Alienware - Wireless Wired Stereo Gaming Headset - Black

From the packaging to the first immersion in your choice of gaming experiences, it’s clear Alienware put the time and effort in to engineering a wireless headset that feels, looks and acts premium. This would be the minimal bar to surpass with the purchase point over $200. Let’s dig in to that. The packaging was slick, a very solid cardstock case with a magnetized lid and a clear plastic window that allows you a peek at the headset while showcasing the attributes on the inside panel, outside panel and spine. A quick pull on the plastic window and removing the Velcro straps gets your headset out, and the additional accessories are in a thin box at the bottom. Very sleek and well presented on the whole. The headset feels premium, and the build materials are well selected. I like the rubberized black matte headband sporting the Alienware logo, with wrapped cushioning on the underside of the band. This connected to the pivotable earcups by dark brushed aluminum extension arms that recess into the headband- they extended well for flexibility, and the ratcheting felt really solid, I don’t see the band or connection areas being a failure on this headset, which has been the case in the past. The experience is lightweight but solid, long hours of gameplay provided neither discomfort or hot ears, which was a surprise for over-ear earcups. I would love to have seen the cups in leatherette for the costs, but these were comfortable and noise-cancelling enough to merit leaving as-is. The headset comes with a USB power cord, a USB dongle that both installs the software/drivers and connects it wirelessly, which can also be stored in the earcup itself (a nice feature). It also comes with a flatstock plastic 3.5mm cable if you want a wired connection. While the software install had a few burps with driver conflicts, the second attempt went fine, and after a reboot I was able to access the Alienware Headset Command Command Center, critical for really getting the mileage out of the unit itself. The software suite has some really impressive controls to manipulate and fine-tune the sound experience with tabs for Audio, Mic, HD Audio recorder (samples for streaming software, like OBS), Audio Recon (haven’t attempted this, but it seems to be an interesting software provide visual indications localizing particular sounds, for FPS type gameplay) and the lighting suite. The headset has a great LED experience built into the outer face of the earcaps, with the logo as well as a chevron below each logo, you can use any of the preset lighting profiles provided, or select your own color from the RGB spectrum, set a tempo to it and run. The logo on the earcap with the fold-down mic is the power button. The fold down mic conveniently mutes upon raising, and an audio cue tells you when you mute or unmute the mic. The left earcap also has volume controls, as well as a toggle on the bottom of the cap that allows you to switch the sound profile. Alienware includes five gaming profiles that are specific to gaming types, as well as a profile for music or movies. All dial in the bass, treble and reverb a bit differently, while I don’t particularly feel that each gave a real deep difference in sound, the idea of having them is a pretty premium experience, and you also have the opportunity to customize any of the profiles. I don’t see an ability to save a new custom profile, that would be a great add. All in all, the software suite unlocks a lot of what you are paying the premium price for, and can turn a middling sound experience into a good one. My few thoughts on areas they can improve the headset: Bluetooth is a must. Not sure how that wasn’t incorporated, but you lost a whole array of devices this could be used with. I’m not getting the 40’ wireless range, more like 25’. Not a dealkiller for me, I game on PC with them, and won’t need a 40’ tether, but still. The sound is also not quite up to the pricepoint. It is good, and the software suite really allows you to tailor it to a custom feel, but it is a bit thin and tinny. I don’t need a heavy base, but for both gaming and watching movies on the PC, it feels a bit lacking. I am completely willing to admit I may not have tweaked the tuning in the software suite to the perfect pitch, but I haven’t hit a sweet spot of balance and depth that I’ve gotten from my trusty older wired Astro a40s. I know wired and wireless experiences will not be the same, and forgive the slight lack of depth, but the headsets both sport very similar drivers, ranges and impedence, I have to believe the Alienware can touch that type of depth. I will say this, it is an extremely well delivered wireless experience, I have not thrown my Astros back on, and love the freedom these new Alienware cans provide, I believe with some small tweaks in hardware or software AW can really bury all the competition, wired or not. You definitely receive your moneys worth with these- give them a fair wearing no matter what brand you may be coming from, they will not disappoint you on the whole.

Alienware is well known for making exceptional products and seeing this was available I jumped at the chance to get me this new RGB Wireless headset. I have a great mid range gaming pc with plenty of bells and whistles and all that I was missing was a premium headset. Using this headset has been nothing short of amazing. I am using Windows 10 and it was plug and play I inserted the USB dongle and the software was downloaded in less than 10 seconds. The power button is on the left side the alien icon is a button and something as small as that I appreciate int he overall design of the product. The headset was immediately recognized. --------------- Build Quality Build quality is superb a mix of soft touch plastic , leather and plastic. There is plenty of flexibility and it will conform to a wide variety of consumers whether you have a small head or a massive noggin this will fit you. THE 40 MM drivers are more than enough for whatever you intended to use this for whether it be media or gaming purposes. The built in mic folds down when you want to use it and it will pick even a soft spoken voice like mine. It does a great job of eliminating most background noise so that is a plus in my book. And when you aren't using the mic is conveniently folds back up right into the headset so there is no worry about losing an external mic attachment, or the risk of breaking the mic itself. The mic itself is small and doesn't reach out and touch your lips like some others on the market. All the buttons are located on the left ear. You have your volume and your mic mute and the option for game audio or chat audio. The battery light indicator is also on the left side on the bottom of the headset. You also have the option of using this as a wired headset if you chose. It uses a regular 3.5 mm cable. On the right side of the headset there is a small slot to insert the usb dongle for safe storage for when it isn't in use. --------------- Sound is great it uses virtual 7.1 surround sound. There is plenty of Bass and Treble on these cans. I have tested them out on a couple of PC games like Battle Field V beta and jeez I am just head over heels for this headset. I especially loved watching Netflix because I do not have surround sound at home I only have a 2.0 sound bar. These are wireless earphones so I was expecting some kind of wireless audio interference but that was not the case. I live in a high rise that is saturated with Wi-Fi. I am not an expert or an audiophile but I did not notice any sort of audio latency. --------------- Battery life Battery life is great I used the headset right out of the box and did not even need to charge it was charged. I was really surprised by that. I have used it for a few days and have yet to even give my headset its first charge. I have actually gotten better battery life than the advertised 14hrs. Charging the headset is pretty simple it uses a micro usb a type. I don't know why Alienware did not opt to use USB type C. --------------- Alienware software The software is very user friendly so there is really no way anyone can get confused using it. You open the app and it searches for the headset and it connects instantaneously. This headset has RGB lighting and it offers a color palette to choose literally any color to match your gaming PC. Other settings are available to tweak the reverb, bass, treble and the pitch in your voice on the mic. Alienware has custom presets for the headset for different kind of games like for shooters, sims, rpg, movies, music and etc. I use the shooter setting often and the movie presets. I have yet to test the other presets but overall it is pretty much what you would expect for the shooter preset it is emphasis on bass so loud scenes are loud like explosions, Movie preset is similar. --------------- Overall thoughts This is a phenomenal headset that is comfortable and can be used in combination wired or wireless even if the battery runs out in extended gaming sessions you are good to go. It is designed very well with a lot to like. I can't find anything to nit pick about this headset. I recommend this headset for anyone looking for an immersive headset. Some of my buddies came over and were amazed by it they tried it out and wanted to take it home with them but of course I told them to get their own.

This headset is truly amazing. The are solidly constructed with comfortable mesh ear cups, a fairly balanced amount of tension on the head (YMMV) and easy setup. I was surprised to find that immediately upon plugging in the wireless adapter, Windows 10 Pro made quick work of recognizing the new hardware and promptly installing the Alienware Headset Center software. I wasn't expecting any type of simulated surround mode with this model but low-and-behold, the 'stereo' in the name is deceiving. Within the app there is a ton of custom configuration options including the lighting features and surround mode. Kudos to Dell Alienware team for constructing such a well organized control panel. I've seen other companies completely FAIL on the software side of things and it thoroughly ruins the user experience. The integrated power button underneath the Alien logo on the left ear piece is centered and easy to activate. Wireless performance with my X470 Hero II motherboard is generally solid although I did notice some dropped sound packets early on. I'm not going to ding this review for what I expect to experience with most 'dedicated' wireless headsets that don't simply use Bluetooth. I've not noticed any appreciable hit to battery life while using the lighting compared to other products in the same segment. Pretty typical performance on that front. My only real gripes about this headset is the lack of comfort for very 'extended' periods of use and the limited gain with respect to the overall sound level. They don't breathe as well as my Steelcase wired headphones, even with their mesh cups. And the crown area of my skull does become a tad bit sore after 2+ hours of wear. But nuanced comfort attributes is an area that I feel is highly subjective and dependent upon a person's geometry ... so I'm not going to levy any demerits on the overall rating. This wireless headset pretty much caps out at a moderate listening level - bordering almost loud enough - equal to most other wireless gaming headsets I've tried. Sound fidelity and low-end (bass) performance is solid. I've not experienced any rattles or distortions across many games and a wide variety of music types. I'd prefer a maximum level roughly about 20% higher but again, this is another subjective area and I won't count it against the overall rating. I'm also certain that governed SpL (sound pressure levels) is something more and more companies are paying close attention to for hearing preservation reasons. All said - I still think this headset is built & performs to the expected level for an Alienware product at this price point. I can confidently recommend these to others! - The design style & lines are very unique... and cool looking. - The lighting bits are 'in line' with the design and not over-the-top. - The integrated controls are easy to find and use without looking. - The Alienware Headset Center app is solid all the way around ! - Battery performance on-par with the segment - near as I can tell. Check them out for yourself and see what you think !

I dunno, maybe I'm just spoiled because I use higher end "traditional" headphones for gaming and prefer open back. To me these headphones are just OK, nothing spectacular really stands out except the fact you can use these wired and wirelessly. So if the battery runs out you can still game minus the tweaks the software offers. I've got a wide head but these headphones didn't put too much of pinch on me. Some headphones put quite a bit of pressure on my jaw and limit my game time. These have been going strong for 2.5hrs without any discomfort. Another plus is that instead of pleather, the AW988 uses a breathable microfiber cup to I haven't had any sweaty ears yet. On the headset are a few sets of buttons and knobs. First there's a master volume control that works separately from the windows volume control. This will allow you to fine tune your levels if you wanna try and get it just right. There's also a focus scroller that gives focus to chat or game. Since I'm on strict NAT I stick with the Game. Then there's a mic mute button... this one is a mystery why it was even included since you could just as easily lift the mic to mute and IMO faster. But maybe someone will find it useful. The last button allows you to scroll through the EQ, while it's kinda a nice idea having to push it up to 8 times to get to your desired preset is more of a pain than just alt-tabbing and manually selecting the preset. Plus that voice is just so freaking loud. Turn on, connect, mic off/on, switch presets there this loud annoying voice telling you what's going on. I HATE IT! This "feature" alone makes me want to never use these again. A small beep, a whisper... anything but this loud voice would have been better. Sound quality is pretty good but it just doesn't hit the volumes I get with my other headphones, All my traditional wired headsets blow this one away (along with my eardrums!). That said, the AW988 gets loud enough for most cases - all cases for me, I have a sensitive left ear that can still hear sounds only teens are supposed to hear, the right got damaged from a bad ear infection. The bass does get pretty deep with tweaking and the EQ does allow some impressive sounds, but I don't like too deep bass since it muffles other sounds. Just to make a fair comparison I tested these wired to my soundcard - this is where they really shined. Volume levels on par with the other sets, wide sound stage given these are closed headsets. Incredible bass and treble. It shows how much you have to sacrifice going wireless. As a wired headset I'd be hard pressed to go back to my open backs. I'm really impressed here. I honestly didn't think of trying them wired until I started writing the review and now DAAAANG! These sound good! Just bumped them up a star and changed my title because of this. I don't like the lights since I don't see my head while playing, plus wirelessly they reduce your time about 5hrs. Man, these sound awesome wired! I wish they came with a longer cord... The software allows some tweaks and... Forget that software, when you're wired it won't have any benefits, but WOW the sound is just amazing wired! OK, no more about using them wired (but they sound so good!). The software allows you to control the lights, which I stated earlier is a battery killer. It matches my laptop (r3 17in) but I mainly game on my desktop. It also has Recon which puts an arrow to show you where a sound is coming from. While it sounds neat I'd rather not have an overlay distracting me from the game. I'm more into immersion than worrying about competition and those arrows will kill it. Positional audio is pretty good using the software, but I found turning off the Virtual Surround allowed me to pinpoint sounds better than having it on. Must just be how my ears work though. I'm on strict NAT so nix anything about the mic - downside of living in a rural area, not many options for internet. I just gotta say it one last time, these headphones are amazing if you plan on using them wired. I love them now. Wirelessly they were nothing to get excited over. So in my opinion, ditch the Alienware software, buy a longer 3.5mm male-male cable and enjoy these bad boys!

Ok.. these are pretty good headphones for gamers overall, but overpriced for the sound quality you are getting, either wired, or wireless. The absolute best thing about these headphones are the way they were physically designed. BULID QUALITY IS GREAT. Microphone tucks away, volume control on a slider, game vs. chat mixer on slider, battery charge level indicator, all built in to the left side ear cup. The right side ear cup has a little magnetic holder to hold the wireless USB adapter you will be using to use this as a wireless headset. This a great idea, as I can see people losing this thing so easily. You need to install alienware software to get this thing going on PC. The software is fairly intuitive, and has different presets for movies, gaming (and sub gaming genres like shooters, etc..). You can also change lighting on the RGB lights on the side of the headphones. The interface is pretty nice. Now here is the deal with sound quality. This is where I feel, for the money, you could do much better. The bass on these headphones is pretty wimpy. Whether wireless or wired, it just doesn’t create a whole lot of bass. That might be ok if you are not a bass head, but Alienware is marketing this thing for gamers, and for me, it just doesn’t provide enough bass. Also, wirelessly, it can get fairly loud, but not nearly as loud as other headphones, and specifically gaming headphones. This might have been a conscious decision to save on the wireless battery life, as the louder it goes, the faster the battery would drain. If you want louder sound, and in my opinion much better sound while gaming on your PC, plug it in. I am able to eek out a little more bass, though not much more, and, all the fake surround options are just that, fake sounding if you ask me. Stereo will always provide a better experience, provided you tune the gaming you a turning to headphones. Don’t get me wrong, the audio quality on these headphones is not bad, it just is not up to par with the asking price. I have headphones half the cost that sound better, and provide much more bass. They may not have the RGB lighting on the side, but they sound better. That being said, those headphones are not wireless, they are wired. These Alienware AW988 even connected to a great audio source wired, with a good amp, just don’t get as loud as other headphones I have. Case in point, connected to my LG v30 with a HiFi Quad DAC (digital analog converter), they just don’t get very loud at all. Now, this headset will also work with a PS4 wireless with the USB adapter plugged into the PlayStation 4. It will also worked wired direct into the PS4 controller itself. This is great. Until you realize the volume is even LESS than when you are on a PC. I even checked the audio mixer on the side of the headphones for mixing between chat and game volume, and while I did get the game volume up a bit by sliding it the full way, it was just way too quiet, even compared to the PC wireless and wired volume. So I would overall say, these are decent wireless headphones if you are not necessarily into bass. The build quality itself is really great. I just wish there was more bass, and they could get louder overall, especially considering the price point these sell for.

I want to set the ground rules for this review, specifically that this review is how these headphones perform for the Gamer. As an audiophile I am not going to review these as Music 'cans', as that is not fair. These work to play any audio material but they are not meant to be the the best in all categories. I have audio headphones that cost 4x what these cost, and they sound amazing for music - but sound bland for gaming. So those are the rules, these are designed for gaming use - and that's what I use them for. I've owned these for more than a month, and I'm now ready to give them a review. The Good These look great! They are stylish, without being silly looking (like some gaming headphones). Plus if you have an Alienware system, these will match! The LED displays on the headphones are cool! But they are for your neighbors delight not your own. The sound separation and placement is outstanding! Best I've heard! These give me an edge when playing and being able to discern where in the environment things are happening. Very, very comfortable to wear for many hours on end. Alienware did a great job bolstering the ear pads, with a lightweight conforming material that doesn't hold heat and remains sweat free even after a full evening of game play. Top quality build, no cheap materials. Soft touch plastics, strong joints, I have every expectation these will last a long time without falling apart. Upfront cost is steep, but when you consider their longevity the economy of them makes sense. Good solid connection strength with no drop outs. I experienced no dropped connections ever, just a solid performer. Bluetooth connection setup was fast an simple. The earpads are easily replaceable. This is a huge benefit! I imagine I'll wear through a set of earpads in 6 months of use. Hopefully the replacements will be easy to buy and replace. Thoughtful storage port on the bottom of the headset to keep the USB adapter. Buttons are easily accessible on the side of the headset itself. This is extremely helpful and makes it so much easier than opening the app. Amazing battery life (over 12 hours no problem), and fast recharge. I'm happy to see that they stayed with a USB 2.0 connector too. Long warranty-but I doubt you'll need to use it. Excellent sound pickup on the mic, with sound cancellation. Voice quality was quite good, and no drops. Lots of audio (and visual) tweaks though the application. The Bad I had difficulty installing the application software on 3 different machines. On one system the installation seemed to destabilize the system. The system froze and I had to hard reboot. This was on a hand built PC, and there wasn't anything I could do other than uninstall the software. Unfortunately I can only use these headphones on that system using the included mini-plug cable (which negates all of the bells and whistles). I really dislike the audio prompts telling me the "Mic is on', and other settings. I don't need to hear that blast in my ears. I haven't figured out a way to disable this feature, if there is then this dislike goes away. For now, it's annoying to me. But personal preference... Beautiful packaging, but what a pain to remove! I don't quite understand why people get all excited about how cool something is packaged. It's not the package I'm buying or care about - it's the item itself. Anyhow I found them unusually difficult to remove from the package. But that's but me. Fingerprint magnets - the soft touch plastics pick up fingerprints. Not a big deal, and they wipe off. But be careful not to use chemicals that will damage the plastic and stain them forever. The application software is fine, but it's got a few bugs that need to be fixed. I certainly hope that Alienware will be pushing updates to solve these. No Bluetooth - this is not a huge deal, because I didn't buy these for music. However... Bluetooth is standard on everything now, and now that Apple has ditched having a headphone jack on their cell phones - I cannot use these at all on my iPhones. I can use an adapter, I know - but honestly for this price point Bluetooth would have been nice. The Power button is on the left side of the headphone. I packed these headphones away in my checked luggage recently. When I arrived at my destination I found the headphones had turned on after closing up my luggage. The battery was depleted by half. Is there a way to disable this? I really am disappointed that they turn on so easily while in luggage or a backpack. The power button is way to easy to accidentally turn on. Battery not user replaceable. I can't see if there is a way for the user to replace the battery. I expect to use headphones for many years. If the battery starts wearing out I'd like to be able to put in a new battery. Conclusion These are keepers! I would buy them again, and can tell you they are worth your consideration if you are looking for a pair of gaming headphones that sound good, have long battery life, have a great performing headphone, and are super comfy. They are pricey, but like all things in life - you get what you pay for. These are akin to buying BOSE headphones, you're paying a premium, and not everyone can afford them. However you will have a great performing pair of headphones that not everyone else will have - and they'll bring a smile to your face every time you use them. And they'll 'up' your game!

Have tested several high-end gaming headphones before and after using the Alienware for a couple weeks find that none of the previous headsets are of the caliper of this new Alienware Gaming Headset. The Headphones are striking in their design, have never looked at a headphone set before and thought, wow they look cool, these do. Most comfortable headset I have ever had on my head with unique designed ear-pads, kudos on ear-pad design! One seemingly small item which I “really” like is that within the ear-pads the letters “L” and “R” are imprinted in large font type. Have many times spent too long looking for a tiny little raised letter designating which ear it should be worn over. Additionally, they are extremely light. These headphones deliver a rich 7.1 surround sound experience great for gaming and listening to music. Our “professional in-home gamer” was convinced that the wireless connection would lag, he was incorrect in this matter. He never uses the wire and tells me there is absolutely no noticeable latency lag. My recommendation on this is that he does not go for slow stuff, and as they say the proof is in the pudding. In addition to the Wi-Fi connection your options included USB and audio jack cables. With up to 18 hours of playtime you can game wirelessly without limits. Downloading the free Alienware Headset Center allows you to tune everything exactly the way you want for a customized gaming experience. The RGB is fully customizable within the software and allows you to get markers on your screen depending on where the most noise is coming from. Basically, wall hacks. The Alienware Gaming Headset has received a resounding FIVE STAR Rating from the in-house gamer. Now if he would just let me use them occasionally! Overall the Alienware Gaming Headphones provide an Amazing Gaming and Music listening experience and I easily give it a Five Star Rating and highly recommend them Game on.

The Alienware AW988 is a mid-tier gaming headset with some top-tier features. Let's dig into the points. First, presentation. The AW988 comes in a slick package and lends itself to a pleasing unboxing experience. From the start, you get the feel that you're dealing with something premium. The hexagonal like headphones look pretty cool, with cups that completely enclose your ears. Due to the shape, the headphones can be placed standing on their own on a flat surface. The headphone cups also rotate so you can wear it around your neck and not have the headphones choking you. This is a subtle design feature that makes products feel a lot more well thought out. Sound points were earned with a few caveats. Sound response is decent (middle of the line) and customizable profiles are available. There's also a virtual surround sound feature which can be nice but can also be a bit gimmicky. Yes, there are certain compositions where the virtual 7.1 surround sound actually feels immersive. However, for most things (music, movies, and games), one doesn't get much over stereo and sometimes, you lose some audio clarity. The microphone is a fold out boom type microphone that's noise cancelling. It's pretty nice that it essentially can disappear when not in use. Noise cancelling works decently well. There's a 3.5mm cable that can be used with the headset in addition to a 2.5Ghz usb dongle. The headset actually has storage for th dongle which itself is pretty small, so you're not going to lose it while heading out to a gaming convention. The audio cable is a convenient alternative, but one loses the ability to use audio prsets if you use it. The software needs a digital connection to the headset to make this work. Software points were judged based on usability and configuration. You get an alienware themed configurator with multimedia and gaming presets. It was pretty intuitive to use with sliders to adjust different parameters and prominent reset button to clear things out and restart. You can also hover over settings for a tooltip with more information. For the lights on the headset, you get two controllable zones, the alienware logo and lights below it. You can customize the color using a typical RGB color picker (or just type a color name) and what they do - like pulsing, "breathing" and a few others. There's also some timing settings for this. A bit surprising to me, maybe I don't game hard enough, is how much the design of the AE988 is geared towards dealing with moisture and sweat. The earcups are padded with a moisture wicking material. It's also soft mesh, combining form with function. The headband however is not the same. While a nice size and quite adjustable, it will just absorb or bead sweat. So, use it for an intense brow sweat inducing gaming session, but stay away from a treadmill. Aside from the sound configuration, one can also configure lighting using the supplied software. This is kind of cool and I can see the appeal. This would certainly have been a wish-list feature a decade or so ago. Now, I'm not so sure. It was cool to play around for a couple days, then this became boring and not used. The battery life scores major points. From a full charge over the course of a couple days, I logged twelve hours of use with some battery remaining. That said, in the process of determining this, it loses points as well. While the headset is initially comfortable, it can get a bit painful over long periods. This has been an issue I've had with a wide variety of headsets and earphones (over ears and in-ears) so I think it may have more to do with my bone structure than the design. That said, I've noticed I tend to have the same issues with products from a given company so if you have experienced this kind of discomfort in the past, that can guide your choice. Overall, I think this is a decent gaming headset. It's got cool features and hits all the standard must-haves. I'm a lot more of a casual gamer so would normally only wear this for a couple hours once or twice a week. That works for my comfort level. If you're more serious, I would strongly suggest making sure you conduct a trial whose duration matches one of your longer sessions to get a good idea of the fit.