Ok, first off, I would like to say that this is an absolutely amazing headset sound wise. The virtual surround sound couldn't be more accurate, and music sounds great to me in it. But, I will go into more detail later on.
I would like to just state up front now though, that if you need to use the microphone on this headset for anything outside of voice chat in games or skype with your friends, look elsewhere, or consider buying a standalone mic. The mic on this headset is understandable, but the quality is terrible, and it will randomly cut your voice off mid sentence due to badly designed background noise removal that you can't turn off.
But, on with my review of this headset. I decided to upgrade from my aging Turtle Beach x32's (Yes, I know that headset is made for the Xbox, but they sell a pc adapter cable, and it worked great for me.) and decided to go with surround sound this time. I bought this headset mostly because it is the only blue headset I have ever seen, and it matches my all blue pc build.
Surround Sound Quality: 5/5
I have tried out Titanfall, Battlefield 4 and Call of Duty Ghosts, and I do definitely feel like I have an advantage over other players. Think of it this way, you are sitting in a small room with two doors. With a stereo headset, you can hear footsteps, and you know somebody is coming, but you don't know which door they will walk through and have a higher chance of dying. With this headset however, in that same situation, you know which direction the footsteps are coming from, and you have a much higher chance of not dying due to that extra bit of knowledge you wouldn't get with a regular headset. The surround quality in this headset is better than my 5.1 surround sound setup in our media room, so this definitely earns a 5/5 in this category.
Sound Quality: 4/5
I am rating the overall sound quality of this headset a 4/5 for one reason. The virtual surround sound in this headset tries to make all sounds "Surround" your head, and in doing so, it makes anything that isn't a game, or music seem like it's being played in a big stone room with all the sound echoing off of the virtual walls the headset seems to create. You do get used to this effect quickly, and I now kind of like the effect, it makes things seem a bit more real I guess, but I'm just throwing this out there for anybody who might care to know about that.
One last thing for this category, I have seen too many people online complaining about the headset glitching out whenever you have something that is surround sound and something in stereo playing at the same time. (it will rapidly swap between stereo and surround sound and produce a lot of static.) I have found a way to fix this. (This is for windows vista and 7.) You simply open your control panel in windows, go to Hardware and Sound, click on the button that says manage audio devices, and in the playback tab, find something labeled with Logitech G430 Gaming Headset, click on it, and then click properties. It should open up a new window, with the tabs General, Levels, Enhancements and Advanced. Go to Enhancements and find the one in the list labeled "Speaker Fill" check the box next to it and click apply. Basically, what that did was tell your computer to turn all stereo sound into surround sound, and that prevents the scenario where the headset could glitch out.
Mic Quality: 2/5
I am giving this a 2/5 for the reasons I told you about above, the mic is understandable, but does not have good quality. If you simply plan to use it for skype calling with your friends, maybe some in game chat, it will be absolutely fine for you then, but, since I'm a youtuber, I have much higher standards for my mic quality. If you plan to use the mic for business, recording yourself singing, recording videos for youtube, or anything where you need to sound good, consider buying a blue snowball mic, or something comparable to it.
Final thoughts:
So, this headset is overall a good headset for the price, good sound quality, good surround sound emulation, and ok mic quality. I personally have a Blue Snowball microphone, so the mic being not so great on the headset is no big deal for me, but it might be for other people.
I hope that this review has helped you to see the ups and downs of this headset, and help you to decide if it's worth your money!
| Sensitivity | 90 dB |
|---|---|
| Headphones Jack | 3.5 mm |
| Model Name | G430 |
| Connectivity Technology | Wired |
| Wireless Communication Technology | Wireless |
| Included Components | Headset, User documentation, USB adapter |
| Age Range (Description) | Adult |
| Specific Uses For Product | personal, gaming, business |
| Control Type | Volume control |
| Cable Feature | Retractable |
| Item Weight | 229 Grams |
| Frequency Range | 20 Hz - 20 kHz |
| Customer Package Type | Standard Packaging |
| Unit Count | 1.0 Count |
| Style | G430 7.1 |
| Control Method | Touch |
| Number of Items | 1 |
| Controller Type | Wired controller |
| Earpiece Shape | rounded |
| Number of USB 2 Ports | 1 |
| UPC | 097855094438 796327899938 |
| Global Trade Identification Number | 00667649008219 |
| Manufacturer | Logitech, Inc |
| Is Autographed | No |
