Polk 4 Shot Xbox One Gaming Headset

  Polk 4 Shot Xbox One Gaming Headset

 The Microsoft Xbox One$349.99 at Amazon doesn't work with many headsets out of the box. In fact, without the Xbox One Stereo Headset Adapter, it only works with the included monaural headset and its special connector that plugs into the Xbox One gamepad. Polk Audio offers its own Xbox One headset in the form of the 4 Shot, which includes the aforementioned adapter. It's a well-designed, comfortable headset that can easily work with any smartphone or tablet, but it suffers from a very bass-heavy sound profile, a funky microphone, and a rather high $159.95 price tag. With the $25 Xbox One headset adapter available separately, there are just too many solid alternatives from both the audio enthusiast and gaming ends of the spectrum in the same price range. The Marshall Monitor headphones and the Plantronics RIG headset, are just two examples.

Design

The headset is remarkably sleek for an over-ear pair not primarily focused on portable use. No clunky boom mics or gaudy colors are in sight. The outside of each cup is covered in glossy black plastic with a flat gray stripe and an embossed Polk logo. The arms are a matte black plastic, extending into a leatherette-covered steel headband. Polk offers two more, slightly flashier versions: white earcups with brass highlights and a black headband, and gray earcups with blue highlights and a white headband.
The leatherette of the headband and the leather-like insides of the earcups are padded and feel comfortable on the head, without being mushy or risking getting too hot from long periods of use. The earcups are mounted on arms that extend over their corners, letting them adjust easily by pivoting up and down to fit the shape of the user's head. The cups can also turn 90 degrees to sit flat for storage, though the arms don't fold and no carrying case is included.
The left earcup holds a hidden microphone that pops out of the bottom edge. Instead of a boom mic that extends near the mouth, it's a simple wedge of plastic that rests under the earcup and disappears when not in use. It's a functional and unobtrusive design element, like the rest of the decidedly elegant headset.  The bottom edge of the right earcup holds a 3.5mm port for either of the included two four-foot cables. The gaming cable is a simple audio cable with no button or microphone, intended for use with the bundled Xbox One Wireless Headset Adapter. The other cable has an in-line one-button remote and microphone for use with a mobile device.

Connecting the Headset

Plugging in the cable with the in-line remote and microphone disables the mic built into the headset itself. You can use the headset mic with a mobile device by using the non-remote-equipped cable, but this resulted in a much lower recording level than my Google Nexus 5's own on-board microphone. The headset mic seems to be designed specifically for game systems (and even more specifically the Xbox One), and isn't suited for

phone calls.
The headset comes with Microsoft's Xbox One Stereo Headset Adapter, which you can purchase separately for $24.99. Like the wired headset that comes with the system, the adapter plugs into the bottom of the Xbox One gamepad, into a port that looks vaguely like a micro USB port. The adapter is a small plastic trapezoid with five buttons on the face for adjusting game/voice chat balance and overall volume, and for muting the microphone. A 3.5mm port sits on the underside, to which you can connect the 4 Shot (or any other 3.5mm-using headset).

Performance and Microphone

The headset mic is fairly functional, but suffers from an issue that Polk claims it's aware of and is working to fix with a software update: The mic is so close to the driver in the left earcup that it tends to pick up audio from whatever game you're playing, in addition to your voice. Polk says this is not an issue with the hardware. For now, be prepared to mix game volume way down and chat volume way up if you want your voice to come through your game.
As pure headphones, the 4 Shot has a very sculpted, bass-heavy sound that doesn't quite offer the level of performance and balance that similarly priced, non-gaming headphone pairs like the Marshall Monitor and Sennheiser HD 280 Pro£82.47 at Thomann (which lacks a microphone) can produce. It handles low end very well, just as a gaming headset should; it reproduced both the bass synth notes and the heavy kick drum hits in The Knife's "Silent Shout" with strong presence and no distortion at maximum (and unsafe) volume levels. For very thumpy, bass-heavy tracks, the 4 Shot indeed sounds excellent.
However, outside of songs built from the ground up to shake the listener, the 4 Shot is hit-or-miss depending on the track's mix and just how prominent the bass is. For example, The Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" has a very clear and warm opening that here gets eclipsed by the song's usually forgettable bass line as soon as it kicks in. The plinky notes of the opening guitar usually cut through every other aspect of the song before the vocals, but the 4 Shot's emphasis on the bass blunts what should be a crisp edge to the guitar sound. Blue Oyster Cult's "Godzilla" fares a bit better, since the entire song revolves around its iconic bass riff, but both that and the kick drum drown out the rest of the percussion. It's clear the 4 Shot is built for video game audio and action-packed sound effects, and not a remotely flat response for accurate music listening. It by no means sounds bad, but the weak high-end makes it seem far less appealing as your go-to pair of headphones.

Conclusion

The Polk 4 Shot is a very well-designed gaming headset that sounds fantastic when you're playing games on the Xbox One. However, its microphone is finicky and its general audio quality outside of games doesn't justify its $160 price tag. Considering its included adapter is available separately for $25 and can work with any phone headset or headphone pair with a 3.5mm connector, the 4 Shot isn't a particularly compelling package. If you can spend slightly more, the Editors' Choice Marshall Monitor$130.25 at Amazon offers excellent all-around audio performance and, with its in-line microphone, can work easily with the Xbox One Stereo Headset Adapter for a much more flexible listening experience. The Plantronics RIG$89.94 at Amazon is another solid candidate for use with the adapter, and its boom mic is much more functional than the 4 Shot's. And if you want a really inexpensive option, the Tritton Kama$29.99 at Amazon offers solid performance (though not nearly as good as the aforementioned headsets and headphones) for just $30.