Gadgetory

- We've been talking a lot of controllers lately, but there's another accessory that is arguably even more important to your multiplayer gaming experience, and that's a headset. Sony has just released their new Gold Headset, which it actually even says right on the box, "The New Gold Headset," the entire idea being, to separate it from the original line. Now what has changed since that design? Honestly not a whole lot, but what has changed is for the better. Now when we're talking the internal specs of these headsets, things like the audio quality, mic quality, seven point one virtual surround sound support, these are basically the same thing. Because the new gold are just more recently made, there might be a slight improvement, but they're basically on the exact same level. Where all the changes come from is in the physical design of the headset, and basically, everything that can be affected by that physical design, the durability, the comfort, and the aesthetics of it, this thing is a massive upgrade over the original line. First, let's talk comfort. Now the headband on the new line is notice (headphones thud) Maybe I shouldn't do that. First, let's talk comfort. Now one of the first thing's you'll notice about the new gold headset right away is that the headband on it is a lot thinner, so it's a little lighter on the top of your head. But more importantly, the cushioning on it's actually a little bit thicker, so it's more comfortable as well. Another thing is that while the earcups might look the same at first glance, the new gold headsets are a little softer and a little plushier, so they actually feel a lot better around your ear. Especially after long periods of playing games. Another thing you'll notice too, is that the button designs on these are different. The original gold had this whole thing where, the buttons were flush with the skin, and just had a little bit of an upraise to them. Which, is fine, but the new gold headset has abandoned that in favor of actual buttons, which, when you're playing games and you can't actually see what each button is, this just feels a lot more natural, and it's easier to find the buttons you need. So that's a pretty big upgrade as well. Now, as for durability, this was one of the biggest weaknesses of the original gold headset. The hinges one these things, while mine have actually maintained, there's lots of reports of these things breaking for a lot of people. There's also the fact that a lot of it just very easily comes apart, like, with minimal effort. You can just take off this part of the headset, and I've done that so many times while trying to adjust the headbands, so kind of a problem. The new gold sets on the other hand has abandoned the hinge design completely. It's now more in line with what the platinum headset did, where it's just one continuous loop, and it actually makes it a much stronger design. And just, in general, more comfy like I said. As for aesthetics, I mean, this can vary with each person. A bit of an eye of the beholder situation. But, in general, I definitely like the look of the new gold headset a lot more. I really like the change to the earcup design, which is more in line with what they did with the platinums, I think it just looks better than this kind of soft, round thing that the original gold had going on. The only thing I do miss is that the old gold, had this sort of black and blue two-tone design, whereas, the new gold is all black. Which still looks good, I just really like the blue and black approach 'cause I think it immediately resonates with Playstation, whereas this is just sort of, another all-black accessory. So when it comes to the old gold versus the new gold headset the new one definitely wins. But what if you're debating between grabbing one of these guys or the more expensive, Sony Platinum Headset? Well, before, the debate used to be that, compared to the old gold headset, the platinum was more durable, more comfortable, and of course added 3-D audio support for select games. Which, seemed like it was worth the money. But now, compared to the new gold one, which has fixed a lot of those issues, well now the really only big selling point is that 3-D audio. Which, like I said, is for select games. So if you're a really big fan of those particular titles, like Uncharted 4, great, cool! This adds some cool add-ons for you, but for the vast majority of stuff, this is already covering most of the things you really need for a much lower price point. Now before, the MSRP difference between these things was about 60 bucks, in which case the gold is definitely worth doing instead, I think. But, the platinum has gone down a little bit to where the difference is really more like 30 or 40, which at that point, yeah you can debate it, if the games you like offer 3-D support, but as far as getting audio quality for your dollar goes, the new gold is basically the best option Sony's gonna give you now.