When purchasing headphones, I will rarely if ever head directly for ear buds for any reason. To me, ear buds are the cheap inserts that come with products, mildly uncomfortable with sub-par sound. That is, until I tried out the Tritton AX Ear buds that I received at the Blue Skittle Party at PAX. Starcraft was my first test with its phenomenal in-game sounds coming through loud and clear, then on a Nintendo DS to see if they worked just as well on the road.
First, I have to say these were the most comfortable ear buds I've ever worn. Instead of having a hard plastic piece that wedges in your ear, this had 3 different sized rubber "sleeves" that hold the narrow earbud in place. The three different sized sleeves were easy to change out, and fit comfortably without sliding out. This design was so slick, I have to quote the great philosopher Flanders; "Feels like I'm wearin' nothin' at all!" This is especially important when you're playing games so you can focus on what you're doing, rather than what is painful throbbing in your ears.
When I read the package, it said "sound isolating" which doesn't mean much - if you turn up a pair of headphones, most sounds can be isolated easily. This, on the other hand, canceled sound from the outside before music or a video games soundtrack could even start. I tested this out in a busy college common area; someone was playing a piano, while others were playing ping pong, and loads of people talking to one another or on cell phones. I played Phoenix Wright on my DS, and didn't have to crank up the midi soundtrack to be able to hear everything. The outside sound was almost canceled before it got through, so I didn't have to crank up the sound. Later, I tried out Starcraft with my favorite in-game sounds, and every sound effect was heard from the SCV's gathering, and every snarky comment came through perfectly without being turned up too loud.
I was personally impressed by the quality of the sound getting through - very crystal clear with little outside interference. It was like having surround sound inside my head! Booming bass, clear voices, specific details in the sound - quite impressive, especially considering they're ear buds.
Really, the Xtreme Ear Buds are wonderful for the type of person that wants to drown out a lot of background noise, but doesn't want to lug around a big headset or crank the volume up to deafening levels. Check out the Amazon.com price of 32.08 on the 49.99 retail cost of these comfortable ear buds, and bring that quality gaming sound through wherever it's needed.
Here's the fun part; We're going to give away a brand new pair of these ear phones. All you need to do is leave a comment and tell us your favorite gaming soundtrack. On Tuesday, September 22nd we'll draw one random winner! Sorry US and Canadian resident only!