[section_title title=”Closer Look”]Closer Look
The Ex-05s ships in this cool CAT like black and yellow packaging, finished with a clean cut image and a feature breakdown.
The feature list is repeated verbatim here as what was on the first page.
The rear of the box is more interesting, with the pointers to various parts of the EX-05s getting their relevant feature highlighted. The Gioteck packaging follows a similar trend to what we saw on the Venom packaging with their respective social media channels being pushed on an equal footing with their website.
Opening the packaging we’re greeted with the EX-05s headset itself, starter guide and various cables.
The headset itself is quite bulky, but not heavy.
The bonus cables and connectors are a USB extender, a 3.5mm-to-2.5mm converter for the Xbox 360 and finally a 3.5mm to phono converter cable.
The styling of the EX-05s is kept to minimal with the only elements of branding along the headband and on the earcups. Giotek have forgone a traditionally padded headband instead opting to go with this unusual netted design.
The earcups don’t appear to have the same amount of sponge other headsets do, but at £20 it’s certainly a lot more than you’d get than buying a replacement Xbox 360 headset for your communication needs.
The minimalist styling continues on the arm and earcups. In the picture below you can get a real sense of the bulk when comparing cup size to the amount of cushioning further up.
A significant amount of extension on the arms should cover most people and ensure the netted headband can be enjoyed by all. The wire that connects either side of the arm mechanism seems to exist purely for aesthetics.
The volume rocker has separate wheels for game and voice chat, a mute function and a jack for the Xbox 360 2.5mm chat connector.
The EX-05s requires an analog connection for sound as the USB cable is there only to provide amplification. If your monitor, PC or however unlikely, TV, doesn’t have the phono connection then the included converter cables should have you covered.
The Gioteck package is impressive for £20 and they’ve gone that extra mile to ensure their system compatibility covers all bases rather than just a tickbox feature. The budget headset spared no budget in regards to the package, but how does it perform?
