Our Verdict
The Alienware Professional headset is a implausible gaming headset that manages to completely stability sound high quality and luxury whereas additionally having a visible design that makes it acceptable to make use of outdoors of gaming. Sure, the value is excessive, however the high quality you’re getting in return is a good commerce, and you can find yourself spending extra and getting much less in return with another premium gaming headsets.
- Extraordinarily snug
- Simple ANC mode switching
- Crystal clear removable growth mic
- Audio high quality is implausible throughout video games, music, and basic media
- Desktop software program may very well be significantly better
- Earcup controls are misplaced
Should you had advised me at the start of 2024 that considered one of my favourite PC peripherals would come from the Alienware model, I’ll have truly laughed out loud. That’s to not say that the standard of Alienware’s peripherals isn’t as much as scratch, nevertheless it by no means felt like a number one model within the area. This all modifications with the Alienware Professional Wi-fi gaming headset.
In what has grow to be the most effective gaming headsets in latest reminiscence, the Alienware Professional Wi-fi gaming headset is probably the most finely balanced product I’ve examined because the Astro A50 X. Granted, the Alienware Professional doesn’t have the identical cross-platform capabilities, however what it does have is unbelievable sound high quality, first-rate lively noise cancellations, and a design that doesn’t restrict it to only being a gaming headset.
Specs
| Alienware Professional Wi-fi | |
| Frequency Vary | 20Hz-40kHz |
| Battery Life | As much as 75 hours |
| Connection Sort | Wi-fi (2.4GHz, Bluetooth 5.3), Wires by way of USB-C |
| Weight | 315g |
| ANC | Hybrid On/Off plus Transparency Mode |
Options
The Alienware Professional Wi-fi gaming headset is appropriate with PC, PS5, PS4, Nintendo Change, and cell units. It connects wirelessly by way of Bluetooth 5.3 and a 2.4GHz USB-C adaptor (USB C-to-USB-A converter included within the field), or you may plug it in over USB.
It comes with hybrid lively noise cancellation, adjustable mic monitoring, AI noise cancellation for the microphone, and quick charging for the built-in battery. The Alienware Professional Wi-fi additionally options Dolby Atmos.
Design
I can’t fault the consolation of the Alienware Professional, its leatherette earcups really feel implausible over the ear and its match is tight, however not a lot that you simply really feel trapped whereas sporting it. At 315g, it’s not precisely light-weight, however I didn’t discover it any greater than headsets just like the Razer Blackshark V2 Hyerspeed regardless of the burden distinction. It is a testomony to how the burden is distributed evenly throughout the pinnacle and ears.
Visually, the clear designs of each the Lunar Gentle and Darkish Aspect of the Moon fashions – that’s white and black to most folks – are a giant plus. A lot in order that when the microphone is eliminated, the Alienware Professional is a wonderfully serviceable general-use headset that wouldn’t look misplaced in case you wore it out of the home. In actual fact, I even ran a half marathon with it on as a result of I don’t significantly get on with in-ear alternate options. Throughout your entire 13.1 mile race, not as soon as did the headset shift misplaced, trigger any awkward sweating/overheating from the closed-back design, and the burden was excellent, not feeling prefer it was so mild it might fly off, however not so heavy that it brought on discomfort.
There’s no unnecessary and battery-draining RGB on the earcups, with as an alternative only a easy Alienware emblem on both sides that blends in fairly properly and may solely actually be recognized when actually focussing on the design. Dell stored it easy with the Professional Wi-fi design, and it pays off.
My solely challenge with the design of the headset comes with the positioning of the controls on the earcups. Each the facility and connection sort controls are sliding switches, they usually’re positioned proper subsequent to one another, which ends up in numerous mishaps. I’ve by chance turned the headset off when which means to change between connection modes extra occasions than I can rely.
Efficiency
The Alienware Professional makes use of 50mm graphene drivers, one thing that is quite common in premium gaming headsets. These drivers enable for a wider than traditional 20Hz-40kHz frequency vary (many headsets high out at 20kHz) which ends up in nice audio throughout the spectrum from bassy lows to pitchy highs. Dell claims the Alienware Professional was designed in partnership with professional avid gamers to make sure that the bass, mids, and highs have been all tuned to be optimized for aggressive gaming.
One oddity with this headset is that by default it’s actually loud. The nice factor is that management over this quantity continues to be completely advantageous at decrease ranges, however begins to scale fairly dramatically when you attain 80+ in Home windows. Simply watch out when connecting the Alienware Professional to make sure that you aren’t by chance connecting at a a lot increased quantity than you count on, to avoid wasting from any leap scares when any audio begins.
Should you hearken to audio at an inexpensive quantity, there may be subsequent to no bleeding from the earcups, which is nice if you’re utilizing them out and about or simply wish to preserve issues quiet when at house.
The lively noise cancellation (ANC) comes with three settings; On, Off, and Transparency mode. ANC is good for blocking out exterior noise and makes use of microphones each inside and outdoors the earcups to cancel out the exterior din. When turned off, the headset feels extra like a conventional closed-back headset, the place exterior noise is muted however not utterly blocked. As for transparency mode, this permits for noise to circulation freely into the earcups so you may simply preserve a dialog and be typically current and out there regardless of sporting the headset.
The unidirectional microphone is nice at choosing up my voice whereas additionally utilizing AI noise cancellation to make sure that background noise isn’t making its means by means of to my teammates, be it keyboard clicks or a TV within the background. I by no means discovered the microphone to be awkward to take away when not wanted, and there may be an LED indicator on the mouthpiece to indicate whenever you’re muted.
The one letdown for the Alienware Professional is the command middle software program. It’s extremely fundamental and solely actually serves as a strategy to activate Dolby Atmos and change between pre-defined sound profiles. The interface isn’t all that pleasant and when in comparison with superior software program like Logitech’s G Hub or Corsair’s iCUE, it reveals that there’s a lengthy strategy to go for Alienware to catch up on this regard.
Battery Life
The Alienware Professional Wi-fi gaming headset battery life clocks in at 75 hours when utilizing Bluetooth with ANC turned off. Surprisingly, if used by way of 2.4GHz in the identical situations, this battery life solely drops to 70 hours, a a lot nearer determine than is usually the case.
With ANC on, you may count on half the battery life, so round 35 hours in 2.4GHz and as much as 40 hours in Bluetooth. The headset additionally has a fast cost function which means you may stand up to eight hours of battery life from only a 15-minute cost.
Comparatively talking that is fairly excessive, though some headsets, just like the Astro A50 X, profit from a docking station to maintain you topped up regardless of having a a lot decrease anticipated battery life. With the Alienware Professional, utilizing it whereas charging can be awkward given the cable positioning which is true behind the microphone. If each are plugged in, it may be onerous to place the charging cable to run down the entrance of my shoulder, thus leaving me with the charging cable trailed behind me the place it’s liable to being tugged on every time I reposition myself. So, in case you do end up draining it utterly, you’re going to wish to attend for quarter-hour whereas it rapidly expenses.
Value
The Alienware Professional Wi-fi gaming headset has an MSRP of $229.99 (£221.99), which leaves it in barely awkward territory as being dearer than manyt mid-range choices, however effectively under different premium cans with extra options, such because the Astro A50X, Steelseries Nova Professional Wi-fi, and Corsair Virtuoso Max.
Nonetheless, the small quantity additional over different mid-range choices is justified by the premium construct, consolation, and sound high quality, whereas these extra feature-rich choices are fairly much more costly once more.
Options
Astro A50 X – For multi-platform gamers
If you wish to sport on a PC, PS5, Xbox Sequence X, and even perhaps your cell or a gaming handheld, then the Astro A50 X has a a lot wider vary of appropriate platforms in comparison with the Alienware Professional whereas matching the audio output and microphone high quality.
Razer Blackshark V2 Hyperspeed – an affordable but high quality various
Should you’re not bothered about ANC, detachable microphones, and pro-tuned audio, then the Razer Blackshark V2 Hyperspeed is a good various on condition that it’s nearly half the value, but nonetheless makes use of comparable 50mm graphene drivers and a brilliant wideband microphone for clear audio each methods.
Verdict
The Alienware Professional Wi-fi gaming headset is a triumph and alerts that Dell’s gaming model is getting severe about its providing outdoors of PCs and laptops. From the extremely snug design to the uncompromising sound high quality, the Alienware Professional is an all-rounder that shines in any state of affairs. The asking value could also be excessive, however within the case of the Alienware Professional, I imagine it’s price it, particularly on condition that the construct high quality ought to see it final for years to come back.
