I equate the Plantronics GameCom Commander to a pair of expensive Nike basketball shoes: they won't make you a better player, but you'll have some of the best possible tools at your disposal to succeed. Being designed first and foremost for the hardcore tournament gamer, the $300 Commander is a gaming headset with crisp audio quality, an excellent microphone, great noise-isolation features, and an attractively minimalist style. Some gamers will no doubt balk at its price, but overall it does a good job of justifying itself as a premium piece of gaming gear.

Tommy Can You Hear Me?

Everything from playing Battlefield 3 to listening to The Rolling Stones comes through nice, crisp, and clean through two 40mm drivers, one in each earcup. There's also some great bass response. So the quality of sound isn't an issue, but the touted 7.1 surround sound is.

While in-game, any sounds that were behind me, like gunshots or footsteps, all came across like a wash of effects. That's because the Commander's surround sound is not the real deal, but simulated via a small Dolby USB card that's powered by Dolby Pro Logic II, a technology that does its darndest to transform any stereo signal into surround sound. It just isn't capable of true pinpoint surround sound. It's also the same Dolby USB card Plantronics has use in some of their previous headsets, like the discontinued GameCom 777 and the GameCom 780, so there hasn't been much of an upgrade in that department.

There's also no way to adjust the simulated surround effect -- it's an On or Off toggle switch on the USB card -- and there's no way to fine-tune bass level or any EQ settings as part of some first-party software; it just uses generic Windows sound drivers to operate. On the bright side, no frills makes for an easy setup -- all you have to do is plug it into a free USB port and you're good to go. You can, of course, cut the Dolby USB card out of the picture and plug the Commander directly into any compatible device via its 3.5mm stereo and microphone plugs. That's great for a super-portable gaming headset -- thus ideal for the tournament gamer on the move -- but I expect more audio tweaking options and real surround sound if I'm going to fork over three Benjamins for a gaming headset.

Hardware

Design and build quality is very -- dare I say it? -- professional. I like the matte black color and simple design devoid of flashing LED lights or gaudy neon colors. I also approve of the firm wire frame that connects the head strap to the large plastic earcups without adding a lot to the weight. Not to mention the Commanders are super comfortable thanks to generous padding around the ears and head strap.

The biggest surprise for me here is the sturdy noise-cancelling microphone -- I couldn't believe the crystal-clear quality of my voice in my recording tests. It simply makes most other headsets look (and sound) bad in that department, and it'd perform well as a podcasting or livestreaming set on the side.


I couldn't test out the noise-isolation features on the floor of a bustling LAN tournament, but I do work in a noisy office, and the Commanders blocked out my annoying coworkers' babbling and loudly obnoxious YouTube videos admirably. That works both ways -- they don't bleed audio out into the room either. The 6.5-foot cord is a very practical length, and the coiled portion helps keep it taught so as to avoid getting rolled over by accident. The only thing that feels cheap with the Commander is the plastic inline volume controller -- if I were betting on what part would break first, I'd put good money on that.

On the whole, the Commanders offer an excellent package of features. That being said, it's not for every gamer, and if you don't have cash to burn and a noisy environment to block out, there are many more affordable alternatives that deliver better surround sound.


Score



Pros: Really comfortable; great noise isolation; excellent microphone.
Cons: Incredibly expensive; generic surround sound; cheap-feeling inline volume controls.


Plantronics makes no bones about it: this headset is aimed directly at the special needs of competitive gamers. Since I imagine that at least some of our readers aren't, strictly speaking, playing in tournaments every other week, does knowing that this gear is designed for pros make you want it more or less?