We’ve reviewed a lot of gaming headphones over the years, and we’ve drawn a conclusion that there just aren’t many good headsets for gamers. There are some really good sets for music listening, but they can cost hundreds of dollars. PC and console gamers have usually gotten the short end of the stick: a soon as you add a microphone onto a headset then they immediately have mediocre quality. Adding a microphone adds maybe a few dollars to the cost of producing the set, so why do manufacturers pair a microphone with mediocre-sounding drivers?
The tale of wireless headphones is also a woeful piece of scripture. Even “audiophile” brands of wireless headphones have produced lackluster quality, are heavy, and usually rather expensive.
And don’t get me started on “surround” headsets, even if they do have a Dolby logo on them.
The aforementioned reasons made me skeptical when I came across Logitech’s new G930 Wireless 7.1 Surround Gaming Headset. Not only does Logitech feel confident that the G930 is better than other PC headsets, but they’ve added just about every technology you could want into the product. It has a retractable auto-muting noise-cancelling microphone, wireless digital communications, programmable buttons, on-board controls, memory foam pads, voice-morphing software, and Dolby Headphone surround sound.
That sounds like a very ambitious promise, indeed.
Let’s start our review on the next page…
Laying eyes on these headsets makes a very good first impression. Even though the majority of this headset is plastic, it looks very durable and can take a beating. The earcups rotate about 100 degrees, so they can lay on a desk with the cups facing down (and the controls facing up).
The headset has a typical layout: There’s an adjustable headband, but this holds a few surprises. The headband is rigid plastic, but has a thick strip of memory foam underneath. If you’ve ever laid on a bed of this material, then you’ll understand that it is some of the most comfortable stuff in the world. The fact that someone thought to use this in a headset is just pure genius. The headband can be expanded by pulling out two aircraft-grade aluminum strips, which are notched in 16 positions each, Each notch is about 3mm apart, so if you extend both strips then you have an additional 10 centimeters (approximately 4 inches) of expansion. Because they’re notched means that they stay in place pretty well, but do drift a bit.
The right earpiece is void of any buttons or cables, and the left cup is the one with all the gadgets. On the top of the cup are a total of 3 G-buttons (Logitech’s branded reprogrammable function buttons), a microphone mute button, and a volume scroll wheel. The bottom of the cup has a USB jack and a charging LED. The back side of the cup has the power button and Dolby Surround toggle switch.
The microphone can be flipped up out of the way or pulled down, and auto-mutes when the microphone is flipped about 45 degrees up. A red LED turns on when the microphone is muted (either by flipping up or pressing the mute button on the side. The sample I was given doesn’t have one, but the one I tried at the PAX 2010 Logitech booth did, and the red light is obvious, but not intrusive… it’s fair to say that you will know if your microphone is muted.
The programmable buttons and volume control are simply a joy to use. The three G-buttons are positioned so that if you lift your left hand up to your ear, then your three middle fingers fit naturally over the keys. They can be programmed for all sorts of things, and you can have different profiles, but unfortunately profile switching is handled through software. This means that if you switch from listening to music to playing Left 4 Dead 2, then you must go into the software to switch the profile (assuming you’ve programmed special functions for the game).
The volume slider is really neat, and works similarly to the G510 keyboard. Rotating the wheel from top to bottom, it takes 8 finger-swipes to change the volume from 100% to 0. The Logitech G510 keyboard’s wheel can do the same job in 6 swipes. There is a little more granularity for the volume on the headset, but it means furious swiping if you need to change the volume drastically.
The headset also comes with a nifty little USB charging base that looks a bit like a hockey puck, or more accurately the internal chuck of a weed-whacker. The top center of the round base has a single USB port, which is intended for the headset’s wireless receiver stick. The receiver will work just fine when directly attached to a PC, but plugging it into this base allows you to place the receiver closer (and thus get better reception and longer range). It would have been nice if more than one USB port was included, as it would make hot-plugging USB sticks a lot easier (the main reason I use the Belkin USB hub in the first place).
There are two parts of the USB cable. The part that attaches to your PC is a full-sized standard USB-A plug, and is wrapped around the bottom portion of the puck and is about 3 1/2 feet in length. The top cable is thinner and uses a smaller proprietary connector (the same one used on the G700 mouse) that attaches to the bottom of the headset’s left ear-cup. The connector fits more tightly than other USB plugs, and will not unplug itself accidentally, even with a good tug. The cable is about 5 feet long, which is plenty if you’ve placed the puck on your desk somewhere.
Turning the headset on requires that you press the power button for at least 1 second (anything less could be considered an accidental press). Turning the headphones off requires that you hold the power button for at least 3 seconds (once you release the power is turned off). In wireless mode, the headphones can power themselves off if no audio centent is heard for about 10 minutes (as far as I know there’s no way to adjust this).
The headset can be used wirelessly, or wired (with the included USB cable plugged in). The headset can be used immediately after plugging in the receiver and turning the headset on, but has limited functionality until the software is installed. By default, the headset works in stereo mode, and even switching the Dolby surround switch won’t change things until the included software is turned on. Once the software is installed, you can set a custom equalizer, use voice morphing, set profiles and check the battery status.
The headphones had limited functionality when plugged into our powered Belkin USB hub. The headphones would work, but only in stereo mode. Only when the receiver is plugged directly into a computer USB port were all of the features unlocked. It didn’t matter if we used the included USB cable or the receiver: the headphones would not work properly unless plugged directly into a USB port.
The headphones are surprisingly comfortable, especially for being so hefty. There is no active noise-cancellation, but the around-the-ear cups do a very good job of sealing away the outside world. The OCMS office has several noisy PCs, and they were virtually silenced with this headset equipped, but not nearly as much as active noise-cancellation technology.
When the receiver stick is plugged in, Windows automatically switches the audio device to the headset; just like every USB-based headset I’ve tested behaves. The problem is that the default audio device is not switched back unless the dongle is unplugged. Turning on and off the headphones should be the trigger that changes the device, not that the stick is plugged in. If you have the stick plugged in and have the headphones turned off, then you hear absolutely nothing, which could be confusing to some, especially if they swtich between speakers and headsets. It is rather annoying to unplug a USB stick (which could get lost) just to hear the attached speakers.
The G930 software. Note the Surround Sound Mixer and G-button function assignment areas
One of the best software features about this headset is the ability to granularly tweak the surround field’s volume. The volume of each channel can be adjusted between 1 and 11, but anything below 6 is practially inaudible. I find that an adjustment of 1 is a significant enough change to differentiate the channels. Some games (particularly games using Valve’s Source engine) sound like all of the audio has been pressed into an “audio meat grinder” and spat out in a mono channel. Using the Surround Sound Mixer makes the directional sound-field in these games more obvious.
The microphone works great, although as I mentioned before the sample I was given does not have a red mute LED when the microphone is turned off. Users can use one of six pre-defined Voice Morphing characters, and it’s a shame that these cannot be customized (imagine an entire game of Counter Strike where everyone sounds like a Space Squirrel). There is a dropdown control in the software that allows the software to pick up your voice (Lowest to Highest). If you choose the wrong range of voice, then the effect can sound choppy.
The programmable G-keys are really handy… once you’ve used them then you really can’t live without them. There are lots of pre-programmed functions, like skipping tracks in Windows Media Player or switching Voice Morphing characters and audio tone. There’s even support for Ventrilo, so you can press a button to “Push to Talk” or issue commands. It appears that as of right now you’re stuck with the pre-programmed applications, because the “Select Application” drop-down has no assignable actions. You can add Plugins to support additional games or applications, but none are currently available that I know of.
The software also has information such as battery status, and when the last Surround Sound content was detected. This last bit could be helpful in determining if you’ve accidentally set a game to use stereo sound rather than 7.1.
We’ve tested a few gaming headsets and even audiophile equipment, and one thing we’ve noticed with gaming headsets is the lack of bass. One would think that kicking bass would be a prerequisite for a gaming headset, as there are usually booming explosions and other loud noises that the set must reproduce.
We tested the bass frequency response of the Logitech G930 against the GameCom 777 5.1 (reviewed here)and a TekNmotion PulseWave (reviewed here). We also threw in two entry-level audiophile headphones: the JBL Reference 410 Headphones (check prices) and Bose In-Ear Headphones (check prices) to see how they perform in comparison.
Other gaming headsets performed adequately for their price range, but the G930 appeared to have slightly better quality. The bass is good, but just not as punchy as I think a gaming headset should have. All of the headphones’ volumes began to drop at around 30Hz, and all had similar signal strength at 15Khz and higher. The other gaming headphones showed their true colors when mixing bass frequencies, as obvious clipping occurred, but not in the case of the G930. The Logitech headphones did not produce any crackling or other clipping when mixing bass frequencies as the other gaming headsets in this lineup, and each individual sine wave could be heard, which is similar to the audiophile pairs included in this comparison.
The only complaints I have about the sound is that the bass could be a lot better. It isn’t as punchy as an audiophile set, which can easily cope with the explosions and gunfire found in many PC gaming titles. When the G930’s bass gets too loud, then it can begin to distort. Most of the time this doesn’t happen, but there are a few sequences in Left 4 Dead that has such overwhelming bass that it sounds like major distortion, and I have to take the headset off.
Some expensive products either have amazing quality or lots of features, but rarely both. I’m actually surprised that the G930 sounds as good as it does, as most of the price of this set are in the features and wireless technology.
| 11Hz | 15Hz | 20Hz | 25Hz | 30Hz | 50Hz | notes | |
| GameComm 777 | – | very weak | weak | weak | strong | very strong | severely loses volume at 30Hz, bad clipping and pulsing when mixing bass frequencies. |
| JBL Reference 410 | – | weak | strong | strong | very strong | very strong | Accurate bass sine wave reproduction. No clipping |
| Bose Earbuds | – | very weak | weak | weak | strong | very strong | Loses volume severely at 30Hz. No bass clipping |
| TekNmotion Pulsewave | very very weak | very weak | strong | strong | very strong | very strong | sounds like banging on a drum rather than sine waves. Can actually hear frequencies as low as 3Hz |
| Logitech G930 | – | weak | weak | strong | very strong | very strong | loses volume around 20Hz, but no clipping when mixing bass frequencies. |
We also tested the positional sound accuracy of the headphones. Bear in mind that directional audio perception is very subjective, and in my opinion directional audio from a headphone isn’t very obvious. It “kinda” sounds like something coming from the left or right, but most of the time things just sound “ethereal” and not truly directional. Some games are better than others. Left 4 Dead is really horrible at this, while the audio from the Call of Duty series is more believable. We also tested with several BluRay movies, and 5.1 DVD audio tracks. Keeping within headphone directional audio comparisons, the G930 does a very good job.
Now we weigh all the pros and cons and render a verdict on the next page…
Overall, I’m rather impressed with the Logitech G930 7.1 Surround Wireless Gaming Headset. The sound quality is actually surprisingly good. Although the bass response wasn’t as good as some audiophile sets, I have yet to see a PC gaming headset that blew me away in this area. There is a little bit of digital audio hissing, which is more noticeable in low-volume situations.
The wireless range of this set is very good, as I’m easily able to travel through 2 stories of my house without it breaking up. When it does begin to break up, you hear a little digital noise rather than an analog weakening signal. It’s very nice to be able to leave my PC and still listen to what’s going on, and even control music without being at the keyboard. There is absolutely no noticeable lag in audio, from the earpieces or microphone.
The headset is also rather comfortable, especially considering its weight. The memory foam headband really makes a difference, and the full-sized ear-cups reduce pressure, especially for those wearing glasses. When the room temperature gets a bit hot, then there can be a bit of sweating around the ear-cups, but that’s to be expected of any full-sized headphones.
The amount of on-board controls is rather impressive, as are the other features of this headphone. Thanks to Logitech, I’m now spoiled by the incorporated G buttons, and I’m glad that having to search for in-line volume and mute buttons clipped to my shirt is a thing of the past. The G-buttons are “programmable” but you can only choose between presets within the software. Plugins can be added to support other applications and games, but there are currently none on Logitech’s website.
The minor things I would improve are these… I would put additional USB ports on the wired base, and include analog inputs. Analog inputs would allow gamers to use this set with their existing sound card, or even gaming consoles and media players.
While the bass response isn’t as good as “professional” earphones, it is very, very good by PC gaming headset standards. The other features aren’t just gimmicks: the are actually useful for the PC gamer and music lover. I know I’ve harped on the bass quality, but in all fairness audiophile headphones can cost twice as much as this set.
The fact that all of these features come together with really good sound quality makes it very easy to recommend the Logitech G930 7.1 Surround Wireless Gaming Headset.
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This headset delivers a fast wireless connection so you can level up without being tied down. Add 7.1 surround sound, three programmable G-keys and a comfortable, adjustable fit and you’ve got everything you need to win.
Features
- 2.4 GHz wireless connectivity
Designed for a lag-free, interference-resistant connection with a range up to 40 feet (12 meters)*—so nothing stands between you and victory. - 7.1 Surround Sound
Advanced Dolby® technology delivers a detailed soundfield that lets you hear your enemies before they see you. - Three Programmable G-keys
You’ve got one-touch command over music, voice morphing, chat clients and more. - Adjustable, memory foam-lined headband
Creates a personalized fit to fend off fatigue - Plush, Noise-isolating ear pads
Ease pressure points and seal out unwanted noise - Laser-tuned drivers
We analyze each acoustic element—magnet, coil and diaphragm—to optimize the drivers and pinpoint unwanted distortion, so you hear only rich, clear audio. - Noise-cancelling microphone with auto-mute
The microphone reduces annoying background noise for clear, intelligible voice commands, and automatically mutes when you rotate it up and out of the way. - Microphone mute light
The microphone tip glows red when muted - On-ear audio controls
Adjust volume and microphone mute on the fly — don’t fumble for controls in the heat of battle - Painless recharging
Recharge using the universal micro-USB cable — even while you’re still playing. When charging is complete, wrap up the cable inside the cahrging base - Batteries built for battle
Wieh up to 10 hours of battery life, this headset can get you through the most epic gaming sessions - Adjustable audio settings
Tweak surround sound settings and equalizer levels using the included software - Real-time voice morphing
You can select from six voices — troll, mutant, alien, giant, cyborg and space squirrel - Plug-and-Play Setup
Don’t worry about unplugging or rearranging your speakers. Just plug the wireless adapter into the charging base or a USB port and you’re ready to play
System Requirements
- Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7
- Intel Pentium 4 processor or equivalent
- USB port
- CD-ROM drive
- 7.1 surround sound and G-key programming require software installation
Wireless
- Connection: 2.5 GHz RF (radio frequency)
- Range: up to 40 feet (12 meters)
- Audio stream: uncompressed 48Khz
- Reception: dual antenna
- Interferrence resistance: forward error correction and dynamic channel selection
Battery
- Continuous playback time: up to 10 hours per charge
- Charging connection: full-speed USB, charge while playing enabled
- Charge time: 2.5 hours or less (longer when in use)
Headphone
- Ear cup: up to 26dB noise isolation
- Driver: laser-tuned, 40mm diabeter with neodymium magnet, 15mm diameter voice coil with ferrofluid damping
- Frequency response: 20 Hz – 20 kHz
Microphone
- Pickup pattern: cardiod (unidirectional)
- Type: pressure gradient electtret condenser
- Frequency response: 100 Hz – 75 kHz
Durability
- Volume roller: 80,000 revolutions (minimum)
- Button: 50,000 presses (minimum)
- Headband slide: indexed stainless spring steel
- Ear cup rotation point: aircraft-grade aluminum alloy