Logitech G35 Surround Sound Headset

Surround sound is a tricky thing to get right, especially in headphones, where it's pretty much impossible. You need individual drivers for each channel, placed properly and wired so they can produce an experience similar to having speakers for each channel in a home theater. No matter what sort of processing tricks you use, you just can't emulate a surround-sound system with two drivers. The Logitech G35 makes a valiant effort with its two 40mm drivers, but this gaming headset falls short of offering the 7.1-channel sound it promises. It does sound good, and it's well-designed, but it doesn't produce the surround sound necessary to justify its $129.99 (direct) price tag.

Design
A few simple design choices turn the G35 from a plain, matte black headset into a well-made, intuitive device. The left ear cup holds a handful of physical controls that are both easier to access and more thoughtfully laid-out than most in-line cable remotes. The back plate of the ear cup holds a Mic Mute button, a large volume wheel, and three customizable buttons that can control media playback, microphone volume, and even voice changing through Logitech's G35 software. On the right side of the ear cup, a slider switch toggles Dolby Digital processing. The left side of the ear cup holds the mic on a flip-down arm that can tuck it away when not in use, and a red light on the mic shows whether it's muted or not. These are basic touches, but they make the G35 much more convenient to use than most other headsets.

Logitech claims the G35 offers 7.1-channel surround sound, but that's not quite the case. While the headset processes audio as 7.1-channel sound, it has just two 40mm drivers (one in each ear), which means it simply can't produce the discrete audio sources necessary for surround sound. Instead, the headset uses processing tricks to make the stereo drivers seem like they're putting out sound from different directions. It simply can't produce anything beyond left, right, and (through combining them) center channels with decent imaging, so don't expect a gaming advantage by hearing people behind you.

Performance
The G35 offers generally very good sound, but like many other gaming headsets, suffers from mediocre clarity in bass. I tested the headset with a round of Payload in Team Fortress 2, and while the explosions of my Demoman's grenades rang through my ears, they didn't sound particularly crisp or clean. There's plenty of power, but not much imaging. As noted before, while the G35 claims to offers 7.1 channels, they don't offer any real tactical advantage, and I was hard pressed to tell if someone was behind me or flanking me.

Besides gaming, the G35 is capable, if not great, at playing music. I listened to some John Coltrane on the headset and enjoyed clean, clear treble and midrange notes. However, like the explosions of the game, the low frequencies of the standing bass sounded muffled and weak compared with the rest of the instruments.

The Logitech G35 is a capable headset, but at $130 it's too pricey for what you get. The surround sound it boasts is ineffectual and, while it sounds very good in general, bass is lacking. The main benefit to the headset is its great design, with the controls and flip-down mic. Hopefully Logitech will continue this trend with the next series of gaming headsets and add some much-needed low end. To get the clever design and more convenience, check out the similar-but-wireless Logitech G930 ($159.99, 4 stars). If you want to save some money and can live with a wired headset, consider the less-expensive Turtle Beach Ear Force Z6A ($99.99, 3.5 stars) or Tritton AX 180 ($69.99, 3 stars).

More Headphone reviews:

??? Logitech G35 Surround Sound Headset
??? Turtle Beach Ear Force Z6A PC Gaming Headset
??? Tritton AX 180
??? Tritton AX Pro
??? Bose OE2i
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/g9Dwb4G16So/0,2817,2392233,00.asp

berkman berkman new beavis and butthead game 7 anya ayoung chee big east j.r. martinez