This week I had the opportunity to take a look at one of the latest releases from Genius the HS-04V Gaming Headset with Bass Vibration.  The HS-04V is a value market gamers' headset with built-in microphone and Bass Vibration Module.  But the real question is, are they right for you?

What Genius claims: 

     Looking for a headset that can give you authentic bass sounds with vibrations? Then the new Genius headset, HS-04V is just the right one for you.

     It features inline bass vibration and volume control for games and music, and a microphone; so this headset is ideal for Internet games, MSN voice chat, Netmeeting, or music, plus its open air design is perfect for hours of comfortable wear.

     So if you enjoy vibrating with bass, then the HS-04V headset is your ideal tool for all your fun!

Key Features: 

• Inline bass vibration and volume control for games and music

• Bass vibration power thru USB or from AAA battery

• Open-air design perfect for hours of comfortable wear

• Gooseneck microphone boom for optimum speaking position

• Great for Internet games, MSN voice chat, Netmeeting, or music

Out-of-box Experience:

     In addition to the headphones, the HS-04V also includes inline Volume Control, 1/8” to ¼” converter, as well as two options to power the Bass Vibration: via USB or two AAA batteries. 

Testing and Performance:

     Even though the GeniusNetUSA.com website did not provide specific information on the headphones, I was able to Google the frequency response as being a claimed 20Hz-20kHz.  I won’t put a whole lot of stock on that, since those specs did not come from the manufacturer, so I did my own frequency response testing.  I found that the speakers have an approximate range of 50Hz to 20kHz , and the bass vibration digs down a little lower to about 45Hz.  The sweep test was pretty even throughout the test, until it started getting under 80Hz, where everything under that started rolling off pretty fast.  The Bass Vibration module has three settings: Max, Norm and Off.  At the highest Bass Vibration setting, the vibration is pretty strong, however I noticed that it actually does color the sound a little.  On the sine sweep, the Bass Vibration appears to kick in at about 100Hz and is strongest at the 70Hz range.

     Now that we have gone through the objective tests, time to evaluate it in terms of subjectivity.  This is where I get to play games and listen to music, yet tell my wife I am still working.  Sweet, huh? 

     First off is the music.  I fired off one of my favorite tracks for testing:  Nine Inch Nail’s “Closer”.  This song has bass combined with a good amount of singing and other sounds, so it has a good all around mix of things.  With the Bass Vibration turned off, the low bass is almost non-existent, which made the whole song sound tinny.  With the Vibration turned on, it did sense the bass that was supposed to be there, but did not really bring the track back from the dead.  I played a few other tracks, and still found the bass to be lacking.

     Next is gaming.  I fired up some CoD2 and let her rip.  I found the sound to be quite harsh, and the Vibration to be more annoying than helpful.  In a dense firefight, the vibration becomes rather constant. Perhaps some EQ tweaking can help things out a bit, these are not what I would consider ideal full-time gaming headphones. 

     Finally, I used the headset for VoIP during gaming.  And here, we have a ray of sunshine for this product.  I played some CoD2 and C&C 3 with some friends of mind, and setup the headphones to use the software sound provided by the ErgoMedia 500 gamepad.  I configured everything so that my game sounds would still be produced by my speakers, and VoIP communications directed to the headphones.  After playing, I asked my friends how they thought the microphone sounded, and according to them it sounded great, with good sound isolation.  It was easy to hear my voice over the loud game sounds on my speakers, and the headphones do a good job with basic voice communications as well. 

Conclusion

     The HS-04V is a decent value priced headset that will get you by when you need it.  They are comfortable and lightweight, and have a very good build quality about them, so it is no trouble to wear them for late night gaming sessions or the occasional LAN party.  While they won’t be wowing the socks off any audiophiles anytime soon, they are appropriately priced, as they can often be found for less than twenty bones.   If you have been pondering whether you might like to add bass vibration to your headphone arsenal, this is a very inexpensive way to give it a try without springing $100 plus. In my mind these headphones are best suited for VoIP users who may only occasionally want to listen to music or game with them.