This is my second pair, the first pair lasted 3 years. So I wasn't angry when they stopped working. They are powered by USB, TO USE THEM YOU MUST PLUG IT IN. The presence of cords is a little annoying, but the convenience of not having to charge or die during use is nice. These headphones have really good bass, sometimes I use them to listen to music. When playing games you can HEAR EVERYTHING including where sounds like footsteps or noises are coming from. If you have an XBOX ONE, you NEED an ADAPTER to SPEAK at parties and in multiplayer.