The LvL40 features a pair of 40mm high-definition audio drivers, a bi-directional noise-canceling microphone that flips up to mute, and a build and design that many might mistake for its feature-rich bigger brother. It’s this design that immediately catches the eye in the LvL line of headsets that PDP Gaming has produced for 2019.
While it’s a bit smaller in stature than the more expensive headset, it still looks bomb, with a matte gray and black design that’s only broken up by the bright Xbox green that covers the insides of the ear cups. It looks great, and the simple but effective design is a real winner in my eyes, with two small PDP logos printed on each ear cup to keep with the theme.
When you open the box and discover your new PDP LVL40 headset, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find a soft and dark gray color palette. The design is sleek, slim, and just works so well that it’s not overly flashy or noticeable. This may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s perfect for those who don’t want to stand out, especially if they want to wear the headset in public.
Following on from the slick color design, you’ll soon find that the headset is also quite flexible. Since it can be rotated from side to side, it should easily fit a variety of head sizes and ears. The fact that the headset has an adjustable headband further emphasizes this. This allows you to either loosen or tighten the hold of the headset around your head.
As if that wasn’t enough, the headset also features a padded cushion on the inner bulge at the top of the head to help alleviate contact with the top of your head. About the ear cups themselves: The PDP LVL40 unfortunately does not have a large ear cup. The cushions are made of breathable nylon mesh ear pad, which was a pleasant surprise, especially since my usual pair of headsets has a leather ear pad shell.
In terms of volume control and microphone, the PDP LVL40 has a flexible gooseneck microphone that may not be the best microphone on the market, but it does an excellent job when playing online with friends. It can be muted by simply flipping it up parallel to the left ear cup. To activate it, you flip it back down to the mouth position.