while still maintaining the headset's 3.5mm jack capabilities.

A separate, 90cm-long 3.5mm jack cable provides a connection that gives the GameCom Commander smartphone and internet tablet capabilities.

Such is the relative complexity of figuring out what goes where with the GameCom Commander's bundle, Plantronics includes an illustrated guide. The helpful guide outlines the types of devices that work with the specific connections. It also shows how the Dolby 7.1 surround sound mode is activated.

The usage poster folds down into an easy-to-handle size. An additional two warranty information leaflets form the rest of the GameCom Commander's bundle.

Weighing around 357g (without cables attached) and measuring over 21cm from top to bottom, Plantronics' GameCom Commander is an undoubtedly large headset. There is no denying that there are more attractive headsets on the market, but Plantronics is gunning for a rugged approach rather than pleasing aesthetics.

A pair of metal prongs connects each of the thick ear cups to the fairly sturdy headband.

The 21cm-long, flexible-boom microphone can rotate about the left ear cup by a total of around 280 degrees. Users can adjust the microphone to sit approximately 45 degrees below the horizontal (about half way between four and five on a clock scale) when in front of their face. Surprisingly, the microphone actually has a greater degree of adjustment behind one's head.

I see no reason why a gamer would want the flexibility of allowing the microphone to touch their neck, rather than be positioned exactly where it is required in the vicinity of their mouth. Plantronics should have given the microphone greater room for adjustment in front of one's face, rather than behind it.

Plantronics puts its GameCom branding onto the headset's ‘adjustable identity band' which is comprised of two simple pieces of material held together by Velcro. Another piece of branding is found on the top side of the headset's foam-padded headband.

Plantronics uses proprietary QuickDisconnect adapters that allow users to rapidly switch between their gaming PC and smartphone. We think that this is a good idea for a versatile headset; users don't have to fuss about with different cable locations or removing adapters, instead they can simply clip the desired connector into position.

A large volume wheel and mute slider are located on the in-line control. The use of a volume wheel is preferable to a set of +/- buttons (in my opinion), and the mute toggle is always useful. Size seems to be a point with the in-line volume control; the plastic structure itself seems needlessly oversized.

A thick piece of foam padding prevents a user's head from contacting the headband's metal support structure. The padding is covered with leather which makes it easy to clean and stops hair sticking to it.

Despite the foam padding's appropriate thickness, the headband doesn't do a good job of taking the headset's 357g load, instead forcing much of the weight to be distributed through the ear cups. One way of improving the headband's ability to distribute weight away from the ear cups would be to increase its surface area.

Unfortunately, it seems that the frame design itself is as much to blame for the less-than-comfortable fit as any other component. Both of the small-diameter metal bars are forced out of their ‘natural' position when the ear cups are fitted around one's head. This makes them want to reside back in their resting position, hence applying a noticeable amount of force on one's ears.

If the bars were designed with a more flexible window of adjustment (perhaps a less stiff material), they would happily lie in the wearing position without placing horizontal forces on the user's ears.

Measuring 10.5cm tall and 8cm wide, I found the ear cups to be of a good comfort level. The previously mentioned design parameters of the headpiece cause a noticeable amount of force to be funnelled through the ear cups, but the thick foam padding does a decent job of lessening the impact against one's ears.

There's no denying that a user's ears will get hot when the GameCom Commander is used, but Plantronics' ear cup design and level of padding does help to make the wearing experience bearable for a good length of time. I welcomed taking them off for a cooling break after a non-stop two hour session on Battlefield 3, but that's a good period of time to find wearing a bulky headset bearable.

My ears didn't feel too squashed into the 65 x 35 mm gaps, either; Plantronics gives them a size which is likely to just about suffice for a large proportion of users.

As far as performance goes, the Plantronics GameCom Commander headset is an excellent contender. We tested a variety of scenarios including; movie viewing, music playback, and FPS gaming. We also tested the microphone via phone and Skype calls.

Gaming performance for the GameCom Commander was excellent. The range of tones and acoustic outputs provided by Battlefield 3 was reproduced with good quality on Plantronics' peripheral. Explosions had a distinct ‘thud' to them, although the bass levels didn't make for the deepest booms, and the high-pitched ring of death by a grenade screeched through the 40mm drivers.

The different pitches rendered by voices from in-game team-mates calling for ammo or repairs were clearly distinguishable amongst the storm of bullets. The different sounds being output from dissimilar weapons were clearly audible; somebody in the distance firing a shotgun could be easily distinguished from a person shooting a machine pistol.

The surround sound worked as well as we would expect when playing Battlefield 3. I was able to identify the footsteps of an enemy ready to melee me from behind or the rotation of a tank's turret as it lined up its anti-armour cannon. The effect and direction of choppers flying past was very distinct, and when using a jet, the surround sound helped me to identify the course of an enemy's anti-air bullet stream.

Movie playback using The Dark Knight helped to re-enforce the point that Plantronics' GameCom Commander headset is able to accurately reproduce a variety of tones to good effect. The Dark Knight's diverse sound track made for great testing, and the GameCom Commander delivered impressive performance. I didn't notice any of the sounds being muffled together, nor were they overwhelmed by a poor balance from another acoustic trait.

Using the Dolby 7.1 surround sound mode for watching a film has clear benefits during an action scene. The Plantronics GameCom Commander's 7.1 Dolby surround sound helped to immerse me in the action scenes of Saving Private Ryan.  But the surround sound also has its downsides in speech scenes where the actors' voices can seem to echo.

Listening to a number of songs from the Now 85 album gave further evidence for the GameCom Commander's strong acoustic performance and reproduction of tones. Bass performance could be a little better. Personally, I like the bass to deliver a strong punch (although this can sometimes affect speech clarity), but the GameCom Commander seemed to opt for a more balanced approach.

From the music playback tests, it was clear that the headset's balanced range of effects and tones was very good, even if I would have liked the bass to be a little more thunderous.

Microphone performance was without issues. A number of call recipients could hear my speech without problems. Plantronics' well-designed boom can be thanked for the speech clarity. The 21cm-long, flexible boom can easily be positioned in the appropriate location to make speech clarity as ideal as possible.

The Plantronics GameCom Commander headset has good noise-cancellation performance. Despite its passive, not active, noise-cancellation system, the GameCom Commander was able to drown out low level sounds such as computer fans or birds singing. The closed ear cup design wasn't able to block out key sounds from my Cherry MX Red CM Storm QuickFire TK keyboard, but that's a particularly tough task for any non-active noise-cancelling headset.

The Plantronics GameCom Commander headset is a solid solution that delivers excellent acoustic performance with a great variety of tones. With a 357g weight and questionable headpiece design, the strong audio performance seems to come at the cost of comfort.

As far as a gaming product goes, the GameCom Commander is a very good choice, provided you can bear the uncomfortable wearing style for extended periods of time. The variety of effects and sounds accurately and effectively reproduced by the GameCom Commander made the gaming experience thoroughly enjoyable.

With Dolby 7.1 surround sound mode, the GameCom Commander can help to identify enemy vehicles, pick out snipers, and pinpoint team commands. Battlefield 3 showed good benefits when using the Plantronics GameCom Commander headset. The listening experience of action movies was also made more immersive by the surround sound, but speech clarity was clearly suffering from an echo effect.

Comfort is the Plantronics GameCom Commander's biggest shortfall. The questionable design of the headpiece and decision to use quite a stiff metal material pushes a noticeable amount of force through a user's ears. This then has the side effect of increasing heat inside the ear cups quicker. One suggested improvement would be to use more flexible material, but this may contradict Plantronics intentionally rugged design.

Another slight disappointment is the somewhat basic bundle. Yes, Plantronics supplies two QuickDisconnect cables with the GameCom Commander, but other headsets in this market segment offer intricate equaliser, volume, and preset controls. Some headphones, such as the Turtle Beach Ear Force XP Seven, even offer a software package to fine-tune the audio characteristics.

Priced at £229.99 from Dabs, the Plantronics GameCom Commander is an expensive headset. The investment required is serious, and the market that the GameCom Commander lies in is very competitive. For example, the Turtle Beach Ear Force XP Seven headset is priced similarly and offers a strong feature set.

Pros:

• Excellent sound quality.
• Very good Dolby 7.1 surround sound capabilities.
• Strong microphone reception.
• Sturdy design.
• High-quality carry case.

Cons:

• Uncomfortable for extended periods of time.
• Ears can get warm quickly.
• Expensive.
• No fine-tuning components or software.

KitGuru says: A good headset with strong audio performance and an immersive surround sound experience. Unfortunately, the comfort levels aren't great and the price tag gives Plantronics' GameCom Commander very stiff competition.

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