Customer Reviews

Creative Labs 70GH010000000 Sound Blaster World of Warcraft Wireless Headset

5 star:		(66)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(27)
2 star:		(44)
1 star:		(64)

 

 

Received this product yesterday. After the initial 8 hour charge I was anxious to test it out. Comfort and sound quality are awesome. Installation was very easy if you follow the Quick-Start guide. The THX options are amazing for versatility. Range on the 2.4gHz wireless is also very delectable. I was very impressed until I went to talk to my guild mates over Ventrilo...

Every single person said I sounded very muffled / tin-e / static-e. The microphone also picks up almost every sound in the room. It is very annoying. Noise canceling microphone??? NO. More like noise amplifying microphone of terrible quality. I plugged in my old $15 headset from WalMart and my voice was back to crystal clarity to everyone in Ventrilo.

I spent about two hours of my own time alternating sound options inside Windows, Ventrilo, and the custom sound board to get my voice sounding somewhat normal over Ventrilo to no avail. I posted this issue on the official Sound Blaster forums. I am also going to create a support request. If this issue isn't fixed or on the way to being fixed I'm going to get a refund and by a different set.

Cool headset, but after using it more during raids, everyone complains about how the Mic turns screechy and sounds robotic (this is with VOICEFX off) The only fix is to D/C from Vent and relog but it will happen again. Issue is posted over and over on Creative's FOrums by many users and they have not replied or released a fix. Unfortunately an Epic Headset has turned into a worthless Green Item. Never buying creative again.

I really was looking forward to this headset. When my pre-order arrived I absolutely was wowed by the presentation and overall look of the product. The comfort of these phones is truly amazing and I hope will be copied by others in future. Now for the negatives... The microphone did not work from the start... I can hear others in TeamSpeak, but they can't hear me (even after making sure my settings were correct). I also noticed that my Logitech wireless mouse and keyboard go all sluggish and wacky when using these phones. Attempts to contact Creative customer support were as unpleasant as could be. They make you drill down through seemingly endless menus before you can send an email to their customer support team (tip: make sure you have your serial number or you will get no customer support) -- no phone number is available. I sent my problems to them on March 5th via email and just heard back today (3/10/10)... Their answer? Try to keep the wireless headphones away from the computer's wireless keyboard and mouse, as they can cause interference. I waited 5 days for *that*! Kind of hard to seperate the computer keyboard, mouse and headset when playing a game on the computer...

The most ironic thing of all is the mouse and keyboard are acting up the worst in WOW when paired with the headset, making it unplayable. Looks like these phones are going back to Amazon. I love the concept and the look of the phones, but Creative's execution and customer service are terrible. Oh well. :-(

The "Create Your Own Review Form" has a very telling question it asks on the right side of our screens.

Q: "What would you have wanted to know before you purchased the product?"
A: That it would break in 2 months and Creative offers terrible support.

Appearance, Comfort, Sound Quality, Microphone Quality, Packaging all receive high marks. The multicolor LEDs are a nice touch inside each of the ear modules and the otherwise black color scheme is appealing, though it seems the entire thing is made out of (easily broken) plastic. Comfort of the piece is top notch. I am the raid leader for my WoW guild so I am regularly wearing these headphones for 4 or more hours and neither the inside of my ears or the top of them where my glasses sit would feel uncomfortable. The microphone quality is perfectly fine, my guild mates on Ventrilo did not complain of a poor quality sound from my end. Packaging was also well done though you do not receive an installation CD and have to go onto the internet to download it. Sound quality is very satisfying since it is THX certified it does not disappoint.

Ease of Use, Features, and Wireless Range all leave something to desire. Ease of use is relatively hassle free, if it weren't for the fact that once every two weeks I randomly lose my signal and it takes me several minutes to resync the USB dongle and the headset. This would not be such a hassle, had it not occurred twice during a raid. We refrain from buying wireless mouses for the same reason, there are some things that just cannot have issues when we are relying on them. The features, mainly the program that allows the adjustment of LED color and your voice, is rather gimmicky. As much as you think you might want to sound like Malganis or Deconstructor-XT , nobody else will want you to. The wireless range is also the worst of any wireless headsets I have owned. To compare I have a pair of Sennheiser's that allow me to walk down a flight of stairs, out the door of my house, and into the street which is roughly 50 feet away. The WoW headset has a range of roughly 10 feet, and cut that in half of you dare walk around a wall.

Durability, Customer Support are terrible, terrible, terrible. So terrible I had to write a review. Having owned the headset for less than two months I picked it up off of my desk to raid last night, and the right side ear module snapped off. You see the entire thing is made of plastic, cheap plastic at that. For buying one of the most expensive headsets on the market one would expect some high quality parts but not the case with this headset. The adjustable linking piece between the top of the headset and the ear module is roughly similar to that found on a 5$ pair of knock off Sony headphones: thin, plastic and cheap. I naturally assumed that since I had only owned this product a mere two months I could call Creative customer support and see if I could get a replacement (though at this point I would prefer a refund). After discovering Creative does not give you a number to call, I sent a few emails back and forth with pictures and was provided this wonderful conclusion by a Creative representative who does not even have a real name to correspond with, instead he/she uses a cute Navi name from Avatar instead. Her conclusion about my headset is as follows:
------------------
Dear Michael,

I am afraid that you will not be able to use the warranty claim form in warranty servicing. I would advice you to purchase a new product as it is more economical as compare to servicing Out of Warranty RMA.

Best Regards

Galkowska Agata Ewa
Worldwide Customer Response
Creative
----------------

This is definitely one product I will not be buying again, even if their customer support advises me to.

I have owned SEVERAL headsets over the past eight or nine years, and have been an avid PC gamer since I was 13 years old. This headset works well, is comfortable, sounds great, and best of all there is nothing to tether your head to the computer. I've had the headset for a couple of weeks now and I don't really have a single complaint about it. I don't quite understand why people give items bad reviews simply because they aren't capable enough to get the item to work. I bought two of these headsets one for my wife and one for myself. We sit in the same room when we play and they do not interfere with each other, or my wife's wireless keyboard at all. I have used the headset on both my desktop and our new laptop and it works, first time every time. I haven't had to pair the headphones with the USB transmitter or anything. Just plug the USB transmitter in and turn on the headphones and they work.
The voice morph software is fun to play with every once in a while. Yeah it's gimmicky and dumb, but good for a laugh when you are bored on vent. I have used these headphones to play WoW, Battlefield Bad Company 2, Bioshock 2, and a few other games, without having to adjust any settings or anything like that. No, I don't hear amazing new things I never heard before, but yes the sound is crisp and rich, and I think the surround sound feel works quite well. Sometimes you can hear ambient sounds or something from behind you while playing and it will fool you into thinking something is really happening in the room you are in. Also listening to music on these headphones is great. They get nice and loud (I was afraid they might not) and the sound quality and bass is great. They are LARGE headphones, but they aren't heavy at all, extended use of them is comfortable and they block out a lot of background noise which is great.
I've seen a ton of reviews of people talking about this headset having a bad mic on it. I haven't noticed this at all. The mic ISN'T perfect, but out of the 10-12 headsets I have owned (all of them considered high end at the time) none of them were 100% perfect. It's a microphone, and like with all the different headsets you have to take the time to get used to using it. No, it isn't going to act exactly like the last microphone you owned. Yes it can sound muffled if you don't wear the headset right and keep the mic too far away from your face, sorry it's not a magical microphone that floats in front of your mouth at the perfect distance for you, you actually have to wear the headset correctly. Everyone on vent has told me that I sound just fine on ve

I bought these and was excited to get them, till I got them. They are to say it simply, Cheap, The head piece parts are thin and flimsy. The sound from them is honestly not bad, and the surround sound is very good but, the mic is not very movable or flexible and pics up way to much background noise to be usefull, no amount of tweaking gets rid of the noise from the mic, even following the instructions on the creative labs website wont get rid of it, and this should tell you something, Creative labs has a whole section up of dealing with the background noise. All in all for the money your getting cheated buying these, do a search here at Amazon for any Turtle Beach headphone and you will get 1000x the quality for half the price.

I preordered this headset and they arrived on February 25th. I live in a house with two adults and no children so the only use the headset got was when I put them on and took them off.
On Saturday March 27th I tried to put them on and the right head phone snapped off. I looked at the support and found that it is made of very thin plastic with a hole running down the center that weakens it further.
I found that Creative Labs Customer Service is only open 9 am to 5 pm cst Monday thru Friday. So I contacted them this morning 3/29/10 to see if I could get an RMA to have them replaced. I spoke with a customer service agent and told her what happened. She told me that physical damage was not covered under the warranty and voided said warranty and was not eligible for an RMA. She then put me on hold and spoke to a supervisor. When she came back on she asked me to e-mail her a photo of the damage. I sent the picture which they received. They are waiting to show a supervisor to get a ruling as to whether or not this will be covered under the warranty. My feeling right now is that Creative will blow me off and I will be stuck with a $120.00 piece of junk.
So my review of this item is this. The sound is great and the colored lights are fun and it super comfortable to wear. The main support for the ear phones is the cheapest of plastic with no metal reinforcement and does not last more than a month at best with careful regular usage. Don't waste your money on these cheap pieces of junk they are not worth the cost.

Overall, I think the headset could be a great tool. However, I gave this headset a low rating for a few factors that I feel are important to be corrected by Creative. Unlike those who have sent their headsets back, I am waiting for Creative to fix their driver so that I can keep the product and use it.

The quality of the hardware is superb. The novelty of the World of Warcraft design and the features presented by the WoW Audio Control Panel such as the Voice Effects are great!

However, I am having an issue where folks do not hear me when using the headset for two-way communication (i.e. use of the microphone). Having spent a rediculous amount of time trying to find the contact phone number for Creative's Technical Support team as they hide it on their web site, I worked with their tech support staff on the issue and we found that the current driver (release 1.x, by the way), is inappropriately increasing the microphone sensitivity to 100% each and every time any application connects to the headset in spite of how you set the sensitivity using the supplied audio control panel tool.

I found, as did others on the Creative forums, that the microphone is so sensitive, that in order to use it properly, you should set the sensitity in the audio control panel to 15% or less. If you do, the headset works fine for two-way communication.

Having to set that property every time an application connects to the headset is quite annoying and needs to be resolved. I use the headset for Vonage calls and I have to change the sensitvity for every phone call answered or dialed. Hopefully, Creative will correct this problem with their next driver update (date unknown at this point).

As I said, I have chosen to keep the headset and await the next driver release. The 8 hour runtime is fanatsic and the clarity of the wirless connection and range is also great. If not for the microphone sensitvity issue, this headset would rank as one of the best on the market today.

* * * Review Update (03/11/10) * * *

I may end up replacing the video review with something newer later on down the line, but for the time being, I'm leaving it as it is as a reminder to everyone that when you purchase a product of such relative newness, you run an increased risk of receiving an item from a bad batch with potential defects. That being said, if you accept the risks and do receive such an item, you should (obviously) have it exchanged immediately. This particular instance found me fortunate to have been helped by one of Creative's guys here in the US: Mr. Ryan Schlieper. You can find his contact information in the comments of this review.

So yes, I missed the UPS guy the other day and was forced to wait until today to actually try out the headset. And to be honest, it was a rather painful 24 hours to wait (made even more so by the fact that the replacement set was OVERNIGHTED to me), but obviously I survived. Opening the package, I found that it had been already opened (for testing, as per Mr. Schlieper), but the wrapping and whatnot on the headset itself was still intact. Removing it from the box, I fished through the cardboard cradle in the box to find the USB transmitter.

I plugged it into my desktop and was relieved to see that Windows didn't report any type of malfunction with it as it had the last one. I powered on the headset and noticed an immediate change from the first headset: instead of flashing rapidly from red to blue, this new headset pulsated slowly from red to white to blue.

This was already promising!

Crunch time at hand, I pressed Connect on the headset for three seconds... Check: Rapid blue blinking.

I literally held my breath as I pressed Connect on the transmitter for three seconds... SUCCESS! The two connected with each other almost immediately.

The battery in the replacement headset was apparently pretty low, so I plugged it into the desktop with the included USB cable, and got to work messing with the Audio Control Panel. Ever since I'd heard about it, the one aspect I wanted to play with was the VoiceFX technology due to being a stickler for gimmicks.

You're given a few different selections to choose from in terms of who you want to sound like, ranging from a Gnome male to a Felguard all the way on up to Malganis. Though they were all pretty neat to tinker with, it was the Gnome male that got me (which is miraculous, as I despise Gnomes).

Have you ever heard a laugh that sounded so ridiculous, you couldn't help but laugh yourself?

This was that laugh. Immediately upon hearing my Gnome-ified voice, I laughed. And that laughing caused me to laugh even more, and more, and more. Literally, I laughed for a solid five minutes before I couldn't take it. Then I checked out the Village Elder setting, and there's a distinct... warbling noise on this filter that got me once again. So if you DO end up getting this headset, you need to check those out IMMEDIATELY.

As I've said before, it's truly the little things in life.

While I'm discussing mic-related issues with the headset, I'd like to make it clear that I haven't had a chance to actually test out the headset's mic in the field, as it were. Nobody was online at the time, so I just have the VoiceFX test to go by, but if it's any indication of the quality to expect, I believe I'm in good hands. It's not perfectly crystal clear, but it's close enough for me. Certainly not distorted by any stretch of the imagination. What's more, the mic appears to be quite sensitive: it was able to pick up the voices of the TV program I had going in the background, even though the TV was nearly muted.

Most impressive.

That aside, the Audio Control Panel is very easy to use. It lets you choose from a multitude of different colors for the lights on the headset, as well as the (already discussed) VoiceFX technology, and the THX configuration. The ACP offers an equalizer to let you control a few different aspects of the headset, including bass and surround sound. In this area of the ACP, a segment from the WotLK intro cinematic is placed to give you a baseline to adjust the settings to accordingly. For some reason unbeknownst to me, the audio from this cinematic was being piped through my speakers, even though everything else (error dings, Winamp, etc.) was coming through the headset.

No matter.

I loaded up WoW and headed on up to the Argent Tournament. Another reviewer had used the Cultist area in his review, saying that he'd heard things he hadn't heard before, so I wanted to check that area out for myself. Honestly, I couldn't hear anything I didn't already hear through my speakers. This isn't at all a bad thing, however, as my speakers are ALSO THX-certified. So to have a headset share the same quality of sound as an actual speaker system was simply amazing. Hell, even the surround sound was surprising. To review that particular aspect, I went and harassed one of the flying Frostbroods near the Tournament grounds, and rotated my character. Sure enough, the sounds did seem like they were coming from the front/sides/rear of the character, respectively.

Comfort-wise, no complaints here. I could see myself wearing these babies comfortably for HOURS on end. The padding along the underside of the top of the headset keeps the earpieces right where they need to be without any sort of waggling. Clearly, the design of the headset was very well thought out; very sturdy. The padding around the ear pieces doesn't make contact with any part of my ears, so there's no irritation on that front, either.

As can be seen from the images here on Amazon, the headset's appearance is absolutely gorgeous. In fact, I dare say that its modeled in an almost Horde-like way, which most likely feeds into the excellent durability of the set. The usefulness of the headset (for WoW alone) is infinite. As I live in an apartment, the volume over the speakers has to take a considerable hit during curfew hours to placate the neighbors, but with these, that'll no longer be an issue (which is good, because you need that volume to be able to hear the shooooom of a stealthed Rogue trying to grief you during your dailies).

Ease of installation and ease of use are pretty well matched. Some folks have reported that you can use it right out of the box, but I know that with mine on XP, the USB transmitter REQUIRED the drivers to be downloaded and installed (a paltry five-minute ordeal).

Ultimately, now that I've been issued a working set, I can't imagine anything I'd want them to do differently with the headset. It's comfortable, sound quality is excellent, mic quality is great, and the whole experience--from packaging to actual use--is very well done.

The only two (and a half) things I would recommend for Creative are the following:

The cardboard cradle that holds the USB transmitter, cable, and interchangeable Horde glyphs for the headset has no labeling of any sort. There are four distinct compartments where the items could be hiding, and only two of them, I think, are actually used. Perhaps a sticker or some sort of printing on the cardboard to show what's in each compartment?

On the note of the glyphs, why not go ahead and make the Horde glyphs the defaults on the headset? I mean after all, Horde > Alliance. (Kidding. OR AM I?)

Initial support was grim, at best. It took a little over a full 24 hours before I was replied to, and even then, it wasn't helpful at all, maybe even a little condescending, given that I selected "advanced user" from the list of choices in terms of computer experience. Still, Mr. Schlieper was incredibly helpful here on Amazon, and for that, I applaud Creative. Never before have my complaints been heard and addressed quite so efficiently.

So yes, if you want an excellent headset, this one is definitely worth checking out. Though as I said in the opening, if you buy a product early on... well, you know.

Apologize for long-windedness, but it needed to be said.

TLDR:
AWESOME HEADSET WITH POTENTIAL PROBLEMS FOR EARLY PURCHASERS. VOICEFX IS LOL, SOUND QUALITY AND COMFORT ARE WIN, MIC QUALITY IS KK, AND CREATIVE SUPPORT NEEDS IMPROVEMENT IN CERTAIN AREAS. PEW PEW.

* * * Original Review (03/04/10) * * *

I apologize for the poor quality in the video review. Not going for a Pulitzer or anything, though.

So I just got mine in the mail yesterday and I was impressed from the outset, what with the beautifully designed packaging containing an equally beautiful device.

However, upon unboxing the item, the problems began.

I'll be sure to update my review, of course, but to this point, I am still unable to pair the headphones with the USB transmitter. I've followed the included directions to the letter, and still no joy.

I sent an e-mail to Creative customer support nearly a day ago, and have yet to receive a response.

And I've done all I can to eliminate possible interference from other devices. To that end, I've actually POWERED DOWN my router and wireless mouse. Still no joy. Drivers were successfully installed, but still: after attempting to let the device pair, it times out after a minute or so.

Obviously, aesthetic beauty can't make up for a device that WILL NOT FUNCTION.

Update 03/05/10:
Just received a reply from Creative customer support. Nothing remarkably helpful, but at least it's something. Will continue to keep the review updated until either return of the product, or resolution of the problem.

Update 03/06/10:
One reply in nearly 72 hours. I'm returning this to Amazon. Bravo to Amazon for their amazing support: Creative could take a page outta their book. Such a pity, it looked like an excellent product on the outside.

Update 03/09/10:
Apparently I was a bit hasty in my blasphemy against Creative support. Thanks to Mr. Schlieper, a new unit is on its way. I hope to have a review in a more positive light updated by tomorrow night.

Update 03/10/10:
Missed the UPS delivery, will have the review uploaded tomorrow for sure.

I had high hopes for these headphones. I bought a total of four sets with the cataclysm game as well. I took one set out and followed the instructions to the letter even charging the headset for the 8 hours before attempting anything. I downloaded all the programs and was very excited to try out the new product. NOTHING. NO sound No voice Nothing and like many others posting on amazon, the mic doesn't work either. oh the test works for the voice. I can hear my voice on the test; Lots of feedback and very crackly. I looked for the customer support number. There isn't one. What you have is an e-mail address that has a 24 hour turn around time and as far as I can tell is set up to stall customers forever.

I downloaded my system information to them before I wrote as was suggested so that they would have all the information on my system before I wrote back. Guess what the first question was after 24 hours exactly. What is your OP system? which was in the download and typed into a specific box on my email question form.

Next 24 hours later response: what is the name, model number and serial number of your creative sound card. WHAT? this product does not say you have to purchase a creative sound card to make it work. What do you mean I need a creative sound card? I wrote back with my sound card information that came with my computer.

TWO DAYS LATER next response. What is your creative sound card name, model number and serial number. Wrote back again, this product says nowhere in its ad that it needs a creative sound card to work properly I do not have a creative sound card. What I have are the WoW wireless headsets and no sound is coming from the headset, and the mic does not work either.

TWO DAYS LATER their response. If you cannot provide us with the name, model number and serial number of your sound card we cannot help you and will consider this case closed. WHAT???

The downloads to these headsets can only be placed on one computer per headset and cannot be used on any other computer to play the headset. So at this time I went to all four computers, first having to uninstall the program from one computer then putting it on another computer then starting the whole process over again. The headset does not work on any of the computers including my sons' mega beast gaming computer (he is in school for gaming design and that is what his class mates call his set-up)which has everything to play, create, and edit video games with 3 seperate external hardrives for the programs. Doesn't work on that one either.

I wrote back again on a new ticket which is logged under the product you are having problems with by the way, so they know it is a headset I am questioning and not one of their sound cards. I wrote: I have four of these headsets on four different computers. I opened mine to test (the rest are for Easter gifts)This headset Does not have any sound. The mic does not work and I am getting no support from your company on how to fix this problem other than someone named
Yang Ge
Technical Support
Creative Labs Americas
asking what is the name, model number and serial number of my creative sound card. Who has never responded after I have said repeatedly I do not have a creative sound card, I am having problems with the headset. no where on your ad does it say I have to have a seperate sound card to work these things and I am certainly not going to buy a seperate sound card at over 100.00 a piece for each of our computers after paying 160.00 each for these things. Now I need a phone number to call someone there to get these things working or I shall have to send them all back. It's been days and your 24hr turn around time to respond to an email is ridiculous as it is but the fact that you don't respond at all is insane and that there is no real time conversations to help fix these problems are you kidding me? this isn't customer service it is a joke!

I still have not had a response to this email

I went to blizzard's website since they are the one's who advertised this product. Blizzard does have a customer service phone number by the way. I had hoped they had the mystical, magical phone number to contact creative, but alas the phone number is like the game, a fantasy. They did shed light on the fact that they have many calls about this product not functioning and the fact that their customers cannot get support from creative; which is why the full page ad has been pulled from blizzards' community pages.

Again no help, but I did check blizzard's site and their store and searched for quite some time. I did not find the ad. Sad to say for those of us who purchased this product, that they advertised these headsets before testing it via everyday end users. Even worse they put their name to it, allowing customers to believe that it was a quality product when in fact it is quite horrible and the company obviously does not consider its customers a top priority.

Be forewarned. Buy this product and you are on your own.