Ladies and gentlemen welcome to the world of finally looking the part of a bad ass professional gamer.  There are plenty of headsets available to carry with you as you etch your name on leader boards across the country.  There are plenty of quality headsets.  But there is only one GameCom Commander headset.  If you walk into a pro circuit with these, you’re going to intimidate the crowd because they’re some serious looking headsets.  The packaging is beautiful (as I’ve mentioned) and the build quality is second to none.  The design of them mimics what you’d expect to see an military pilot wear.

“Professional gamers have unique needs which make the performance of their equipment as important as the skills they possess. The GameCom Commander headset is one of the most important weapons in the gamer’s arsenal, engineered in the long-standing tradition of Plantronics headsets for astronauts, pilots, emergency workers, and others on the frontlines,” said Tanguy Leborgne, vice president of consumer solutions at Plantronics.

Make no mistake, the Commander is built and aimed at the pro gamer.  It delivers on just about every aspect you can think of when trying to find a good pair of headsets that allow you to focus strictly on the game.  The noise cancellation is the best I’ve ever enjoyed.  You can put them on and literally block off the world around you.  When I put them on it was as if the world around me disappeared and I had nothing but the game in front (and around) me.  The noise isolation technology is second to none.

Beyond the impressive noise cancellation, is the sturdy build of the Commander.  I can’t really put it into words but they hug your ears and really mold themselves to you.  It’s like the perfect suction harmony.  I played some old school Half Life 2 and Ghost Recon, some Walking Dead, Call of Duty and even threw in a bit of Counter Strike to really get a good feel of the audio diversity of the headset.  From the low tones to bass to high range effects, the Commander performed really well.  The microphone was also impressive especially with the way you can angle it to fit.  And my voice was crystal clear on the other end according to my test subjects.

I know you’ve probably heard me say that you have to try this or that to really appreciate it but it couldn’t be more true than as it pertains to the Commander.  You have to try these headsets … unpack them .. look at them … and understand how much of a bad ass they make you feel.

You can also use the Commander headset on tablets and MP3 players so there’s more to it than just competing.  I don’t think there are many of you that would want to intimidate your fellow public transportation riders while wearing these but those of you like me won’t care.  You can’t take the mic off of it (I tried) so there might be an occasional eye that looks at you.  Just adjust the mic up so that you don’t look like you’re talking.  I’d say you’ll take the looks for the peace of mind the noise cancellation will provide.

A look at the more technical aspects of the Commander are as follows:

• Speaker driver size: 40mm
• Speaker frequency response: 20Hz–18kHz
• Microphone frequency response: 100Hz–10kHz
• Noise reduction: up to 18dB
• Cable length: 6.5 feet (2 meters) with coil cord
• USB connection: 3.5mm dual connection and 3.5mm single connection
• 2-year limited warranty

Build quality – 9.5
Sound quality – 9.0

Final Word

For $300 and roaming the pro circuit in style and with a serious set of headset quality, it’s an easy buy.  If you’re looking for something casual, then there are bound to be other alternatives.  These headsets can satisfy the casual gamer for sure but they’ll make the pro gamer out there absolutely drool.