Monster, the company you know for oversized and really loud headphones for your favorite music jumped into the gaming arena with a sick headphone collab with 12-time world gaming champ Johnathan “Fatal1ty” Wendel. This is new territory for Monster who previously had not made a set of headphones for gaming exclusively. They’ve made headphones for gaming with in the past but not quite what the FXM 200 is in terms of the technology, design quality and sound quality solely based on gaming.
It was at CES 2016 that Fatal1ty and Monster made their partnership known and showed off two sets of headphones. The FXM 100 and FXM 200 (The version I used for this review is the FXM 200 for Xbox One). What came from that collaboration are two sets of inexpensive professional grade headphones that anyone can own. They’re very inexpensive at just $69.95 and $99.95 respectively but don’t think that because they’re cheap that they are cheap.
The style and design of the FXM 200’s speak to how much research Monster has done into what the gamer needs. They’re not a perfect set of headphones but they possess the qualities a set of gaming headphones require to be considered worth the money. First is the comfort level. The headband and earcups provide a good sense of comfort and due to the FXM 200’s lightweight and they give you the ability to devote time to your games for hours and hours. Having to constantly take your headphones off because they’re squeezing your head like a vice. Not cool. Not a problem here.
Overall the sound on these bad boys are really good. Surprisingly good considering the price point. Even thought I used this for the Xbox One you can use them for PC and the PS4. Although on the PS4 they don’t sound as good in terms of overall volume strength but that’s not a knock on the FXM 200 its more so about the audio jack on the PS4 controller. Gameplay audio was crisp and clear and chat within games was also crisp and clear due to the adjustable mic and volume control on the audio wire. These are a gamers set of headphones. Without a doubt. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were used on a competition level.
The FXM 200’s without over complicating things are really a casual users’ ideal headphones. They won’t break the bank, they’re light, comfortable, usable for all platforms and of course they’re endorsed by the man himself Johnathan “Fatal1ty” Wendel. I go back and forth using different sets of headphones and as of now I still use the FXM 200’s because they’re just simple to use with great audio. No setups, online updates, amps, etc. Plug em in. Game on. Gaming headphones really only need to address a few things to be really good. I have no problem easily recommending these cans to anyone not looking to spend a crap load of money to get a good gaming audio experience.
