I am a frequent PC gamer and play games like Battlefield 2 where a good headset with a microphone is important.

I have gone through quite a few different brands/models of headsets the past several years. None has lasted me more than 2 years. Something typically snaps off or a speaker or the mic will go bad. This is why I never spend a fortune on headsets. I have had very expensive ones and very cheap ones. None seem to last.

After my current Plantronics Gamecom headset broke (plastic frame snapped as I was putting them on) - at the 1.8 years mark (see, nothing can break that 2 year barrier it seems!) I went in search of my next solution.

My search narrowed down to the Carcharias. I have had Razer headsets before, the last one being the Razer Piranha's. They died after 1.5 years. What drew me to the Carcharias was:

- the larger, over the ear design

- the soft, velvet ear cups

- the cloth-enwrapped cord. the plastic/rubber cords tend to twist up and tangle, the cloth encased cords do not

- in line volume and mute control

- the fact that they are VERY lightweight

- Uses separate 3.5mm jacks for mic and headphones (I do not like USB, don't want to take up a USB port for my headset; for me its easier to plug in the jacks into the front of my PC - and the sound quality is fine)

- the reasonable price (I got mine for $69 at Best Buy)

If you put these headsets on, you will notice how comfortable and lightweight they are. This is important for long gaming sessions in front of the computer. You don't want padding that makes you sweat, you don't want something heavy that is going to put strain on your neck. From that standpoint, these are probably the most comfortable headsets I have had to date.

The over-the-ear design means that outside noise is muted somewhat to prevent distractions while you are in-game. Such as your wife yelling for you to come down to dinner for the 5th time (as you are right in the middle of a major battle you have been trying to win for the last hour). However the ear cups for these speakers have a wire mesh casing on the outside, over the internal cloth, so they are not totally noise isolating.

The microphone boom is noise cancelling (to prevent background noises from muddling your speaking voice when you are talking), and bends in or out to customize the distance from mic to mouth, and rotates upward if you want the mic totally out of the way.

The sound from the headphones is very good. Its straight up, stereo sound. A little heavy on the bass, but very clear. Totally acceptable for gaming. For listening to music, they sound okay too. They are not going to blow you away listening to your MP3 collection, these are not for the "audiophile"; but for regular people listening to music they are just fine.

The mic works great, sounds very clear, and easy to move around. The mic boom is coated in rubber and bends easily.

All in all, this is a comfortable, good sounding gaming headset for a good price. Lets see if they can make it past the 2 year mark! ;-)