Thrustmaster Y-205 Series Headset Review

Thrustmaster Y-250C head set is a chunky contender for your audiophile love. Releasing in three variants for Xbox 360 (Y-250x), Playstation 3 (Y-250P) and the PC version we have on test today.

First thing to strike you about the Thrustmaster Y-250C is the chunky frame and colourful phones. A seemingly rigid plastic Y –shaped each piece leads up to the thick plastic and cushioned headband. Each one in the series has a slightly different colour scheme. The PC edition emphasises it’s features in a deep red colour. This colours up the in-line volume and mic control unit as well as add a splash of colour to the ear cushions.

The unit comes with a detachable uni-directional mic that incorporates noise cancelling in to the mix as well. This is also controllable, as mentioned above, from the in-line unit on the headphone wire. From here you can mute the mic with a toggled flick switch and you can also alter the mic gain with a radial dial. A similar dial is on the opposite side of the unit for the volume of the earphones.

Each version comes with the ability to swap around one end of the headphones to allow use on multiple devices. For instance you unplug the “Out” jack and cable. Then plug in the single strand headphone cable and you can then easily use the device on a smart phone, portable console, mp3 player or tablet… basically anything with a 3.5mm headphone socket. Then to plug back in to the pc simply swap out the wires once more.

The headset, as can be seen in the pictures, is chunky. Chunky can mean very heavy… in this case though it means slightly heavy. Yes that firm build, chunky cans and soft cushioning all soon add up and the unit can feel very weighty in the hands. Once on the head though the weight is well distributed and the unit feels fairly comfortable. As with most headphones sets of this structure the weight can start to take its toll after an hour or two of wear. You’re also left with flat and hot ears – but this can be levelled at every unit of this type.

Sound production varies from good to great depending on your subject matter. I’m a person who likes high-end clear and well defined. I will always tweak in favour of treble rather than bass. The Thrustmaster Y-250C caters well for me in so far as there appears to be a very wide range. Treble is clear, but high voice work can get a little “tinny” at times. Low-end is very well catered for. Plenty of bass-drive in the unit means that explosions, gunshot or thumping tunes get plenty of grunt and grumble. Mid-range, an area some units can get lost in, is handled well too offering a well rounded sound.

Music usage is solid and I had no problem listening to a very varied selection of tunes on the stereo Thrustmaster Y-250 headsets. The mic is also well balanced and offers a reasonably rich experience – especially when it’s main purpose if obviously just voice chat. In-game the head set performs well. As mentioned that low-end bias really helps push though things like shooters and action titles.

Playing Sleeping Dogs it was great for the music and gunfights but got al little swamped on the voice work. Putting on Black Ops 2 though really pushed the headset in to its comfort zone and the bullets whizzed by and explosions shook impressively – especially coupled with my Turtle Beach DSS 5.1 to stereo unit.

Downsides to the unit other than the slight high-end wobble and minor comfort issues would be the cable quality. The cables feel reasonably thick but don’t seem like they will take much punishment. Likewise the small clip that comes with the upper cable struggled keeping grip to clothing and feels like it might break in a particularly frantic gaming session. The in-line audio control box is a little unwieldy and could almost be considered down—right ugly. That said, on the red PC Y-250C version of the headsets it does look a lot like a Sega Master System… so that’s pretty great!

Final Thoughts

The Thrustmaster Y-250C headset offers a sturdy and solid option for gamers and music lovers alike.

An ability to handle the full range makes it an ideal companion for gaming. The deep and rich bass might give it a bias towards action and shooter based titles but it still has plenty to give through the entire spectrum.

The ability to use it in a variety of different appliances with great and, despite its chunky size and weight, the unit travelled well to and from work for a week with no detriment to the physical structure of the device.

If you’re on the lookout for a solid pair of phones with a high performance mic then the Thrustmaster Y-250 range is definitely worth your time and consideration.