Alienware Pro Wireless review – a surprise package in the best way

If you had told me at the beginning of 2024 that one of my favorite PC peripherals would come from the Alienware brand, I may have actually laughed out loud. That’s not to say that the quality of Alienware’s peripherals isn’t up to scratch, but it never felt like a leading brand in the space. This all changes with the Alienware Pro Wireless gaming headset.

In what has become one of the best gaming headsets in recent memory, the Alienware Pro Wireless gaming headset is the most finely balanced product I’ve tested since the Astro A50 X. Granted, the Alienware Pro doesn’t have the same cross-platform capabilities, but what it does have is incredible sound quality, first-rate active noise cancellations, and a design that doesn’t limit it to just being a gaming headset.

Specs

Features

The Alienware Pro Wireless gaming headset is compatible with PC, PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and mobile devices. It connects wirelessly via Bluetooth 5.3 and a 2.4GHz USB-C adaptor (USB C-to-USB-A converter included in the box), or you can plug it in over USB.

It comes with hybrid active noise cancellation, adjustable mic monitoring, AI noise cancellation for the microphone, and fast charging for the built-in battery. The Alienware Pro Wireless also features Dolby Atmos.

Design

I cannot fault the comfort of the Alienware Pro, its leatherette earcups feel fantastic over the ear and its fit is tight, but not so much that you feel trapped while wearing it. At 315g, it’s not exactly lightweight, but I didn’t notice it any more than headsets like the Razer Blackshark V2 Hyerspeed despite the weight difference. This is a testament to how the weight is distributed evenly across the head and ears.

Visually, the clean designs of both the Lunar Light and Dark Side of the Moon models – that’s white and black to most folk – are a big plus. So much so that when the microphone is removed, the Alienware Pro is a perfectly serviceable general-use headset that wouldn’t look out of place if you wore it out of the house. In fact, I even ran a half marathon with it on because I don’t particularly get on with in-ear alternatives. During the entire 13.1 mile race, not once did the headset shift out of place, cause any awkward sweating/overheating from the closed-back design, and the weight was perfect, not feeling like it was so light it could fly off, but not so heavy that it caused discomfort.

There’s no needless and battery-draining RGB on the earcups, with instead just a simple Alienware logo on each side that blends in quite nicely and can only really be identified when really focussing on the design. Dell kept it simple with the Pro Wireless design, and it pays off.

My only issue with the design of the headset comes with the positioning of the controls on the earcups. Both the power and connection type controls are sliding switches, and they’re positioned right next to each other, which leads to a lot of mishaps. I’ve accidentally turned the headset off when meaning to switch between connection modes more times than I can count.

Performance

The Alienware Pro uses 50mm graphene drivers, something that is very common in premium gaming headsets. These drivers allow for a wider than usual 20Hz-40kHz frequency range (many headsets top out at 20kHz) which leads to great audio across the spectrum from bassy lows to pitchy highs. Dell claims the Alienware Pro was designed in partnership with pro gamers to ensure that the bass, mids, and highs were all tuned to be optimized for competitive gaming.

One oddity with this headset is that by default it’s really loud. The good thing is that control over this volume is still perfectly fine at lower levels, but starts to scale quite dramatically once you reach 80+ in Windows. Just be careful when connecting the Alienware Pro to ensure that you aren’t accidentally connecting at a much higher volume than you expect, to save from any jump scares when any audio starts.

If you listen to audio at a reasonable volume, there is next to no bleeding from the earcups, which is great if you are using them out and about or just want to keep things quiet when at home.

The active noise cancellation (ANC) comes with three settings; On, Off, and Transparency mode. ANC is ideal for blocking out external noise and utilizes microphones both inside and outside the earcups to cancel out the external din. When turned off, the headset feels more like a traditional closed-back headset, where external noise is muted but not completely blocked. As for transparency mode, this allows for noise to flow freely into the earcups so you can easily maintain a conversation and be generally present and available despite wearing the headset.

The unidirectional microphone is great at picking up my voice while also using AI noise cancellation to ensure that background noise isn’t making its way through to my teammates, be it keyboard clicks or a TV in the background. I never found the microphone to be awkward to remove when not needed, and there is an LED indicator on the mouthpiece to show when you’re muted.

The only letdown for the Alienware Pro is the command center software. It’s incredibly basic and only really serves as a way to activate Dolby Atmos and switch between pre-defined sound profiles. The interface isn’t all that friendly and when compared to superior software like Logitech’s G Hub or Corsair’s iCUE, it shows that there is a long way to go for Alienware to catch up in this regard.

Battery Life

The Alienware Pro Wireless gaming headset battery life clocks in at 75 hours when using Bluetooth with ANC turned off. Surprisingly, if used via 2.4GHz in the same conditions, this battery life only drops to 70 hours, a much closer figure than is sometimes the case.

With ANC on, you can expect half the battery life, so around 35 hours in 2.4GHz and up to 40 hours in Bluetooth. The headset also has a quick charge feature meaning you can get up to eight hours of battery life from just a 15-minute charge.

Comparatively speaking this is quite high, although some headsets, like the Astro A50 X, benefit from a docking station to keep you topped up despite having a much lower expected battery life. With the Alienware Pro, using it while charging would be awkward given the cable positioning which is right behind the microphone. If both are plugged in, it can be hard to position the charging cable to run down the front of my shoulder, thus leaving me with the charging cable trailed behind me where it’s prone to being tugged on whenever I reposition myself. So, if you do find yourself draining it completely, you’re going to need to wait for 15 minutes while it quickly charges.

Price

The Alienware Pro Wireless gaming headset has an MSRP of $229.99 (£221.99), which leaves it in slightly awkward territory as being more expensive than manyt mid-range options, but well below other premium cans with more features, such as the Astro A50X, Steelseries Nova Pro Wireless, and Corsair Virtuoso Max.

However, the small amount extra over other mid-range options is justified by the premium build, comfort, and sound quality, while those more feature-rich options are quite a lot more expensive again.

Alternatives

Astro A50 X – For multi-platform players

If you want to game on a PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, and perhaps even your mobile or a gaming handheld, then the Astro A50 X has a much wider range of compatible platforms compared to the Alienware Pro while matching the audio output and microphone quality.

Razer Blackshark V2 Hyperspeed – a cheap yet quality alternative

If you’re not bothered about ANC, removable microphones, and pro-tuned audio, then the Razer Blackshark V2 Hyperspeed is a fair alternative given that it’s almost half the price, yet still uses similar 50mm graphene drivers and a super wideband microphone for clear audio both ways.

Verdict

The Alienware Pro Wireless gaming headset is a triumph and signals that Dell’s gaming brand is getting serious about its offering outside of PCs and laptops. From the incredibly comfortable design to the uncompromising sound quality, the Alienware Pro is an all-rounder that shines in any situation. The asking price may be high, but in the case of the Alienware Pro, I believe it’s worth it, especially given that the build quality should see it last for years to come.