The Bottom Line
Pros
- Excellent sound quality and tuning for games
- Dolby Atmos works a treat with the 50mm Graphene Coated Drivers
- Supremely comfortable
- ANC and Bluetooth make this headset great for travel
- Long-lasting battery
Cons
- No Android or iOS app
- Sound customization reliant on the Dolby Atmos app
- Microphone quality is average
Should you buy it?
AvoidConsiderShortlistBuyIntroduction & Specification Details and Close-up
When a product proclaims its design was born from engineers and designers collaborating with professional gamers, it's often viewed as nothing more than marketing. Get pro gamers to use some gear, which'll be viewed as a stamp of approval amongst aspiring gamers everywhere. The new Alienware Pro Headset falls into this category; it's a new wireless gaming headset created with feedback and input from professional gamers like Team Liquid. However, when the result is this good, you get the sense that the Alienware Pro Headset is precisely that - a headset for gamers by gamers.
The Alienware Pro Headset gets many things right and a couple of things wrong while excelling in the areas that matter most. The high-fidelity sound is exceptional, with excellent spatial or stereo presence and a detailed low, mid, and high-frequency response. The default tuning or sound profile is game-ready, highlighting things like footsteps, weapons, and other sound effects while still giving them room and ensuring they do not overpower everything else. It's game-ready but still cinematic, so it works brilliantly for most games, with Dolby Atmos software allowing you to fine-tune further and customize the audio.
However, the software side is lacking - for reasons we'll get into later. The other key area where the Alienware Pro Headset's design effectively 'knocks it out of the park' is in the comfort, seal, and immersion department.
This is one of the most comfortable wireless gaming headsets available. The luxurious earcups offer a great seal and natural passive noise cancelation before you even consider switching on the ANC for even greater immersion. With its sound quality, comfort, and stylish physical design, the Alienware Pro Headset is definitely one to consider. It's not perfect; there is room for improvement, but not enough to detract from the great audio experience it delivers.
Specifications & Close Up
- Product Type: Wireless Gaming Headset
- Product Name: Alienware Pro Headset
- Interface: 2.4 GHz Wireless, Wireless, Bluetooth 5.3
- Compatibility: PC (Windows 10 and above), Android, iOS, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch
- Form Factor: Over Ear Closed
- Drivers: 50mm Graphene Coated
- Headphones Frequency Response: 20 - 40,000 Hz
- Microphone Type: Unidirectional, AI Beam Forming
- Surround: Dolby Atmos (PC Only)
- Cable: Charging Cable (USB-A to USB-C)
- Battery Life: Up to 70 Hours (2.4 GHz, ANC Off), Up to 75 Hours (Bluetooth, ANC Off), Up to 35 Hours (2.4 GHz, ANC On)
- Weight: ~ 315 grams
- In the Box: Alienware Pro Wireless Gaming Headset, USB-C Wireless Dongle, USB-A to USB-C Adapter, USB-A to USB-C Cable, Detachable Boom Mic, Mic Shield, Documents
Kosta's Test System Specifications
- Motherboard: ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR X670E HERO
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Founders Edition
- Display: MSI MAG 321UPX QD-OLED 4K 240 Hz
- Cooler: ASUS ROG RYUO III 360 ARGB
- RAM: 64GB (4x16GB) Corsair DOMINATOR TITANIUM RGB DDR5 DRAM 6000MT/s
- SSD: Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus-G M.2 PCIe Gen 4 SSD 4TB, Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus Plus M.2 PCIe Gen 4 SSD 8TB
- Power Supply: ASUS TUF Gaming 1000W Gold
- Case: Corsair 5000D AIRFLOW Tempered Glass Mid-Tower ATX PC Case
- OS: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro 64-bit
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Design & Software and Support
Design
Alienware hasn't created many gaming headsets over the years. Still, the new Alienware Pro Headset is a significant departure and change from previous models - especially in the looks department. First and foremost, it's still a gaming headset. The minimal and stylish look is more modern. Bluetooth 5.3 functionality means that the Alienware Pro Headset can alternate between gaming on a dedicated PC setup and listening to a podcast while on the go or traveling.
This is one of those headsets that feels immediately comfortable when you put it on for the first time and sustains that comfort for several hours. The Alienware Pro Headset is suitable for just about every head, thanks to the soft memory foam leatherette cushions and an impressively flexible headband.
Comfort is just one part of the story, as the overall seal and passive noise cancelation help to amplify the impressive sound - with the option to enable ANC or Active Noise Cancelation if you're in a noisy environment. It might not be the best ANC in the business, but it's enough to keep background sound in check and reduce those overbearing engine sounds you hear when traveling on a plane.
The overall ANC quality is similar to the Dell Premier Wireless ANC Headset and good enough to make the Alienware Pro Headset a viable option for gaming and travel. The left cup features a dedicated ANC button, which makes switching between ANC On, Off, and Transparency modes accessible. You'll also find the main volume wheel and the microphone mute button here.
Microphone-wise, you've got two options: use the built-in AI beamforming microphone or plug in the dedicated boom arm. Both offer similar voice recording quality and AI-powered noise reduction.
Unfortunately, unlike similar gaming headsets, there's no option to have simultaneous low-latency wireless and Bluetooth audio. It's one or the other. On the plus side, the Alienware Pro Headset uses the newer Bluetooth 5.3 standard for better efficiency and fewer transmission or connectivity issues.
The stars of the show, so to speak, are the 50mm Graphene-coated Drivers and high-resolution audio certification that expands the frequency response to support the absolute highest quality recordings across music, movies, and, of course, gaming. With clean and clear lows, mids, and highs, the default tuning is optimized for pro gaming. With great drivers and exceptional sound quality, there's enough room to adjust and fine-tune things to suit your taste - however, this is where the Alienware Pro Headset fumbles. Just a little bit.
Software and Support
All customization is limited to PC, specifically Windows, via the Alienware Command Center or Dolby Atmos app. No mobile app is surprising, especially for a stylish and versatile Bluetooth headset you'd gladly take on the go. The Alienware Pro Headset feels incomplete without an Android or iOS app giving you direct access to the headset's ANC features while offering various profiles, presets, and other options to tinker with. Hopefully, this is something Alienware can rectify, as you don't even have access to dedicated Dolby Atmos settings on mobile - leaving things like EQ adjustment to third-party apps.
Okay, so the Alienware Command Center app in Windows gives you a decent, if not fantastic, customization tool for the Alienware Pro Headset. You can access various ANC, microphone, and battery settings here. Granted, there's not much, but the app takes up very little memory while leaving all the audio and EQ tuning to the official Dolby Atmos app. As far as spatial audio goes, Dolby Atmos for headphones is one of the best because it enhances spatial audio or surround sound in an additive, complimentary, and subtle way.
The Dolby Atmos app is the easiest way to switch between various audio profiles and modes for games, movies, and music. It also features a 10-band equalizer, which lets you create a few custom sound profiles and presets without enabling the spatial or Atmos side of the post-processing. It would have been nice to have dedicated EQ and sound controls within the Alienware Command Center app, with game-specific modes or optimizations for titles that Alienware's collaborators at Team Liquid play - like Apex Legends, Counter-Striker, DOTA 2, and League of Legends.
Performance & Microphone
Performance
The default Alienware Pro Headset sound has a lot of depth and detail; it's not flat, neutral, or balanced in a way that makes sense for music. With deep but overly booming bass, detailed mids, and crisp highs highlighting the detail in a game's sound design, it shines when playing games like Apex Legends, DOOM Eternal, Diablo IV, and Cyberpunk 2077. The best compliment you can give a headset like this is that it allows you to not only pick up on little audio details but also gives you the ability to pick out titles with great soundtracks, sound design, and sound mixing versus games that either fall short in this area or feature simple audio production.
The Dolby Atmos integration is also very welcome. It's a subtle spatial audio solution that makes great use of the Alienware Pro Headset's excellent drivers. With various modes for gaming, movies, and music, it's straightforward to find an option that delivers a little bit more room and emphasis to suit your tastes, whether a more balanced sound, a warm sound, or something else entirely. I'm not the biggest fan of audio post-processing or spatial audio for headphones, but I often found myself turning on Dolby Atmos with the Alienware Pro Headset.
With decent passive noise cancelation, if you're in a relatively quiet room, there's no real need to enable the headset's ANC. However, if you do, it definitely cuts out pretty much all low-level background noise without affecting the sound quality in an obvious or negative way. With the ability to enable side tone and adjust the transparency (which filters in background audio through the speakers), the level of control is commendable.
Microphone
The Alienware Pro Headset also includes a detachable boom-style microphone and built-in dual microphones. The latter works just as well as the boom mic, which makes you wonder if the more traditional boom style was included purely for the headset to be used in a professional or esports setting.
Either way, the voice and recording quality is average, typical of a gaming headset. The bulk of the bandwidth has gone to the high-res audio, so the chat side of the Alienware Pro Headset is far from broadcast quality. There's not a lot of bass to the microphone. However, the chat is clear and crisp, and the built-in noise cancelation works well. For gaming, it works - however, without a dedicated game/chat dial on the headset, finding the right balance when gaming requires using in-app settings.
Final Thoughts
With premium comfort and sound quality to match, it's easy to recommend the Alienware Pro Headset for gaming - this is the sort of high-quality sound you expect from a premium brand. However, with the modern and stylish design and Bluetooth functionality, an additional travel or headphone component to the headset is equally impressive. With decent ANC, you'd gladly take it on the road or your daily commute connected to a smartphone or portable gaming handheld like the Steam Deck. This means the lack of a dedicated mobile app for iOS and Android is a significant oversight, enough to bring the overall score down.
Not by much, but enough for it to sting a little. The sound quality, fit, and comfort are so good that it could have been labeled one of the best wireless gaming headsets with the right software support and a slightly better mic. Ultimately, the Alienware Pro Headset has got it where it counts and then some, so it becomes an easy recommendation.