Gamertell

Product: Nintendo DS Headset
Price: $10-15
Rating: 75/100 (C)
Pros: Works as both headphones and microphone for DS games. Made specifically for the DS.
Cons: Microphone is not sensitive enough - or microphone arm not long enough - to get consistently clear microphone reception.
Overall: Works great as a headphone but microphone is a bit lacking and lacks long-term comfort amenities.

Nearly two years ago, Nintendo first demonstrated its online chat (DSpeak) using the DS Headset at E3 2005. Then nothing. It took the release of the latest two Pokémon games, Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl (stop humming that Prince and the New Revolution song) for Nintendo to finally let DS owners chat online.

That also make it perfect timing for Nintendo to release their own DS Headset in the US featuring a built-in microphone. Never mind that at least two other companies (Datel and Turtle Beach) had already released their own DS compatible headsets in the US. Nintendo is finally following through.

Design – The all white headphones with matte grey highlights - matching the white DS Lite - that wrap around one ear with a mouth shaped opening.

It has an approximately 41 in. cord, 4 in. microphone arm (3 in. from the edge of the earpiece) and 3/4 in. cluster of speaker holes (no stereo). The all plastic ear piece can be worn on either ear with the speaker swiveling along a vertical axis. The microphone arm vertically swings 90 degrees. It is light, weighing only 4 oz. (15g) not including the cord.

The plug fits only the DS port with a standard headphone jack and small rectangular jack attached on the same plug.

Features – The DS Headphone is made to work with the DS’s unique port allowing audio to be heard through the single headphone and sound to be input through the microphone.

Performance – Audio sounds about as good as an inexpensive set of headphones, coming through a little better than the DS’s built-in speakers.

The microphone works but has inconsistent pickup. I tested this with the online Live Chat feature in Pokémon Pearl/Diamond and the person on the other end said the sound was extremely faint and choppy as opposed to loud and very clear when using the DS’s built-in microphone. It worked a little better in games with non-chatting features, such as training dogs in Nintendogs, but you will still get more reliable and consistent accuracy from talking really close to the DS’s built-in microphone pinhole.

Overall – Although the microphone arm is longer than most Bluetooth devices, it did not perform consistently for all games. It’d be nice to be able to adjust the microphone sensitivity or specific uses or, even more simple, lengthen the microphone arm.

Audio playback, however, works pretty well. The earpiece is rigid plastic, lacking padding and the ability to mold to your ear for comfort so it is a little uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time.

The Nintendo DS Headset is far more convenient and less socially silly than talking into the game system but it’s not the ideal microphone solution. At $10-15, the price is about right for the overall quality it provides