LucidSound is a relatively new company to the gaming market, and while they have been making gaming headsets in the past, the LS25 hasn’t really followed suit. Of course it’s a gaming headset with a microphone that you can use to talk to your pals or scream at n00bs online, but in terms of its red and black design, it seems to be putting a focus on gaming alone, as opposed to before with the likes of the LS30’s silver and black finish.
The LucidSound LS25 is a wired headset with both a 3.5mm aux for audio and another for the microphone which need to go into two separate slots in the back of your machine. A USB dongle may have been a better fit here, but I can see why they’ve done it, as they’re appealing to console gamers too.
The headset is generally made from plastic and is extremely rigid. It’s also pretty bulky too, which is another reason it should stay at home rather than come with you on a commute to work. There is a foam headband which gives a relatively comfortable experience across the crown, but where this headset shines is in its giant 50mm drivers, of which use an over-ear system.
The headset when held in your hands is very heavy compared to other similar game-focused headphones. However, this is quite deceptive because the LucidSound LS25s are actually very comfortable to wear for hours, and I never really suffered from that sweaty ear feeling either even though these are an over-ear set of cans. All the controls can be found on each earcup, with a volume wheel on the left and a microphone mute button on the right. The volume wheel is actually the entire ear can which makes accurately changing your settings during heated combat an easy task.
The microphone part is fully modular, and while there is a secondary microphone built into the actual earcups, there’s no benefit when really playing games. The modular microphone which is on a bendy but stiff boom arm is incredibly underwhelming when compared to something like a Mod Mic. There’s quite a bit of static feedback and my voice sounds very weak. And don’t try to shout either if you get a kill or die too many times, as the distortion is quite deafening and your friends will soon be telling you to get a new microphone.
Where the LucidSound LS25 does shine however is in its ability to produce some quite full and even separated sound. Playing Battlefield V I always knew where gunfire was coming from, and explosions felt punchy enough that if the headphones could go louder, I could easily lose an ear drum. Listening to music as well as a pleasant experience although I would have liked to hear more from the high-end frequencies. The bass is extremely well controlled too, and very rarely overpowers. They’re a very well balanced set of headphones and perfect for immersion into games as well as competing with headphones purposely produced for music.
I can’t see many people taking this headset out the house. It’s too big and the colours are really only suited to appeal to those watching your livestream or even on the stage at an eSports event. The big drawback for me is the fact that either microphones aren’t very good, and produce some very noisy vocals, which is a setback. However, the saving grace is the wonderful sound that the LucidSound LS25s produce. It’s very full, boomy when needs to be but well balanced and controlled. And for around $80 online, it’s a solid deal. Sure, you could go for something like the SteelSeries Arctis 3 which offer better mic quality, but you’re losing out on sound quality. It’s up to you what you favour more of course. Also note, I couldn’t find many UK prices and places like eBay were only US imports, so I don’t think they’re released yet, but be patient, they’ll come I’m sure. There is one seller on Amazon however which I’ve linked in the below banner.
