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Customer reviews
Updates at bottom of review.Was looking to replace an excellent Hyper X wired headset that I’d broken at the connector while plugged into my Xbox controller. Wanting to avoid this happening again, a wireless headset seemed like the obvious choice.I was really looking hard at the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 since it works like an Xbox controller (i.e. no dongle) and would be less likely to interfere, but between some negative reviews and also the $120-$150 price, I wasn’t ready to pull the trigger. A friend of mine has the Afterglow AG9 (also made by PDP) and he likes them, though he says he has had a couple of failures. User reviews of the AG9 are markedly mixed.With that said, I stumbled across the PDP LVL 50 wireless just released. Reading critical (i.e. professional) reviews on the net, the consensus is that the LVL 50 is a great value. Most user reviews are extremely positive as well, but currently (early March) are almost all from people who received them free for review purposes. While I don’t necessarily doubt the credibility of these reviewers, when you receive something for free, you are likely predisposed to be more positive…I know I would be.Initial thoughts:The LVL 50 packaging is just what you’d expect; it’s the headphones in a box with no frills. You also receive a 6ft micro USB cord for charging and a quick start guide.The headphones themselves are all plastic with breathable fabric ear cups and a padded headband also covered in fabric. Nothing flashy and except for the Xbox green in the ear cups and green wires running through the headband, completely unadorned. If you walked up to someone wearing these, you’d have no idea what brand or model they were. I don’t consider this a bad thing and I doubt most people buying sub $100 headphones are interested in impressing their friends. The one thing I don’t like about the design is that the switch/knob labelling is very faint and hard to read (see images). There are only a few buttons/switches, though, and you’ll learn them quickly enough. Given their construction, you won’t be throwing this headset in your suitcase for travel both because they are not all that sturdy and they do not fold.Adjustments are typical of most low cost headphones. The earpieces have limited pivot and rely on the plastic flex for fit detail. Ear pieces slide to adjust. Importantly, I’ve a fairly large head and I find them very comfortable. First session was about 5 hours and I never got hot or uncomfortable. These are much lighter and at least as cool and comfortable as my old Hyper X. The padding in the headband is, to me, the biggest factor in this comfort. In fact, I’d only worry about fit if you have a very small head. To sum up the fit and comfort, the design is clearly for low cost, but done very well so there is very little comfort compromise; a significant accomplishment. Note that the stock PDP images show a different material for the ear cups and head band than have (the PDP images make them look more like vinyl than they are). I've attached images of mine to this review.Pairing was painless; just plugged the dongle into my Xbox and turned on the headset. There are instructions for pairing, but they were unnecessary.Listening sound quality, while obviously a key to any headset, is very subjective. These are stereo only, so any surround effects would have to be produced by the game/console/PC. What I can tell you from my initial use is that it’s just fine for me. I play Red Dead Redemption 2, Far Cry 5, and Fallout 76 primarily. All sound just as good as my wired headset did. I haven’t used these for movies and likely won’t, but my guess is they’d be fine for this purpose. For music, probably not your best choice but would be okay. All in all, these have gaming sound that punches above the price point. I don’t think you’d be disappointed.Microphone sound quality, reported by those I’ve played with on line, is good and I did not have to repeat anything I said. I particularly like the flip up mute feature. The Xbox version has two volume knobs; one is an overall volume knob and the other is the chat/game volume mix. You can tune the sound using these two knobs, but it does require some playing around to get it just right and if you are playing on line with others, will likely require adjustment every time you team up. From what I’ve read, the PS4 version does not have the mix knob.Other thoughts:Support documentation and on line info is lacking currently. The PDP site has no FAQ or downloadable info regarding the LVL 50 (wired or wireless). The quick start guide has no information about charging and no detail about functions. The headset is not complex, but I usually review manuals and FAQ’s before buying. In the case of the LVL 50, this isn’t possible.Durability, durability, durability. Only time will tell, but I don’t see these holding up to abuse and I wonder about long term use. This is only speculation, but I do worry. On the positive, they do have a two year limited warranty, so that does give me peace of mind.So far, I can’t help but be pleased with the value of the LVL 50 wireless. Sure there are better ones out there, but I can’t imagine one better at this price point. One final note; I bought these from a local retailer, not Amazon. The price everywhere today is the same, so if you are considering these, you might want to check locally to put your hands on them before you buy.Will follow up with updates as I use the LVL 50's more.Update 3/24/19After spending about 30 hours with the LVL 50, here are a few other details.Battery life is as advertised. I played 14+ hours over the last few days without recharging and never an indication that the battery was low. I do wish there was a way to check the battery level, but I can't complain about the life.Microphone is confusing. I've played with different friends with some saying I was a clear as can be and others saying that I was hard to understand. It seems to work better an inch or more away from my mouth, but not sure of all of the variables. It seems to be very sensitive and tries too hard to control extraneous noises. Putting it further from my mouth appears to make this better.The two volume knobs on the Xbox version I have are a bit annoying, too. The one on the right earpiece is supposed to be the overall volume where the one on the left controls the game/chat balance. However, and this is hard to explain, you really have to work both of them to get the sound correct even if you are not using chat at all. Once adjusted, the sound is fine, but can take a minute to get it balanced correctly. I think if you got it set, you could leave it, but it's too easy to bump/move the knobs to know.Comfort for me is outstanding. The fact that it's made cheaply (i.e. light plastic) and has good padded and breathable ear and head pieces makes me forget I'm wearing it.So far, the comments about the microphone and volume knobs are nit-picky. Overall, I am still very pleased.04/13/19 update:I mentioned in my initial review that I was replacing a very good wired Hyper X headset that I'd broken off at the Xbox controller. Well, I decided to get that Hyper X headset fixed since I could also use it with PC. When I got it back, I plugged it into my Xbox controller just to try it out and see if I'd damaged the Xbox controller. Well, it worked just fine, but, much to my surprise, it doesn't sound as good as the PDP LVL50! I had thought all along that the LVL 50 was a compromise over my wired set, it's not.On battery life, I can again attest that it's as good as the 16 hour advertised. And, while you can't check the level, it does give you beep warnings as the battery starts to die.On the microphone, I've played around with it more and have found that putting it ~3 inches away from your mouth and at about chin level gives the best performance. When too close to the mouth, there is more distortion and it, annoyingly, picks up breathing. When the levels are adjusted properly and the mic is positioned correctly, it's no longer a weak point in this headset.Given my experience and seeing that discounts are starting to show up for it, I am changing my rating to 5 stars. You simply can't go wrong.05/05/19 update:Now two months of ownership and probably 200 hours or more of use and still very satisfied. As I mentioned in previous updates, adjusting the two volume/mix knobs was the only annoyance. Well, to address this, I took a paint pen and, once I had the knobs adjusted, marked them. Now, I just make sure that I have them lined up and I'm good. Even if I have to make a minor adjustment, at least I have a good starting point. See last two pics if this doesn't make sense to you.Unless I have a problem, this will be the last update. This review is already way too long. Sorry for that. Buy these.6/11/19 update.OK OK. One more update and this one has nothing to do with the headset. Because the information on the PDP website about the LVL 50 was so limited in early March (actually still is), I wrote PDP support asking questions about it. Well, on June 10 (THREE MONTHS LATER!), I finally got a response from PDP. Additionally, the content of the response was not especially helpful. I still love the headset and highly recommend it, but this sort of slow customer service makes me skeptical about how well it will be backed if I have an issue. They would have been better to not respond at all as I had forgotten about my info request.1/20/20 update. So, 10 months later and over 1000 hours of gaming with this headset, it's still a pleasure to use...most of the time. About a month ago, it started beeping during some sessions and this has gotten more frequent. Sometimes plugging/unplugging the dongle will clear it up. Sometimes cutting the headset on and off will clear it up. Sometimes plugging in the charger will help. Sometimes unplugging from the charger will help Sometimes, nothing will clear it up. When this headset doesn't beep, it's great; It's still comfortable and has good sound quality. However, when it's beeping, it's unbearable. The beeping is like R2D2 screaming in your ear and it, of course, interrupts the normal sound. The beeps are not always the same and I am sure they mean something specific, but with no support from PDP on their site...there is NOTHING still in terms of detailed troubleshooting, I have no idea. It's like your dog relentlessly barking in your direction. "Is Timmy in a ditch?" "Is the barn on fire?" "Do you need to go out?" You just don't know what your dog means and I don't know what these beeps mean and it's driving me "beeping" crazy. I'm going to contact PDP again and hope they don't take 3 months to respond. I'll report back here what I find out. Still leaving this at 5 stars for now.
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