AceZone A-Spire Review
A comfortable gaming headset for FPS fans
Verdict
The AceZone A-Spire is full of features that can be tweaked to match your activities, whether that’s streaming or gaming. The crisp microphone quality and impressive sound cancellation make it a competitive choice amongst other headsets on the market, especially considering the solid range of connectivity options and big battery life.
Pros
- Lots of connectivity options
- Clear and crisp microphone on calls
- Comfortable fit
- Versatile and luxurious sound
Cons
- High price point
- Dated design
Key Features
- Impressive sound cancellationThe mixture of passive and active sound cancellation wipes out background noise
- Diverse options for connectivity The USB, Aux, and Bluetooth connectivity allow you to interface with a variety of devices
- Lightweight but sturdy designComing in at 270g, the A-Spire is light and comfortable for prolonged gaming sessions
Introduction
You may not have heard of the AceZone brand before, but it has been making a splash at live esports events with its professional-grade competition headsets. With esports at the front of the brand’s mission statement, their entry-level A-Spire headset uses much of the company’s impressive propriety technology, hiding plenty of hearty hardware under the hood.
There are two AceZone headsets available for consumers on the market, and I’ve been putting the first-tier A-Spire through its paces over the past few weeks to see whether it could join our list of the best gaming headsets you can nab this year. Coming in at £299/$319, it’s on the higher end of the spectrum for casual users, though there’s a lot to consider if you’re a fan of competitive games, specifically FPS shooters. Check out the full review below.
Design and Features
- Comfortable but dated design
- Manoeuvrable and clear microphone
- Convenient companion app for a tailored experience
Despite its impressive specs, the AceZone A-Spire boasts a muted design that wouldn’t look out of place at a LAN party in the early 2000s. Other headsets on the market, like the Corsair HS80 Max Wireless or the Razer BlackShark V2 Pro 2023, have a sleek, modern look by comparison. These stick out among the pack and won’t be winning any fashion awards.
Even so, what it doesn’t have in good looks, it makes up for in comfort. The streamlined design is only 270 grams, with much of its body made from a black and silver semi-matte plastic material. It doesn’t look as luxe as you’d want for the price tag, but the materials feel sturdy and well-constructed.
Smooth leather material covers the ear cups and the top portion of the headband is well cushioned, providing comfort during prolonged use. The headband is flexible and doesn’t clamp too tight on your head, either. It also features some easy-to-slide extenders, which work in tandem with the soft cups to create a solid seal that aids with the A-Spire’s defining noise-cancellation features.
Over multiple eight-hour work days at my PC, I didn’t experience any overheating or fatigue thanks to the customisable fit and plush cushioning. You’ll also find practical controls on the cups, including a volume rocker, power button, play/pause button and equaliser control.
The A-Spire’s microphone can be flipped up and down when you want to use it, with a clip to secure it to the headband when it’s not needed. Much like the rest of the construction, the hinge is solid so that you can position the mic appropriately. The arm of the microphone is pleasantly posable and features a helpful green symbol towards the tip to help users get the best alignment possible for audio capture. It’s a simple and effective system that guaranteed I was getting the most from the mic.
The A-Spire comes in luxurious packaging with the primary headset and additional accessories stored in a zipper hard case that’s functional for travel. Accompanying the A-Spire, you’ll find a 3.5 Aux cable, a USB A to USB C charging cable, and an extra foam cover for the microphone. Everything you need to plug and play is included, and I had no issues switching quickly between my PC, MacBook Air and iPhone using the cable and Bluetooth connections.
In wireless mode, you’ll get 35 hours of playback from the A-Spire. A decent offering that matches other gaming headsets on the market, so you’ll be able to make it through a day comfortably without needing to plug in. However, more often than not, I opted to have it connected for a more foolproof connection while gaming.
You can connect the A-Spire to the official AceZone companion app using Bluetooth, and it works with both Android and Apple-based phones. It’s the brain of the headset, giving users access to tweak the headset’s experiential options, like shifting the EQ between gaming and music to suit your use case.
You’ll also be able to toggle between noise cancellation and transparency modes in the app, allowing you to decide how much external noise you’d like to let through while listening or gaming. It’s an extremely straightforward app, and any changes you make affect the headset almost immediately.
Audio and Microphone
- Great audio performance across all kinds of content
- Convenient flip-to-mute Microphone
- FPS-specific audio settings
AceZone headsets are designed with gaming in mind. However, I was happy to find that no matter what I was doing, the sound quality was detailed and crisp – with the 40mm drivers delivering impressive clarity.
When streaming music via Spotify, I heard my favourite songs in a new light, catching things I hadn’t heard before, thanks to the noise-cancelling. From the low humming bass of The 1975’s Birthday Party to the intense bouncy beats of Immaterial by SOPHIE, each song kept a unique profile. Where some headsets can create a uniform sound experience, the A-Spire allowed each track to shine. The accompanying app allows you to tweak this experience further to curate more bespoke listening scenarios.
The most compelling feature of the A-Spire is the clever mix of active and passive noise cancellation, which, when paired with the snug fit, wipes out most external chatter. Even with the volume set reasonably low, I could barely hear my own mechanical keyboard, let alone the colleague I share an office with. AceZone has also implemented specific presets for FPS games like Counter-Strike 2 and Apex Legends, so if you’re a Dust II veteran and want to hear the enemy team rushing B, you’re in luck.
Specific settings you can tweak using the AceZone app feed the game’s audio through the company’s own algorithm to lessen the sound of explosives in-game, elevating footsteps to give you an edge in combat. With a focus on footsteps, you’ll have an easier time catching the direction of an advancing enemy. It’s a niche feature made for FPS players who want a competitive leg-up. You’re going to want to establish a wired connection for the best experience, though it works fine on Bluetooth if you’re keen to take calls and watch content without the hassle of a wire.
The A-Spire’s microphone is based on AceZone’s A-Live headset and features a handy flip-to-mute function so you can drop in and out of conversation easily. External microphones are dotted over the frame of the earcups and mic arm to collect surrounding ambient noise and isolate your voice so your teammates hear you loud and clear. Outside of gaming, I found this useful for keeping up in group meetings, as well as recording amateur audio for voiceover.
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Should you buy it?
You want a comfortable headset that can give you an edge in FPS games.
The A-Spire is a gaming-first headset with custom presets for Counter-Strike 2 and Apex Legends. It also features an impressive microphone that comfortably covers plenty of tasks, including talking on Discord and recording video content. It’s also flexible, light and easy to use, making it a great companion for home offices and PC gaming.
You want a device you can take on the road.
The permanent microphone attachment and dated design make it an odd choice for taking on the go. Even with the great quality audio, it primarily benefits static desk-based set-ups that can make the most of the headset with a wired connection.
Final Thoughts
The AceZone A-Spire might not be as picture-perfect as some of the products on our best headsets list like the Corsair HS80 Max Wireless or the Razer BlackShark V2 Pro 2023, but its impressive range of features and valuable noise-cancellation technology make it a competitive choice in the market. With 35 hours of wireless battery life and comfortable plush cushioning, the A-Spire is not just convenient for gaming but for office work and content creation, too.
Listening to music is a treat, with songs retaining their individuality across genres, and the additional FPS settings for games like Apex Legends are the icing on the cake. If you’re looking to invest in a headset that can do it all, the A-Spire should be a notable consideration.
How we test
We use every headset we test for at least a week. During that time, we’ll check it for ease of use and put it through its paces by using it in a variety of games, as well as playing music in order to get the full experience.
We also check each headset’s software (if applicable) to see how easy it is to customise and set up.
We use as our primary gaming headset for at least a week.
Use on as many platforms as possible to test versatility.
Judge audio for both gaming and music playback.
Use with multiple games to test audio.
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FAQs
Yes, the A-Spire offers what AceZone calls “Three-layer digital noise cancelling”.
Full specs
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
