Fatal1ty FXM 200 Gaming Headset by Monster Review
Fatal1ty FXM 200 Gaming Headset by Monster – User Experience
The FXM 200 were surprisingly comfortable. I am generally not a fan of on-ear headphones, as they clamp on my ears too much. The FXM 200 didn’t have any issues in this regard, with the ear cups allowing for proper swivel adjustment and enough give to fit properly on my head, but not squeeze too much. The top band offers a decent amount of padding, but this was the area that gave me the most discomfort after using the headset for some time. Out of the box, though, the FXM 200 offer a very nice, comfortable fit that will only improve as they break in. Once I found the proper height adjustment for my head, I wore the FXM200 comfortably for two hours of listening sessions. This was the first time they’d ever been worn and they fit great, offering perfect comfort.
Listening to music on the FXM200 was a good experience, but the headset was certainly tuned for games and had an emphasis on bass, though not an overly punchy bass, with mids and highs being an afterthought. The FXM200 produce a warm sound and they are not audiophile headphones, nor are they designed to be. If you are looking for a headset that can fit the bill as a music listener and gaming headset, the Hyper X Cloud from Kingston may be a better choice, but I totally enjoyed listening to tracks through the FXM200.
Playing games with the FXM200 is where they really shined, offering solid positional audio. I felt like they really came alive in FPS games and they offered a very solid experience in games like Battlefield 1 and Rainbox Six Siege, with gunfire and footsteps really standing out, giving me a slight tactical advantage in games versus using desktop speakers or lower quality headphones. Since the FXM200 are lightweight and have a flat cable that comes from the right ear cup, which routes right to my headphone output, I really felt like the headset wasn’t even on at times.
The boom microphone on the FXM200 stands out as being pretty solid, picking up my voice very well, with good noise cancellation. The cord is flexible and will allow you to bend the mic towards your mouth for optimal pick up. The mic also comes with a moisture cover that can be removed. There is an inline microphone on the ControlTalk Universal Box, but this mic isn’t on-par with the boom microphone and should only be used for phone calls, where it will be more than adequate. We felt like the inline microphone picked up noise from the cable and it also sounded tinny in comparison to the removable boom mic. Playing FPS games where team communication is essential, I found the FXM 200 to be more than capable and teammates commented that it sounded very clear.
Overall, the FXM 200 offer a solid user experience when compared to other gaming headsets in its price range. The comfort is awesome, with a “barely there” feeling, even after hours of use and the headphones not even being broken in. While tuned for gaming, where they sound great and offer a very live experience, the FXM 200 also work decently for listening to music, watching movies and for taking phone calls. While we do question the necessity for cell-phone compatibility and a corresponding control box, their additions aren’t a hindrance and they do allow the FXM 200 to offer value beyond their primary use as a gaming headset. While the short cable and lack of out of the box PC compatibility stood out as downsides, overall the Fatal1ty FXM 200 offered a great user experience.