PowerA’s Fusion Gaming Headset is the perfect price. But is it a good gaming headset?
Finding a good gaming headset for a reasonable price can be a challenge. And for some of us, the stakes are incredibly high. You don’t want a gaming headset with shoddy sound that causes you to miss audio cues in your gaming. You don’t want to cheapen the sound of your favorite games and lose the immersive quality of a good gaming experience.
In my case—and perhaps most importantly—when you finally get Doom Eternal, you don’t want your wife getting triggered by the constant sounds of ripping and tearing. For context, my wife is a yoga instructor and is not a big fan of violent video games. So yeah. Finding a good gaming headset is kind of a big deal.
So when PowerA was kind enough to send me a review sample of their Fusion Wired Gaming Headset, I was happy to give it a whirl. And I’m happy to share my experience here.
(Check out my review for PowerA’s Nintendo Switch Messenger Bag here, if you’re interested.)
First Impressions
The Fusion Wired Gaming Headset is available in a few different colors. PowerA sent me the “Emerald Fade” color, which is mostly black, but with a sort of iridescent green color on the outside of the ear cups.
PowerA does a fine job packing their products. Especially compared to some other headsets I’ve seen at this price point. The box arrived in all its green glory, with the headset packed in a fitted-plastic tray with a cover to prevent chafing during shipment. The microphone was fitted into a slot on the tray, as was the removable ⅛” wire.
Seriously, other headsets I’ve gotten at this price were simply bagged and dropped into the box, so this was pretty nice to open up. Having the mic as a separate piece and fitted into its tray slot ensures that gamers don’t get a mic that’s already shaped or bent.
Packaging is sort of overlooked in a lot of reviews. It may not seem like it would directly impact performance, but how many products are delivered faulty because of shipping abuse? Besides, taking care in packaging a product shows that the company is actually being thoughtful of their customers’ concerns.
Anyway…
Style
The Emerald Fade color scheme is fantastic, but PowerA has this headset in 7 colors currently. Including one called “Cosmos Nebula” which is sort of an iridescent purple that fades into blue. It’s immaculate. They also have one in Rose Gold in case that’s what you’re into.
The colored accents on the ear cups look good, especially with the light iridescence, but they aren’t overstated. The PowerA logo is prominent on the outside of the ears, but that looks pretty good, too.
Overall, the appearance and style of the Fusion Gaming Headset is very nice. No complaints.
Performance
Appearance, packaging, blah blah blah. Do they work?
In short: Hell yes!
This headset currently retails for around $40. Which is near the lower end of gaming headsets. So maybe having low expectations skewed the results here, but I really felt like PowerA nailed it on this.
The sound quality is great. Bass is always a big concern with any audio equipment, but especially in headsets. These manage to pack the perfect amount of deep rumble into the ear cups. Small, distant sounds are discernible without much effort.
A bigger concern is the headset’s ability to balance those bassy rumbles with higher and midrange sounds. My experience is that this set manages to convey all sounds with equal importance. The bass is clear and you can feel it vibrating in your ears, but it does not drown out the rest of the audio range.
The microphone is detachable, which could cause a concern for rattling or shaking at the point of attachment. But in this case, the mic connects solidly, with an extra fitting to keep it from rotating or vibrating too much. Plus, the mic is a bendy stick, rather than a plastic arm, which means there is absolutely no rattle coming from inside the mic.
There is an easy-to-find mute button on the left ear cup in case you need to yell things you don’t want your teammates to hear. And the volume control is a very large ring on the outside of the ear cup. The volume knob basically is the ear cup. It’s big and very easy to find in the heat of battle.
The cushioned ear pads are thick enough and soft enough to form a proper seal without smashing your ears. And the head band is reinforced with metal to ensure that it will last for years.
Comfort
Besides performance, comfort may be the most important factor.
This is a good wired headset, which is kind of important because of the weight batteries will add to a headset. That means this wired headset managest to deliver performance at a lighter weight.
As I mentioned earlier, the ear pads are thick and comfortable and the over-the-ear cups are big enough to form a proper seal and keep your ears from being crushed.
I got this headset at the same time as DOOM Eternal and have been using it for every session, for up to four hours at a time. I have never once suffered from Sweaty Ear Syndrome, and have never once had to remove the headset for comfort reason. (Only for bathroom reasons.)
The Verdict
Yes yes yes!
I’m not a headset expert by any means, but I’ve sampled and reviewed 10 or so, all around this same price point. I can honestly say that this is the best of them all. With superior sound quality, excellent comfort, and undeniable style, the PowerA Fusion Wired Gaming Headset is your best bet. This is a good gaming headset.
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