Wrapping Up

Wrapping Up

All in all, the Sound BlasterX H5 represents good mid-tier value in a gamer headset. So that you have some perspective on my normal equipment that the H5 is getting compared to, I’m using the following:

Razer Tiamat 7.1 gaming headset on the PC.

Sennheiser IE80’s for my normal daily listening.

Bose QuietComfort 25’s for flying.

It’s fair to say that these are all more expensive than the H5’s and I’d not consider replacing the IE80’s or QC25’s with the H5’s, but what about the Razer?

I’m actually at a bit of a loss when it comes to this match up. I got the Tiamat 7.1’s as I really liked the idea of the discrete multi-channel sound they give, however the H5’s also give great sound and (importantly) they’re more comfortable for me as there is more space inside the leatherette cups for the ears to fit into. The Tiamat isn’t uncomfortable as such, just that the H5 is more comfortable.

Multi-channel audio in headphones has always been a bit of a tricky thing anyway. I’ve still yet to find anything that really recreates the soundscape of a proper 5.1 or 7.1 channel system with speakers placed around you. Some are trying to do this differently with OSSIC for example sailing through its Kickstarter funding for a new HRTF headset and others attempting to do something similar with binaural audio. I’ve yet to try OSSIC and binaural audio is impressive but still leaves me feeling like it’s not there with regards to a proper surround sound experience.

With that being the case, I’m left contemplating a return to a set of great stereo headphones. The H5’s are an excellent choice for a not too expensive and good all round quality gaming headset which handle whatever you throw at them well.

Reviewed at $126.80 (Amazon US) and £97.58 (Amazon UK).

You can find additional information about our hardware review process and ethics policy here.

Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.