By Oo Gin Lee

GOING by my colleagues' experiences, Audio Technica seems to make excellent headphones.

I have to confess, however, that I am not an audiophile and am, therefore, less sensitive to the sonic nuances in premium earpieces.

So, when I first donned the ATH-Pro5 for the game Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway, I was not blown away.

Yes, audio quality was good. Gunshots, for instance, were distinct and sharp and background music and speech were crystal clear.

However, this headphone does not cut it as a gaming headset.

First of all, there is no microphone.

It is ridiculous to call it a gaming headset if you need to hook up another device to talk to your guild mates during a raid or, worse, if you have to type commands in the middle of a major multiplayer shooter deathmatch instead of using your fingers to roll your character away from danger.

Not even the army camouflage design of the earcups will save you from a critical headshot if you turn your eyes away from the action - even for a second - to see what you are typing.

The other problem: comfort.

For me, a gaming headset must deliver all the aural goods to your ear while just resting against it, light as a feather.

This one sticks to the old "press-against-your-ear" cup design.

While the cups were flat and felt comfortable initially, my ears started to ache after just 15 minutes of play.

Maybe I have been spoilt by the cover-the-ears type of headsets such as the Plantronics Gamecom 777 and the Razer Caricherias.

Then again, why should I settle for less?

Final say

Audio Technica makes great earphones for easy listening but it has a long way to go to understand gamers if it considers this device gaming gear.

This story was first published in The Straits Times Digital Life.

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