This past week has seen a slew of new release games that I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into. My excitement was further heightened when I got to kick things off with a brand-new headset, courtesy of the team at 4Gamers, who sent me their latest addition to the C6-100 lineup, the ‘4Gamers C6-100 Strike Orange/Red Gaming Headset’.

For those unaware or living under a rock, 4Gamers has been serving the gaming market since 2005, offering a plethora of multi-platform gaming products. I don’t think I’ve made a trip to Big W or K-mart in the last 20 years without seeing an abundance of their very budget-friendly options. Without further ado, let’s dive into everything that the ‘C6-100 Strike’ delivers.

Upon opening the vibrant, coloured outer box, you will discover your brand-new headset and quick start guide, secured tightly within a completely plastic-free inner box. While I can certainly appreciate the efforts being made toward providing sustainable packaging that has far less impact on the environment. Many of the tabs that hold the headset’s packaging in place are so tight that you can’t help but rip them off. On the plus side, your headset is sure to remain nice and safe throughout any transit, so despite the tearing of tabs when unpacking, I’m grateful that the choice was made to keep the device more secure.

Now free from its bindings, we can finally go on a visual tour of the headset. The outer shell of the earcups is a stunning two-toned burned orange and red colouring with a mirrored finish. I couldn’t help but execute a little fit check upon seeing myself in the reflection. The inner surround of the earcups is cushioned in soft foam, wrapped in semi-gloss black leatherette. The adjustable headband and dual-axis tilt and swivel earcup mounts are made of reddish-brown plastic.

This, unfortunately, appears to be a failed attempt at matching the red tone at the base of the earcup. As much as I enjoy the look of the earcups, I feel like perhaps it would have been a better design choice to stick with the same colour as the headband.

The 3.5mm connection cable measures approximately 1.2m in length, providing ample room to move about when connected to your preferred device. Hard-wired into the left earcup, above the braided connection cable, is a very flexible microphone with an included pop filter.

One thing I enjoy most about having a wired headset is that I can plug it into just about anything with a 3.5mm headset audio jack and enjoy my content until I’ve had my fill. This headset is no exception and delivers a huge compatibility list, including Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X consoles, all Nintendo Switch consoles, all PS5 and PS4 editions, PCs with 3.5mm headset jacks, laptops, mobile phones, tablets, and more. Seeing the “and more” intrigued me, and on my little journey of discovery, I can confirm that this headset also works very well with the PSVR and PSVR2, which allowed me to ditch the God-awful in-ears that were included with both VR headsets.

Getting yourself ready to enjoy your content couldn’t be simpler across devices. Plug the 3.5mm jack into your device’s 3.5mm input socket, put on the headset, and adjust for comfort using the sliding adjustments on the headband. Then, you’re good to go. Inline controls enable easy volume control, and the built-in switch toggles the microphone’s mute function on and off. With a headset this simple to use, it won’t be long before our future gaming legends are fully immersed in their worlds and blocking out parental distractions, thanks to the brilliant noise isolation provided by the leatherette-covered cushions.

My first initial fit over my big head had me pretty worried that I might break it putting it on; however, I found the headset to be surprisingly flexible, which was comforting. After a few quick sessions across multiple devices, I noticed that, across the board, the headset’s audio quality was very lacking in the low-end bass department. Not only was the low-end register all but missing entirely, but I also found that certain sounds, such as footsteps in Call of Duty and Battlefield, were only audible when a potential threat was alarmingly close.

This could be for a couple of reasons, either because of using a lower-quality 40mm speaker and tuning, or because the tuning focus is more intended for a younger audience, with the lack of giant bass protecting smaller, developed ears. If the latter is the case, then I’m all for it.

After a few smaller sessions and some calls to some family and friends, I noted similar feedback across the board regarding the microphone quality, with most saying that it sounded fine. However, a lot of background noise could be heard fairly clearly through the mic. Needless to say, I quickly learned not to sit so close to my fan whilst on a call.

Listening back to my voice on a recording, I noticed that, much like the speakers, the microphone picked up mid- and high-range tones particularly well and delivered fairly clean audio, despite being able to hear a fan in the background.

The time had come to get locked in for the monster streaming session with the lads, starting with the newly released ARC Raiders before winding down with a few sweaty matches of Warzone to finish out the stream. Finishing up just shy of the 8-hour mark, I left the stream with one hell of a headache and two very sore ears due to the constant pressure being added to the side of my head as the plastics of the headband fought to retain its original shape.

However, this was of zero complaint to my much smaller-headed nephew, who absolutely adored the fit, later saying to me, “If you can’t use it, Uncle, I will.” Cheeky little monkey. After having watched my nephew claim a new gym badge and collect a few new Pokémon on his Nintendo Switch with a cheesy grin on his face the entire time, it became apparent where the target audience lies.

Overall, the ‘4Gamers C6-100 Strike Gaming Headset’  delivers a fairly decent overall sound from its 40mm speakers. While it may lack the thunderous bass that I am accustomed to, it does a brilliant job protecting younger ears from any early damage. The microphone delivers fairly crisp audio, despite picking up unwanted outside noise. The build quality is surprisingly sturdy and flexible; if the headband didn’t fight as much to retain its original shape, it would be exceptional build quality from a very budget-friendly headset.

The ‘C6-100 Strike’ is very generous toward your wallet, retailing at a very budget-friendly $29 at Big W. If you are looking for a new headset for your younger gaming companion, then this is a fantastic option.

Written by: Gary Nielsen