- Quick Verdict: The GXTrust 499W Forta is an affordable, officially licensed PlayStation wireless headset with strong battery life, reliable low-latency performance, and good positional audio. However, poor earcup ventilation causes significant heat build-up, while flat sound and limited features make it hard to fully recommend.
While there are a handful of officially licensed PlayStation headsets on the market, few are as affordable as the GXTrust 499W Forta. Wireless gaming headsets are still relatively uncommon at this price point, too, giving the Forta an immediate advantage in the budget category.
On paper, it makes a strong first impression, boasting 50mm drivers, ultra-low-latency wireless connectivity, and a battery life that outlasts many of its closest rivals. However, impressive specs don't always translate to a great real-world experience.
Thankfully, I've spent some time with the 499W Forta to find out whether it truly deserves a place among the best budget PS5 headsets available today.
Design and Build Quality
As already said, the GXTrust Forta is officially licensed for PlayStation, which means guaranteed compatibility and a straightforward plug-and-play experience with full support for PlayStation audio features.
While that doesn't necessarily impact the physical design itself, it does help the headset feel like a natural fit alongside Sony's console, especially with its white and black design that emulates the PS5's look.
Inside, the headset has 50mm drivers, while the complete package weighs 353 grams in total. That's not particularly heavy, but it does place it above some competing wireless gaming headsets in this price range, many of which sit closer to the 250–320 gram mark. As a result, you may find a lighter headset for marathon gaming sessions more comfortable, though I'll go more in-depth on comfort later.
In terms of controls, everything is conveniently located on the earcups, including on-ear controls for power, media playback, volume adjustment, microphone mute, and status indicators for pairing and battery information.
I particularly liked the placement of the power switch on the right earcup. It protrudes just enough that it's easy to locate by touch without having to remove the headset or fumble around blindly trying to press it while wearing the device. The microphone mute switch is also easy to find, and sturdy enough that accidental muting by flipping the switch was not a concern.
The volume wheel, however, is less of a win. It lacks the grip and texture needed for on-ear controls, which often resulted in my finger sliding across it rather than actually rotating it while wearing the headset. While this isn't a major flaw, I noticed my finger slipping more often than not when trying to control volume from the headset itself.
With all this taken into account, my overall impression is that the Forta does feel like a budget bit of kit. The predominantly plastic outer frame gives it a cheap texture, while the slide-to-adjust headband mechanism works well enough. The only thing is, it isn't that sophisticated compared to smoother alternatives.
However, I will add that everything feels reasonably solid and unlikely to break, which isn't something I can say about some budget headsets I've tried in the past.
Comfort and Fit
For comfort and a secure fit, the 499W Forta features swivelling closed earcups, an adjustable headband, and thick, extra-soft over-ear pads. The ear cushions themselves use a combination of synthetic leather and cloth materials, which, upon first putting the headset on, created a comfortable fit around the ears.
Adjustability is about as simple as it gets. As touched on, each earcup slides in and out of the headband independently, allowing you to quickly find a fit that suits your head shape and size.
Unfortunately, I found every adjustment step produced a fairly loud clicking noise, which can be a little irritating at first. Realistically, however, once you've found your preferred fit, you'll rarely need to touch it again. Personally, I quite like the simplicity of the system. Yes, it may not feel particularly sophisticated, but it gets the job done.
As for comfort, I found the cushioning to be perfectly adequate. The ear pads are soft, the headset sits securely on the head, and the relatively snug fit helps provide a decent level of passive noise isolation from the outside world.
Unfortunately, that's where the positives end, as it's with the earcups where I encountered the headset's biggest weakness.
Heat build-up inside the earcups is a genuine issue. I consistently noticed my ears becoming uncomfortably warm within 45 minutes to an hour of gaming, suggesting that breathability is not a strong point. The tight fit undoubtedly helps with noise isolation, but it also seems to trap heat far more than I'd like.
In fact, the excessive heat build-up is easily my biggest criticism here. Every time I used the headset, my ears became almost unbearably hot in under an hour, and during longer gaming sessions, that discomfort became difficult to ignore each time I wore it.
Audio Quality and Gaming Performance
I've already mentioned this headset's 50mm drivers are the force behind the audio, though this size is completely standard for a headset in this price bracket. Being officially licensed for PlayStation, though, the 499W Forta also supports 3D Audio on Sony's console, which ended up being one of the headset's strongest features during testing.
The compatibility of Sony's 3D Audio does help it stand out, as the rest of its specs aren't anything special. The headset offers 32 Ohm impedance, making it easy to drive from controllers, consoles, and wireless dongles, alongside a 20 Hz–20,000 Hz frequency response, stereo sound reproduction, and a 100 dB maximum sound pressure level. While nothing too out of the ordinary here, these are all perfectly respectable for a wireless gaming headset that costs less than £100.
There's also no active noise cancellation. Instead, the headset relies entirely on passive isolation from its snug-fitting earcups, which I've already explained do a decent job of blocking out background distractions. However, that tight fit likely contributes to the significant aforementioned heat build-up I experienced during longer gaming sessions.
When it came to actual gameplay, results varied depending on the genre.
For positional audio testing, I spent time with Fortnite on both PC and PS5. On PC, directional audio was good, allowing me to track nearby enemies without issue. On PS5, however, the addition of 3D Audio noticeably elevated the experience.
One moment in particular stood out: I heard a shot fired by an enemy I hadn't yet seen and had only a rough idea of where he might emerge from. The moment he appeared from behind cover, I was able to track his movement almost instantly and land a clean one-shot elimination. Situations like that highlighted just how effective the positional audio can be when paired with Sony's 3D Audio implementation.
I also tested the headset playing Valorant on PC, where footsteps came through clearly and transitioned naturally from left to right as enemies moved around the map. However, I did notice that gunfire and explosions often dominated the soundscape, making distant footsteps harder to pick out. Unfortunately, because there is no companion software or EQ customisation, you're largely dependent on tweaking individual in-game audio settings if you want to fine-tune the experience and reduce this issue.
Outside of FPS gaming, the Forta was less impressive. Playing older FIFA titles on PS4 (it's not just the PS5 this works with), crowd noise, commentary, and on-pitch action all came through clearly enough, but the overall presentation felt somewhat flat. The different audio elements were distinguishable, of course, but they lacked the separation and depth needed to create a truly immersive matchday atmosphere.
That feeling continued when I tested Resident Evil Requiem. While the headset delivered all the expected screams, roars, and horror effects from the infected, the sound just never pierced my ears to the point of leaving me wanting to sleep with the light on at night. Even with the volume cranked up and connected via the 3.5mm cable (for a rock-solid connection), the experience lacked that edge-of-my-seat impact I've experienced with stronger audio performers.
Ultimately, the Forta delivers solid positional performance for gaming, particularly on PS5, but its generic, non-adjustable sound profile prevents it from offering a truly immersive audio experience across every genre.
Wireless Performance and Connectivity
The 499W Forta uses an ultra-low-latency 2.4GHz USB receiver for its wireless connection, with the option to switch to wired gameplay via the included 3.5mm cable.
For most of my testing, I used the headset wirelessly, as I generally prefer the freedom of movement that comes without cables. Thankfully, setup couldn't be much simpler. Plug the dongle into your PC or PlayStation, switch the headset on, and you're ready to go within seconds.
Performance was equally impressive. Throughout my testing, I experienced no connection dropouts or stability issues, and latency was excellent. Based on my own testing, wireless latency came in at roughly 0.01 seconds, which backs up GXTrust's ultra-low-latency claims and makes the headset feel responsive enough for faster-paced action.
The biggest downside is connectivity flexibility, though. While the wireless performance itself is excellent, there is no Bluetooth support whatsoever. That means you'll always need the USB dongle connected if you want to use the headset wirelessly.
For PlayStation users, this is unlikely to be a major issue, but PC users with multiple peripherals already competing for USB ports, or anyone expecting to use this on a modern mobile, may find it frustrating.
Microphone Performance
For squad communication, you get a detachable cardioid microphone here, featuring a 100 Hz–17,000 Hz frequency response and built-in noise-cancelling technology. That's all fairly standard gaming headset stuff, but in practice, I was pleasantly surprised by its performance.
Based on feedback from teammates and playback of my own recordings, voice quality was better than I expected. It certainly isn't a microphone that will rival broadcast-quality gear, but it delivered clear communication during gameplay, which is ultimately what most players need. The overall sound is a little flat, and I did notice some distortion when speaking particularly loudly, but for casual multiplayer gameplay, I ended up pleasantly surprised.
From a design perspective, the microphone is highly flexible. The boom arm can be bent into virtually any position, making it easy to find a comfortable placement while maintaining good voice pickup.
One small concern I had was a slight cracking or stretching sound whenever I adjusted the arm too quickly or aggressively. It didn't appear to affect performance, and I suspect it was simply the outer material flexing, but it's something I'm going to keep an eye on and come back to if I notice it actually damaging the mic at all.
Perhaps the biggest advantage is that the microphone is completely detachable. As someone who spends plenty of time in single-player games, I appreciated being able to remove the mic entirely rather than having it permanently sitting in my field of view.
Battery Life and Charging
GXTrust quotes the Forta as offering up to 55 hours of battery life, which is an impressive figure for a wireless headset at this price point.
Based on my time with the headset, I have no reason to doubt the claim. Real-world battery life will naturally vary depending on usage, volume levels, and the age of the battery over time, but even if you fall short of the full 55 hours and land somewhere around 35–40 hours, that's still a very respectable result.
Charging is handled via USB-C, with a USB-A to USB-C cable included in the box. My only complaint is that the supplied charging cable is extremely short. While it's nice it comes with one, it makes using the headset while charging impossible unless you fancy sitting on the floor with your head directly next to your power socket — no, not for me either.
Price and Value for Money
For £69.99 (or £64.99 at Argos, and €79.99 in Europe), getting a wireless headset with 50mm drivers, a detachable mic, and full console compatibility already represents solid value, especially when many alternatives in the same bracket are still wired.
On paper, it feels like a feature-heavy package for the price, albeit only for casual gaming rather than serious competition. And the inclusion of official PlayStation licensing alongside a strong wireless battery life further strengthens its appeal.
However, while most aspects land comfortably within expectations for the price, the overall experience is held back by one major issue: heat build-up during longer sessions. Everything else is largely acceptable or even impressive for the cost, but the discomfort after quite a short amount of time wearing it significantly affects its usability.
Without that drawback, this would be an easy recommendation at its price point. Unfortunately, though, this is a massive flaw that's hard to overlook.
Pros and Cons
Here's a summary of the positives and negatives:
Pros
- Excellent value for money for a wireless gaming headset
- Officially licensed for PlayStation with strong 3D Audio performance
- Reliable ultra-low-latency 2.4GHz wireless connection
- Impressive battery life that comfortably lasts multiple gaming sessions
- Clear detachable microphone with effective noise reduction
- Simple plug-and-play setup on both PlayStation and PC
Cons
- Significant heat build-up in the earcups during extended use
- Audio lacks depth and immersion outside of competitive gaming
- No EQ software or audio customization options
- No Bluetooth connectivity, requiring the USB dongle for wireless use
- Volume wheel lacks grip and can be awkward to adjust
Final Verdict
The GXTrust 499W Forta gets a lot right for a wireless gaming headset costing under £70.
Official PlayStation licensing, strong battery life, reliable low-latency wireless performance, and surprisingly capable positional audio make it an attractive option for PS5 players, in particular. However, while the audio is perfectly serviceable for gaming, it lacks the depth and immersion needed for more competitive or serious gamers, and the excessive heat buildup is extremely difficult to overlook as a serious flaw in its design.
As comfort is key for longer sessions, the 499W Forta struggles to be one I would personally recommend. Although it represents solid value outside this issue, its biggest flaw prevents it from being a great budget-friendly option.
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