Turtle Beach Ear Force Z300 Gaming Headset

Good, but perhaps not the best

Posted by Liam Foot on May 05, 2014 Reviews

I got these to replace the Pulse Elite headset I was previously using. Although the Pulse Elite is a PS3 headset, I had been using it with my PC.

I expected the quality of the surround sound to be the same, but I have found this headset to give a better sense of direction, probably because Turtle Beach make their own drivers for this headset, as it's designed for use with the PC. The volume raises without distortion. It also features bass boost, treble boost, and both simultaneously.

One thing I was attracted to with this headset is that it advertises "interference-free wireless", which I was quite disappointed by. In fact, the Pulse Elite has better wireless range than this headset, and cuts out less often in my experience. The range is still good, but for a headset making claims on range, I expected better.

The headset features dynamic range compression, meaning quiet and loud sounds can be adjusted so that you can hear them better. E.g. making it easier to hear footsteps in the middle of explosions and gunfire.

The thing that impresses me most with this headset is the battery life, which is amazing. Compared to my previous Pulse Elite, this is a welcomed improvement. The battery life on this headset lasts for more than 10 hours on a full charge. It claims 15 hours, but I haven't timed it exactly.

The mic is a little disappointing. It's a tad quiet, but fortunately for me, I don't use the mic very often. I think that if you are looking for a good mic, you might need a different headset, or perhaps a standalone microphone.

Comfort is a mixed bag. The headband is well padded, and because the headset seems to be completely plastic, it's light. One thing I hated about the Pulse Elite was that the headband was split down the middle, and was composed of two thin strips of padding, so there wasn't much surface area for the weight of the headset to distribute itself over. This became uncomfortable over time, but I've had no such issue with this headset.

The issue I have with comfort is in the ear cups. They aren't deep enough to contain my ears, so over time they become uncomfortable, as they put pressure on my ears - my ears touch the base of the ear cup. The cups also don't close at the bottom, so there is a gap beneath my ears where the cups don't touch my skin. I didn't have this issue with my last headset. This is quite a big issue because it also affects the sound quality, as sound leaks through the gap. I've also seen other people mention this issue.

I gave this headset 4 stars because it has a good number of features and is bluetooth, something most headsets aren't, and because I paid about £85 - brand new and sealed. If it were at a more normal price, I would have given it 3 stars. I don't think it's worth £170. If I were paying that, I would advise you to look into a headset where the cups make full contact with your head to prevent sound leakage, and perhaps where the headset has a better mic.

This review is also available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R3DMMDCNNWXZL0/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Back to Blog