After being tested for quite some time by pro gamers during its beta phase, the Victrix PRO AF headset released officially in June and we spent quite a bit of time trying it ourselves ever since. It's a premium headset that aims to be a market leader in quality and innovation for the tournament scene.

Where Razer embraces a green and black aesthetic with green detailing and lighting, Victrix is all about the purple and black combo for their products and it works nicely. The Pro AF is their first release and is being followed up by the Victrix Pro FS fight stick controller which releases this November which also embraces their signature color scheme.

Related: Another Great Headset Revealed by Plantronics

At a glance, the Victrix PRO AF looks notably different than what you'd see from other premium headset manufacturers Astro, Turtle Beach, HyperX, SteelSeries, etc.. Looking at it closely, the PRO AF looks bulky but sleek, soft on the inside, shiny and futuristic looking on the outside (but not smudge proof!). And it is.

The Victrix PRO AF Is Amazingly Comfortable

The headset itself is one of the few premium headsets that lives up to its marketing pitch in that it actually can be worn for hours and hours of extended play or streaming without hurting one's ears. It's super comfortable. The same cannot be said the Victrix PRO AF's super bulky wire with a built-in controller though. This purple cord is heavy, thick, and seems to always get in the way so careful planning on the setup is required. Thankfully, the cord is long but you definitely need to find the sweet spot in where to position the wire and controller.

This is necessary however for the PRO AF's design due to the built-in controller that features a screen and lets players adjust master volume, mic boost, and volume of your own voice, alongside an option to control the headset's lighting. The lighting is a gimmick so we usually leave it off but the audio controls are welcome and appreciated. The hangup here is that the controller requires double-A batteries and when turned on, the Victrix PRO AF eats through them fast. There's a warning in the manual to turn the headset 'off' after use, otherwise, you'll need to quickly replace the batteries.

A notable feature here as well is the two modes available for the headset via the controller. One is designed to be well-balanced, focusing on what's around you in-game, the other caters towards fast-movement in games and being able to hear the overall environment and action.

The Victrix PRO AF Headset Embraces Several Innovations

Alongside the controller, the Victrix PRO AF features several neat features to go along with its quality sound. There's active noise cancellation which couples well with its comfort and light weight. But the ear cups also feature cooling mechanism which can be activated with a flip of a lever on the side. Doing so relieves heat build-up but doesn't really interfere with the sound quality. It's thoughtful add-on for lengthy play sessions for serious gamers and something we expect will be built upon in future iterations and designs from competitors.

For interested players, the Pro AF ANC edition is a limited run of 4000 for the same $299.99 price tag and comes with the travel case that's otherwise sold separately for $40. As a premium headset and as the first offering from Victrix, buyers get access to a 24/7 VIP tech support line to help setup or answer questions/address issues. So far, we've not had any outside of replacing the batteries a few times and trying to find the right setup for the mic. Without a sound card, the mic we found to be quiet in our setup but there is a mic gain option on the controller as mentioned.

The Victrix PRO AF embraces innovation and quality and is a strong first step and product releases for Victrix, placing them on the gaming tech map as a company to watch out for, especially in the esports and we suspect, eventually the influencer and streaming scene too.

More: The Best and Coolest Gaming Gear From Last Year

The Victrix PRO AF is currently available for $299.99.

More: Victrix