Gadgetory

I was really pleased to finally complete my soundblaster XH series family of headsets when the age sevens arrived last week and I've been using them non-stop since the h7 headset is the Big Daddy of the pack offering features and sound above and beyond the H 3 and H fire before it with only a few details revealed today I've been very curious to see what exactly the h 7s offer over its predecessor and having tested them for a solid week I've been suitably impressed let's take a look now so I can share my insights into this very awesome headset the design of the h7 is very similar to that of the h5 they share the same pattern leatherette headband which extends down to the same shaped ear cap arms this time though in a cool-looking brushed black metal as opposed to silver the ear cups are the same size shape and build although this time the X on the sandblaster X logo is illuminated for quite a nice looking effect looking further down the headset we find the same detachable noise reduction microphone which is thin and light with one of the easiest longest and most pliable mic arms that I've seen to date on any headset the tip comes with a supplier than simple wind buffer that can be popped off and on if for some reason you ever wanted to take it off the design of the headset is just simple without looking plain I believe this simple design really contributes to the headsets overall light weight which is incredibly important for comfort especially over long gaming sessions the h5 and h7 models are both very very comfortable headsets overall the lightweight as mentioned combined with the well padded headband and very gently padded ear cuffs make for a very forgettable where forgettable is and you can forget that you're wearing them which is probably the Holy Grail in terms of gaming headset design in my opinion anyway some headsets tend to squeeze your head a bit too hard too I didn't have this issue at all in the h7s both rest easily on your head but don't fall off either if you shake your head around connectivity is the area where the h7 excels both overall and over its little brother the h5 with the h5 s and analog only headset the h7 s double up is both an analog and digital USB headset an X branded inline remote a short distance away from the headset is where you can attach the micro USB cable for the digital signal or alternatively there's a three-and-a-half millimeter jack available for simply using them as an analog device the inline remote features large mic mute toggle a play/pause phonecall button and then lastly a volume wheel it's through the USB connection that the h7 7.1 surround sound is enabled this can be customized in the Sound Blaster X acoustic engine software we can also play with a number of other settings first of all there's a number of custom built presets supplied by creative including some for specific games like Call of Duty and dota on the acoustic engine tab you can then adjust and create your own profiles to is that an equaliser page where there are also a number of presets and the ability to create and save your own and then on the scalp mode tab you can toggle just that scalp mode a sound mode that's designed specifically to help you hear enemies from further away the voice FX tab allows you to mess around the way that your mic recording is processed it has some pretty funny presets of its own finally in the Advanced Settings tab you can test the 7.1 surround sound toy with simple mixer settings and also customize the illumination of the X logo to pulsate along with the song you're playing which looks cool but you'll never see it will you the sound performance of the h7s is fantastic as you'd expect if it is the same angled 50 millimeter full spectrum drivers that were found in the H 5s and these are mapped some very good quality audio for gaming headset they sounded good by default in movies music and games and then with the acoustic engine software you can really customize the sound to suit whatever you're playing 17 presets though will probably cover most people I only really switch between the music profile and Call of Duty for first-person gaming the mic quality is good as you can hear on my test now it's one of the better gaming headset marks I've heard probably only eclipsed by the pulk Stryker Pro p1 but the difference is fairly negligible once you using a service where the quality is limited by the upload such as discord Skype or most in-game chat functions overall the Sound Blaster xh7 is no doubt a really great headset the design is simple yet attractive it's one of the most comfortable headsets on the market the sound quality from the 50 millimeter drives is great and the accompanying acoustic engine software's honestly I matched certainly as far as I've seen in regards to pricing the h7 is available on ebay commie you right now for 167 Australian dollars which is an extremely good price considering the h5 can only be had for around 150 dollars at those prices it's really a no-brainer for the extra features in the USA the h7 s can be ad for 130 dollars the h5 s can be picked up about $96 the two headsets feature the same audio drivers but if you want out-of-the-box surround sound additional USB connectivity and the additional software options and the h7s of what you need thanks for joining me for another sound blaster X headset review I'm your host Matt as always and I'll see you guys next time