Retail Price: $58.99

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Disclaimer: KZ sent us a unit of the GP20 headset free of charge to review, but all thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are our own and were not discussed with the company prior to publishing.

You may be surprised to hear that even though I play Final Fantasy XIV Online with friends pretty often, I actually don’t use a headset. I prefer to use headphones and a Blue Yeti mic. However, for this review, I was sent a headset directly from the company, KZ, who wanted The Sypnotix to try it out. Even though we did not pay for this headset, my review remains honest. I tested this product for a couple of weeks, and I am ready to share my thoughts, so let’s get into it!

Aesthetic

These headphones have a pretty basic look, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. They’re simply a sleek black color with a logo on each side. That same space where the branding is also houses the RGB for these headphones. The RGB is very simple, just spectrum cycling, and there is no way to customize it. However, I still think the RGB is a nice touch that elevates the overall look of the headset. You can also choose to turn the RGB off if you want to extend the headset’s battery life. Overall, I think this headset looks pretty cool, even if it is a little on the plain side.

Fit

These fit pretty well straight out of the box. They were perhaps a smidge snug, but nothing like some of the headphones I’ve purchased on Amazon that are painfully tight and need to be loosened up around a cardboard box for a couple of days.

Overall they are comfortable and I can wear them for hours without feeling like my ears or my head are being squished or pinched. In fact, ear-squishing is not possible with these headphones (for me, at least) as they are over-ear rather than on ear. My ears sit nicely within the cups, and I personally prefer this kind of fit for headphones.

I’m not sure if these headphones are supposed to be noise canceling or not, as there is no reference to such a quality on their listing. However, I feel that they do somewhat function that way just because they are snug and sit over your ears. I can still hear some things with them on, especially if I have no music or other sounds coming through the headphones, but it’s a tad dampened. Once I am playing music, I can still hear people talking to me, but it’s not easy to make out what they’re saying, and I have to turn the music off or take the headphones off entirely.

Sound Quality

The sound quality for these depends on whether or not you have to put them in headset mode. If you’ve ever used these types of headsets, you’ll know they come with two output modes: headphones or headset.

The sound quality for the headphones mode is great, and I think the average user would be very satisfied with it. However, the same is never true for the headset mode for these types of devices. The sound quality for the headset mode is pretty decent when it comes to hearing people’s voices, but in terms of music and game sounds? Well… it’s as bad as any other headset I’ve ever used.

For some reason, the headset mode on these devices always alters the game sounds. This is true for the GP20 as well. And there’s nothing you can do about it. As long as you’re actively using the mic, you must use the headset mode as your output rather than the headphones mode, which means you’re stuck with the altered game sounds (which, in my case, are actually very annoying compared to how they usually sound).

Multimedia Controls

Since we’re on the topic of sound, I wanted to take a moment to discuss the multimedia controls — or rather, the lack of them. All you can really do with these headphones is play and pause or adjust the volume. And the volume wheel adjusts the headphones only, not your system volume. So, it seems best to set your system volume at 100 so this way you do not have to keep toggling both, you can just adjust it on the headset. The system volume does affect the headset, but as I explained, the system volume is unaffected by the wheel on the GP20 and has to be adjusted separately. It’s a bit weird, but it’s not really inconvenient.

What I do find inconvenient, though, is the lack of multimedia controls. I can only play or pause music, there is no skip forward or back function. I know this is technically a headset meant for gaming, but most people who buy this type of product would expect to be able to use it for everything. Especially if you’re on a budget, there’s no reason to buy a separate pair of headphones when this functions as both. I’ve read through the instructions more than once and even tried clicking the buttons in ways that are not assigned to other functions, but I haven't figured out a way to skip to the next song or go back to the previous one, so, unfortunately, I can only conclude this isn’t an option.

Mic Quality

If you’re trying to record something in Audacity, then you’re probably not going to like this microphone. However, for talking to friends in Discord, it’s good enough. I used it during my raid night in FFXIV where I and seven other players tackled the hardest content in the game, aptly called “savage” mode. I am responsible for calling out mechanics so everyone knows where to go and what to do, so it’s important that I have a mic that works well.

Even though this mic is super quiet if you open up Audacity and hit record, it was just fine for raiding. I was told by a raid member that she could hear me clearly, and during the raid, I was never told that my mic cut out or that I was too quiet. During a Discord call with friends, everyone said I sounded great and they didn’t need to adjust my volume at all to hear me better. I was a bit surprised by this because of just how quiet the mic records in Audacity.

It’s also important to note that when I went into Windows’ system sounds settings and attempted to increase the input volume of the microphone, absolutely nothing changed. However, as stated, the volume was fine for Discord.

One really nice thing about this mic is that it does have a mute button on the right side, so you can turn off your mic when you’re not talking or if someone in your household comes to talk to you and you don’t want your entire Discord call listening in. There’s even a little light on the side (that you absolutely cannot see while wearing them) that turns green when the mic is on and goes out when it is off. Overall, it seems that the mic is functional and clear and is about what you’d expect from a headset mic.

Range

I’ve always enjoyed the freedom of wireless headphones, but the cool thing about this pair is that they can be used both wired and wirelessly. Therefore, you don’t have to worry about the battery dying mid-raid. Even if it did, you could just take a moment to plug in.

The wireless connection can be used either by plugging in the accompanying USB dongle or via Bluetooth 5.1. I prefer Bluetooth just because it means I can keep my USB slots available for other things.

The range on these is decent as I can walk around my entire one-story house and the sound only cuts out when I’m all the way on the other side. The mic cuts out sooner though. I can probably walk about 15 feet before I become robotic sounding. I did also attempt to wash the dishes while enjoying music through these, and the kitchen is in the middle of the house. For some reason, the sound was cutting out quite a bit. If I just walk around without staying in one place for too long, I don’t have this issue. I’m not sure if it’s a problem with the headphones or if there’s just interference in my kitchen because of appliances and the like (though it cuts out even when they’re not running). Still, I think you’d probably be able to listen to conversations even if you got up to get a snack, though responding immediately may not be realistic depending on how far your kitchen is from your setup.

Final Thoughts

For $60 you get a lot of great features here: wired and wireless connectivity, RGB lights, a headset and headphones. Honestly, all this really lacks is the multimedia buttons. The GP20 fits really well and is not at all uncomfortable, even straight out of the box. Though the design is simple, the RGB lights give this headset the pizzazz it would otherwise lack. When in headphones mode, the sound quality is great. Unfortunately, the headset mode does not deliver the same quality but is ultimately on par with other headsets. The range of the headphones is great, but the mic does get robotic about 15 feet from your setup, and I do wish I could go a bit further before cutting out. Overall, I think it is a pretty solid headset for the price.

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Seri

A writer by day and gamer by night, Seri’s most prized possession is her computer. In fact, she built her desktop PC herself and repaired her college laptop with nothing but Google, Reddit, and determination to guide her. This do-it-yourself attitude was born from frugalness, so if you see Seri raving about something, it’s probably worth the price.