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Product:
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Everglide S-500 Headphones |
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Price:
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$116 (CDN) / $100 (U.S)
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Supplied By:
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Everglide
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Author:
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Skaal-Tel
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Date:
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March 21st, 2006
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Rating:
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I found that I could wear the headphones for a few hours without much discomfort. I usually have a hard
time with headphones but the padded head rest helps quite a bit. The ear pads are a bit strange, in that
the hole is not a regular round shape, and is situated more towards the front. It takes some getting used
to having most of the pad resting on the back of your jaw, but it was surprisingly comfortable for long
term use. The large pad and enclosed design is the main reason for the "noise canceling" feature of the
headphones. With music playing, I found I could barely hear myself singing along, and I certainly could
not hear computer fans, keyboard mashing, other speakers playing different music etc.
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The Everglide S-500's are built for computer gaming, so as such it's not much of a surprise to see a regular
3.5mm stereo jack. No adapter is provided for the larger jacks present on home theatre equipment. What you do
get however, is a completely separate microphone to clip for your shirt collar, your headphones, or wherever
you might prefer.
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I could find no chink in the Everglide's armor to disassemble them with which is probably for the best, if you tend to
be a little rough with your headset.
Testing:
All my tests were done with the on-board sound system of an Asus A8N-SLI motherboard, which uses the Realtek ALC850,
8-channel CODEC; an extremely popular and common motherboard choice. As far as gaming sound effects go Quake 4 and
Battlefield 2 were my weapons of choice, while for music I listened to an wide variety of different artists.
When listening to music, I found the Everglide S-500 Headphone to really shine with a strong bass output. In fact,
I have a hard time saying anything negative about the sound output with these headphones. Quite possibly my only
gripe is that, since they are a very enclosed design, the music and sounds seem to coming from practically inside
my own head. On the whole, the music experience was very good, far above and beyond that of my desktop speakers,
and also walking all over my old Sony’s.
Gaming, subtle details like footsteps, bushes rustling, thousands of bullets whipping past you, even far off gun
battles, are all crystal clear. I found that the softer details like rustling cloth and the jingle of ammo belts
were much more noticeable with this set of headphones than any others I've tried. They truly serve to augment
the gaming experience. and if you should just happen to hear your enemy's pack jingling and cloth rustling as
he sneaks up behind you. all the better!
The microphone is top notch as well and I didn't have any problems with placing it on my shirt collar. The signal
was clear, and none of the usual echo, distortion etc from having it on the desktop next to a bunch of whirring
computer parts. On top of all that it is nicely padded so don't expect to break this MIC too easily.
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Conclusion:
While I'm certainly no Hi-Fi audiophile, I can say that without a doubt these are the best sounding set
of gaming headphones I've ever listened to. The price may seem a little steep, but if it's complete
immersion in a game world you desire, right down to hearing the grass grow and your enemy draws his
knife, I would be hard pressed to recommend a different set of headphones. In a LAN Party environment,
and working in a team, this setup is practically perfect. The MIC lets you speak to your teammates
and the large circumaural ear pads keep all other distractions to a minimum. The only downsides are
the heavy weight and slightly insular feel to the sound. Overall, I was pleased with the Everglide
S-500 Headphones and award MTB's Seal of Approval with a final rating of
9 out of 10. If you have any questions regarding
this review be sure to visit the Everglide
website for more information or discuss them in our forums.
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Pros:
- Excellent sound performance
- Good general purpose music listening
- Thick padding keeps external distractions down and comfort up
- Extremely long cable
- Microphone provided with separate cable
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Cons:
- Heavy
- Insulated sound experience a little strange
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