Gadgetory

this video was brought to you by NCI X great technology selections and service hey guys this is Dmitry and welcome back to another Harbach next review so Logitech is going through a bit of rebranding at the moment with the reintroduction of the G Series peripherals it's not anything innovative from Logitech but they're mainly giving their products a facelift with some aggressive marketing now we're going to take a look at their latest gaming headsets one which is the surround sound and the other is just stereo so in this video I'll be comparing both headsets so let's dive right in the two products you're looking at are the G 430 surround sound headset and the g2 30 which is stereo there's a $30 difference which isn't much considering in theory you are supposed to get more superior audio gaming experience with the surround sound specs wise the G 430 is equipped with 40 millimeter drivers would stand in frequency range with adequate sensitivity of 90 DB and impedance of 32 ohms the stereo headphone the G 230 is equipped with the same specs now here's a bit of misleading packaging as the G 430 is an identical headset to the 230 but with a different color scheme the surround sound actually comes through an included USB sound card but I was surprised not to find this bit of very important information on packaging except a very small subscript at the bottom under the context of the box so aesthetically this certainly looks like a Logitech headset very much like the G 35 or the g930 it has a slight renovation now with different ear cups and no longer the rubberized coating on the plastic honestly the headset does not feel sturdy and the ear cups on the 430 for example were a lot more loose than on the 230 even though it's the same construction I wasn't comfortable holding the headset by one ear cup as I felt like it would snap at the rotating joints they do fold however at 90 degrees inwards and have some slow-mo the other way as well but this basically allows the headset to remain on your body very comfortably if you need to take them off your head this is a very needed feature for a gaming headset and I'm happy of the execution the microphone is flexible by they've disabled the mute function when it's in the upright position but we do have Kable control so that's really not an issue and this is a noise cancelling mic so it does have the low frequency roll-off which you can hear with isolating levels and i am recording this with the USB dongle and while it sounds acceptable for gaming the roll-off is quite annoying also when using the USB sound card the mic input passes through the headset meaning you can hear what you're saying now I like this feature so you can hear your voice level during gaming but there's no option to disable it unless you mute the mic the headset connects through a standard 3.5 millimeter headphone and mic jack and has a two point three meter braided cable comfort wise these are height adjustable they are plenty deep ear cups so your ears don't make any contact with the frame and the headband is very comparable to memory foam and the light body really makes wearing these for long gaming sessions a complete breeze also the questions allow your ears to breathe which is so needed on any type of headset especially for long gaming sessions but my main complaint here is the materials feels a little harsh kind of like the inside of your bathing suit and I think this was a poor choice from Logitech I mean just take a listen in this comparison to appropriate your cushions versus the G 230 now luckily they are removable and I wish lodge that would release optional software ear cushions so your ears don't hate you now given these are the same headset with a difference in the concealed USB dongle for the G 430 I went ahead with audio testing using my own sound card and of course the included one so the only quality for the headset in stereo mode is very much impressive for the price I honestly was not expecting these things to deliver but the 40mm drivers are quite good with a more forward base and recessed trouble but still very predominant and not drown down mid-tones which is a very good audio signature for gaming which emphasize on explosions and gunfire why all the chatter is present but not dominating the base here is a tab to high but impressively deep and non distortive also because the highs are slightly recessed the headset isn't as crisp as what I'm used to but still very enjoyable for music playback when it came to gaming I jumped around csgo played some crisis and bf3 and the warm audio signature delivered to my expectations for appropriate detail of footsteps and overhead bullets while blowing off parts of a house with very controlled and slightly rumbling bass was satisfying soundstage was alright for a closed headphone but the ear cushions do allow slight audio leaks so gaming at 100 percent volume won't wake up your neighbours but it might irritate your girlfriend just a little so put it on the G 430 with the bundled USB card I was utterly disappointed as it lacks amplification as I wanted to crank up the volume and all of a sudden the audio became very muddy and lost clarity plus very noticeable but quiet hiss was coming from the USB card turning on the virtual surround sound in the software it does help with improved soundstage that slightly improves directionality but the bottom line is the included USB card is very poor and does not do justice to the 40-minute drivers now I gotta give it to Logitech for their G software which is very intuitive and allows customization of bass and treble and turn on the virtual surround sound and of course adjust the level of each of the virtual channels but really there's no reason to spend $30.00 on the G 430 for the USB bundle as a very affordable and powerful sound cards exist which are with highly and also we can't avoid a big elephant in the room with one-sided audio issues and Google Chrome using any USB headset from Logitech because the latest flash is incompatible and causes bass and channel issues I'm doing a very quick google search and you will stumble upon many user issues without appropriate response from Logitech so we are going to conclude with our usual pros and cons list and what the headset is quite light and allows your ears to breathe we have on cable volume and mic mute controls swivel ear pads that allow the headset rest comfortably on your neck and a very pleasant audio signature given you run them through a decent sound card however I'm not a fan of the build quality they just don't have that sturdy feel the ear cushions while allow your ears to breathe a very harsh and I don't think having this washable material is in any way practical and lastly the surround sound USB is completely not worth it while simulating a more open audio environment with added virtual channels quality is much degraded with poor amplification and hiss so really my main audio complaint here is the sound card as the headset itself has potential for both music and gaming as long as you're driving them with a proper sound card and also don't forget the misleading packaging on the G 430 they really should include the picture or some indication that the surround sound is simulated through a USB dongle and not through the headset itself so why do you guys think logically committed this information from packaging we'd like to hear your opinions as always thanks for watching leave comments down below and we'll see you in the next one