G35 Impressions
I had tested the G230 products first, and while they are entirely serviceable, they were not great. I did not have high expectations for what looked to be a very physically similar model in terms of specs. Yes, it was USB based, but what could Logitech do to improve the audio quality of this product when the overall construction of the cups is so similar to the G230?
Apparently they can do a lot.
The cups do not rotate as far as the G230 due to the design. It is still fairly adjustable and comfortable to wear.
Having a USB based set of headphones does give Logitech the ability to tightly control the components and signal quality/strength. This ability has worked wonders with these particular cans. Logitech has tuned these headphones in what is essentially a closed environment and have achieved some very impressive results.
Gaming is very good on these cans. Soundstage and depth is OK when Dolby Headphones is disabled. When it is enabled there is a much greater expanse of sound space. Dialog comes through very clearly with the correct spatial origination. There is a good amount of bass, but it is not boomy or overblown. Sound is very tight without being painful or sounding artificial. The gaming experience is very positive overall, with very few weaknesses. They do not sound entirely transparent though, and a really high end set of headphones with a good soundcard will certainly overshadow the performance of the Logitechs. This is not a knock against the G35s, because such a solution I am describing would easily cost $150 to $350 more than just the price of the Logitech set. Gaming again is the best case scenario for these particular headphones, and it is pretty obvious that Logitech has tuned the performance of these products towards that goal.
The microphone boom is flexible and easy to adjust. It also features a LED light that indicates if the mic is muted or not.
This is not to say that the G35s are lacking in other areas. In movies and TV shows with nicely recorded audio the G35s provide a good sense of depth and expansiveness. Vocal cues come from the correct area and surround effects are good, but not great. Enabling Dolby Headphone again improves the 3D soundstage, but it does have some issues in making audio “sound” like it is coming directly behind the listener. It also gives an OK approximation of height differences of the sound sources. These make watching movies and videos an enjoyable experience without detracting from the entertainment value.
Music is again an area where I would not grade these headphones as a negative. Audio is clean, the soundstage is about average, and music reproduction is above average for its price point. Vocals come through very clearly and are not muddied when combined with more complex scoring. Orchestral pieces are clean, but we do not see as much separation as with higher end headphones. Bass is present, but again not boomy. Those expecting a lot of bass with hip-hop style titles will likely want to look elsewhere. It handles music reproduction very well and will not detract from the enjoyment of the individual works.
The Logitech Gaming Software is very polished and packed with features.
The microphone is also an improvement over the previous G230s. I think this also has to do with the very thin cable being used in that product. Instead of being very tinny sounding and unnatural, it sounded much improved. Compared to an older pair of Plantronic headsets that I use for the podcast, it is a step down. Plantronic has a pretty good reputation when it comes to overall sound quality when it comes to microphones (they went to the moon, you know), so it is not a horrific knock against these Logis. Still, it is an area for improvement. The voice masking in the Gaming software works very well though. It can be quite amusing in certain situations…
The three programmable buttons up top can be assigned functions in different games.
I was honestly surprised by the improvement of the G35 over that of the seemingly identical G230 headphones. Logitech kept very tight control of the components and tuning with the G35, and it seemingly took an average to slightly below average performer and made something very respectable with a great amount of flexibility with functions and features. These are very good, all around performers for a variety of applications that are typically used on a computer.
is this a new model of the
is this a new model of the g35? ive had this headset for about 5 years now.
Looks much the same as the
Looks much the same as the original. Obviously the packaging has changed, but I will check and see if there are differences or revisions.
Me too. Terrible twist on
Me too. Terrible twist on the cable that was impossible to avoid. Caused all sorts of metal fatigue. Never again.
I have the G930 which looks
I have the G930 which looks identical to the G35 except it is wireless. It can be found easily for $100 so I dunno why you wouldn’t spend the little bit extra to lose the wire. Battery life is very good and of course if it does die you can always plug it in and keep using it.
I would of course be curious
I would of course be curious to hear if there are any differences in audio quality going with a battery/wireless unit vs. wired USB? As mentioned in this article there is a big difference between their pure analog version and the USB based.
I cannot say for the USB
I cannot say for the USB based version but I have the 930 and the wireless versions audio is pretty good. I’m no audiophile so it works for me quite well. The only negative is that the battery life is never as good as the application says it will and occasionally I’ll get crack noises and such from the wireless.
I can’t compare the sound
I can’t compare the sound quality to the wired version since I don’t have it, but I will say the 930 sounds very good to me. No complaints in the slightest.
To expand on this, I assume
To expand on this, I assume the 930 gets the exact same digital audio stream as the G35 so any potential differences in sound quality would likely come from the speakers themselves. I also suspect that the speakers are identical but have no way to prove that.
I’m thinking more about the
I'm thinking more about the bandwidth of a wired vs. wireless solution. Do we see downsampling on the wireless side due to potentially lower bandwidth?
I’ve had both the G35 and the
I’ve had both the G35 and the G930 after the right earcup broke. I’ve noticed that there seems to be less overall power in the G930 compared to the G35, and people whom I talk to using the microphone said the quality was a bit lower. It’s still good, but if you want a better quality sound and microphone, go with the G35.
I’ve had both the G35 and the
I’ve had both the G35 and the G930 after the right earcup broke. I’ve noticed that there seems to be less overall power in the G930 compared to the G35, and people whom I talk to using the microphone said the quality was a bit lower. It’s still good, but if you want a better quality sound and microphone, go with the G35.
Have owned the G230’s for
Have owned the G230’s for about a year or more and the ear cups definitely feel hard at first before they gradually sink on your ears. Not uncomfortable though, more awkward at first.
Being my first headset/mic combo I’m not sure if this is normal or not, but out the box it was practically useless without going into your audio configuration and adding a +10db gain. Then people could actually hear me, but at the cost of having this very low static in the background. Any further increase in gain made the static on your end very annoying.
I’m not sure if this is normal of all Headset Mic combos or not. If it is then disregard my lack of knowledge on the subject, but if not then you might want to think twice unless you’re really budget minded. They’re great for the price, but the mic gain part can get super annoying. You don’t really have a choice either since the default +0db gain makes you pretty much unhearable to anyone on Steam/Skype from my testing.
In my review I did mention
In my review I did mention how poorly the built-in mic for the G230s fared in our testing. While people on Skype on the other end heard me fine, the quality was just sub-par.
Oh that’s why you don’t sound
Oh that’s why you don’t sound as good in the podcast as Ryan 😉
I really should get a nice
I really should get a nice desk mic soon…
We must hear your laughter
We must hear your laughter and inappropriate comments in their full glory
How does the quality compare
How does the quality compare to other headphones in its price range. (how much quality are you giving up to the gamer tax?)
While are the mics always so horrible on these headsets.
Gaming headsets are rarely ever worth even a quarter of their price. The build quality is often lower, most of the parts are non user replaceable. They often use enamel coated wires in the ear cups (thus shortening the life of the headphone by allowing earcup fled to eventually break the wire. Companies use enamel coating instead of individual insulators as solid core copper wire breaks too quickly, but stranded wire does not break soon enough, so they use enamel which eventually rubs off and shorts, thus causing the device to fail more quickly.
Overall, it is best to invest in a proper desktop mic, and then get a good pair of headphones. A quality desktop mic such as the Blue yeti, audio technica at2020, audio technica ATR2500, rode NT-USB, all give very good quality, and best of all, you can upgrade to what ever headphone you want without worrying about the microphone.
The microphones in most gaming headsets, are some of the lowest quality mics possible. Really, why does the mic on a $200 gaming headset such as the sennheiser g4me series, sound worst than a $3 mic made by Zalman? (that is not even an audio company)
Gaming headset mics just suck, and they tack on a massive price premium just to essentially throw in a cheap mic.
G4me zero: https://youtu.be/6JBbGLDRVVw?t=434
Logitech G230: https://youtu.be/BhnMVUe_X2I?t=62
Logitech G35: https://youtu.be/DFyW7_glgRA?t=251
Zalman ZM-mic 1: https://youtu.be/yZSZcgiHeyA?t=37
Mics like that are cheap, and
Mics like that are cheap, and the beancounters at Logi probably ask themselves how many people actually need a high quality mic while screaming over Vent or Teamspeak? As mentioned in my article, Plantronics seems to put good quality mics in even their lower end products.
Illustrates the background
Illustrates the background noise on the G230 perfectly. At least some of the other mics sound more clear despite the drastically higher price.
I’ve had a pair of the G35s
I’ve had a pair of the G35s for around 5 years now. They were originally wired USB. Mine are still kicking, but the cheap vinyl covering over the foam earpieces have long disintegrated. Are they still using that cheap paper thin vinyl wrap?
The covering on the earpieces
The covering on the earpieces feels fairly thick. Certainly not paper thin. When I get home from work I will check it out a bit further.
Any recommendation for true
Any recommendation for true 5.1 or 7.1 headsets?
None? I have messed with
None? I have messed with some other multi-speaker headsets, and none of them were overly impressive. I would rather have a clean set of 2 channel headphones.
If you wanted a air of
If you wanted a air of headphones with microphone which had good sound for music (not rap, I said music) including rock as well as gaming, how much would I need to spend to get into the “good” and “very good” range?
I would like a pair which exclude outside noise so I can use them on flights to watch movies and listen to music including Queen, AC/DC and other 70s/80s/90s rock/popular music. Be very interested in your thoughts if you wouldn’t mind Josh..
Garry
Western Australia
Hmm, good questions. You
Hmm, good questions. You probably need to look in the $150 range for a good set that will have the sound quality you desire. The G35 is certainly a nice set, and they have some terrific sales going on. Another option that I like are the Corsair headsets. They have pretty balanced sound and good microphone quality.
Just a quick comment on the
Just a quick comment on the article: at the moment of writing this, the G35 are just $59.99 USD vs the $49.99 for the G230, so the “double the price” disadvantage of the G35 is gone for now. I was thinking of getting the G230 (got red+black PC) but I’m probably switching to the G35. Thanks for the review!