Review: Primal Wireless Gaming Headset

Rude Gameware hits a home run with its first gaming headset, and best of all it won’t kill your wallet.

For late night gaming, wireless headsets are a must, but sadly usually can cost gamers an arm and a leg. But thanks to Rude Gameware’s Primal Xbox 360 headset it doesn’t have to. 

The Primal headset comes with a powered wireless hub, wireless directional mic which attaches to the 360 pad, some RCA audio cables and the headset itself. 

The headphones are an over the ear design, adjustable and have a nice leather bridge emblazoned with the Primal logo. The cups themselves are wrapped in a soft and comfy gentle cloth that’s easy on the ears. Overall the build quality is pretty nice, but it lacks that ‘heavy’ quality feel that I tend to love out of my gaming gear and accessories.

Setup is amazingly simple. You plug in the wireless hub, slap in 2 AAA batteries into the headphones and plug in the audio in cable to your television set. Primal recommends using rechargeable AAA batteries and for a reason. The wireless hub features a battery charger, which is a nifty feature which can really save you money over time.  The final piece of the package is Rude’s directional mic which snaps into place on your 360 controller. No longer do you have to worry about pulling too hard on your headset and jarring the plug loose from your controller; which as someone who’s destroyed 2 pairs of Live headsets can attest to - this is a life-saver.

After a few seconds of powering on the headphones you’ll get a crisp and clear audio stereo connection from the wireless base. While not 5.1, you will get some directional effects. Using the recently released Alan Wake for the Xbox 360, which is a real audio showcase, I put these headphones to the test. 

Voice work, special effects and music all came in incredibly clear. I even got some nice 2.0 directional effects going while in combat - hearing the Taken approach me from behind was a spine chilling delight!

Next up was taking the Halo Reach beta for a spin. Grenade blasts, and weapons all sounded chunky and heavy, really putting to use the rather nice speakers in this set. 

The wireless directional mic, which attaches to the 360 controller was surprisingly clear. Using a noise canceling technology similar to the one used in the PSEye - my voice came in clear without any ambient noise. 

While I would have loved a better aesthetic look to the headset itself, (a dash of red on the cups wouldn’t have hurt) and perhaps some controls for base and treble - I’m not gonna knock it for the price point and performance offered.

Overall, I was very pleased with the performance and comfort that Rude Gameware has managed to deliver with the Primal wireless headset. Amazingly comfortable, easy to use and with the added benefit of a battery charger and wireless mic - it’s a fantastic value conscious bundle that really performs and won’t break the bank. 

SCORE: 9/10