As a gamer, there are several factors you may have to consider before getting a gaming headset. One of them is the durability of the headset you’re looking at purchasing. You wouldn’t want to experience the distorting sounds that come from faulty headsets while immersed in your favorite game.
Do gaming headsets even go bad? Well, it depends on certain things. Headsets can go bad in many ways. A gaming headset could be a point to its longevity. Overall, understanding signs that a gaming headset is about to go bad will go a long way in helping improve how to use one.
Anxious to know what could make your headset go bad? The sections in this article are tailored to help you adopt better handling practices to make your gaming headsets last. Also, factors that could shorten their lifespan are discussed.
What are Common Faults My Gaming Headsets could Develop?
As with other common electronic devices, gaming headsets are not exempted from faults that could arise from usage. However, the timing of the onset of the malfunction could be a pointer to certain habits you need to adjust while using one. It also helps you make better choices while picking a gaming headset model.
Here are some things that could go bad with your headset:
Chat headsets break
The microphones that come with gaming headsets provide a gamer with an option of communicating with fellow players online. Incredible right? While this may be a magnificent improvement to older ways like chatting by typing, it comes with the fresh burdens of having to protect the microphone from damage.
A lot of users agree this is commonly one of the first parts of a gaming headset to go bad. This is due to the fragility of the components used to build the microphone. Nonetheless, this shouldn’t scare you, as a good usage habit may be all you need to keep it intact.
Cable goes bad
Planning to get a gaming headset soon? Well, maybe you should brace for another common fault other gamers as you encounter. Your handset’s cable is the weakest point of your gaming headset.
Common scenarios that could deface your cable are getting too excited while winning, that you accidentally tug the cable. This, of course, leaves you with nothing else but a useless headset and a ruined mood.
Let’s say you bought your headset for a jealously reasonable amount, of course, should instill care while jubilating over your win. What other means can you ruin your headset by breaking the cable? Well, since you’re careful of ruining your precious headset, don’t forget it could easily get caught or trapped by any object.
If this happens, this again would cause it to tug, which would result in the wire breaking inside.
My Console does not read my gaming headset
Thanks to technology which has made it easy to use most gaming headsets with modern video game consoles. This doesn’t mean all consoles have the same step in connecting them. You may ask, “Why doesn’t my console recognize my gaming headset?”
Most commonly, this problem could arise from the console or controller. While in other cases, there may be physical defects in your headset. This of course limits your experience, as you can no longer have a voice chat with another user. More frustrating, is that you are forced to rely on speakers while gaming.
What Factors Influence the Lifespan of a Gaming Headset?
As awkward as this may sound, the lifespan of a headset depends on the materials it is made of. More sincerely, the price you pay for a headset reflects the quality of what you get. This means a $15 headset is more likely to last shorter than an $80 one.
Check out factors that may influence the longevity of your headset below:
- Materials: Most gaming headsets are made from a blend of plastic materials and metals. A high-end headset will contain components of durable materials on the headband, earbuds, and earcups. This is because areas like this are more exposed to strain.
- Quality of speaker drivers: Most headset drivers aren’t as fragile as other parts. But cheaper drivers are prone to break faster. Moreover, your driver can stop working if the headset falls from greater heights.
- Fragile cables: One commonreason your headsets stop functioning is that the connection wire breaks. This often results from constant twirling or rolling over your chair. Low-budget headsets use less durable cables, which are prone to breaking easily.
What Habits Can Damage My Gaming Headset?
A lot of users are trapped in the cycle of buying and replacing their headsets every 6 months or less. For a fact, headsets are fragile devices, but certain habits make them even more prone to damage. Does your gaming headset keep breaking or malfunctioning after a few months of usage?
Here are some reasons why they do:
Not using a case
A lot of users usually throw away the pouch they bought their headsets in. This habit, unfortunately, leaves your headset exposed to contact damage when they’re not in use. Several of these cases are semi-hard and round, designed to hold a correctly looped cable.
Losing the original case or the manufacturer not including one shouldn’t stop you from finding a pouch to fit them into. This helps protect the cabling, pad the earcups and protect them from being crushed when you fling your bag absentmindedly.
Wadding up wires
The easiest way to destroy a wired headset is by mistreating the cable. The more painful tragedy is that the wires inside the headset are intact. All they need is a cable to transmit the audio.
Why do headset cables go bad easily? A very obvious reason may be due to the nature of the material used in building them. Cables easily get severed at the connection point-either to the earcups or at the 3.5mm plug.
On the outside, they may appear fine, but on the inside, there are multiple severed ligaments. Wondering how to prevent this? Be more careful with your headset’s cable.
Not familiar with IP ratings
Ingress Protection (IP) are two digits designated to show the kind of object/material your headset can withstand. The first digit refers to protection from solids, including dust. 0 means no protection, while X means the manufacturer didn’t test for protection against solids.
A manufacturer that puts an X after IP is simply saying, “Hey dude, we aren’t sure of this headset’s resistance, please don’t sue us”. The second digit stands for protection against liquid.
So what does IPX7 marking mean? You got that right. Protection against solid is non-tested but likely greater than zero, and the protection against liquid is top-level.
A lot of gamers ignore this marking and are therefore flying blind as regards what objects to protect their headsets from. Of course, not knowing the durability standard of your gaming headset exposes the poor item to reckless damage.
Conclusion
Now that you are aware of what could make your gaming headset go bad, you can change or improve your handling practices. As a gamer, there is nothing more exciting than being immersed in the undisrupted ecstasy a fully functional headset brings.