Giotech EX-06 Wireless Stereo Headphones Review – PS4, PS3, Xbox 360 and PC Review

The EX-06 wireless HD stereo headphones are the ‘big daddies’ of Giotech’s current range of audio-enhancing peripherals. Costing approximately £70, these premium pair of cans are compatible with PS3, 360, PS4 and PC and boast an impressive feature-set aimed at providing consumers with everything they need to immerse themselves in the proverbial sounds of gaming, namely gun-fire, explosions and revving engines.

The black and orange box that houses the EX-06 is devoid of the annoying plastic packaging that comes with many headsets. Subsequently, you won’t be need a pair of scissors to prize it open as it’s actually encased in its own protective case within the box. Looking rather like a manly vanity case that you might cram full of smelly stuff and bring to the gym, the EVA foam carry case is black in colour with a red trim running all the way around the zip and is sturdy enough to provide ample protection for the headset, which folds up very snugly into a compact space. This means the EX-06 can be tucked away securely when not in use and carried around comfortably and easily; ideal if you do intend to bring them outside of your home.

Open up the case and you can see that the EX-06 is cleverly designed with a flexible folding hinge system that allows its cups to be tucked inwards toward the headband and folded up like a baby in a mother’s womb where it nestles cosily in the soft interior. The headset comes with everything you need to get set up immediately, including a detachable mic, USB wireless transmitter, a short USB charging cable, RCA to Audio cable and an audio chat cable.

The EX-06 snaps into its open position intuitively and sports a reassuringly solid headband that widens out in the center and carries the red Giotech logo loud and proud. The adjustable band, which feels sturdy enough to survive if you inadvertently tread on it, is supported underneath by leatherette padding which provides a soft cushion for your head. On either end of the headband, as you approach the cups, are the plastic swivel and folding mechanisms which allow you to quickly fold up the headset and adjust the cups accordingly around your ears. The inside of the cups are also surrounded with a black spongy material that is much softer than the leatherette padding on the underside of the headband.

On the matte-black outer shell of one of the cups, right in the centre of a hexagonal-shaped design (which is etched into the casing), is a small orange button that allows you power up or turn off the headset. Within easy thumb reach, are three function buttons situated on the side of each of the cups. On one cup you have the game volume buttons placed either side of a mute button, and on the other you can adjust chat volume and activate a virtual surround sound experience. The buttons require little effort to depress and are easily accessible quickly, a feature that will come in handy for muting out any annoying Call of Duty runts that are about to slag off your mom.

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The microphone is detachable, measures around six inches long and can slot into a mic boom port on either of the cups. It’s tightened securely with a jack, which ensures it won’t snap off easily, and it sports a rather funky design with its glossy mic tip and bendy, indented rubber body, which makes it look a little like the torso of a caterpillar. Overall, the EX-06 looks and feels reassuringly well-made and has all the functions you’d really want from a gaming headset. Aesthetically, its subtle orange and black design also looks pretty snazzy too without being too flashy.

The set-up process differs depending on which platform you set if up for and it requires a little bit of fiddling around. If you do happen to get stuck, Giotech has some excellent tutorials on YouTube which should get you sorted in a matter of minutes. Attaching the charging cable to the mini-USB port on the headset and the other end into the PS3 USB slot, we had to initially charge it up for around three hours. It’s worth noting that the EX-06 charging light flashes blue when you have 20 minutes left before it needs charging again, which handily saves you the annoyance of cutting out mid-conversation.

The set-up process involved plugging the wireless dongle into the PS3’s USB port and then plugging the RCA to Audio cable into the small slot on the dongle. We then plugged inthe AV RCA cable that came with the PS3 into the back of the console and connected the red and white connectors into the corresponding coloured slots on the RCA to Audio cable before plugging into the T.V. For chat to work you simply plug the mic into the headset slot and use the supplied stereo mini-jack cable between the cans and the DualShock controller. Overall, it took no more than 30 seconds to set-up, though we did watch the YouTube set-up guide to avoid any frustrations.

That’s not the end of it though. Finally, you have to go the Sound And Screen settings menu on the PS3 to ensure that sound is coming through the headset. Then, you’re good to go. The set up process may sound long-winded but it’s worth it as Giotech’s new headset delivers a premium sound that enriches the audio experience substantially.

The sound that the EX-06 produces is superb. The 40mm drivers ensure you get a crisp, rich and bassy sound from the headset. The lack of directional audio means that you won’t quite be able to work out where that soldier is sniping you from by sound alone, but the clarity and richness of the audio certainly does its job in colouring the aural experience way beyond a traditional T.V. speaker set-up. Click on the virtual surround sound button on one of the cups and (though you don’t quite get the same effect as a true 5:1 surround sound system) the audio cranks up a notch and it sounds rather like an army has just invaded your head.

In the case of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, it amplified the atmosphere substantially, providing a totally immersive sound that brought out all the subtle in-game sounds. Killzone: Shadow Fall sounded immense with explosions rocketing around our ear drums and causing us to flinch like World War III was taking place in that very room, though a nice blend of treble and bass ensured that it wasn’t too over-powering.The overall experience of the EX-06 is enhanced further with the comfort of the headset, which encases your ears very snugly and sits on your head without applying any undue headache-inducing pressure.

The game and chat volume buttons also do the job they’re supposed to do on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360, and it’s nice to be able to control these two sounds independently without compromising the other.  The game mic seemed to work well too and when we asked others how we sounded we were told that our voice was crystal clear and not in any way distorted; an issue you find with some mics.

One major thing to note though is that if you use this particular multi-platform EX-06 model for PS4 the independant volume controls do NOT work. You can only use the CHAT audio button to adjust the overall sound. As this is one of the major features of Giotech’s new headset, it’s a little disappointing that it doesn’t work properly on PS4 when it’s advertised on the box as being compatible and there’s no reference at all to the issue. What you should be aware of, however, is that there’s a separate PS4 version of the EX-06 that DOES have this function. However, you won’t, of course, get the luxury of a headset that works on multiple platforms, which is the real selling point of the multi-platform model.

The wireless transmitter broadcasts at 2.4GHz so allows you to move approximately 20ft away from your console. We were easily able to continue chatting while putting the kettle on in the room next door without any major issues, though on one occasion we ventured a little too far and we ended up having to re-pair the headset to the PS4. This took a matter of seconds though, so was only a minor inconvenience.

The Giotech EX-06 isn’t the cheapest headset on the planet, nor is it the most expensive. It sits in the middle tier of gaming headphones, yet for its price provides a very high quality sound, has a very solid and reassuring build quality and comes with all the features you really need for gaming. We could even get used to carrying that snazzy-little vanity case around.

Score

8.5

The Final Word

With its solid build, vibrant sound quality and separate game and chat volume functions, the EX-06 is a superb mid-range headset that greatly enhances the console audio experience.