LucidSound LS31 wireless headset review: Excellent gaming audio for around $100

LucidSound has been on a bit of roll during the past twelvemonth, releasing a new generation of its headsets. Gone are the firmware bug and software bug of the previous lineup; all we accept at present are supremely polished, great-sounding, and highly-comfortable products. The new LS31 continues the trend, with a sleek, professional gray blueprint, calorie-free, but robust construction, and corking sound.

Rock-solid wireless sound

LucidSound LS31 headset

$113

Bottom line: The LS31 wireless headset is an excellent product for PC and Xbox gaming, with quality materials, great comfort, and solid audio.

Pros:

Crawly design.
Great construction and comfort.
Solid audio.
Strong wireless signal.

Cons:

Mic monitoring is a bit quiet, and tin can't be altered.
The mic quality is surprisingly bad.

What y'all'll dearest near the LucidSound LS31

The LucidSound LS31 follows the aforementioned design sensibilities every bit other electric current-gen LucidSound headsets, with premium materials, metallic framework, and generous cushioning. While the cooling gel present in the LS35X isn't present, it's still comfortable to wear, with oval over-ear cups and quality retention foam, leatherette cushions.

Category	Spec
Frequency response	twenty Hz to xx,000 Hz
Speakers	50 mm neodymium
Connectivity	Wireless USB dongle SPDIF optical cable for PS4 and Xbox 1 audio 3.5mm for mobile devices
Features	On-ear controls Bass boost, treble boost
Weight	355 g
Price	$94

The earcups carry all of the controls, as seen in other wireless LucidSound headsets, with large dials on each loving cup to command game volume and chat book independently. You tin can press down on each loving cup to mute your game sound or your microphone, which also comes with a red LED to inform y'all visually that you're muted. The headset is easily charged with a micro-USB cable, and it carries around 15 hours of playback time.

On sound quality, the LS31 largely delivers, with beefy 50-mm neodymium speakers. There's no vii.1 environment feel, but y'all can claw some of it back with Windows Sonic or Dolby Atmos software solutions on Windows 10 or Xbox One.

Tuned for game audio, the LucidSound LS31 offers a decent soundscape with pronounced highs for tactical play, separating out footsteps, reloads, and other audio cues that give yous an edge. Using Dolby Atmos, the LS31 performed well in go-to multiplayer titles like Battleground Five and Call of Duty, creating an immersive sound phase with little distortion. The max volume is also quite generous if you lot prefer things louder. While there are wired headsets in this price range that perform a little better in terms of sound quality, you won't become the wireless signal thrown in.

Speaking of which, rather than enlist Bluetooth or Xbox Wireless for the LS31, LucidSound is leveraging its own channel-hopping ii.5GHz USB dongle for the LS31, and we institute information technology to be rock solid even in extremely congested 2.5GHz conditions. The range is also quite impressive, and it should serve users well fifty-fifty in very large habitation theater setups.

The LS31 is by no means perfect, however.

What you lot'll dislike about the LucidSound LS31

Surprisingly, the LS31's microphone is shockingly poor, which is odd, considering how well its LS35X cousin nailed this bones functionality. The audio across every app nosotros tested and recorded in was muffled, and the sidetone mic-monitoring is also a little tranquility, with no mode of altering it. While the mic feel overall is passable for gaming with friends, it's among the worst we've tested in this toll range. You likely won't be streaming or creating content with this thing.

Speaking of streaming, I think LucidSound missed a pull a fast one on with its USB dongle. Information technology had an opportunity to offer similar functionality to that of the Astro MixAmp, which allows users to feed Xbox audio in using the optical cable, while using the USB connectivity for voice chat. Sadly, the LucidSound LS31 doesn't permit for platform-combining in this style. Additionally, it requires an extra cablevision to utilise vocalisation chat on Xbox One, which defeats the point of it being wireless, to some degree. While this is more than of an Xbox problem than a LucidSound problem (Microsoft requires manufacturers to license its security chips to bypass the three.v mm mic connectivity), it's something to exist aware of. If you desire something truly wireless for Xbox 1, yous'll want the pricier LS35X.

Finally, I find that the LS31'south bass and treble heave sounds are a little redundant. The bass boost introduces baloney into the mix in my feel, which simply doesn't audio good in either games or music. Perhaps it's subjective, but I'grand not sure what the point of treble boost is, either. It tin exaggerate vocals a bit amend, but it sounds off in almost every situation you might find yourself using this headset.

Should you buy the LucidSound LS31 headset?

The LucidSound LS31 continues the visitor's tape of attending to quality, with solid materials and prioritized comfort. The audio experience is first-class overall, and while the microphone is a fleck disappointing, information technology's passable for full general use.

Where I'd love to run across LucidSound amend is in its PC software, or well, lack thereof. It'd be nice to gain the power to command how loud the sidetone is without lobbying for a firmware update, and the EQ boosting features experience a little redundant. Overall, though, if y'all want something in this price range that can part across Xbox, PC, and PlayStation 4, this is a great product that won't disappoint.

Cable complimentary ... mostly

LucidSound LS31 headset

A solid audio feel, fifty-fifty if the mic is a bit bad.

The LucidSound LS31 headset is a quality offering overall, with great audio and a comfortable blueprint. The mic is a flake of a letdown, but the LS31 is withal a bully product for platform-doubter gamers.

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