Home > Consumer Reviews > Logitech G35 7.1-Channel Surround Sound Headset

These headphones are a lot of fun.

I'm not a gamer - can't play many games because I get dizzy, but I am sort of a collector of headphones. Frankly, I expected these to be awful and was more than pleasantly surprised to find that they are really quite good.

OK, so they look like some kind of boy toy science fiction gizmo. For me, I could do without all the buttons. But having a volume button on the headphone and a mute for the mic is very useful.

Most headphones depend upon the right combination of source and headphone to get a good sound. If you plug most high end headphones directly into your ipod or computer soundcard the sound quality is atrocious. The right mate of source and sound can mean that the right $20 headphone in your ipod can give surprisingly good sound if it is a good match.

The good (and the bad) of a USB headset is that it bypasses the amp in your computer soundcard. Instead, the digital to audio processing occurs through USB. This approach can allow very high quality sound, and in the case of this headset, it succeeds.

As to sound quality. I am impressed with the surround sound where normally I find surround unbearably processed and artificial, the software does a good job. With the surround sound turned off, and these headphones are in pure stereo mode, forget it, it's awful. But that isn't what these headphones are for. Bass is excellent with good low extension and not even the slightest touch of boominess. Artifical bass enhancement is one of the things I hate about most processed sound, and I was delighted to find that none was present. Logitech is to be commended for making that choice in the design because most people equate sloppy boomy bass with high quality (think car stereo woofer).

The mid range is outstanding. That's where the sound really excels. I have a few very high end headphones where the midrange is weak. With these headphones subtleties of tone and shading in human voices are easy to hear.

The high end of the sound spectrum is the weakness of the sound signature. Lost highs are the big price for processed sound. Imagine a bell ringing. After the bell rings the sound hangs in the air and slowly fades. When the highest highs are lost, and the sound is processed, the sound gets artifically cut off and the "air" is gone from the sound. At the present state of technology this seems to be unavoidable in all processed sound. The good news with this headset is that this loss of highs is not too horribly bad. I could listen to music (which is not what these are for) and it was not too distracting. The offset was the beautiful mids and the realistic sound stage.

Listening to movies, other than gaming, is where this headset excels. This is where location of sound can make a huge difference, and the ambiant sounds contribute to the experience. Watching a movie with these headset while sitting right in front of my computer screen is immersive and exciting. I can imagine that in games, where location of sounds is critical, that these would greatly enhance the experience and give the player an extra edge.

Finally, they are pretty comfortable. The choice of cushioning is very appreciated.

My partner and I both want to use them. I was given these to review but I might have to buy another set. The price, when you consider that it includes the digital audio converter and amplification, is very reasonable for a headset of this quality.

Logitech's G35 really sets a mark for gaming headsets. Other surround sound headsets that I have used have been large and uncomfortable after sustained use, however the G35 has an adjustable headband and comes with three different cushions for whatever shape head you may have. The cups are padded rather nicely and do a pretty decent job of blocking out ambient sound. The USB cord is sleeved and the whole thing really feels well crafted. Features like the microphone automuting when you put it in the upright position make you wonder why this hasn't been done with every headset on the market.

The software is simple and easy to use, however i found it somewhat limited. The only balance controls are for bass and treble, with no presets or anything like that for types of music. Their is no control over the surround sound to balance your own levels or test it; the only thing you can do is turn the surround sound on and off using the manual switch on the back of the left cup. The customizable buttons are a great concept and comes with custom actions for programs like Itunes, Windows Media Player and Ventrilo, however it lacks Teamspeak support. The voice morphing is fun, but superfluous. For the price of this headset I would like a little bit more technical features and control over the sound. Note: the program uses 19MB of memory when you are using the headset, but on my laptop (Intel core 2 duo 2.2ghz, 2 gigs of ram) I haven't noticed a performance decrease.

The sound quality is superb for a USB headset. It doesn't sound as good as my Creative X-Fi sound card, but it definitely gets the job done. I haven't heard any distortions or crackling while gaming, and the directionality of the sound is very distinct and enhances gaming for sure. The low end is undistorted and you can actually feel explosions and things of the sort. The microphone records crisp and clear, and while the microphone is advertised as noise canceling, it occasionally picks up some background noise.

130$ is a lot for a headset, but these things deliver. I'd prefer some more control over the more technical aspects of the sound, but I am satisfied and have enjoyed using this device. If money isn't an object, go ahead and pick yourself up a pair.

For the past half-year, I've been using a Creative X-Fi Xtreme Gamer sound card and a pair of Sony MDR-NC40 headphones. The combination provides wonderful control over sound quality, whether in music, media, or gaming. However, the CMSS Headphone "Virtual Surround" technology that the Creative cards use isn't particularly impressive to me. It works incredibly well for some people, but it doesn't "cut it" in my case.

Today, I purchased a G35. I was incredibly eager to try it out because, wherever I looked, the headset got positively glowing reviews, praising the clarity of the headset and the impressiveness of the Dolby 7.1 Virtual Surround soundfield. Driver installation was simple enough; I downloaded the proper driver from the Logitech website and installed it. I didn't have to restart my computer, which I always find to be a plus.

I plugged in the phones, fired up a DTS demo, and... it sounded terrible. I went into the drivers and tried playing with the provided settings. Unfortunately, the "equalizer" consisted of simply main volume, bass, treble, and mic volume. This was pretty disappointing to me. Every sound card I had ever used had had at the very least a 10-band equalizer, if not 12- or 24-band. In short, I couldn't customize the G35 to have anywhere near the audio quality of what I had before.

I will say this; the Virtual Surround positioning is indeed excellent. It's the best virtualization of a 7.1 surround sound system that I've ever heard. That said, I can't sacrifice quality sound for "more" sound.

If you don't use a discrete sound card with your PC, then you'll probably think that the G35 sounds like audio heaven. If you have used a discrete sound card and a decent pair of headphones, you probably won't be particularly impressed. If you do end up getting a G35, I'd suggest purchasing a pair from a location with a no-questions-asked return policy, just in case it's not what you thought it'd be.

For many years I have been using a Speedlink 5.1 headset for gaming purposes. Recently, at my own fault, I broke those headphones which at the time cost over $200. This turned into a blessing in disguise.

After reading various reviews, I somewhat reluctantly decided to try these G35's out. The price was 1/2 of what I paid for the Speedlink's, but I was concerned about these being USB headphones which meant that they wouldn't be using my quality SB sound card. Frankly I needn't have worried. These headphones are absolutely tremendous for gaming and easily beat out my much more expensive Speedlink's in terms of positional audio. Besides testing it out with the demo, which had me looking all over the room it was that accurate, I have also used them in Batman Arkham Asylum. Thundering sound that absolutely transforms the game even coming from a previous 5.1 setup (the G35's are 7.1). I cannot say enough about these headphones for gaming. I also tested these with various forms of music and for that they are good but not exceptional.

Installation was very simple with the included CD which automatically went out and got the latest drivers from Logitech. The control panel is very simple to use for basic tone adjustments as well as programming the side buttons and any voice effects you may want. My only gripe is that they don't appear to allow you to disable the side buttons. I really don't have a need for them and find it somewhat easy to accidentally bump them which then brings up programs you didn't want. This, however, is a minor issue.

If you are a gamer looking to get great positional audio at a tremendous price then these headphones are definitely for you. For pure music I'd look elsewhere, but one likely would anyway as surround sound equipped headphones (which you can disable and should for music) aren't intended primarily for music use.

Update: After using the headset for about a month, I do have some updated points. First, I have found that over longer gaming sessions this headset can get uncomfortable. They press quite a bit and I found my self readjusting them to try and get some relief. The Speedlinks I mentioned earlier could be worn for hours on end with no discomfort. If you are playing in short bursts it may not be an issue, but if you have extended sessions then these things do get quite uncomfortable. A second point relates to the mic light and support. The microphone has a little red light on it that defaults to "on when muted". There is a setting in the software that enables you to turn this light off at all times. Unfortunately this setting does not save and thus on reboot it goes back to "on when muted" while all the other presets do save their settings. I emailed Logitech about this, but their support is horrendous. It has taken at least a week to get replies from them and their replies are extremely basic. After a week they suggested I reinstall the software (wow, it took you guys a whole week to come up with that gem?) When that didn't work, it took them another week to reply that I should try it on another computer. At this rate it will be months before we even get so far as to suggest trying a different USB port! Laughable support. Overall I still consider this a great headset, and the light issue while annoying isn't a deal killer, but the comfort is a disappointment. I would adjust my star rating to 4 if I could update that portion of the review. Logitech support gets a -10 by the way.

If you are a gamer, there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn't have this headset. It can seem a bit pricey but when compared to other brands, Logitech often runs a bit cheaper but doesn't sacrifice quality in any way. Our peripherals are almost entirely from Logitech and they have never let us down. This headset is no exception. The installation was simple. You just pop in the included CD and install the software, plug in the headset, and you're done. You don't even have to install the special software if you don't want to, but if you want to make use of the G buttons and the hilarious voice changer you will want to install it. I was impatient and just plugged the headset in and started up World of Warcraft. I was completely stunned at the number of sounds I could hear that I had never heard before. I have a nice surround sound set for my computer and I've never desired for anything more than what I had because I've always had rich, clear sound from my speakers. But this is a whole different experience. I could hear the scattering feet of little creatures nearby, I could hear birds I'd never heard before, I heard details in the music itself that had just never been detected before. I immediately felt like I was *in* the world. I hopped into Age of Conan and again, was blown away by all the things I'd never picked up on my speaker set. I could hear my mount breathing! I could clearly hear NPC voices in the distance and I heard waves crashing against a nearby dock. All things I'd never picked up before. Rinse and repeat with EverQuest II. This headset alone made my husband and I want to replay some of our favorite PC games like Dark Messiah and Assassin's Creed.

Sound quality aside, this headset has some unique features that will definitely make your gaming experience more seamless. The three "G" buttons can be assigned to all kinds of different tasks, like controlling your media player in the background without ever switching out of your game. This was a big hook for me as I very often listen to my own music when playing. I also absolutely love the microphone. It's totally flexible and adjustable and I do not have to worry about it breaking, ever! The mic auto-mutes when you move it away from my mouth. How cool is that?! It also has a mute button if you prefer as well. The volume button is also great and easy to get at. I only play in the evenings when my little ones are in bed and if I hear something on the baby monitor, I can immediately silence the sound without removing the headset. A huge plus for me.

The headset is also super comfy to wear and comes with three different "pads" that you can switch out to find which is most comfortable for you. It's highly adjustable and has number notches on the band so you can remember your perfect setting if the headset is shared with others. Also a plus! The earpieces themselves are on durable swivel bases so it fits just right to the shape of your head rather than digging into the side of your face. They are pretty lightweight considering the size, much lighter than I thought they would be. I can easily wear them for several hours and have no discomfort. Even my favorite earbuds can't say that. Overall, the headset is a nice size, not too bulky but big enough to completely surround the ear and very effectively reduce most external noise, which really really helps you get into the game. Get yourself a big, bright LCD monitor and this headset and you will be completely immersed. I am hooked all over again on my favorite games as this headset has literally breathed new life into my PC gaming experience. I haven't tried these with my Wii yet, but I would assume they would work in any of the USB slots and the strong braided cord is 10 feet long, so I can see myself taking advantage of that as well. The entire headset just simply feels durable and expensive. It would take a lot of abuse to break this baby. It looks like it can withstand just about anything. Absolutely recommended for avid gamers who seek total immersion or even audiophiles who love to maximize the sound quality of their music. You can't lose with this headset!!