Able Planet’s original intentions were to help those with hearing loss, but they have now decided to enter the mainstream headset world with their sound-enhancing technology. Thus was born the PS500MM headset, designed with PC gaming in mind. The question now is: Is it worth the price?

I replaced my Logitech headset with the Able Planet headset for a good month’s worth of daily use. I have to admit that the sound quality was noticeably crisper, and I could clearly hear some sound effects that I’ve never noticed before on a headset or through speakers. All this also occurred at a much lower volume than I used to listen at — I didn’t feel like I had to turn it up to be able to hear. It’s a strange experience that is hard to describe, really.

Unfortunately, the earphones are just the perfect size that when they sit on my skull, they actually push my ears into my glasses and thus my glasses into my head. I thought this was something I just had to adjust to, but it never got comfortable for me. Wearing the headset for an hour, my ears would still slightly bother me 15 minutes after taking it off.

The voice quality was also not as clear as my Logitech headset. Anyone that uses Avast Antivirus should know how the voice sounds when your virus database gets updated, and that same kind of nasaly robotic tone was applied to my voice over Skype and Ventrilo. Even after a month, my friends could never get past it, and I found that I was always being laughed at regardless of what I was actually saying.

Overall, the listening was great, but the voice was not, and I personally found them quite uncomfortable — other people might not. Using the PS500MM headset to watch movies or listen to music might be fine, but for long-term PC gaming sessions, I wouldn’t recommend it. At a $70 price point, you could do much better (like the Logitech headset I’ve been using for the past 2 years). If you are a gamer with any hearing loss, however, the Able Planet line of headsets is something you might want to look into.

Tags: Able Planet, headphones, headset

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1 Comment » Sam Naylor on October 31, 2009 1:24 pm I use Sony headphones (quite heavy duty ones) and have my Rock Band mic in front of me on a makeshift stand. Seems to work fine, and when I’m not talking I can move the mic away from my face. RSS feed for comments on this post. Comment Now Note: Commenting on Ripten does not currently require registration, however to be eligible for contests on the site, you must be a registered user. Name (required) Mail (will not be published) (required) Website Commenting Rules: No hate speech allowed. If you must argue, please debate intelligently. Comments containing selected keywords or outbound links will be put into moderation to help prevent spam. Ripten reserves the right to delete comments and ban anyone who doesn't follow the rules. Thanks. Notify me of followup comments Tired of the Goomba? Upload your own custom comment avatar.