Cougar has provided TheGamer with some solid gear that not only makes players’ gaming experience better, but does so at a more reasonable price than many other lifestyle/accessory brands offer. That trend continues with Cougar’s Havoc BT wireless headphones. Though the Havoc BTs likely won’t be your go-to audio solution for gaming, the headphones offer a comfortable in-ear feel and high-quality audio for a price that won’t break the bank.
In One Ear & Out The Other
Toted as having an “advanced comfort-enhancing ergonomic design,” arguably, the Havoc’s most defining feature is its in-ear comfort. Besides Apple’s headphones (wired, not AirPods), I have never been able to find a pair of in-ear headphones that don’t make my ears sore after wearing them for an extended amount of time.
That has changed entirely with the Havoc BTs. The bulk of my Havoc BT testing took place over the course of a week while I attended a Big Data conference. Walking between breakout sessions took up a solid amount of my time, most of which were spent wearing the Havocs. My ears never felt sore, nor did they even feel fatigued, speaking to the longevity of wear that the headphones provide. Three different sizes of the foam earbuds are included, which is nice considering in this case, one size certainly does not fit all.
The quality of the audio for my music was great. It sounded as though I was wearing my noise-canceling desktop gaming headset, since I couldn’t hear a peep from the massive conference crowd that surrounded me. Because of the in-ear comfort, I would forget I even had headphones in, as I zoned out with my music.
Playing games with the Havoc BTs provided a solid experience as well. While playing PUBG, I was able to distinctly hear any and all footsteps or gunshots in the far distance. It didn’t necessarily elevate my own gameplay, but at least I knew when death was about to descend upon me.
Slight Issues Wreaking Havoc
While the overall setup and pairing process of the Havoc BTs was straightforward and relatively seamless for my PC and iPhone, I was never able to pair the headphones with my PlayStation 4. Maybe it had to do with the fact that my PS4 is a first-generation console, and the headset can only pair with the PS4 Pro. Or, perhaps it was simply due to user error. Either way, it was disappointing, since I was planning on using the Havoc BTs as my primary PS4 headset specifically for party chat.
When the Havoc BTs were paired with an audio device, every so often a faint hum of static would occur. The noise would go away (or be drowned out) whenever music or game audio would begin, but on its own, was very annoying.
I also encountered some hiccups while in the larger crowd gatherings of the conference. The headset’s connection to my phone would cut in and out, sometimes for several seconds at a time. This was no doubt due to the sheer amount of data nerds congregating in one place, armed to the teeth with wireless peripherals. It’s fair to say that this issue probably would have impacted many Bluetooth devices, but needs to be disclosed with the Havoc BTs nonetheless.
Hear Ye, Hear Ye
If you’re in the market for wireless in-ear headphones, you could do far worse than Cougar’s Havoc BTs. The quality and comfort are undoubtedly there, and for a price that’s less than $50 (at the time of this writing), you really can’t go wrong. At the very least, it would make the perfect stocking stuffer.
A Cougar Havoc BT Wireless In-Ear Gaming Headset was provided to TheGamer for this review.