Trust GXT 498 Forta Review
An excellent budget gaming headset for PS5
Verdict
The Trust GXT 498 Forta is one of the best headsets the brand has ever released. It has a simple and stylish look alongside a comfortable fit and weight. You’ll find a great sound and it’s made from recyclable material too. If you’re looking for spatial sound or other such features you won’t find it here. You also won’t find more typical features like noise cancellation, and it’s only wired, not wireless.
Pros
- Sustainable build
- Affordable
- Detachable mic
- Crisp sound
Cons
- No software
- Lacking a little on features
Key Features
- Crisp and clear audioFrom its audio, you’d think the Forta was a more expensive headset.
- Detachable micBecause the mic is detachable, the Forta can be used while out without damaging your reputation.
- SustainableThe Forta is made from recycled materials, so you can be rest assured it’s environmentally friendly.
Introduction
Trust Gaming’s GXT 498 Forta is a wired gaming headset, officially licensed for the PS5, which means in addition to Trust’s GX Trust logo, it bears the PlayStation one as well. It costs only £39.99 so hopefully doesn’t skimp on aesthetics and, most importantly, sound quality.
I’ll tell you from my years of peripheral-designing experience, that when you’re making a peripheral for the PlayStation 5, you have to try your absolute hardest. You can’t put out some sloppily-designed tat when the makers of your target console are Sony, engineers par excellence, and your headset is to be plugged into the PS5 controller, an astonishing device in its own right.
So, did Trust make a more-than-decent companion to the PS5? I tested it out to see if you might want to look elsewhere for something better.
Design and features
- Breathable and comfortable design
- Simple, but stylish look
- Eco-friendly
The Trust GXT 498 Forta comes in two colours, black and white. I’m reviewing the black version, which looks so good. It’s not a usual design – a black headset? It’s not exactly a rare Pokémon. But it just looks great, understated and stylish.
It’s an over-ear headset; it’s black and mostly matte, with shiny black accents that add a little oomph. The earcups and yokes have a matte black finish; the middle rim of the earcup is shiny. The PlayStation logo is in silver in the middle of the ear cup.
The earpads are a soft leatherette material, with a mesh textured insert on the cushion, and a nylon covering on the speaker. The headband is a soft faux leather, cushioned with a firm lining covered by a mesh material textured similarly to the inner earpad. The GX Trust is embossed in glossy black lettering on top of it.
The left earcup is where the volume control, microphone mute switch and the port for the 3.5 mm jack wire are. The included wire is at 1.5 m not all that long, considering it’s to be used with a console presumably some distance from you. For the headset’s target console, the PS5, 1.5 mm is totally fine because the PS5 controller has a jack in it, but still, 1.5 m makes the headset useable in fewer situations – out of the box, that is; you can use another wire, since it’s detachable.
There’s no lighting on the GXT 498 Forta, not even LED indicators. I do love lighting on peripherals, maybe more than is healthy, but I like the look of the Forta too much anyway; I don’t find myself longing for it. There’s no software either. It could be useful for some, but I didn’t feel I needed to do very much other than plug and play.
At least 85% of the aforementioned is made out of recycled materials. Trust is doing more and more to create eco-friendly peripherals that look just as good as products that are not, like their lightweight and affordable GXT 391 Thian.
Audio and microphone
- Great sound
- Multiplatform
- Decent omnidirectional mic
The GXT 498 Forta comes with 50 mm audio drivers, a generous offering for a mid-range headset; some more expensive headsets don’t feature this.
I dived into Ratchet and Clank: A Rift Apart to give the 498 Forta’s sound a throughout in-game test. A Rift Apart is a 3D game with a very full, busy world; it has sounds coming from almost every angle: blasts, voices, music, and general environmental sounds.
The Trust GXT 498 Forta doesn’t do 3D sound, just stereo, but even with that I felt cocooned in the game. I could hear environmental sounds from all around. It was the clarity that impressed me: you almost wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the mid-range Forta and a high-end headset. Although, this can be relative as the state of your eardrums matters a lot. There was no distortion at high volumes; at low volumes it was clear, and there was no rattling.
I played some on Spotify that tested audio quality markers like bass, midrange, low-end clarity and treble. One of these was Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit, a great track for checking for distortion and low-end clarity; another was Thundercat’s Uh huh for its bass and various sounds that move up and down in full jazzy glory. Even Fleetwood Mac’s gorgeous bass on The Chain and its crescendoing finish at the highest volume didn’t induce distortion, and it almost felt like I was right beside the drums.
This crisp gorgeous sound is owed to the Forta’s 50 mm drivers, and its 20-20,000 kHz frequency exceeds “decent” for the Forta’s price range.
The omnidirectional mic is pretty good. It’s nothing to write home about now, but I was told I sounded clear by my duo buddy. They said they couldn’t hear my background too much, though they did a bit when it was loud. Not so much it was unbearable, though.
I didn’t feel like the FBI had wiretapped me like I did while reviewing another Trust headset, the GXT 415P Zirox, as Trust have included echo cancellation into the mic. The mic gets a plus simply because it’s detachable and has a pop filter.
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Should you buy it?
You want an affordable, stylish headset with great sound.
The Forta’s sound is top-notch for its low price and offers a surprising amount of comfort and build quality.
You’re looking for more features from your headset.
The Forta is a great value headset, but you’ll need to pay more if you’re looking for features like noise cancellation.
Final Thoughts
Trust has done a great job with the GXT 498 Forta. It has gorgeous sound and a decent omnidirectional mic along with a stylish look. It’s designed in such a way that you can use it as headphones outside without looking silly, especially because it has a detachable mic. It’s comfortable to wear and is made of 85% recycled material.
This headset is a strong rival to our current favourite budget headset, the HyperX Cloud Stinger 2, even coming in a little cheaper than the already-low-cost peripheral. We rate the sound similarly but the Trust does offer a pleasing boost in style, build quality and sustainability chops. But, we did prefer the comfort and overall sound of the HyperX. Like the Cloud Stinger 2, the 498 Forta lacks features like noise cancelling (though there is echo cancelling).
The most important things to me about this headset, especially since it’s intended for the PS5, are its sound quality and how comfortable it is to wear. When I sit down with my PS5, it’s for several hours at a time, and I want to feel immersed in it. Trusted Reviews has tested a bunch more headsets so do check out our best PS5 headsets and best gaming headsets guides.
How we test
Every headset we test is used for at least a week. Various things are tested: Ease of use, is it suitable for everyday use, gaming or work. which platforms it works best with, what connectivity options it has, e.g. Bluetooth, wireless, and any software it comes with. If applicable, we also test battery life.
We also evaluate its audio playback quality with music and games.
Used as a main headset for over two weeks
Used with various gaming platforms
Evaluated quality of audio playback on various games and music
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FAQs
Only in the sense that it’s a microphone. You wouldn’t use the Forta’s mic to record proper audio.
No. It works with almost anything with a 3.5 mm jack – the PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC, laptop, and most phones.
Yes, the 498 Forta protects your reputation by looking like a pair of ordinary headphones, not a headset, when the mic isn’t attached. Though the PlayStation logo on the ear gives it away.
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.
