While Trust may be better known for affordable and focused office accessories, their Trust GXT brand has also steadily carved out a niche in affordable and focused gaming accessories. Today’s review unit is definitely affordable at around €35 and it does focus on the job at hand. Trust GXT 323 CARUS is a basic headset that concentrates its cash in the right places.
On the Outside
GXT’s box and such is rudimentary but adequate and tries to offset environmental damage caused by electronics and the plastics they ship in. Trust can boast that just 2% of its packaging is made from non-recyclable plastic. Users may also notice a fairly minimal cardboard content.
The device itself is mostly a muted matte black. The slightly rounded hexagon shape of the cans is emphasised with recessed streaks carved towards and on the angles. A furrow runs through the centre of the cans. This furrow extends in line with the headband, housing a white, printed GXT winged-shield mark.
A small ridge emerges from the furrow as with head across the hinge towards the apex of the band. It’s a pleasant detail that ties the headset’s visual design together. Another detail that harmonises Trust GXT 323 CARUS is the colour scheme – our red model is mostly that matte black, the can-bound logos, small chromed plastic chevrons on the hinges and a striking-but-complementary oversized red headband bumper.
Another nice touch is the flecks of red running through the braided nylon cable. Both the attached cord and the PC splitter cable carry this colour.
Function First
As previously mentioned, Trust GXT 323 CARUS is basic but performs its main duties admirably.
The headset is comfortable. The cans are deep and wide enough to house most ears. The meshed ear pads allow the ears to breathe a little and stay cool. The headband bumper is thick and soft enough to rest easy atop your skull. This headband also has a meshed fabric, offering a pleasing symmetry to the build.
The attached 1.2m cable has a 3.5mm audio/mic combo plug at the end. This allows user to play any system with the common audio port close to the player. PS5, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, laptops, phones and probably a few more will work perfectly with that setup. There is also a 1.2m splitter cable in the box – the extra length and separate mic/audio plugs will serve desktop gamers.
First Function
But most importantly, Trust GXT 323 CARUS provide a strong, versatile audio performance. The set cover the full human aural frequency spectrum, 20-20,000Hz and you will definitely notice.
Music is rich and full with a bass emphasis to its voice. Bass is wide with a bounce to it but it’s also a little punchy. While the set is tuned to be bassy by default, this low-end doesn’t wash out the mids and high. It’s an impressively even sound across genres and styles.
Similarly, that punchy and broad bass is great for film and TV – gunshots, roaring engines and explosions sound superb with such presence. Games that use their audio to enhance their spectacle or add to their storytelling are also well served by GXT 323 CARUS.
Multiplayer games that present a more accurate and nuanced audio for the sake of spatial awareness are probably the weakest suit of the headset but they aren’t bad here either. The soundstage of CARUS is about wide enough and the drivers are just about nimble enough to place objects in 3D space.
For thirty-five quid, you probably won’t find a more rounded and capable sound in a gaming headset.
Basic
The trade-off for such great comfort, versatility and performance at such a price is that the set lacks some mod cons. For this reason, Trust GXT 323 CARUS might seem basic next to other budget sets.
The microphone is on a non-detachable, non-retractable flexible stalk. While it has a pop shield, and the audio is sufficient for comms. and some streaming, it’s always there in front of you and that may bother some people.
The splitter cable isn’t joined by a non-split extension version so you will need your own 3.5mm female-to-male solution should you want to use GXT 323 CARUS at a little distance.
Mute and volume controls are present but are a mixed bag. The volume wheel is at one’s left thumb when reaching to the left can, the mute is at the index finger – both are in a roughly intuitive spot but neither are easy to activate. The volume doesn’t stick out much while the mute clicks in the least natural direction.
Concentrated Performance
Trust GXT 323 CARUS might lack some niceties but it gets the job and then some. The audio performance alone would sell the pair but CARUS adds versatility and long-use comfort to the deal.
Budget audio is a cutthroat market and brands tend to be on the hunt for a standout feature or gimmick to grab the eye and the casual dollar – Trust eschewed this tendency and just delivered the basics but at their best.
Review unit provided by PR
