Mad Catz Tritton Detonator Headset for Xbox 360 Review

If you’re any kind of self-respecting gamer then the chances are good that you’ve got yourself a headset or two lying around, just waiting for those times when you want to jump online and shout obscenities at random strangers all across the Internet. Perhaps you’re a considerate gamer and, instead of using your headset as a way to shout at people, you’re using them to keep your gaming time personal and not advertising to your loved ones that your spending an unhealthy amount of time playing video games when you should be doing something a little bit more productive. The question you should be asking yourself at this moment in time is if the headset you’ve currently got is in need of replacing? Does it offer you some of the awesome little features that the Tritton Detonator offers? Does it have a cool name like ‘Detonator’?

If the answer to these last two questions is “No”, then you really should continue reading.

The first thing any gamer is going to notice when they put a new headset on their head for the first time is how comfortable it is and whether or not they’re going to be able to wear it for the inevitably epic gaming sessions that they’re going to be going through. The Tritton Detonator is one of the most comfortable headsets that I’ve ever worn, the earcups fit very comfortably over the ear and don’t let in any sound from the external environment, ensuring that when you’re gaming with the Detonator’s on, you’re doing nothing else. This is probably something to make other people aware of too before they start trying to talk to you while you’re wearing the headset, essentially talking to themselves.

Thanks to having a strip of padding at the top of the headset as well as around the ears, the Tritton Detonator is extremely comfortable to wear for extended gaming sessions, I personally wore it for an 8 hour gaming session, only taking it off for minutes at a time to get drinks, etc, and I had no problem with discomfort at all. Needless to say I was impressed, but when you consider that the headset has an RRP of £59.99 you’re going to hope it’s comfortable, you may never want to take it off.

The aspect of the Detonator that a lot of people will care about, especially with it being marketed as an Xbox 360 headset, is how the microphone and basic chat functionality works. The short answer is that it works extremely well. The longer answer is that the fully detachable, and positionable, microphone is one of the best sounding microphones that I’ve used, both on the console and on the PC. The sound is crystal clear with absolutely zero humming, something which can plague some headsets. The addition of the SVM, or Selective Voice Monitoring, is a nice little feature that enables the user to turn on or off the ability to hear your own voice when speaking. This can sometimes get confusing, hearing your own voice twice, but in games that are particularly loud, or when a lot of people are talking at the same time, it’s a hugely helpful feature. Still, the ability to choose when it’s on or off is very helpful.

One of my main problems when I reviewed the Ear Force XL1 from Turtle Beach a couple of weeks ago was that it didn’t come with all the cables necessary to connect the headset up to the Xbox 360. This isn’t a problem with the Tritton Detonator as it comes with an audio adapter for the system which outputs the audio to the required red and white RCA audio connections, even if you’ve got a newer Xbox 360 that connects to the TV via a HDMI cable. This is one small little aspect of the Detonator that put it in my good books before I’d even started up a game and placed the headset on my head. I was able to connect it up to the Xbox without any effort at all. Winning.

FEATURES:

• Selective Voice Monitoring (SVM) – Allows the gamer to enable or disable the ability to hear their own voice

• 50mm Neodymium Drivers – Precision tuned and balanced speakers

• Audio Control – Independent voice and game mute and volume through wired in-line remote

• MP3 Player and Phones Support – 3.5mm jack supports both media playback and voice communications

• Designed for Extended Play – Padded adjustable headband and plush around-the-ear earcups

SPECIFICATIONS:

• Speaker Diameter: 50mm

• Magnet Type: Neodymium

• Ear Coupling: Circumaural

• Xbox 360 Audio Input Type: RCA

VERDICT: If you’re looking for a headset that’s going to stand the test of time while giving you consistently high audio and voice quality then the Tritton Detonator is the headset that you’ve been looking for. The incredible speakers built into each ear can go deafeningly high while never seeming to lose their quality and the microphone is absolutely crystal clear meaning that if you tell a person to go cover that particular door, and they don’t do it, it’s not because they didn’t hear you, it’s because they’re 12 year old Xbox LIVE bullet fodder. The price tag of pretty much £60 might be a little steep for some people, who might find the Tritton Trigger we reviewed earlier in the week much more suited to their needs, but the Detonator is a solidly build piece of kit that, should you choose to purchase it, will be a staple of your gaming sessions for years to come.

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