When you take the PDP LVL50 wireless headset out of the box, it’s immediately clear that PDP was able to keep the price down by using plastic. Just about everything you can touch on the headset, except the padding and microphone pop filter, is plastic. This plastic doesn’t exactly inspire confidence either, as it creaks a bit where the plastic parts are connected when stretched and twisted. Apart from the structural integrity, the design impresses with its simple elegance. The headset is made of gray plastic on the earcups and the ear cups, which also serve as sliders for size adjustment. The headband is matte black with a shiny groove in the center. The crown area is padded and the thick ear cushions are covered with a breathable nylon fabric. The sliders have decent travel, and the headband is flexible and accommodates larger heads. Inside the sliders is a nifty little accent, as the audio cable is coiled and visible through a slot in the slider. The ear cups swivel at the temples so they fit snugly around the ears. While the earcups are large and accommodate 50mm drivers, whereas many budget headsets use 40mm drivers, the plastic design helps the headset weigh only 0.7 pounds, so it never felt heavy on my head or irritated the top of my head, which is usually the main point of discomfort with cheaper headsets. The right earcup has a large volume control that is easy to use. The left earcup has a micro USB charging port, a power button, an audio mode toggle, and a flip-up microphone. The PDP LVL50 wireless headset connects to Xbox One and PS4 consoles and PCs with a small USB dongle. There are no other connection options unless you opt for the wired version. However, the 2.4 GHz signal is very reliable. The audio signal always came through, although it occasionally crackled and popped, which was not loud. The LVL50 Wireless boasts a 40-foot wireless range, but it didn’t seem to communicate as easily through walls as the SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless, which also has a 40-foot wireless range but a much larger base station instead of a USB dongle.
