Customer Reviews

Logitech G35 7.1-Channel Surround Sound Headset

5 star:		(97)
4 star:		(61)
3 star:		(25)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

These headphones are a lot of fun.

I'm not a gamer - can't play many games because I get dizzy, but I am sort of a collector of headphones. Frankly, I expected these to be awful and was more than pleasantly surprised to find that they are really quite good.

OK, so they look like some kind of boy toy science fiction gizmo. For me, I could do without all the buttons. But having a volume button on the headphone and a mute for the mic is very useful.

Most headphones depend upon the right combination of source and headphone to get a good sound. If you plug most high end headphones directly into your ipod or computer soundcard the sound quality is atrocious. The right mate of source and sound can mean that the right $20 headphone in your ipod can give surprisingly good sound if it is a good match.

The good (and the bad) of a USB headset is that it bypasses the amp in your computer soundcard. Instead, the digital to audio processing occurs through USB. This approach can allow very high quality sound, and in the case of this headset, it succeeds.

As to sound quality. I am impressed with the surround sound where normally I find surround unbearably processed and artificial, the software does a good job. With the surround sound turned off, and these headphones are in pure stereo mode, forget it, it's awful. But that isn't what these headphones are for. Bass is excellent with good low extension and not even the slightest touch of boominess. Artifical bass enhancement is one of the things I hate about most processed sound, and I was delighted to find that none was present. Logitech is to be commended for making that choice in the design because most people equate sloppy boomy bass with high quality (think car stereo woofer).

The mid range is outstanding. That's where the sound really excels. I have a few very high end headphones where the midrange is weak. With these headphones subtleties of tone and shading in human voices are easy to hear.

The high end of the sound spectrum is the weakness of the sound signature. Lost highs are the big price for processed sound. Imagine a bell ringing. After the bell rings the sound hangs in the air and slowly fades. When the highest highs are lost, and the sound is processed, the sound gets artifically cut off and the "air" is gone from the sound. At the present state of technology this seems to be unavoidable in all processed sound. The good news with this headset is that this loss of highs is not too horribly bad. I could listen to music (which is not what these are for) and it was not too distracting. The offset was the beautiful mids and the realistic sound stage.

Listening to movies, other than gaming, is where this headset excels. This is where location of sound can make a huge difference, and the ambiant sounds contribute to the experience. Watching a movie with these headset while sitting right in front of my computer screen is immersive and exciting. I can imagine that in games, where location of sounds is critical, that these would greatly enhance the experience and give the player an extra edge.

Finally, they are pretty comfortable. The choice of cushioning is very appreciated.

My partner and I both want to use them. I was given these to review but I might have to buy another set. The price, when you consider that it includes the digital audio converter and amplification, is very reasonable for a headset of this quality.

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'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.

If you are a gamer, there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn't have this headset. It can seem a bit pricey but when compared to other brands, Logitech often runs a bit cheaper but doesn't sacrifice quality in any way. Our peripherals are almost entirely from Logitech and they have never let us down. This headset is no exception. The installation was simple. You just pop in the included CD and install the software, plug in the headset, and you're done. You don't even have to install the special software if you don't want to, but if you want to make use of the G buttons and the hilarious voice changer you will want to install it. I was impatient and just plugged the headset in and started up World of Warcraft. I was completely stunned at the number of sounds I could hear that I had never heard before. I have a nice surround sound set for my computer and I've never desired for anything more than what I had because I've always had rich, clear sound from my speakers. But this is a whole different experience. I could hear the scattering feet of little creatures nearby, I could hear birds I'd never heard before, I heard details in the music itself that had just never been detected before. I immediately felt like I was *in* the world. I hopped into Age of Conan and again, was blown away by all the things I'd never picked up on my speaker set. I could hear my mount breathing! I could clearly hear NPC voices in the distance and I heard waves crashing against a nearby dock. All things I'd never picked up before. Rinse and repeat with EverQuest II. This headset alone made my husband and I want to replay some of our favorite PC games like Dark Messiah and Assassin's Creed.

Sound quality aside, this headset has some unique features that will definitely make your gaming experience more seamless. The three "G" buttons can be assigned to all kinds of different tasks, like controlling your media player in the background without ever switching out of your game. This was a big hook for me as I very often listen to my own music when playing. I also absolutely love the microphone. It's totally flexible and adjustable and I do not have to worry about it breaking, ever! The mic auto-mutes when you move it away from my mouth. How cool is that?! It also has a mute button if you prefer as well. The volume button is also great and easy to get at. I only play in the evenings when my little ones are in bed and if I hear something on the baby monitor, I can immediately silence the sound without removing the headset. A huge plus for me.

The headset is also super comfy to wear and comes with three different "pads" that you can switch out to find which is most comfortable for you. It's highly adjustable and has number notches on the band so you can remember your perfect setting if the headset is shared with others. Also a plus! The earpieces themselves are on durable swivel bases so it fits just right to the shape of your head rather than digging into the side of your face. They are pretty lightweight considering the size, much lighter than I thought they would be. I can easily wear them for several hours and have no discomfort. Even my favorite earbuds can't say that. Overall, the headset is a nice size, not too bulky but big enough to completely surround the ear and very effectively reduce most external noise, which really really helps you get into the game. Get yourself a big, bright LCD monitor and this headset and you will be completely immersed. I am hooked all over again on my favorite games as this headset has literally breathed new life into my PC gaming experience. I haven't tried these with my Wii yet, but I would assume they would work in any of the USB slots and the strong braided cord is 10 feet long, so I can see myself taking advantage of that as well. The entire headset just simply feels durable and expensive. It would take a lot of abuse to break this baby. It looks like it can withstand just about anything. Absolutely recommended for avid gamers who seek total immersion or even audiophiles who love to maximize the sound quality of their music. You can't lose with this headset!!

I've used these headphones for a couple months now - I probably should have written my review already, but I wanted to give them some real use before using them. I use them on Windows Vista 64, with a gaming laptop.

I am amazed at the quality of the surround sound. First thing I did with them was to go to Second Life and watch a movie at the drive the theater there. And a motor scooter went past on my right side, from back to front. PERFECT sound location.

I talked to some people with the mic. They all thought the sound was great.

Next I tried playing WoW (Worlds of Warcrsft). I always use the sound, and I was disappointed that I was getting no sound location. Then I turned on the advanced sound. Much better - I could at least tell the approximate direction of an attack I could not see.

WoW has a problem - every now and then when things get very busy, the sound is turned off by the game so that it has less to do. The game does it, the sound is turned off in the game options spontaneously, and you have to turn it on again. This happens just as often using the sound hardware and drivers in the headphone as it does the sound hardware and drivers built into my laptop, so my guess is that the headphone sound drivers don't slow the game down.

Vent works fine with the headphones. They show up as G35 mic and G35 headphone

The headphones provide a good level of isolation from the room sound. There are two issues. One is that they are heavy. After some hours, they become uncomfortable because of the weight. I suspect individual tolerance will vary, and if you play with your head supported like in a recliner you will be able to tolerate the weight better.

They are about as comfortable as they can be for their weight and size - with three interchangable head pieces to match your head shape, and the ability to extend the earpieces to fit even a very large head (I wear a size 8 hat, they fit me, and still have a click to go).

The mic is designed to be pushed up and back, out of the way against the head strap. This is supposed to be so that you can have it out of your face when you are not using it, and it also mutes when pushed back (it can be set to light up when it is muted). This allows you to brush it back and not be heard by others, and then move it forward and they can hear, assuming you are using voice activated game sound.

After about six weeks of daily use, the mic started descending of its own weight. It is "hinged" where it attaches to the headset and when you push it up the mic just slowly descends over a few seconds. This means that the "push the mic out of the way and it mutes" function is essentially broken, since the mic is not staying back.

I assume Logitech would replace the phones if asked - but I don't want to give them up.

I gave the headphones 5 stars despite the weight and despite the mic problem since I almost always want the mic where I can talk and I use a mouse button for push to talk. If these factors matter to you you might consider them in your decision.

But I just do not know how you can hear something all out of one ear and still get a front-back "location" out of headsets that are sealed. Obviously the driver or headsets are doing something with phasing and repeating the sound from one headset to the other to make you have more than simple side to side location. This is really why I gave them 5 stars. Being able to do full 2d apparrent location positioning in a headset is just an amazing feat, well worth the rating.

The Windows installation was smooth.

This is probably the absolute best headset gaming on the market. No one ever complains about my mic on vent anymore. The good seal around the ears means that there is never any feedback or echo. I can understand people if anyone can, and if I need to quickly adjust my level because someone is blasting or feeding back, the roller on the side of the headset works perfectly and is right there.

But you really can't do top quality sound and isolation without mass. Light headsets are always deficient in something - the specs may be amazing but they just don't sound right to my ears. This headset sounds perfect. And these headsets take the issue of, "we will not be deficient in sound in any way - no compromise". I appreciate that - but after 8 hours or so they have to come off.

Finally, I will point out that they do not use your existing sound system in any way. They plug in using USB and windows sees them as a completely different set of sound hardware. In fact, if you are careful, you can set up so that (say) music comes out of your system speakers, using one player, and your game sound comes out of the headset. Or if your sound is broken, or is lame, well, these take the digital stream and all the reproduction is done in the headset. This is actually a good thing, as long as you have a USB plug available.

The USB cord is high quality. Everything is top notch except for that silly hinge, and that is not important enough to me to get fixed.

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.

These are some serious headphones. They are extreme, hardcore, you could beat a home intruder to death with these headphones. You could ride out the apocalypse with these cans strapped to your head and go down dps-ing with all guns blazing. Ok, so the real review. These are big headphones, sturdy, metal and plastic and rubber and cloth go into the mix here. I get the feeling these will last a long time. The construction seems almost pro level or beyond.

Pros:

1. Did I say sturdy and solid? Very...

2. Sound quality is excellent mix of highs and mids and lows. I compare them nicely to my Grado SR60's.

3. Big time sound isolation, not 'canceling' mind you, but when you strap on these cans, you are in another world.

4. Elegant design of buttons. All the buttons are on the left headset, the mute button turns on a red light on the boom mic so you can see when you are muted. That's very cool.

5. There are 3 programmable buttons on the headset also and on OSX those buttons by default control itunes. How cool is that? Pause, next and previous track. Frankly thats perfect for me.

6. The boom mic is adjustable with a rubbery material, feels very well made.

7. The cord is a no tangle solid thing wrapped in fiber material like all the better headphones are. I expect long life here of this cord and its connectors.

8. Comes with 2 extra replacement pads for the headphones, the top part that sits against your head.

Cons: (there are a few)

1. Heavy, these things feel like you're going into battle. After a few hours I was very aware of them. I normally use some lightweight headphones that you barely notice.

2. They hurt my head. Maybe I am not worthy to don these acoustic accoutrements but after an hour the top pad / strap was really pressing down and hurting. Maybe they need to be broken in. When I took them off it was a sigh of relief in ways.

3. The isolation can be a con also, if you need to say listen to the kids or the pizza person. I only note this as I don't actually like the total isolation factor.

4. No mac software. There was windows software that let you do voice modulation. Frankly I wouldn't use it but in 2009, there really should be mac software as well. Logitech's fancy gaming powerpad has mac software. Why not this?

5. I could not get the surround sound to work. There is a switch for it on the headphone, but it didn't seem to actually "do" anything. Maybe the app needs to pump out surround sound. But if that is the case, then why is there a switch on the cans? I r confused.

6. I wish they were the "behind the head" kind of phones. I think they would be more comfortable.

Summary: If you need extreme headphones for gaming - look no further. These are an investment at this $$ but you can look down upon the masses with their earbuds and cheap $10 headsets sounding like tin cans on vent. I plan to find a spot to store them when the sun touches them just right in the morning.

Way better then expected, the sound is incredible! The bass is deep and clear which is something rare with headphones. Treble is crisp and clear too. Music sounds almost 3-D compared to my speakers and brings new life to familiar songs. You can adjust Bass, Treble, microphone levels to your liking.

Gaming sound (Lord of the Rings) is even better. You hear subtle sounds that speakers can't pick up. Great surround and panning effects like when something is walking behind you to your front and then away from you. Voices sound as if they are right in your face in real life. I've owned many pairs of headphones and I've never heard such all around great sound as I do with these.

There are buttons on one ear piece that can control volume, mute the microphone, turn the surround off and 3 configurable empty buttons.

Another really cool feature is that you can change your voice with 5 presets and then adjust each one too to make custom voices. There's a robot, alien, troll, and a few others. There's a 2-3 second delay from when you speak until you hear the sound, not sure why that is though.

They are comfortable on your head, come with 3 head pads for comfort. The ear pieces swivel slightly for additional comfort and also can be moved up and down depending on how high or low your ears are for a perfect fit. It also has a nice long cord that doesn't tangle.

The negatives of these headphones are...

They make your ears sweat! they are so air tight that no air circulates and your ears are all wet as well as the ear pads.

They only work with windows, I have both Win and Mac and would love to have them with my Mac too.

It has a USB plug so it will only work with a computer, no iPods or any other kind of connection.

I would have also like to have had a demo disc or mp3 of 7.1 music or sounds to really show the full power of what these headphones are capable of but I couldn't find anything on the disc or web site for that.

Conclusion is that if your looking for headphones for gaming and music on our windows pc GET THESE! You will be very happy with them but just keep in mind my negatives (they are minor).

Logitech have a history, at least in my experience, of producing top quality headsets for a good price. I got my G35 from a "dented box" deal on Logitech.com. I paid half the price of MSRP with free shipping, and it's been worth every penny! This is the best value surround sound gaming headset.

This isn't my first surround sound headset, I've also owned the SteelSeries 5Hv2 USB, which also supports 7.1 surround sound. Comparing both of these, I'd recommend the G35 for better overall quality. The only advantage the 5H has over the G35 is the directional sound quality. I've found that with the SteelSeries it's much easier to pinpoint the footsteps of enemy players in FPS games. Though I must admit, the difference is barely noticeable. For competitive gaming, the 5H is probably the better choice, especially since it's quite easy to pack up.

Everything else, the G35 does best. The ergonomics is incredibly well designed. The volume control, mute and three programmable buttons are on the left side ear cup of the headset. It's much better than in line headsets where, usually the volume and mute is on the cord. The cord by the way, is quite long as well. It's also USB only, so if you are thinking about using it with your current sound card, you might want to look into something else.

I don't know why you'd want to do that though, the sound quality is amazing. Especially games and movies that take advantage of surround sound, whether it's 5.1 or 7.1, this headset does both. Music also sounds good and the base and treble can be adjusted, though the default settings are generally fine for most users.

One thing I've noticed with Logitech headsets (this is my 4th Logitech headset) is that the mic is always of top quality. Like the SteelSeries and many other headsets, either the speakers are good and the mic sucks, or vice versa. Not with the G35. The noise canceling mic is amazing. When I'm on Skype with my friends, if I'm not speaking or making any noise, my friends have to ask if I'm still here as there is barely any background noise! Another great thing about the mic, is that there is a light on the end that turns red to let you know when it's muted. When you raise the arm, the mic automatically mutes itself as well. Again, this is great, forward thinking design from Logitech.

There is also not a lot of outside noise either, so if you are worried about say, waking up room mates with the noise, don't worry about it. The ear cups are also square, not round and go around the ear instead of on it. This actually makes it incredibly comfortable after long hours you can barely feel it on your head! This is the most comfortable headset I've ever used!

The only real downside to the G35 is that it doesn't work with the PS3 or 360, just PC. Otherwise, this is the best surround sound headset money can buy, especially if you're looking for value for money. Nothing else compares to this, I'd strongly recommend it.

Side note - if you hate wires, the Logitech G930 is the exact same thing as the G35, but wireless. It's a lot more expensive however.

I didn't really know what to expect. I have a crappy headset that I have been using to play left 4 dead 2. I just use the computer speakers and leave the headband around my neck only utilizing the mic. I wanted a change. I play at night so in order to avoid waking up others I always had to keep the volume low, it was hard to tell where the infected(enemy)are and such. I got a great deal on these for a one day thing on another site. Windows detected them after plugging them in before installing the software. However i was disappointed to find out that in order to get surround sound you must install logitech's crapware. BTW you need to get it from the logitech website if you are using windows 7. After i installed their software is when i had a few problems. i wasn't getting any sound from anything but the mic. restarted. seemed to fix it for now. I have had to keep switching the playback device back to the headset though which i found a little odd.

Here is the lowdown from my point of view

Con's
-software is crap, my voice changer thing doesn't even work.
-software is a little confusing to customize to bind the buttons on the side.
-you can only bind the buttons to a music related program in their system(most are supported, itunes, WMP, Winamp etc.)
as you can see almost all my problems are not with the hardware but with some buggy drivers for windows 7 and annoying bloatware.
I have not had the problems that some have said where they hear some buzzing, the only time i hear background buzzing is on some youtube videos, but thats because the buzzing is part of the sound because the mic on their camera sucks. if i play a game or listen to music there is not white noise.

Pro's
-Cool looking, i love the muted mic light so you know if its muted.
-buttons you can bind on the side for listening to music while gaming.
-side volume control, AWESOME, love it
-surround sound, great for hearing the enemy as well as watching video and listening to music, everything is very clear.
-not too heavy, for the performance its fairly light actually
-comfortable, i rarely game more than 2 or 3 hours.
-cord is sturdy and LONG which is a huge bonus.
-good mic clarity

i have hear people having problems with them breaking at a certain joint. i don't see any real weaknesses in the build but i will update if i have any problems. I would definitely recommend this but maybe not so much for windows 7 yet