Gadgetory

hey guys this is Dimitri with her rockin ox and welcome back to another video review SteelSeries is certainly a gaming brand that you should recognize especially when it comes to gaming headsets from our previous experience there were certainly things to improve on with some of their three-piece designs but when it comes to audio quality and delivering to that amazing experience SteelSeries certainly can deliver so today we're going to take a look at the 9h headset that incorporates SteelSeries own drivers that are known to be quite excellent for detail and clarity and price at 106 dollars let's see how they stack up for that professional gamer the first thing to mention is that I do appreciate the one-piece design there are no detachable hand band or earpieces and the overall build quality is robust with solid joints and flexible design the headband is adjustable and ear cups do swivel for that custom fit the pleather cushions go over your ears that are quite deep and follow similar Orange internal lining as there are other headsets and the single external thread that adds to the overall appeal and I do like it they provide some noise isolation from your surrounding environment but surprisingly have quite a bit of leak which isn't a good thing if you like to blast the volume the headband also features extra padding and notice there are four cushions that help to shape the 9h over your head without any specific pressure points and combined with lightness of the headset this type of headband design is great for long term comfort the noise cancelling microphone is concealed within the left ear cup and it's become sort of the staple for SteelSeries as the mic is retractable and the very low-profile and flexible so here's a sample of the microphone as you hear it is quite noisy so let's turn on mic noise reduction with that on you can hear it is becoming a lot cleaner and loud now let's turn on mic compression which levels out the volume so when you raise your voice or lower your voice it auto levels the microphone for a more uniform volume now right underneath is still series custom connector for the cable that is detachable it is braided with the mic mute button and volume control wheel and at the end you attach the mic headphone splitter or the 90 degree headphone attachment for mobile use we do have an extension cable included if you require that extra reach the 9h also includes a USB sound card that is 24-bit 96,000 Hertz it's quite small and allows you to connect both headset jacks or the custom USB jack from the 9h I would have liked to see a longer USB cable so you can place the sound card facing you but get inside the SteelSeries engine software it will automatically detect the headset where you can enable Dolby Surround choose your presets or adjust the equalizer itself activate mic noise reduction for cleaner chat and compression for uniform volume and also adjust microphone volume getting into the configuration tab you can create your own profile so battlefield 4 for example and the executable and then we'll activate that profile when you launch into the game so it's quite useful now I first fire up into battlefield 4 with the included sound card to see if it was any good and I gotta say I'm not a fan of Dolby Surround for gaming it does open up the soundstage a little bit which for a closed type headset is useful so your audio environment is a bit larger but then you sacrifice on the detail of those audio elements in the game and it doesn't sound natural with the Dolby Surround plus it doesn't really benefit directionality I did play around with the included presets choosing the FPS mode does bring out the detail in those footsteps and that gunfire that passing by you and the explosive action preset was also surprisingly well balanced for that little extra punchy bass but still maintaining the excellent high range the USB sound card however doesn't bring out the best in a 9 inch so I used our audio engine DAC to see what was missing and the first thing I noticed was how much more detail I could hear from the drivers the USB sound card does lack proper amplification and 100% volume it just wasn't loud enough and the card doesn't do justice to these drivers that's because steel series drivers are well tuned for gaming with excellent and detailed high-end and proper mid-range the lower base is pretty weak and doesn't particularly impress but for gaming FPS shooter especially the bass isn't everything here in the same direction of where sniper fire is coming from is key and giving this is a closed type headset you do compromise on the size of the soundstage but I think the detail makes up for it driver imaging is also great for stereo sound and being aware of audio elements around you and like I said soundstage could be a bit larger but that's just a limitation of the closed design overall the 9h has a bright sound with emphasis on audio elements that matter for professional gamers and while the included USB sound card has the equalizer settings and profiles so you can quick tune your tone properties I found it lacking the proper power to really drive the headset to its full potential and I will conclude by saying that there are many positive aspects of the 9h starting with the build quality and comfort both of which are crucially important within this very competitive sphere of gaming audio they retractable microphone is something I think more companies should take note of and the drivers are tuned well for gamers who need every bit of detail in the game as the 9h can deliver very detailed and clear audio the included USB sound card like what pretty much every gaming headset out there is quite for and while you can't play around with the equalizer it lacks the proper power to drive the headset to its full potential and because of this the 160 dollar price tag is slightly high and I'd like to see a cheaper package without the USB dongle I also would have liked to see interchangeable ear pads like with their other headsets just to provide the slightly more open audio that would enhance the soundstage so guys if you are in the market for a gaming headset this should certainly be want to consider that is if you want a closed type experience so make sure to LIKE this video if you want to see more gaming reviews don't forget to subscribe and we'll see you in the next one