For the past half-year, I've been using a Creative X-Fi Xtreme Gamer sound card and a pair of Sony MDR-NC40 headphones. The combination provides wonderful control over sound quality, whether in music, media, or gaming. However, the CMSS Headphone "Virtual Surround" technology that the Creative cards use isn't particularly impressive to me. It works incredibly well for some people, but it doesn't "cut it" in my case.
Today, I purchased a G35. I was incredibly eager to try it out because, wherever I looked, the headset got positively glowing reviews, praising the clarity of the headset and the impressiveness of the Dolby 7.1 Virtual Surround soundfield. Driver installation was simple enough; I downloaded the proper driver from the Logitech website and installed it. I didn't have to restart my computer, which I always find to be a plus.
I plugged in the phones, fired up a DTS demo, and... it sounded terrible. I went into the drivers and tried playing with the provided settings. Unfortunately, the "equalizer" consisted of simply main volume, bass, treble, and mic volume. This was pretty disappointing to me. Every sound card I had ever used had had at the very least a 10-band equalizer, if not 12- or 24-band. In short, I couldn't customize the G35 to have anywhere near the audio quality of what I had before.
I will say this; the Virtual Surround positioning is indeed excellent. It's the best virtualization of a 7.1 surround sound system that I've ever heard. That said, I can't sacrifice quality sound for "more" sound.
If you don't use a discrete sound card with your PC, then you'll probably think that the G35 sounds like audio heaven. If you have used a discrete sound card and a decent pair of headphones, you probably won't be particularly impressed. If you do end up getting a G35, I'd suggest purchasing a pair from a location with a no-questions-asked return policy, just in case it's not what you thought it'd be. Logitech G35 7.1-Channel Surround Sound Headset
Logitech's G35 really sets a mark for gaming headsets. Other surround sound headsets that I have used have been large and uncomfortable after sustained use, however the G35 has an adjustable headband and comes with three different cushions for whatever shape head you may have. The cups are padded rather nicely and do a pretty decent job of blocking out ambient sound. The USB cord is sleeved and the whole thing really feels well crafted. Features like the microphone automuting when you put it in the upright position make you wonder why this hasn't been done with every headset on the market.
The software is simple and easy to use, however i found it somewhat limited. The only balance controls are for bass and treble, with no presets or anything like that for types of music. Their is no control over the surround sound to balance your own levels or test it; the only thing you can do is turn the surround sound on and off using the manual switch on the back of the left cup. The customizable buttons are a great concept and comes with custom actions for programs like Itunes, Windows Media Player and Ventrilo, however it lacks Teamspeak support. The voice morphing is fun, but superfluous. For the price of this headset I would like a little bit more technical features and control over the sound. Note: the program uses 19MB of memory when you are using the headset, but on my laptop (Intel core 2 duo 2.2ghz, 2 gigs of ram) I haven't noticed a performance decrease.
The sound quality is superb for a USB headset. It doesn't sound as good as my Creative X-Fi sound card, but it definitely gets the job done. I haven't heard any distortions or crackling while gaming, and the directionality of the sound is very distinct and enhances gaming for sure. The low end is undistorted and you can actually feel explosions and things of the sort. The microphone records crisp and clear, and while the microphone is advertised as noise canceling, it occasionally picks up some background noise.
130$ is a lot for a headset, but these things deliver. I'd prefer some more control over the more technical aspects of the sound, but I am satisfied and have enjoyed using this device. If money isn't an object, go ahead and pick yourself up a pair.
For many years I have been using a Speedlink 5.1 headset for gaming purposes. Recently, at my own fault, I broke those headphones which at the time cost over $200. This turned into a blessing in disguise.
After reading various reviews, I somewhat reluctantly decided to try these G35's out. The price was 1/2 of what I paid for the Speedlink's, but I was concerned about these being USB headphones which meant that they wouldn't be using my quality SB sound card. Frankly I needn't have worried. These headphones are absolutely tremendous for gaming and easily beat out my much more expensive Speedlink's in terms of positional audio. Besides testing it out with the demo, which had me looking all over the room it was that accurate, I have also used them in Batman Arkham Asylum. Thundering sound that absolutely transforms the game even coming from a previous 5.1 setup (the G35's are 7.1). I cannot say enough about these headphones for gaming. I also tested these with various forms of music and for that they are good but not exceptional.
Installation was very simple with the included CD which automatically went out and got the latest drivers from Logitech. The control panel is very simple to use for basic tone adjustments as well as programming the side buttons and any voice effects you may want. My only gripe is that they don't appear to allow you to disable the side buttons. I really don't have a need for them and find it somewhat easy to accidentally bump them which then brings up programs you didn't want. This, however, is a minor issue.
If you are a gamer looking to get great positional audio at a tremendous price then these headphones are definitely for you. For pure music I'd look elsewhere, but one likely would anyway as surround sound equipped headphones (which you can disable and should for music) aren't intended primarily for music use.
Update: After using the headset for about a month, I do have some updated points. First, I have found that over longer gaming sessions this headset can get uncomfortable. They press quite a bit and I found my self readjusting them to try and get some relief. The Speedlinks I mentioned earlier could be worn for hours on end with no discomfort. If you are playing in short bursts it may not be an issue, but if you have extended sessions then these things do get quite uncomfortable. A second point relates to the mic light and support. The microphone has a little red light on it that defaults to "on when muted". There is a setting in the software that enables you to turn this light off at all times. Unfortunately this setting does not save and thus on reboot it goes back to "on when muted" while all the other presets do save their settings. I emailed Logitech about this, but their support is horrendous. It has taken at least a week to get replies from them and their replies are extremely basic. After a week they suggested I reinstall the software (wow, it took you guys a whole week to come up with that gem?) When that didn't work, it took them another week to reply that I should try it on another computer. At this rate it will be months before we even get so far as to suggest trying a different USB port! Laughable support. Overall I still consider this a great headset, and the light issue while annoying isn't a deal killer, but the comfort is a disappointment. I would adjust my star rating to 4 if I could update that portion of the review. Logitech support gets a -10 by the way. - Gaming Headset - Logitech - Surround Sound - G35'
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