Review: Tritton Ark 100 Gaming Headset for Xbox One

Tritton have released their latest range in gaming headsets with the new Ark 100 for Xbox One. It first caught my attention when the range was announced in the summer of 2016 and I have eagerly been waiting for the opportunity to try this headset out.

Specifications

• Audionomics – unique monocurve design unifies audio fidelity and ergonomics for the ultimate sound experience and comfort
• R:drive – multi-speaker configuration delivers the ultimate in powerful precision audio
• Kameleon – motion dynamic RGB lighting allows you to customize your headset with ease
• 3 EQ Modes – choose the audio soundstage that’s right for you and your game
• Folding, uni-directional boom mic delivers sharp and clear speech to

What’s in the Box?

The box contains the Ark 100 headset with 1m audio cable, 2 x AAA batteries, manual and Tritton sticker.

Final Thoughts

I have always found the Tritton range of headsets to be outstanding value for money with headsets that were both affordable and punched above their weight in terms of quality that were on par with more expensive headsets on the market. So when I learned that Tritton were about to launch a brand new range that was again going to compete with the heavy hitters in gaming headsets I was genuinely excited to see how their move to the mid price range would turn out.

The starting point for me is just how stunning the new curved design to the Ark 100 is to look at. It is a great looking headset with a build quality that puts it alongside the high end of headsets but still keeping it affordable. The green branding of the Xbox is striking against the black plastic of the headband and ear cups.

Unlike previous Tritton headsets, the Ark 100 does not use the standard headband adjusters to provide a fit for different head sizes, but instead you can move the ear phone sections themselves to find the best fit for you to wear. The Ark 100 does not feel too heavy to wear despite the amount of tech at work in each ear phone especially with all the control buttons that reside in both left and right ear phones. The buttons are laid out well for quick use such as the microphone, EQ settings and volume controls and easy to reach and activate.

The Microphone delivers the clearest sound for both team chat and streaming in a headset I have used to date. The new R:Drive multi speaker system that drives the Ark 100 provides exceptional sound. It enhanced every game I played from the music in Final Fantasy XV, highlighting every footstep from enemies as I tried to sneak around in Dishonored 2 to the clarity of hearing a sniper’s bullet whizzing past my head during Battlefield 1. Each game I played had its audio and musical elements elevated by the Ark 100 and its three EQ settings that can boost the bass and treble means you can tailor it for different game types.

The party trick of the Ark 100 has to be the LED lighting built into the Kameleon system. It allows you to customise the lighting scheme of the headset when powered on, with a full range of colours that can be chosen simply by tilting the Ark 100 until you find the colour you want. You can even set it to cycle between colours when in use to give it a great look especially when streaming and on camera. It might seem like a trivial thing that has nothing to do with providing audio performance, but being able to customise this is a great feature and something that again takes the Ark 100 into the high end features offered by the competition but at a much more affordable price.

The Ark 100 Headset keeps to the same high standard I have come to expect from Tritton and though the asking price of £69.99 is higher than previous headsets from them, the Ark range has simply taking them to a whole new level. The evolution of the design can be seen in every aspect of the headset both in build quality, features but most importantly in the audio experience gained by using the Ark 100.

I would advise using good quality rechargeable AAA batteries with this headset, a good gaming session for me can last anything from five to eight hours especially if I am streaming as well as gaming with friends and did find that the Ark 100 would need a change of batteries before my next gaming session so rechargeable batteries do help. It does have a passive mode where the headset will provide good sound and microphone use but all other features will be disabled until powered up.

Overall I would say the Ark 100 puts Tritton right back into the mix of gaming headsets in a big way. To offer this quality and this amount of tech in a headset but still keeping the price so affordable is amazing. Of course the nice bonus of discovering that this headset also works just as amazingly on PlayStation 4 as it does on Xbox One means if you use both consoles than the Ark 100 is all the gaming headset you need.