[section_title title=”Performance”]Performance
Starting with Gioteck’s different approach to the headband, the netted band acts like a basket for your head and isn’t at all uncomfortable;Â it feels rather ‘free’ compared to other bulky, padded headsets. The weight and bulk of the EX-05s can still be felt, but it doesn’t feel like there is an obtuse amount of pressure on any one part of your head and after two hours of solid usage I didn’t feel any aches or strains in my neck or head. The closed back nature of the headset does mean you may get sweaty or itchy ears after extended use due to heat. Some people manage fine with these issues, though, so it’s down to you to decide whether or not this is a significant issue.
Audio quality wise the EX-05s didn’t impress or sound bad, it just sounds average on every level. There’s no cheesy bass mechanic at play which lower-end audio devices tend to push with the aim of drowning out other flagging aspects of the sound produced, but instead it’s just a completely tinny experience across the full sound stage. Mixing up the different songs tested between acoustic material such as Radio 1’s Live Lounge and even more heavy tracks from Soundcloud’s wealth of House offerings, there was seemingly no way to squeeze some character out of the EX-05s’ sound.
Although the aural experience itself isn’t mind blowing or enthralling, the sound is at least clear even when mixing audio and game chat, which is desirable over a muffled mess lower end headsets seem to be prone to.
Testing the voice capacity of the Ex-05s across Skype and the Xbox 360, it seems like an ideal solution for chatting purposes. Voice and recording quality are as good as any other headsets I’ve used and I didn’t get any comments about a degradation on voice quality when blind testing with people over Skype.
