SteelSeries H Wireless Headset (PC CD)
– Retail price £299 or less
The SteelSeries H Wireless Headset (PC CD) is a high-end wireless gaming headset that comes with its own USB hub with an in built battery charging facility along with other functions. We asked ourselves when we got this; “£299, are you serious?” the answer is yes. Is it worth it? Well, read on and see what we thought then decide for yourselves if you agree or not.
Basic Features
Ok basic features of this bad boy are as follows;
- 20Hz – 2000Hz Frequency Response
- Weight: 297g (without the battery)
- Max volume 100dB
- Wired mode / share port allowing a friend to listen in.
- Battery life: up to 20hrs (also comes with a spare battery, so when using one you can charge the other, meaning non-stop audio performance.)
- The USB Hub which has an OLED Display Screen, volume control, and comes with cables to suit all your gaming devices on Windows, Mac OS X, Android, iOS, PlayStation, Xbox etc.
(For more in-depth technical information, see bottom of review)
Reach
With all wireless headsets I like to see how far they reach before the sound gets distorted or the signal drops completely. Everything I listened to was streamed from my PC located downstairs; I went upstairs with them on while listening to YouTube, ventured out into the back garden while I was loading up Titanfall, then I thought I’d chill on my double bed listening to a bit of 80s classic rock, all without any drop in quality of sound. I estimate the max distance I covered was around 11 meters, which is pushing the Headphones to there limit as SteelSeries state that they can go up to 12metres.
USB Hub
Minimalists will love this Hub with it’s sleek, polished look and the fact that it’s not too big. It also comes with a menu wheel/knob and an organic light-emitting diode Screen also known as an OLED Display screen which means colours and everything are all bright and crystal clear.
The best thing about this Hub though is it uses its own Audio Hardware and Software to run everything, so there is no need to mess around with anything on your gaming device. The Hub also has its own menu features like Chatmix, which controls the audio of in-game sounds and the communication with your team mates again saving you from messing with all the settings on your computer. You simply just adjust the levels to what you wish to have as priority, either game music over team mates or game mates over in-game music, personally since I cannot stand children whining all the time within mulitplayer games I tend to have in-game sounds higher than chat, unless playing with good friends.
“Minimalists will love this Hub it’s sleek, polished and not too big”
Livemix is another feature that allows you to simply sit back and relax and let the software do it all for you; I call this one listen, play and enjoy. In-game sounds are always constant and as soon one of your team mates start talking again the software will automatically turn down in-game sounds and allow you to hear your mates instead.
Finally you have the EQ (Equalizer) which allows you to tinker around and set the perfect balance that suits your style of play. It’s perfect for everything you need whether you want to up the bass to feel like you’re in the midst of a war zone or twiddle around the settings to make sounds like footsteps more noticeable so you can tell when you’re being followed.
Headset
One thing that I love about this headset is the option to use one battery while one is charging, and then swap them over when needed. I have not seen any other headset that does this and gives you 99.9% non-stop audio; the .01 is due to swapping the battery over.
“7.1 Virtual Surround Sound”
Most of my headsets either have virtual surround sound or 7.1 Dolby Digital surround sound or something like that, so does this headset use anything like this? Yes this headset uses 7.1 Virtual Surround Sound, now this is not the best, but it does do it very well. It’s not as good as headsets that have more than one speaker in them, like the Razer Tiamat Wired 7.1 Surround Sound Gaming headset, the downside to the Tiamat is its size and weight and of course it’s not as versatile, so in this way the SteelSeries H Wireless headset comes out on top.
Headset Design
Since I just touched upon weight lets scan over the design of this headset, now no headset makes you look the top dog in front of anyone, you more of less look like a douche; “a word to describe an individual who has shown them self to be very brainless in one way or another, thus comparing them to the cleansing product for vaginas”, that is some interesting urban dictionary definition. Ignoring that though, these do actually look and feel good to wear. With its Matt Black finish that has a slight amount of polished gloss for the ear cup covers and top trim.
“Shown them self to be very brainless in one way or another”
The ear cups are made with nice high quality soft touch leather with orange stitching, and feel very nice and comfortable on the head and ears, even for long extended gaming sessions. Which can’t be said for a lot of gaming headsets, and I’ve tried my fair share.
They’re pretty robust as well, if you accidentally drop them or you end up throwing them across the room (well maybe don’t throw them across the room but a general drop is ok), they will take the bashing or a slight twisting like a real tough guy would. Beware though if your youngling (Under 3 years old) gets hold of them, they possess this special ability that allows them to break anything and everything.
Microphone
One thing I love about SteelSeries Headsets is the ability to retract and detract the microphone from the earpiece; this set is the same, however, with one slight difference the tip glows red, a red ring to be exact which adds a little extra something to make it stand out.
“oh yes a bit of bling”
The headset also boasts a power on and off button for the bling (LED Light on microphone) and its own volume control. If you tap the volume control you can access the USB Hub menu features and edit as you wish, however this is not great doing it blind, but you can edit say the Chatmix to suit on the fly if you are not near the hub to do so. The Gloss headphone covers can be removed, to which the left reveals the battery input and the right reveals a mini USB which is used to update the firmware.
Sound
“BANG BANG PERFANITY LOADS MORE PERFANITY…HEADSET GOES ACROSS TO THE ROOM, ahh gaming what a life we have”
I have already touched upon what type of sound this uses; just in case you missed it the headset uses 7.1 Virtual Surround Sound, not the best by any standard, but would it of made any difference if SteelSeries added more speakers? Maybe, maybe not. Personally I would have thought it would of made them worse, heavier for one and I also believe the battery life would be vastly reduced.
Let’s get passed the downside to these bad boys though, these are crap for anything where you plug the headset directly into them; for me it was like listening to music through a wall. I would simply say this, please use the USB Hub or you just going to get flat out rubbish.
Now to the good to great stuff, listening to Music is OK, but it does lack a little mid-range and sometimes too much treble, so you will see yourself messing around with the Hubs EQ to set it to what you like. For gaming though, which is what I got this headset for, these are balls to the knees awesome, positioning and sound clarity is on par with my ‘Wired Razer Tiamat’ personally, it’s a little too close to call.
So are they worth it?
For gaming and longevity the SteelSeries H Wireless headset, is light and versatile, and does 3D sound very well through it’s virtual surround sound engine. For music it does what is required, for the music professionals not so much. For Movies it lacks the oomph for low level bass, but then again, I got this for gaming not everything else and they go above and beyond what is expected for any high performance gaming headset.
So on that note, are they worth it? Gaming wise YES!
For me, it’s the ultimate gaming wireless headset, and as it states on the Box, SteelSeries H Wireless Gaming Headset not SteelSeries Multi-purpose Headset. So gamers go grab this bad boy if you have been saving for a new headset and fancy the freedom to take a whizz or make a coffee, while you carry on chatting to your friends online, or having to wait for the next multi-player match to start.
“They go above and beyond what is expected for any high performance gaming”
They are simply my best gaming headset now, and the Razer Tiamat is now set to one side as these take main priority,
http://steelseries.com/products/audio/steelseries-h-wireless
Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.
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