I recently had a chance to check out the LucidSound LS15X wireless headset for PC and Xbox consoles. As an entry-level wireless headset, it performed admirably for its price range, but what if you are looking for something a bit more premium? Well, our friends at LucidSound have just announced a new, permanent price reduction on the LS35X wireless headset. This higher-end set features an improved build quality and higher quality audio over the LS15X. For only $30 more, the value jump is quite insane, and this might just be one of the best Xbox-specific headsets I have had the opportunity to test yet!

What’s In The Box

The LS35X comes in a nice, dark grey and green box with a glossy depiction of the headset spanning the front and side. The LS35X branding stands out well with its glossy silver lettering, and the wireless functionality is made immediately clear as well as its “designed for Xbox” designation. The sides of the box give us another glossy depiction of the LS35X as well as a number of key highlights of its design. The back of the box further expands on some design features and functions of the headset. Opening the box you will find the LS35X inside of a travel bag, detachable boom mic and port cover, micro USB cable, 3.5 mm aux cable, user’s guide, and finally a LucidSound sticker.

Aesthetics And Build Quality

The LS35X utilizes a metal frame for its design with the headband wrapped in plastic and an embroidered leatherette finish. Each ear cup features a leatherette outer finish and a cloth finish on the inside to reduce heat on your head. The padding within the ear cups is memory foam, making the LS35X very comfortable to wear even during extended gaming sessions. The padding can also be removed from both ear cups for easier cleaning or replacement. The outside of each ear cup features a slider for controlling volume and chat mixing, as well as buttons for audio and mic muting. The sync button, power button, micro USB port, 3.5 mm aux port, and boom mic port are the last things to note on the LS35X’s design.

The boom mic is pleasantly low profile and attaches firmly to the headset. It can be adjusted easily and is very flexible, but also stays in place when set. There is a nice red LED at the end to visually show you when the mic is muted, which is a great touch for this type of design. Thanks to its metal frame, the LS35X is a sturdy headset, and while not as flexible as others I have tested, it provides enough give to not give me any concerns about it breaking or not fitting people’s heads. The rotation and flexibility of the ear cups likewise allow for the headset to work with a variety of head shapes. The adjustment bars also stay firmly in place when moved so you shouldn’t have to worry about constantly needing to fix their positions.

Specs And Audio Quality

The LS35X features the following specs:

Compatibility: Windows 10, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Mobile

Connectivity: Wireless

Detailed Color: Black

Battery Life: Up to 15 hours

Characteristic SPL: 97 +/-3dB

Ear Cup Shape: Over-ear (circumaural)

Headset Inputs: 3.5mm, Micro USB (charging)

Microphone Type: Omni-directional, Omni-directional, removable with LED mute indicator +

       built-in mic

Mobile Connectivity: 3.5mm

Platform: Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S

Power Output: 70mW 32ohm per channel

Sound Space: Stereo, Surround Sound using Dolby Atmos,

Surround Sound using Windows Sonic

Speaker Size: 50mm

Wireless Range: 30ft

Ahh, the LS35X outputs the perfect example of great baseline audio quality from a headset! Highs and mids come through extremely clean and bass has a good punchiness to it. It isn’t audiophile quality, mind you, but it is better than what you typically get in the $130 price range, which makes sense since this headset used to be a near-$200 offering. Thanks to the clarity, subtle sounds that get lost on lower-end sets once again become audible. A normally unnoticeable breeze or the slight crunch of grass under your feet all add up to expanding the soundscape of your favorite titles and makes them that much better in the process. It is a nice change of pace from the typical lower-end audio found on most budget options that result in a more hollow sound and lost details.

Gameplay

One of the coolest aspects of the LS35X is its ability to work wirelessly on Xbox consoles with no additional dongles. LucidSound is utilizing the Xbox’s built-in wireless communication protocol to pair the LS35X with the console. Using the headset’s pairing button and the controller pairing button on the Xbox will sync everything together. After the pairing has been completed, you can use the LS35X to turn on the Xbox system with the headset’s power button if you so choose. From here you are free to dive into your games!

I must reiterate how pleased I am with the sound provided by the LS35X. Loading up a number of my favorite games like Ace Combat 7, or Jedi Fallen Order, sound absolutely amazing and brings you that much further into the experience. I haven’t played Jedi Fallen Order in a while but it always amazes me how much is going on in the environment that you just miss without proper audio. There are so many examples just like this that it’s crazy to think about how much some players are sadly missing out on in this day and age of gaming.

Competitive shooters are always going to be the genre I feel benefits the most from good audio. With so much on the line at any given point, being able to hear even the tiniest details can result in victory. In games of Apex, it was much easier to track opponents down compared to what I am normally used to. Part of that might be down to Respawn working on audio bugs, but gotta give the headset some credit here as well! Enabling spatial sound on the Xbox dashboard, whether it’s Windows Sonic, Dolby Atmos, or DTS Headphone:X, only serves to amplify the results with its surround sound virtualization tech.

If you have an Xbox wireless controller adapter for your PC, the process of using the LS35X is basically the same as on console. Once paired to the receiver, the headset can be selected as an audio source within Windows and used for all of your games and more. Spatial sound can again be applied for the best results across your titles. If you don’t happen to have an Xbox wireless controller receiver, you can still hook the LS35X up to your machine with the included 3.5mm aux cable, though the sound is a bit off. More on this in a bit. The 3.5mm Aux cable also allows for use on a number of other devices but it isn’t really a great option. Again, more on this in a bit.

Now a quick note on mic quality and battery life. The LS35X includes 2 separate mics for use in different environments. The boom mic is your go-to for gaming and voice chat in a stationary environment. If you are on the go, removing the boom mic will activate the LS35X’s built-in mic, which is ideal for taking calls or discord chats on your phone. The quality of both mics is good and gets the job done for what you need. In a pinch, the boom mic can be used for recording voice work if you are just getting started with streaming or content creation. As for the battery life, it can last around 15 hours per charge. One of my favorite touches with the LS35X using the Xbox communication protocols is that the battery life of the set is displayed on the dash next to your controller battery life, making it easy to see when a charge needs to happen.

What It Could Have Done Better

While I love using the LS35X on Xbox, using its 3.5mm aux connection is not ideal to me. Audio mixing gets completely crushed in this mode with everything smearing together in an overly bass-heavy presentation. It makes it hard to pick out sounds and have an enjoyable time with the set. But considering this isn’t meant to be its main form of use, I’d recommend just not using it in this way personally.

Verdict

At its new reduced price, the LS35X is an absolute steal for Xbox players. You get high-quality audio and the benefit of wireless communication to keep your setup cord-free. Every game you play will immediately benefit from better audio, with sounds that normally get lost on lower-end sets or TV speakers being fully audible. With the benefits of virtualization, competitive players will gain an advantage in their favorite titles and casual players can still benefit from better positional audio in any game. While the LS35X can still be used on an assortment of devices with its 3.5mm aux port, it is best to avoid such a use case. When all is said and done, the LucidSound LS35X might be the best Xbox headset I have ever used, and I can’t recommend it enough to other dedicated Xbox players!