The Maestro 500 Wireless Gaming Headset is MSI’s latest budget-conscious headset. These ANC-equipped gaming headphones boast impressive surround-sound audio, a 6-mic system designed for clear voice capture, and up to 90 hours of battery life. With an impressive list of features and a budget-friendly price point, one wonders if it’s all too good to be true. Let’s dive in and find out.
Out of the box, I appreciate a lot about the Maestro 500 Wireless design. It’s smart, exceptionally well implemented, and offers many of the conveniences I usually see in much higher-priced gaming headsets. The earcups connect to the headband via a hinge system that allows for a collapsible design.
While the outer plastic casing of the hinges was a bit of a concern at first glance, closer examination reveals metal brackets reinforcing the hinges. The result is a sturdy system that makes packing easy. This is made even easier thanks to the included felt travel bag.
“Overall, I’m impressed with the comfort and design of the Maestro 500 Wireless Gaming Headset.”
To complement this pack-and-go design, the 2.4GHz wireless dongle sits in a small compartment along the top edge of the right earcup, allowing it to sit flush when not in use. With 2.4GHz wireless, Bluetooth 5.4, and 3.5mm wired connectivity, the Masetro 500s can easily serve as an everyday carry for music at work.
This sleek design is further enhanced by the inline, flip-up microphone housed in the left earcup. When not in use, much like the wireless dongle, the mic disappears into the design, making the Maestros look like any other Bluetooth headphones. A single multi-function button sits at the very top of the left earcup. While fairly discreet, it still sticks out a bit compared to the otherwise sleek design. Still, it packs most of the Maestro’s functionality into a single button, from media control to Bluetooth pairing.
The only other button is the ANC switch, which cycles between ANC, transparency, and ANC off modes. The ANC is quite impressive for a sub-$70 headset, providing solid noise cancellation even in louder spaces. In testing, it had no trouble pushing out unwanted background noise, and in my office, fan noise and environmental sound washed away when ANC was engaged. Transparency mode is just as effective at highlighting sounds in the environment that you should be aware of.
While the initial pressure of wearing the Maestro 500 was a bit more aggressive than I like, I’ve found over the past couple of weeks of testing that it has relaxed slightly, creating a secure but comfortable overall fit. The breathable earcup foam provides plenty of plush wear and gives way to the arms, making it comfortable for those who wear glasses while gaming. Overall, I’m impressed with the comfort and design of the Maestro 500 Wireless Gaming Headset.
A pair of 40mm drivers drives the audio experience, extending the frequency range up to 40KHz. Frequency testing didn’t reveal any trouble spots and instead delivered a clean overall audio profile. The low end is tight and fairly punchy, especially when using Nahimic for headset applications on PC, while the mids and highs perform well, delivering precise, clear sound.
While everyday music listening is great, especially for a sub-$70 pair of headphones, the immersive gaming audio experience really blows me away with the Maestro 500 Wireless. Directional surround sound adds impressive immersion and delivers punchy, clear audio. Audio cues such as footsteps and gunfire are directionally accurate and sound great. MSI has created a solid gaming audio experience in their budget-friendly gaming headset.
“For $69.99, the Maestro 500 Wireless is an impressive headset.”
My one critique is the microphone capture. While the vocal capture works, the result isn’t great. It’s clear enough to communicate, but in testing I often found the capture lacked definition and clarity. While I could make out what was being communicated, it was sometimes muffled and quieter than I would hope for from a gaming headset. It functionally works, and that’s about it.
Honestly, though, after running battery tests, I can forgive this one weak point of the Maestro 500. Battery tests pushed the headset well over 40 hours with ANC on via Wireless 2.4GHz at 50 %. Thanks to the impressive ANC, I never felt the need to push the headphones past 50% volume. According to the spec sheet, users can achieve up to 90 hours over Bluetooth if needed, an impressive feat to say the least. Even more impressive is the quick-charging capability: a 5-minute charge provides about 3 hours of playback under the above testing parameters.
For $69.99, the Maestro 500 Wireless is an impressive headset. With solid audio presentation, especially while gaming, excellent battery life and a smart design, there is a lot to appreciate about MSI’s budget gaming headset. While the microphone could be better, I am still impressed with what MSI has achieved with the Maestro 500 Wireless.
