The ‘Afterglow Level 5’ by ‘PDP Gaming’ Will Greatly Enhance Your Gaming Experience

The folks over at PDP were kind enough to send an Afterglow level 5 headset to me for review earlier this week. When the headset arrived I went into the process with absolutely no expectations. I’ve used plenty of headsets for both my PS4 and Xbox one ranging from Tritton to Turtle Beach sets and to this point I still hadn’t found a headset that I was ready to settle in with and use exclusively. I am here to say that after a week of hardcore use I am pleasantly surprised and believe that not only have I found my headset for now I have found my gaming headset company of the future.

The particulars on the Afterglow level 5 connection are standard 3.5 mm jack that will work with any second gen Xbox one controller. If you have the first gen then you will need the adaptor to go with it. The mic is flexible and that is pretty much where the similarities stop between the Afterglow level 5 and other headsets.

The first thing that really stood out to me even more so than the glow of the headset was just how comfortable it was from the moment I put it on. The build is lightweight, but sturdy and if it weren’t for me inability to hear anything when wearing the headset I probably would not even realize that I have them on that is just how great they feel.

I generally dislike wearing headsets and with most of my gaming taking place online and with my friends that is a problem. My problem with headsets are two-fold. The first problem is that my ears have a weird shape. The second issue is that I wear glasses. Anyone gamer that wears glasses knows that after during extending gaming sessions with a headset on that your ears begin to hurt due to the headset smashing your ears into your glasses. This isn’t an issue with the Afterglow level 5. It is lightweight and the cups fit around your ears to block out all auxiliary sound and keep you focused on the good stuff which is the gaming.

The sound is pretty outstanding. My first experience with the Afterglow level 5 was Black Ops 3 and it was easier than ever to detect enemy footsteps
especially with the QUADBOOST. QUADBOOST is a special feature on the Afterglow level 5 that increases bass giving games a little more boom. It is almost like having an amplifier in your headset. So, when playing multiplayer on Black Ops 3 every enemy movement was easily heard. I also played Tomb Raider and Halo 5 to get a different range of sounds. I could easily hear Lara sloshing through a snowy mountain and every explosion on Halo was loud, crystal clear and some had the headset rumbling.

It should be stated that to take advantage of the QUADBOOST feature you will need two triple-A batteries, but the headset comes with batteries as well and you have everything you need out of the box. Without the batteries you still have sound and game chat, but the extra bass is not available. The set is great with or without the extra bass. Overall the sound added to my gaming experience.

During game chat everyone’s voice was very clear as well. Although my friends all said that my voice was lower than normal. I attribute that to the noise cancelling feature in the mic. I adjusted the sound and everything was fine from that point forward. Like any audio device you have to find the settings that work best for you.
The Afterglow level 5 has volume and mute features on the headset itself. It’s just a personal preference, but I prefer this to having a separate control for volume and mute inline. If I had to nitpick the only negative I found is that the microphone does not rotate so it is locked on your left side. I prefer to have the mic on my right. This is such a minor thing when looking at the headset quality.