Our Verdict
A great gaming headset that’s comfortable and offers immersive audio. Just watch out for its rather high price.
- Immersive audio in games
- Active noise cancelling
- Bluetooth and wired connections
- Comfortable fit
- Plastic construction feels cheap
- No RGB may not suit some
- Rather expensive
The AceZone A-Spire is one of the most interesting headsets I’ve tested in recent months. It’s a $319 headset for starters, which puts it up against the best of the best before we even consider any other factors. What’s more, it introduces an interesting selection of features including active noise cancellation, wired and Bluetooth connectivity (but not wireless via a USB dongle), and audio performance that is seemingly perfect for the eSports niche at which it’s aimed.
We’ve seen headsets target competitive players before, but not to the same extent that the A-Spire does. It’s certainly enough on paper to put the AceZone A-Spire on course for a place in our best gaming headset guide, but does it achieve such an accolade? Read on to find out.
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AceZone A-Spire specs
| Connections | USB-C/3.5mm jack (wired)/Bluetooth (wireless) |
| Frequency range | 20Hz – 20,000Hz |
| Sensitivity / sound pressure level | Not disclosed |
| Mic frequency response | Not disclosed |
| Mic sensitivity | Not disclosed Weight: 270g Battery life: Up to 35 hours Extras: Hard case, foldable chassis |
| Weight | 270g |
| Battery life | Up to 35 hours |
| Extras | Hard case, foldable chassis |
AceZone A-Spire features
The big thing with the A-Spire isn’t the way it looks, but more to do with what’s on the inside. It’s an odd mix of clever eSports-grade features and sonic tuning for the best audio possible. It also has handy creature comforts for generalists including Bluetooth connectivity and active noise cancellation.
That last feature is actually where I’ll start. Active Noise Cancellation, or ANC, isn’t new to gaming headsets, but it is a feature usually reserved for expensive options, which of course this headset is. It’s designed to cancel out external noise with microphones so you can focus intently on your game, music, or whatever you happen to be doing. It’s also a huge boon for using a headset as a pair of travel headphones, blocking plane, train, and automobile noise.
It’s a solid effort from the A-Spire as its noise cancellation is excellent – when I was playing Counter-Strike 2, I also had music playing externally, and the ANC did an excellent job in dulling it down in volume by what felt like 90% or so. Unlike a pair of dedicated ANC headphones such as my trusty Bose NC700s, it doesn’t block every ounce of noise out, but the A-Spire’s offering is nonetheless useful.
It connects either via USB-C, Bluetooth, or even via a 3.5mm jack, making it a decently versatile headset. For instance, the 3.5mm connection can be used with consoles while Bluetooth allows for connection to a Nintendo Switch. Plus, of course, the latter is useful for use with a phone or laptop. I had no issues connecting it over wired to my main PC or M1 Pro MacBook Pro, while pairing it over Bluetooth to my Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra was easy enough, too. The lack of a USB dongle-based wireless connection at this price is surprising, though.
Intriguingly, the A-Spire actually requires being connected to a phone to access the AceZone app where you can change EQ settings, and enable the ANC mode. This seemed a bit odd at first simply because other headsets offer a PC-based software suite as opposed to an app, but the A-Spire offers an app-based solution purely because of its use by competitive players.
The PCs at pro tournaments are often locked down and players will not be able to load in custom settings or presets on any of their peripherals, so moving to an app-based solution provides the flexibility of customization while also complying with tournament rules.
As for accessories, the A-Spire comes with a marvelous hard case that houses both the headset itself and its associated cables. It definitely helps position the A-Spire as a headset you can take on the go with you. The buttons present on the underside of its plastic chassis are spread nicely across the earcups, and it’s nice to see actual tactile buttons for volume and pairing.
AceZone A-Spire design and comfort
As opposed to offering an extravagant and overly ‘gamey’ design, the A-Spire opts for a more refined look to it. Its chassis is comprised entirely of plastic and is all black except for small silver accents on the headset’s yokes. It would have been nice to see some more design flourishes and nicer materials than the rather plain plastic of the A-Spire, particularly given its price tag. We’re all for function over form where needed but even the likes of the ultra-functional EPOS H6Pro maintain a touch of design flair. Nonetheless, it’s a perfectly smart-looking headset with a slim profile.
It’s also reasonably lightweight at 270g, helping to make it feel comfortable to wear for extended periods. The padding on the earcups is plush and reasonably deep, but the headband isn’t as supportive as other headsets at this price. Media controls are easily accessible, and having tactile buttons is a welcome touch.
What’s more, the A-Spire also features a boom microphone which can be handily rotated upwards and out of the way on the left earcup. Unlike other flip-to-mute options on other headsets, the A-Spire’s microphone needs to be fully turned and clipped into the holder on the left side of the headband to be muted. It’s slightly less fluid than some flip-to-mute competitors but it also leaves you in no doubt whether the headset is muted or not.
AceZone A-Spire sound quality
Of course, the most important thing here is how the A-Spire sounds, and I’m pleased to report that the headphones largely live up to their promise of offering game-changing audio. The idea behind it is that the A-Spire has been designed and engineered with a wider ‘radius’ of audio than competing headsets, such that in games such as Counter-Strike 2 you can hear where enemies are ‘earlier’, giving you a decisive advantage by which to get a kill, as opposed to being killed.
What this largely seems to amount to is a slight mid-range boost in the frequency range so you can hear enemy footsteps and chatter more easily, while also providing a fantastic sense of directionality and placement. In that way, it’s similar to the Superhuman Hearing modes of several Turtle Beach headsets, such as the Stealth Pro, and several other gaming headsets have similar ‘game mode’ type EQ settings.
Nonetheless, the A-Spire worked a treat in my test runs of Counter-Strike 2, with the combination of the detailed and expansive audio and the ANC allowing me to focus on the game at hand. I didn’t necessarily get any better at Counter-Strike 2 with the A-Spire, but it certainly made it easier to hear where enemies were.
The crispness and general detail of the A-Spire also meant it performed reasonably well in a variety of songs I tested with, although it lacks the thumping low end I’ve come to expect from gaming headsets. The percussion on Steely Dan’s Do It Again didn’t carry its signature sparkle while the rumbling guitar intro of Dire Straits’ Money For Nothing lacked a degree of power.
Don’t get me wrong, they are still an enjoyable listen with an excellent soundstage for a closed-back headset, but clearly this headset is designed more for gaming than for music. It’s best to think of the A-Spire as a ‘reference headset’ in the sense of it offering a flat profile. The addition of EQ presets for ‘balanced’, ‘immersive’, and ‘impactful’ audio did little to change the overall feel, and the default proved to be completely fine.
AceZone A-Spire microphone sound quality
As much as its gaming audio may be impressive, the microphone isn’t as outstanding. It’s still perfectly serviceable for in-game comms and offers a good sense of body and definition to your voice. On the other hand, its isolation and cancellation are excellent, and it blocked out the noise of some music I had playing in the background along with my deliberately loud buckling spring keyboard.
You do have to be especially careful where you place the A-Spire’s microphone to get the best performance out of it, though. When it’s in the right position, the end of the microphone lights up green to let you know it’s parallel to your mouth, which is handy.
AceZone A-Spire battery life
AceZone claims a total runtime of 35 hours over Bluetooth when using the A-Spire wirelessly, and it largely lived up to these claims. Using it over a working week did require a single charge towards the end of the Thursday, but that was all that was required to last the full five days.
That endurance sits reasonably well against the competition, though there are certainly some models that comfortably outlast it. It beats the likes of Sony’s Inzone H9 and Corsair’s HS80 Max Wireless (with RGB on) but the Razer BlackSHark V2 Pro (2023) can last 70 hours on Bluetooth, for instance. As for comparison to other conventional noise-cancelling headphones within a similar price range, such as my trusty Bose NC 700 and Sony’s WH-1000XM4s, it’s also in a similar ballpark.
AceZone A-Spire software
From a software perspective, AceZone has opted for a basic mobile app that allows you to change EQ settings to your liking, as well as offer convenient game-based presets. You can also enable the headset’s noise-canceling and transparency mode if you want to hear what’s going on around you.
The app is easy to use, and while not offering as full a feature set as options from the likes of Razer and Corsair, it’s nice to have something so simple and easy to use. AceZone also offers a separate app for updating the firmware of the A-Spire, which is a must before getting the dedicated app for changing settings. This is a little fiddly to get to work, considering the firmware app isn’t advertised anywhere, but a long look on the Google Play Store did eventually lead to me finding it, and to the app playing nicely on my phone. Teething problems aside, it’s a decent, if simplistic application.
AceZone A-Spire price
The A-Spire is priced at $319 (£299) at the time of review, making it undoubtedly an expensive headset. However, it ticks the right boxes for it to remain a competitive option in its target market. The likes of the Razer BlackShark V2 Pro (2023) do offer a similar feature set for around $200 but it does lack the simultaneous Bluetooth and PC audio. Meanwhile, the Turtle Beach Stealth Pro and SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro which offer similar features, demanded similar prices.
Should you buy the AceZone A-Spire?
The AceZone A-Spire is one of the most unique gaming headsets out there with a clear target market. It offers some of the best directional audio I’ve experienced in a headset, and has clear benefits for competitive players with the inclusion of active noise cancellation and a comfortable fit. The mobile app-based control is particularly useful for tournament-based setting tweaks.
Where it falls against the competition is its lack of design flair and extra features including console compatibility and USB dongle wireless. For more of an all-around choice, options including the EPOS H3 Pro Hybrid, Razer BlackShark V2 Pro (2023), Turtle Beach Stealth Pro, and SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro are worth a look.