PDP AG7 True Wireless Headset for Xbox One - Hardware Review

PDP has been on a roll these last few years as they have been consistently releasing affordable gaming peripherals for consoles that get better and better with each new iteration. Our first review of one PDP products came in the form of the AGU.1S wireless headset and it became a mainstay in our arsenal of headset, even though it did have a few quirks to it when it came to the wireless receiver. Over the past 18 months or so we have watched PDP evolve, strengthening their wireless receivers, improving on the high, mid, and low outputs, and capitalizing on their expertise with long-lasting batteries.

What the various iterations have lead us to is the PDP Afterglow AG7, PDP's latest offering and it is a beautiful one. With amazing passive noise-cancelling, a unique dual-microphone setup, stupendous sound and one of the longest-lasting batteries I have seen in a wireless peripheral, the AG7 truly is the culmination of PDP's skill and engineering.

I personally love the PDP Afterglow aesthetics; they have come a long way in the few short years since the overly large (yet wonderful) AGU.1s headset. With the AG7 it has the same sleek look and light weight that the Kral and Karga headseats have (though, the Nur is much heavier). With the lighter weight design I was concerned about the battery life but PDP really outdid themselves with the AG7 … On the box for the unit it claims 16 hours of battery life and I can absolutely confirm that this is the case. I managed to play an entire weekend on the Xbox One without having to charge it which is more than most fully wireless headsets can even dream of. A definite win for PDP on this one.

The audio reproduction is as excellent as ever with two modes of audio. The first is more of a pure audio feature; basic settings produce quality audio though little bass; the second mode is a bass boost mode and it is utterly fantastic. Explosions are deep and provide a wonderful little "thump" and late-night movie watching (when you are trying to keep quiet for others in the house) is simply wonderful. Where the headset struggled at first was with the microphones (yes, plural). There is a retractable boom microphone on the left cup and an embedded microphone in the back of the left cup. The embedded microphone is fantastic as it allowed me to hear what my daughter was saying while, in some form of technical wizardry also appeared to block out white noise.

I was so impressed I had to reach out to my PDP contact to ask if it was active noise-cancelling (he stated that it was not but man, it does a fine job of clearing out the hum of my air conditioner and traffic driving by on the ultra-busy road I live on). The issue that I mentioned though, was with the boom microphone. At first I had issues with finding the right location to get it to even pick up my voice and when I did it was constantly cutting out and those I was playing with simply could not hear me. A quick note to PDP's support team though had me plugging the headset into my computer and running a firmware update tool. Once I updated the firmware the audio was clean, precise and had no dropouts. For those looking at picking up the headset this should be your first order of business.

I love the PDP headsets; they are attractive, reproduce audio in a fantastic manner, and have some of the best bass in the business. With the quick fix of updating the firmware (which takes about 5 minutes), the AG7 is by far one of the best headsets that you can find for the Xbox One for less than $100 USD. Its light weight and incredible battery life ensure that you can game all day (or weekend!) long without having to charge it or take the headset off to give your ears a much-needed break. The PDP Afterglow AG7 is THE headset to get this holiday season.

Type	Headset
Publisher(s)	PDP
Platform	Xbox One

Review by Nick