Overall rating: 7/10 for the headset, 4/10 for the Dolby Headphone USB dongle.
Overview
From the Plantronics website:
Experience the thrill and excitement of 5.1 Dolby surround sound with the GameCom 777 Stereo PC Headset. Designed specifically for gamers who demand top-level sound performance, the GameCom 777 enhances any gaming experience with its surround sound, powerful 40 mm speakers, and hidden mic boom with built-in noise-canceling microphone.
The Gamecom 777 headset is actually a “package” of two separate devices: the headset itself and a Dolby Headphone USB dongle, which is responsible for delivering 5.1 channels to the headset. The headset connects to the dongle via its microphone and stereo output jacks, which can also be connected directly to a computer (or any other compatible device). More on that later.
First, the headset.
The Headset
Comfort
The headset has cushioning around the ears and at the top to provide comfort while gaming. You won’t feel much pushing down on your head either, and the headset can last more than just a few hours before you begin to feel the “pain”.
The headset also feels solid (though it’s lighter than most) and doesn’t feel prone to damage. The “military-grade” cables (which appear to be grooved cables) are also a nice touch, but the connector to the headset isn’t detachable, and this (according to an audiophile friend) will probably force you to send it in for repair if it actually detaches due to wear and tear.
The volume and microphone muting controls are also easily accessible via a controller on the headset cable, so no more reaching for the keyboard. Volume is controlled by a iPod-esque wheel, while microphone muting is controlled with a simple switch.
Hearing
The Gamecom 777 does not seal sound at all (due to its cloth-based cushioning); instead, it is advertised as having an “open-ear design”, allowing you to hear external noise. The headset is therefore not suitable for loud environments at all(unless you plan to turn up the volume all the way). It’s also not suitable for private listening since the sound leaks as a result.
Sound quality is excellent for both music and gaming; I can hear no apparent loss in quality for stereo music, and the same goes for in-game effects. There’s enough bass to satisfy a mild audiophile, and overall the quality is on-par with some of the more expensive headsets out there.
Although some sources ambiguously advertise the headset as being able to play back 5.1 surround sound, that in fact is handled by the included Dolby Headphone USB dongle.
Speaking
The headset has a concealed microphone which may be folded out to place the receiver closer to your mouth. The noise-cancelling advertised by Plantronics appear to work; ambient noises are almost muted in the final recording and my voice was very clear. However, there was a slight buzzing noise during testing, and nearby voices could still be heard.
A game of Left 4 Dead with a friend proved the microphone’s clarity, though the room was fairly quiet at the time.
The Dolby Dongle
Quality Improvement?
The included USB dongle is very compact, and has stereo output and input jacks for the headset (or any other pair of audio device) to plug into. Otherwise, the headset may connect to the computer (or any other device with compatible 3.5mm ports) directly.
The dongle is claimed to be able to translate 5.1-channel audio into stereo audio output, using special algorithms such that the wearer is still able to discern surround sound while wearing a pair of headphones.
Directly from the Dolby website (FAQs):
Dolby Headphone is designed to process a 5.1 signal. It can also process stereo sources, but the stereo signal must first be converted to a 5.1 signal. Products can feature either of these logos, depending on the manufacturer.
The problem is that this 5.1-channel translation will never happen, since not on one operating system I’ve tested this on was able to detect it as a 5.1 surround sound card. This means that you can only output stereo audio to it, which makes Dolby Headphone less effective somewhat.
Windows XP recognises it as a stereo device by default.
I used two methods to confirm this on Windows XP (after forcing it to recognise the dongle as a 5.1 surround sound system via the above screenshot):
- A 5.1 test track. Front left and right voices are clear, but the center voice is very faint on both sides, and rear voices are completely inaudible.
- A game of Left 4 Dead (in 5.1). Rear sounds were rendered inaudible, so a horde of Infected were able to run from behind without me noticing.
Using the same 5.1 test track, Windows 7 and OSX also gave me similar results, and Ubuntu totally screwed it up. “Front left” is heard on the left, “center” is heard on the right, “front right” is heard on the left, and so on.
However, set up as a stereo (2-channel) audio device, the dongle serves to emulate 2-channel speakers pretty accurately. I got the feeling of “virtual space” while the device was activated, as if there were two invisible speakers in front of me. It is, however, a far cry from the 5.1-channel emulation that was promised.
The device has an “on-off” switch, which simply enables or disables the Dolby Headphone filter, allowing you to hear the difference. It gives off a soft blue glow as a power indicator, and sound quality isn’t hampered terribly when the filter is turned off.
Overall Verdict
The Gamecom 777 headset by itself isn’t bad. The sound quality is excellent, and the microphone is well-hidden but clear when unfolded (but still has room for improvement). It’s also solid but lightweight and comfortable, and won’t make you sore for the first few hours at least.
However, the audio leaks both ways due to its “open-ear design”, so it won’t be useful during a very noisy LAN party where someone’s shouting “GRENADE!” every minute. It’s a very strange feature for a gaming headset, especially since every other gamer prefers to “seal in” their sound.
The Dolby Headphone dongle fails to deliver its promise of delivering 5.1-channel audio to the headset as it was only recognised as a stereo output device and its full potential was never “unleashed”, even though it was advertised as having an easy, no-configuration-needed setup. Shame, really, unless someone out there can prove it’s capable of 5.1-channel emulation.
It did demonstrate its ability to emulate “spatial” 2-channel audio, and if the 5.1-channel emulation actually succeeded, I believe it would have made the overall experience much better.
The headset deserves a 7/10 score for me – good quality, but still has a few bumps to smoothen out.
The dongle, however, only deserves a 4/10 as its full potential can never be utilised, but still works well with stereo.
Reviewer’s final thoughts
My recommendation? Since the dongle didn’t work as I thought it would, I’d recommend getting the Gamecom 377 instead. It’s much cheaper as it’s essentially the same pair of headphones without the Dolby Headphone dongle, and that’s good enough for most.
Or better yet. get the Gamecom 367, which features a “closed-ear design” instead of the “open-ear design” present in the 777 and 377 models. Much more suitable as a gaming headset, in my opinion.
8 Responses to “Plantronics Gamecom 777 Gaming Headset Review”
Leave a reply
Of course, that’s assuming that you are restricting your model selections only to that brand…
pkchukiss’s last blog post..Returning home from Malaysia
Haha, recommending a Sennheiser instead? :3
Use earphones. Nearly no ambient noise, unless somebody shouts reeeal close.
I got a nice speaker test song for ya; Massigura by Aqua Timez. At one point during the song, you’ll hear dogs barking in the distant. I freaked out listening to the song as I thought the neighbours dogs were loose.
Shion963’s last blog post..Magatsu Masurao
Dunno how that will help, but I’ll give it a listen.
I got these babies for the purpose of reviewing them (yes I didn’t buy them), and they’re much better than my Sennheiser earphones with the Dolby Headphone on.
[...] of you were confused when I gave the GameCom 777 a bad review, asking “why even buy it in the first place” or something [...]
Yeah I just bought this thing yesterday and I was deeply dissapointed with the surround system. Every thing behind you so faint you can’t even hear any thing but the loud sounds. It is a terrible design.
I really liked your blog!
Super Blog, Mate! I am constantly on the prowl for new and interesting sites and postings about speaker systems… which is what led me here. I certainly plan on visiting again! Adios