Everglide S-500 Is Holiday Tease

December 2nd, 2008 omo Posted in Gadgets, Reviews | No Comments »

So a while back during the pre-Thanksgiving Woot-off, I got a pair of these Everglide S-500 which are now on sale for the same price from buy.com. That means I paid an extra $5 to get them about 2-3 weeks early. I suppose it’s not a terrible loss. Oh by the way you can pick from white or black. I got the white ones because I was slow with the wooting and the black ones ran out.

I can help you with a review, at least.

These are strictly cheap, big, comfy headphones. They are a little on the bulky side but I think that’s a good thing for most people. That keeps out the sound from outside (especially since you want to use these massive things in a stationary setting) and that always translate to a better sound.

But the S-500′s mids and highs are disappointingly flat. My Shure e2cs kicks its butt. The bass response for these Everglides is obviously better than a pair of ear buds (of any kind) but that’s really the one of only two redeeming features. Bass sounds bassy but probably a little too dense, but the drivers provides a filling sound.

The other redeeming feature is that they are comfortable. For the record I wear glasses and have relatively big ears, and after an hour of use they only feel a little warm. Definitely good for long-term gaming.

In fact, these Everglides are touted as exactly that–comfortable gamer headsets for those tiresome, long Naxx raid nights. But speaking of online gaming and vent and all, it actually doesn’t come with a microphone built into the headset. The package comes with a separate, simple clip-on mic that you plug in separately into your PC. It’s definitely A HUGE MINUS because who wants 2 sets of wires dangling? This really bothered me. I mean, sure, that also means you can use the mics separately if the need ever arises, but I guess that is why most PC headsets…have a mic attached to the headset? EPIC FALE IMO.

These made-in-China headsets are definitely worth $15 just because of their solid headphone aspect. The mids responses well enough that they make good gamer headphones in terms of getting crisp sound effects from games, but it’s no improvement over good PMP earbuds for music. Rest of it is sorta disappointing. Despite the solid feel of the whole package the non-integrated mic is a major issue I have with it. In the end, I feel sorry for anyone who paid the $90 or whatever price they were as MSRP, but they can make a good throwaway headset or a casual Christmas present.

Tags: deals