Posted in: Games, Review, Video Games | Tagged: audio, headphones, LS20 Headset, LucidSound

Gaming Audio On A Budget As We Review The LucidSound LS20 Headset

On the first day of E3, I was invited to an early morning breakfast where streamers and press got to check out the new offerings from LucidSound, and we were offered copies for review. By the time I got there, they had run out but promised a copy of their new LS20 Headset would be sent in the mail following the convention. About a week or so ago, I finally received my copy and was delighted to see the specific design. Today, we review the set in full!

First and foremost, let's get the purpose of these out of the way: The LS20 was designed to be a pro-gamer headset at an affordable price. This is essentially LucidSound meeting the consumer market halfway by offering the same kind of tech they put into their more expensive sets but constructing them in a way that doesn't take away from the performance of the previous set. The top of the bar, as well as the cans, have a nice padding to them that doesn't feel like plastic sitting on your head. Lightweight and soft to the touch, they don't get hot or sweaty right away, giving you a few hours of comfort for long sessions.

This particular headset comes with 40m speakers with neodymium magnets for a deep bass along with stunning acoustics. The microphone is an attachable piece of hardware so you can use these as regular headphones or turn them into a headset, which is both genius but super odd they're not retractable. The LS20 is also a chargeable headset, which runs off a mini-USB and gives you 20 hours of audio, that way you're not running solely on your device, controller, or PC's power.

The best feature on the LS20 by far is the volume control, which is built into the headphones. The right side has a push-button on the LucidSound logo that switches between game audio and chat audio, while the left side has a dial on the outside of the logo that controls the volume of each. And if you wish to mute, you push on on the left side with a blue indicator light to show your mic is muted. So not only are you not fiddling with an audio control on your cord, it's as simple as reaching for your ears to control everything. That's some smart engineering we have to tip our hat to.

The LS20 headset is a damn fine design with few flaws. The $100 price tag may make a few people balk, but keep in mind that this is a company making $150 and $200 sets for people who play in the eSports leagues, and they don't want to create an inferior product. So yeah, you'll be forking over a bit of cash. But if you want quality, you'll have to bite the bullet and go to the wallet anyway.The design may be funky for some, but I think it makes for a sleeker design that isn't as bulky as their other headsets or some competitors. I totally recognize that this won't be for everyone, but it just might be for those who hate larger and more expensive gear.

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