This is the Maestro 300 from MSI, a budget friendly gaming headset and I’ve been using it over the last month or so.

Out of the box, it looks pretty good and feels fairly well-built. Black in colour, with a matte finish. Hints of gunmetal silver and some subtle branding on each earcup and the headband. It’s plastic in construction, it’s got an adjustable headband and there is plenty of flex too. The headband is well padded, as are the earcups and you get the choice of two types of pads, which really surprised me at this price point. You can choose between a mess or leather-like finish and they simply pull off and you clip them back in. The controls are located on the left-hand cup, being a mute button, plus a scroll wheel for volume. Along with those is the microphone port, where you can plug in the bendy microphone attachment. This is a hardwired headset, you cannot remove the 1.5m long cable terminated into the left cup. Overall, a neat and functional design. 

In terms of specifications and features, it’s somewhat limited or I’ve already mentioned them.  They’ve got 40mil high-res drivers and you can pair them with the MSI centre, if you’re using them with a PC, to gain some EQ options. Detachable & bendy microphone, interchangeable earpads, mute button. They are plug and play, USB C straight into your PC, playstation or switch. A USB C to A adapter is provided in case you need it. The retail price is £50 here in the UK, so it’s an entry-level headset and you can’t expect too much. 

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Audio performance is pretty good, all things considered. I played various games, stuff like PUBG and Overwatch 2, where ideally it helps to know where your opponents are and if you can hear them nearby, be ready. Hearing footsteps and other enemy markers was great, left and right, I could get a pretty good idea of where they were. So that’s good, that’s something I always need when I game. The game sounds themselves are good, with punchy bass and a vibrant sound, although I’ve heard better. The key is to set up the headset with the MSI software and you’ll get a better experience. However, that only works with PC. Some of you may want to use this with a console, so I plugged these into my Switch, and played some Mario Kart and it was good, I had a great time playing. As these are designed as over-the-ear, there is a positive amount of passive noise cancellation, which helps remove any distractions. Listening to music, general YouTube videos and talking to friends on Discord, again was good but you have to change settings, you have to. Listening to music while the gaming setting is selected, it’s no good, trust me! I think overall, it delivers and probably exceeds the quality expected for the price tag, but with anything, increase the budget slightly and you’d notice a big difference. 

Mic performance is ok, I spent evenings speaking to friends, some noticed I sounded different but they didn’t say it was good or bad. They could hear me, it was clear and we chatted for hours. The microphone is bendy, which is nice and it holds its shape well, so it will stay in position for quite a long time. You can put yourself on mute and bend the mic out the way to have a drink or something to eat.

If you use the headset with your PC, you can install the MSI Center software and from there, get the Nahi mic software. That then opens the headset up a little more. Within the software, you can select different audio or EQ options, including Music, movie, communication and gaming. Within each of those, you can fine-tune that setting however you want. Within the gaming option, you can select surround sound, and volume stabiliser which I like, and then change levels for voice, bass and treble. There is a try button to, so you can fiddle with the settings and try it there and then to see if you like it. There is also a microphone setting, which gives you a couple of options for fine-tuning what you sound like. 

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I found the software to improve performance alot, so if you’re using these with a PC, get the software and make sure you use it. You have to select the music option when listening to music, the movie option for a movie and gaming for gaming. The EQs differ greatly and you’ll notice it. 

In terms of comfort, there is a good amount of adjustment and flexibility, so achieving a comfy fit is quite easy. I would wear these for hours at a time and there wouldn’t be any problems. I will say I did prefer the mesh earpads rather than the leatherette ones, as I found the leather ones a bit sweaty but thats my preference and you’ve got the choice between the two which is great. 

I think overall and with a price tag of £50, or even less if you can get them in a sale, this is a worthy & capable entry-level gaming headset. It won’t blow you away but it will open up options for gaming and comms,  and it may even improve your game. I would have liked to have seen an inline audio control. I’ve got a very basic control interface with my old steel series headset, I can just quickly turn coms or game audio up and down, really easily. Without it, I have to go into the game settings and adjust the volume, or minimise the game and adjust voice chat volumes. That varies between games, and I’m probably asking way too much at this price point but I’ve really missed that feature. I think if this is your first gaming headset, you’ll be very happy. For me, I’d spend an extra £20 or £30 and go to the next level. 

For more info and to purchase, head over to the official MSI website.