If your budget is tight or maybe you don't want to spend too much on a headset, there are plenty of options, including the Gioteck TX70, which is budget-friendly and doesn't compromise on performance. The Gioteck TX70 is particularly good because it can be used with or without a wired cable.
The TX70 headset comes with a wireless dongle that can be kept plugged in at all times, letting you go wireless or wired on-the-fly. This is convenient, especially if the dongle is plugged into a rear facing or hard to reach USB port. The only thing with having the dongle plugged in all the time though, it's that you have to manually connect the headphones by going into the sound settings of the gaming platform.
The included wireless dongle measures 6cm long and has a rubber housing. The TX70 dongle is non-branded and has no markings on it. The dongle seems to be a generic 2.4GHz USB dongle rather than a Gioteck proprietary dongle, which is a good thing because in the event of losing the dongle, you can use a third party USB dongle as a replacement. When using a new dongle, all you have to do is hold down the reset button on the headset, using a paper clip while simultaneously pressing the button on the dongle until they both pair.
Below the left earcup of the TX70 headphone, you will find several buttons, including a bass boost EQ button, which works a bit like 7.1 surround sound, boosting up the low frequencies, as well as the volume. The sound becomes bassier and more immersive too. The default, non-EQ, sound delivers balanced bass, which only kicks in if the audio has bass in it. The EQ button has no voice prompt other than the audio stopping for a split second to let you know you have entered EQ mode.
The Gioteck TX70 headphones are also equipped with a long volume/track skipping rocker and a power button, which is located next to the 3.5mm audio port and micro USB port. All buttons are made of plastic and make a clicky sound. The 3.5mm audio port is passive; hence you can use the headphones even when the internal battery is flat.
The Gioteck TX70 headset is entirely made of plastic with a wide headband yoke, which allows the earcups to be tilted. The earcups have a 90 degree swivel motion (one way). The light plastic construction leaks a decent amount of sound at 100% volume, which reduces the passive isolation potential. On the plus side, the earcups don't feel as closed in as other closed back headphones, which in turn makes everything sound more natural. On the front side of the earcups, there is a subtle TX70 brand etching, as well as a blue led light, which remains lit up during audio playback.
The left earcup also integrates a microphone integrated into a short (8cm) boom arm that is made of plastic. The construction of the boom arm microphone is rather unconventional. It's not a bendy type retractable/rotating boom arm microphone you get with the Gioteck's TX-50 headset. The Gioteck TX70 boom arm is built-in to the front side of the left earcup and flips open by simply lifting it down. When lifted up, the boom arm mutes the microphone, which is convenient. The microphone quality is good, although the pickup pattern is omnidirectional without noise cancellation, which means sounds such as keyboard noises leak into the microphone.
The Gioteck TX70 headset have relatively bulky earcups. Total weight is 320 grams and 338 grams with the audio cable. The earcup housing measures 3cm thick, while the earpads measure 2cm thick. The earpads don't appear to be removable. The Gioteck TX70 earpads are covered by honeycomb pattern fabric. The earpads, themselves, have an unusual rhombus shape which makes the opening of the inner hole narrow. The inner hole opening measures 6cm high and 4cm at the centre and, it gets progressively narrower towards the ends, which means the earpads may feel like on-ear style if you have large ears.
There is a thin layer of fabric covering the 50mm drivers, as well as R and L markings. The depth to the driver is 2cm. Comfort wise, the Gioteck TX70 feel comfortable to wear for a couple of hours, thanks to the low clamping force and soft earpads. That said, like with all headsets, comfort will mostly depend on your head shape and usage. The underside of the Gioteck TX70 headband has a short but thick (2cm) padding made with soft and springy foam. There is good head adjustment too, thanks to the plastic headband, which is wide and integrates a plastic ratchet mechanism.
The plug connectors of both the micro USB charging cable (66cm long) and audio cable (1 meter long) have an interesting hexagonal carbon fibre finish. The audio cable has a fabric sheath, while the charging cable has a rubber sheath. The Gioteck TX70 works across a range of platforms, including PC, Playstation 4, Playstation 5 and Nintendo Switch. You can buy the Gioteck TX70 from amazon.
