Audio Performance

I'll split the audio performance analysis into two parts - gaming and music. Even though the headset produces the same sound regardless of what it's being used for, you won't necessarily look for the same things while annihilating your virtual opponents as you will when listening to your favorite tunes.

Gaming

As is the case with a vast majority of budget gaming headsets, the MasterPulse MH320 is much more focused on providing explosiveness and (relative) excitement instead of accuracy and an advantage over your enemies in your multiplayer shooter(s) of choice. In fact, spatial positioning is probably its weakest point. The soundstage is narrow and leaves you with a feeling of being boxed in. For games where detecting your enemies before being detected by them makes the difference between winning and going back to the lobby with a bullet hole between your eyes, such as the ever-so-popular PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, that's a problem.

On the other hand, if loud gunfire, massive explosions, and screaming car engines are enough to make you happy, you won't shed any tears over whatever the MasterPulse MH320 lacks in precision and finesse. For games that aren't that demanding in terms of spatial positioning - anything but multiplayer shooters, basically - the MasterPulse MH320 is fine. It's bassy enough not to sound boring, but not annoyingly so, and it covers the midrange and highs decently enough to make in-game dialogue and comments from your teammates understandable.

It should be said, though, that if you're able to stretch your budget by an additional $10, you could get the Cougar Immersa, which offers even bassier, more explosive, and overall more exciting sound. It surpasses the MH320 in terms of spatial positioning as well. The only issue with it is that it can make voices sound a bit boomy, so watching movies and playing dialogue-heavy games can be fatiguing (fixable with a software equalizer).

Thanks to the closed-back design, the MasterPulse MH320 blocks out the noise of your surroundings nicely, which also ensures that the people living with you won't be bothered by your gaming sessions.

Music

For music, the Cooler Master MasterPulse MH320 is in fact slightly more than you'd expect it to be, considering that it's a $40 gaming headset. It is by no means spectacular, but manages to be decent enough for a gamer on a tight budget not to have anything to complain about. Under one condition: you have to give it enough volume.

On quieter volumes, the narrowness of the soundstage, as well as the fact that the entire sound presentation is somewhat veiled, slightly muffled, makes it hard to fully enjoy whatever is playing. However, the headset does open up a bit and starts "breathing" when you crank the volume up. Let it also be said that it's able to handle high volumes without noticeable distortions. There's definitely stuff to like here.

The bass is fairly tight and has quite a kick to it, which I found nice when listening to rap and electronic music. Play bassy music loud enough and the built-in 40-mm audio drivers will cause the ear cups to slightly vibrate, which you'll feel as a tingle in your ears. The midrange, especially its lower parts, isn't particularly well defined, nor do the highs offer any crispness, but it all somehow comes together in a decent-enough way.

As far as combining the MasterPulse MH320 with a dedicated external headphone amp/DAC goes, I can't think of a single reason why it would make sense to buy a $40 headset and then spend double that amount on a device to power it with. In short, if you don't already own one, don't bother getting it. Just plug the headset into your motherboard and go about your day.