Gamers are really picky when it comes down to sound quality. I remember back in the day, in my Counter-Strike 1.6 phase, when I was absolutely addicted to professional gaming and everything had to be perfect – from the keyboard and mouse that I was using, to my headset so I can hear my enemy’s footsteps. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t had enough money to buy a proper headset and I was using a really cheap one that cost me about $5. But alas, we live in the future now and we have a ton of premium gaming headsets. One that stands out is the Gioteck HC-4.
It’s specifically targeted towards PS4 gamers, but that doesn’t mean you can’t plug it into your tablet, smartphone, laptop or any device that has a 3.5mm audio input.
How does the Gioteck stand out?
Well firstly, it’s incredibly cheap for what it offers. You can buy it for $45, while other premium headsets start at $80 – like the Turtle Beach Ear Force P12.
It seems to have garnered a fan base because it listens to the gaming community and their complaints – knowing how to take feedback is essential in a successful business. The built-in rechargeable battery makes the HC-4 stand out; not only does it amplify your sound, so you never miss an enemy sneaking up on you, but if you run out of battery while playing, the sound won’t go off, it’ll only reduce the volume. You can easily recharge it using the included micro-USB cable.
While other premium headsets offer wireless connectivity, the HC-4 prefers to promote utility.
Material wise, I can say that it ain’t cheap plastic that will hurt your ears, or strangle your head, but it ain’t the best material out there. Sure, it’s not all covered in leather, but it does its job well, and you won’t be feeling any pain using it for your gaming sessions. The mic is good, the speakers are more than enough for casual, and professional gamers alike and it works with a multitude of devices.
The Gioteck HC-4 sports a simple design!
Gioteck manufactures a lot of gaming accessories – stands, controllers, cables, various headsets – not only dedicated for consoles like PS3, and Xbox 360, but for PCs too. Their target is to undercut official products, not with sheer numbers, but offering a viable, and a cheaper, option. HC-4 is one of their most successful products.
HC-4’s design is pretty cool – mostly because it is simple.
If you’ve seen a headset once in your life, then you are well acquainted with this one. The cable leads from the left ear-cup so you can connect to any device you want, it comes with an 3.5mm adaptor used to transmit both audio and microphone signals, and its blue colour seems to hit a soft spot with PS4 users.
As a side note, you can use The HC-4 with your Xbox One too, but you will need to buy a separate adapter.
For $45 you know that it’s cheap, but you wouldn’t have guessed the price just by looking at it, because it doesn’t look cheap. The plastic doesn’t shine, and wearing the headset will not put a tacky label on your forehead.
The padding around the ear-cups and headband are pretty comfortable – yeah, you can feel the difference between them and a $100 headset, but don’t forget how much you paid for it. And weighing at about 300 grams it will not put a strain on your head, and more importantly neck – and also, it will not feel really flimsy wearing it while you move your head around.
Out of pure accident I dropped my HC-4 on a wooden floor from an average height, that a gamer can drop it, and it went on working like before.
It’s blue and black colour scheme really fits it perfectly. The company’s logos aren’t that annoying on the sides – the one that I really felt it was awkward put was the one on the headband. It could have been much more cooler without it being there. But I wouldn’t mind going out with it, only if the microphone would have been detachable, and the cable a lot longer. It’s really too short for my taste – 60 cm is not even the distance from your pockets to your ears. More so, the cable can impose some difficulties to those that have a cramped gaming space. You have been warned!
The HC-4 sports four buttons on the left ear-cup:
- One button turns the headset on or off
- Two buttons shift the volume up and down
- And the last button turns your mic on and off
Button functionality seems to vary from product to product. Not by much, but it’s worth noting that when paired with a MacBook the button that usually turned the microphone on and off, instead gives you the possibility of pausing and un-pausing it.
The headset also comes paired with a micro-USB cable that lets you recharge the battery that amplifies the volume. Although it really isn’t required for the battery to be fully charged for it it to work, but it’s a nice touch if you want to hear everything louder – like that Rogue stealthing near you, and on the crawl to annihilate your avatar, or that demo-man in Team Fortress 2 that just put some sticky bombs in the room in front of you.
Gioteck offers slightly above the average audio quality!
Logic dictates that you shouldn’t expect high-end quality audio coming out of your headset, but that doesn’t mean its output is weak. Au contrair it’s actually good. It doesn’t have noise cancellation features, nor does it fully support surround sound, but it does its job well.
You’ll have no problems playing Dragon Age Inquisition and listening to the incredible voice-overs, or the extraordinary oriental soundtrack, paired with undead growls from Dying Light.
But the HC-4 really excels in the volume output department. It’s loud as hell if you use the rechargeable battery, and you won’t feel disappointed after using it – like some of its higher-priced competitors that just stand in HC-4’s shadow; to name one – Turtle Beach.
Even though you won’t get the noise cancellation feature, the volume output is more than enough when it comes to blocking outside noises like birds chirping, dogs growling, and people fidgeting in the subway.
The battery lasts up to 8 hours, and when it runs out you’ll just get reduced volume – no need to run to a electric outlet to immediately pump some sweet life juice into it.
The microphone is okay’ish. I mean, I’m not entirely disappointed in it – the only thing that truly annoys the living hell out of me is that it isn’t detachable. While testing it in various games such as World of Warcraft, Team Fortress 2, and with software like Skype and Ventrilo, other gamers, users, have reported clear audio.
Gioteck HC-4 conclusion. Should I buy it?
Yes, you should definitely buy it. It is one of the best premium headsets at this price range, the only other headset that tries to compete with the HC-4 is the Tritton Kama at roughly $38.
- Pros
Works with a multitude of devices – laptops, smartphones, tablets, consoles
Volume output is incredible
Audio quality is above the average
Great battery life – that doesn’t affect the headset’s usability
- Cons
The microphone isn’t detachable
The headphone cable is really short
Audio cable isn’t detachable
What headset do you use, if any, for your gaming needs?
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