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What makes a headset suitable for esports may confuse buyers hoping to raise their gaming performance. Thebest gaming headsetsentice buyers with flashy designs and spatial audio, promising to make virtual environments more immersive. Unfortunately, they often prioritize explosions and blasts at the expense of less booming but critical sound cues. The AceZone A-Spire takes a different approach to gaming audio, giving listeners a more complete awareness of everything happening around them.
While not as well known to the average consumer asheadsets from Razer,Logitech, orCorsair, AceZone manufactures gear commonly used at major competitions. The A-Spire is best experienced as a wired USB headset that utilizes active noise cancellation to filter out the chaos of tournament arenas. All gamers can benefit from the headset’s sound-blocking prowess and Bluetooth connectivity, making it practical for everyday use.
Despite a promising feature set, it’s not unreasonable to ask if the A-Spire is the right pick for at-home setups. AceZone recently provided Game Rant with a sample of the headset to see how its performance translates to more casual gaming.
AceZone A-Spire Gaming Headset
The AceZone A-Spire is a gaming headset designed with esports competitors in mind. Benefiting from a combination of active and passive noise cancellation, gamers can focus on performing their best. The A-Spire enhances footsteps in FPS titles while reducing sounds that can mask vital audio cues. Ensuring that communication with teammates remains reliable, the A-Spire microphone drowns out all outside noise with noise suppression algorithms. This AceZone headset can connect to sources wireless through Bluetooth, an analog audio cable, or USB-C.
Contents of Package
The AceZone A-Spire ships to eager gamers in a predominantly black rectangular box stored in a rubber-coated case.
Inside the travel case, the headset is curled up, showing off its highly flexible construction. The left side of the case stores some accessories tucked away under velcro-secured netting, including a USB-A to USB-C cable, a 3.5 mm analog audio cable, and a spare foam microphone cover. From a packaging standpoint, the A-Spire impresses as a headset ideal for traveling to esports competitions or more casual trips.
Design and Comfort
Despite being designed for gaming, the A-Spire headset doesn’t exude an abundance of gaming flair or RGB effects. Instead, with a streamlined construction, it looks more like conventionalheadphonesfor music listening with a mic clipped to its side.
With a black and silver design broken up by only the understated green AceZone logo, the A-Spire will fit in mostgaming desksetups.
The headset’s earpads and headband use a proven, effective combination of leatherette and foam. During testing, achieving a secure fit with earcups that generously swivel and slide up and down the metal headband was simple. The padding was sufficient to keep earlobes pain-free after long gaming sessions, and even with the earcups designed to form a tight seal, overheating was not an issue. There was also never an instance of the A-Spire slipping, which could spell disaster during competitions. Aided by smallish oval earcups, fidgety shoulders are unlikely to interfere.
Part of the A-Spire’s excessive comfort levels is due to its lightweight construction. At only 270 grams, the headset is significantly lighter than wirelessactive noise-cancelling headsetslike theTurtle Beach Stealth ProorSteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless. For a more apt comparison, the A-Spire weighs less than the much bulkier wiredJBL Quantum One, which also attempts to block background noise. Unfortunately, quite a bit of plastic is also used in the A-Spire, which is surprising for a high-end peripheral. Still, after several weeks of usage, there was no sign of any part of the headset starting to degrade.
The A-Spire’s thin, flexible, noise-cancelling microphone rotates on the left earcup. To securely mute the mic, gamers need to pop it into the clip on the headband. It’s not the smoothest process, and the plastic clip doesn’t seem especially durable. For portability and ease of use, some buyers may prefer a detachable or retractable design, but after some practice activating and deactivating the mic, it quickly becomes second nature.
Physical controls on the headset are relatively simple, considering it’s not designed for constant software adjustments. The left earcup includes a power button that serves a dual role for Bluetooth pairing. Underneath this button are controls to toggle noise-cancelling and transparency modes, some LED indicators, and a USB-C port for charging the device and using it with PCs.
On the opposite earcup, listeners can adjust the headset’s volume, which corresponds to the system volume on Windows.
Setup and Software
The Acezone A-Spire is a bit of an odd duck among its competition, as it’s primarily awired headsetoffering Bluetooth connectivity. Gamers looking to gain a competitive advantage will want to rely on its USB-C connectivity to PCs for the most low-latency performance. Its connector for 3.5 mm audio cables is best reserved forgaming controllers, making the A-Spire an option for consoles. Slightly laggier Bluetooth is only recommended for casual mobile gaming or pairing devices without compatible ports.
Even with its wired connectivity, the A-Spire’s active noise-cancelling technology depends on its 35-hour rechargeable battery. Of course, this is not an issue for most PC gamers since the headset will continuously recharge when connected to a powered USB port.
Designed for competitive gamers on the road, Windows does not require a driver or software installation. Instead, users can move from PC to PC and adjust settings with a mobile app.
When powered on, AceZone’s mobile app should detect the A-Spire and allow listeners to change basic EQ settings. Buyers hoping for complex EQ editing will be disappointed, but users can choose from a Gaming or Music category. Within the Gaming section are profiles made specifically for FPS games likeCounter-Strike 2andApex Legends. These profiles are finely tuned to the sound mix of these titles to intelligently boost audio cues like approaching footsteps. The app also adjusts the headset’s active noise cancellation levels and allows more or less background noise to remain audible.
Performance and Usage
The A-Spire’s default soundscape produced by its 40 mm drivers can best be described as somewhat flat. Unlike many wired orwireless gaming headsets, it resists overemphasizing lower frequencies that would make explosions seem more impactful. With the A-Spire, listeners hear content more like the producers and artists intended, with subtle sound effects remaining crisp and clear.
As aheadset pro gamers often useduring tournaments, gamers rely on the A-Spire to keep them constantly aware of the position of enemies. It’s not aheadset that uses surround soundor spatial audio formats like Dolby Atmos, but it’s easy to pinpoint where a sound emanates from beyond left or right audio channels. Although users can apply Atmos for Headphones or DTS Headphone:X in Windows sound settings, leaving audio configurations up to individual games is recommended.
It’s always met with some healthy skepticism when a manufacturer claims that a headset can give a gamer a leg up on the competition. However, the A-Spire comes closer to fulfilling this promise than most gaming headsets. DuringCounter-Strike 2matches, the positional audio is so accurate that gamers rely on their ears more than the radar to avoid disaster. Explosions directly in front of a player aren’t exaggerated for dramatic effect at the expense of distant audio cues. Competing inOverwatch 2, which provides a dynamic listening experience, yielded similar results, with everything from the catchphrases of heroes to gunfire coming through with equal clarity.
FPS titles benefit most from the A-Spire’s intelligent audio processing. Still, the soundtrack in the town-building strategy gameManor Lordssounds fabulous and makes gamers feel like they live in medieval times.Since low, mid, and high tones are so well-balanced with the A-Spire, it effortlessly handles a variety of music genres, helped further when the Music EQ is activated in the app.
The other key to the A-Spire’s pure sound is its excellent implementation of passive and active noise cancellation. Even without ANC, the earpads have a suction cup-type effect that leads to a more intimate listening experience. However, when on, a combination of microphones inside and outside the earcups work together to monitor environments and neutralize a wide range of frequencies. The Hybrid ANC technology works well in practice, reducing theclicking of mechanical keyboardsand the rumbling of car engines that can disrupt gaming enjoyment. When switched off, gamers may realize their PC’scase fansare louder than they thought.
Bluetooth on the Aspire is an option when traveling or needing total freedom. The headset makes good use of voice prompts, and it’s as easy to pair the headset with mobile devices as most Bluetooth headphones orearbuds. Even so, its implementation isn’t perfect, and listeners can’t easily move between wired and wireless modes. There is no sound mixing like with theSteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless, and the headset gets confused when simultaneously plugged into Bluetooth and USB-C. It’s better to use the Aspire as a wireless headset without any cords attached if connected to a PC’s USB port for recharging or playback.
For esports competitions, having a reliable microphone to communicate with teammates is just as important as sound quality. Like with the headset’s ANC, the bendable external mic uses additional mics to detect and separate everything except the voice of a chatter. Themic’s recording qualityis excellent, but it’s a bit fussier about its placement than the average headset. Accordingly, Acezone gives directions to keep it one to two finger widths away from the mouth, and the green symbol toward the end of the arm should face toward a gamer. Streamers are still better off withexternal mics, but while evaluating the Aspire, there weren’t any complaints about speech clarity.
The Aspire is areliable headset for Zoom calls, music listening, and gaming on an everyday basis. The only thing holding it back somewhat is its wired USB connectivity. Pro gamers are happy to use wired gear, not wanting to risk interference or any added latency. On the other hand, more casual gamers who have transitioned towireless keyboardsand mice may not welcome the 10-foot USB-C cord. The cable is braided and flexible but also feels scratchy, and gamers must guide it carefully around a setup to avoid snags.
Conclusion
With so many gaming headsets sharing the same design and features, the AceZone A-Spire doesn’t play it safe. Its unassuming, compact appearance does not indicate the advanced audio technology inside the device. With every aspect of the A-Spire, the manufacturer was on a mission to make it the perfect esports headset.
Wired headsets aren’t ideal portable peripherals, but the A-Spire sports a lightweight construction, a detachable USB-C cord, and a mobile app to adjust settings. Even behind a desk, gamers will appreciate its adaptive fit and luxurious cushioning that applies just the right amount of pressure. On the other hand, the pricey headset’s plastic-dominant build isn’t quite on par with its outstanding sound quality and comfort levels.
Connectivity with the A-Spire is versatile, if not somewhat unconventional. Shining most as a PC gaming headset, USB is the preferred method, preserving all the headset’s features and providing the best sound. When latency isn’t a concern, the A-Spire’s Bluetooth allows it to pair withgaming phonesand tablets. Combined with a standard 3.5 mm audio input, there aren’t many consoles or sources the headset doesn’t work with. However, buyers looking for a multi-platform solution with quick source toggling and sound mixing should probably look elsewhere.
The A-Spire impresses most with its soundscape, which doesn’t exclude the seemingly most minor sound effects in games. Action-packed titles likeCounter-Strike 2orApex Legendsdemonstrate how the headset outperforms its rivals, with even the slightest audio cues audible. Players can more quickly identify the position of friends and foes, and top-notch passive and active noise cancellation keeps them focused on the action. Not to be overlooked, a reliable noise-isolating microphone ensures that communication lines between teammates never break down.
A great match for multiple types of genres and content, non-professional gamers shouldn’t ignore what the AceZone A-Spire offers. Its minimalist yet plush design ensures long-lasting comfort while showcasing how advancements in sound processing can improve a gaming experience.
Wired ANC headset with gaming flair
$235 at Amazon
ANC with powerful multi-source mixing
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Competition-worthy wireless headset
$250 at Amazon
Most buyers interested in the AceZone A-Spire are probably looking for active noise cancellation or esports-proven performance. If the A-Spire’s design seems a little too plain, theJBL Quantum Onehas more traditional gamer styling and is complete with RGB effects. Meanwhile, theSteelSeries Arctis Nova Prois a wireless alternative that includes a DAC with multi-source mixing. Finally, the wirelessLogitech G Pro X 2doesn’t offer ANC, but its comfort and durability make it a favorite among competitive gamers.
FAQ
Q: Why do pro players wear two headphones?
Esports pros sometimes wear an outer pair of headphones that effectively cancel out crowd noise and other distractions. Underneath those headphones are often earbuds or a headset that keeps communication lines open with teammates. However, a gaming headset with active noise cancelling, like the AceZone A-Spire, can provide all this functionality in one device.
Q: What headsets do pro gamers use?
Competitive gamers wear various headsets when at home or streaming, many of them from popular consumer brands. The HyperX Cloud III, Logitech G Pro X 2, and Astro A40 are popular choices because of their excellent microphones, durability, and comfort. However, at tournaments, all competitors usually wear the same provided headset to ensure no player has an advantage.
Q: Does it matter if you wear a headset the wrong way?
Wearing a headset improperly can lead to a number of issues, such as diminished sound quality if the left and right earcups are not secure on the ears. If a headset’s headband isn’t adjusted for the proper fit, it can gradually slide off its ideal position on a head. Also, headsets with passive and active noise cancellation rely on earpads, forming a tight seal on ears to better drown out background noise.
