Tech reviews

PuroGamer Volume Limited Gaming Headset Review


Language is a powerful thing.

The word ‘Puro’ — the Japanese pronunciuation of ‘pro’ — conjures up images of something sleek, lightweight and, I daresay, sexy. Pro gamer headphones bring to mind vistas of a crowded stages as your eSports team takes home the win — the fame, the prize and glory.

Unfortunately, as George R .R. Martin is wont to remind us. Deciding on whether or not these headphones are any good will take more than just a fancy name.

First things first, these headphones do look pretty sleek.

The black and blue palatte is always a strong choice, as evidenced by Sony’s branding over the past decade or so, and they even come with a neat little drawstring bag so that you can travel with them in style.

With both the standard 3.5mm jack and a USB connector, this works with your PS4, PC, Nintendo Switch and anything else with a normal audio port.

Excuse me while I glare angrily at Microsoft.

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Plug these bad boys into your PC via the USB cable and the blue rings around the ear cups and microphone emit a cool blue light, too.

You can’t turn the light off, but if that bothers you, you can use the 3.5mm jack with your PC instead.

The detachable microphone is a great bonus, making this headset (presumably) useful on your commute, if you want a chunky pair of headphones.

Unfortunately, for each of these pro points, there are some major drawbacks.

First and foremost, they’re simply not comfortable to wear. The ear cups aren’t big enough to fit around your ears, so sit on top of them instead. That’s fine, but this style of headphones is empirically less comfortable than those which sit around your ears.

Half an hour into wearing these, it felt like my brain was being squeezed in a vice. I fiddled with the headband and put them back on.

Another half an hour later, I really started to notice the weight of these. At 680g they’re not the lightest thing on the market. Although the headband looks fairly chunky, they aren’t as well padded as first impressions would suggest.

I usually try to keep the headphones on during a review, listening to music to spur my thoughts, but now, two hours after I put them on, I’ve had to take them off because they simply hurt.

I am acutely aware of where the headband was sitting because I can still feel it, and it’s not exactly pleasant.

The next issue is the volume control box halfway down the cable.

The cable itself seems well made, though the box is made of a shiny black plastic that picks up all the dust and grease that it can muster, making it look and feel fairly cheap.

Volume control also appears to be something of an issue.

The difference between “I can’t hear anything”, which is about two-thirds of the volume wheel, and “oh good, another source of pain”, is minuscule.

In short, prepare to have your eardrums blown at the slightest tweak

This, amusingly, brings me to the next issue: the box proudly claims that this is the “world’s first volume limited gaming headphone”.

This essentially means the volume is limited to 85dB to ensure there is no damage to your hearing.

A brilliant idea.

However, as of writing this, the headphones are now sitting on my PC. I’ve stood up, walked out of the room, down the corridor and into the bathroom.

I can still hear the Hamilton soundtrack blasting out of the earcups.

This may well be the first time that these headphones have impressed me, and it wasn’t for the reason that you would hope.

The Verdict – 2/5

There’s no question, the Puro has a decent dynamic range, with good bass and nice treble. Overall, they offer good sound quality.

But, they’re incredibly uncomfortable and you won’t want to have them on your head for any great length of time, regardless how good they sound.

Likewise, the microphone is a bit rubbish, with a level of annoying feedback when recording and listening back to yourself.

At around £60, the Puro’s are overshadowed on both fronts. Cheaper headsets exist under £50 that are more comfortable and functional. Likewise, there are headsets under £100 which offer better sound quality, features and comfort.

The Good

  • Good for people with little heads
  • The audio quality is actually pretty respectable
  • The microphone is removable

The Bad

  • The noise reduction clearly doesn’t work
  • The volume control is rubbish and it looks cheap
  • They’re really uncomfortable
  • These retail on Amazon for almost £90; you can get two pairs of better headphones for that money





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