E3 2016: LucidSound wows my ears and my wallet with their suite of gaming headsets

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LucidSound is a headset manufacturer for us discerning adults.

In the last year, I’ve had the opportunity to play around with a lot of gaming headsets. It seems like in this day and age, your headset truly isn’t a “gaming” headset until it has 1.5 pounds of useless plastic and some funky neon lights on it. Sadly, these aren’t the types of devices you really want to bring out and public, unless you want people to assume you are totally into trying to look like a goon. LucidSound fixes a lot of this surprisingly right out of the game.

At E3, I had the opportunity to take the LucidSound lineup out for a spin. The portable-sized LS20 earphones, the standard LS30 and Cadillac of gaming headsets, the LS40. Currently, only the LS30 is on the market, so I spent the majority of my time with them. Easily and right out of the gate, I’d have to say this is one of the most elegant and aesthetically pleasing headphones I’ve ever put over my ear-holes. Let’s explain why.

PR legend, Alex Verrey showed me all the nifty bells and whistles that Lucidsound will include in their earphones. These features included volume controls on the outside wheel of the ear cup or the dual microphone options. What really wowed me, though, were 2 things that this headphone got right. Look and sound.

The headsets are legit double threats.

The Lucidsound LS30 looks to have borrowed some inspiration from the current fads in phones. Looking a lot like Beats headphones, the LS30 puts precedence on looking like something an adult would wear. The gold, silver and black headphones also seem to follow the current electronics fad as well, as these seem to be the go to colors for all new phones. These headphones aren’t just for a gaming use, they are a wardrobe accessory as well.

The sound was impressive too. When I briefly was able to listen to some music with the LS30’s passive setup, I was amazed at how deep the bass was and how clear it sounded in comparison to the headphones I had used on the plane. When I played Star Wars: Battlefront, I was almost nervous at how incredible the speeder sounded as I raced through Endor. I can’t wait to take them completely through their paces to see how they stack up to similar-priced options, like the HyperX CloudX.

The LS20 and LS40 models have also adopted this classy style but carry some major differences from the flagship model. The LS20 is smaller and a much more portable option, but offers the same stereo performance as the LS30. The LS40 is a full sized headphone set with DTS for 5.1 and 7.1 content. Expect the LS20 to debut at $99, the LS30 at $149, and the LS40 at $199. All of which are crazy good prices for what you get.

Adult gamers, we don’t have to feel like we are putting Fisher Price toys on our heads anymore, because LucidSound is bringing sexy back to gaming headsets.

Josh Knowles

Longtime games journalist and Florida resident. I'm a Guinness World Record holder, wordsmith extraordinaire, MOBA fan, devoted dad and husband. I'm here to spread the gospel of video games.