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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program
Here I demonstrate the Logitech G930 and it's usefulness and features with demonstrations of voice morphing capabilities.
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***UPDATE 5/3/2013***Okay, so I've had this set for almost 3 years now. About a month ago I did have to replace the charger (my own fault, cord got damaged) and while I was doing so I replaced the battery for the first time as, with all rechargeables, it had degraded a bit. Going through logitech's website I was able to get the battery kit for 5 and the charger for 10. I'm hoping to get another 3 years out of this set.
Some updated impressions: After 3 years the faux leather covering over the ear pads has worn off a bit. I wear glasses and I've noticed that most of the wear is where my glasses rub them. I can't fault logitech for this really, and I don't notice it when I wear them.
My signal range seems to have degraded just a little, and I'm considering replacing the wireless dongle as well (which can be done directly through logitech for 10 bucks).
I won't deny the photo evidence regarding the plastic ear cup joints that people have posted in the comments on this review, but I will say that I've had this headset for almost 3 years, I'm a bit of a clumsy drunk at times (especially when gaming), and while I definitely haven't abused the headset it has been dropped from time to time. Other than the ear pad coverings and a few scuffs, you'd never know it wasn't brand new. Maybe I'm just lucky, I don't know, but the three headsets I bought before this one (all in the 50-100 dollar range) each lasted less than a year. Under the same treatment, this headset has outlasted all 3 of them. Honestly, if they broke right now I would probably buy the same set again. I haven't found much else that provides the same functionality in the same price range.
My long term impression of sound quality--audiophiles prolly wouldn't be satisfied, you can't crank them obscenely loud with strong bass without hearing some distortion. However, they definitely more hold their own in terms of gaming oriented headsets. At reasonable volume levels they're crisp and clear with good bass. I have grown addicted to the 7.1. I often tell people in first person shooters that 70% of my aiming is through sound at this point. It's hard to play without it.
My only real complaint is that the software is a bit buggy. Sometimes you have to relaunch it for the headset to be recognized properly and to get proper 7.1 playback. It's not much of a problem...but it can be annoying.
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First, off, I've only had this headset for a day. I can't really go into detail about sound quality, how good the surround sound is, etc. However, I feel like I need to clarify a couple of things.
There are two major issues that people have been complaining about with this headset: the "flimsy plastic" joints holding the ear cups on, and the lack of a graphic equalizer. Please disregard anyone who mentions either of these two "problems," because it is completely false.
If you look closely at the ear cup joints, yes, there is plastic there. However, if you pay attention, the plastic isn't actually the part that's moving. It's merely a covering for the actual joint. On the back of the box, under "Durability," it clearly states that the joints are made from an aircraft grade aluminum alloy. This is a very well made product guys, I get no sense that, if treated properly (take your game rage out on something that costs a bit less, children) it will ever break on me.
Now, I'm not quite sure why people are saying there's no graphic equalizer, and that they are limited to bass and treble adjustments. Directly below the bass/treble bars, there's a big button that looks like a graphic equalizer. If you click it, guess what happens. Yep, a 10 band EQ pops right up, complete with preamp volume adjustment. If you have this turned on, it grays out and overrides the bass/treble adjustments.
Now that I've cleared that up, I'll give my one day impressions on the product.
Super comfortable. I have a fairly large head, and yes, the headset does squeeze a little tighter than what you might be used to, but that's because the headband is made of metal and not cheap plastic. It's the squeeze of quality, learn to love it. It's not a bad thing at all, you just might not be used to it. After a few days of breaking it in, I doubt I'll even notice.
The sound quality seems fantastic so far. I'm still working on getting it to sound just right with my game of choice, TF2. With movies, music, tv shows, etc, it's just amazing. Crystal clear, rich, amazing sound.
I initially had problems with the mic, people in Team Fortress 2 were telling me that it was cutting out, and screwing up sound for everyone (if you've ever played the game, you know what I'm talking about). This was fixed by turning the mic gain way way down. I've been so used to mics that are super quiet, so I had windows set to max out and boost mic input, and maxed out mic input through the game as well. Turned the levels down quite a bit and presto, clear as a bell.
One thing I don't like, the mic level resets itself every time I unplug the headset (rather, the usb dongle) then plug it back up. It remembers every other setting, just not mic gain. I've solved this by setting one of the G keys to reduce mic gain, so if I ever launch a game and accidentally leave it set too high, I can easily fix it on the fly.
Speaking of the G keys, I was kind of disappointed that they work with ventrilo, but not teamspeak. No big deal though. Still, I was hoping to be able to sit on my porch and chill in our TS channel and be able to chat with people. (I have to go outside to smoke here...ahem >.>...you know what I mean.)
The wireless range and battery life really seem to be just as good as advertised, which was a very nice surprise. I can go anywhere in my house and still have completely clear audio. The majority of my front porch gets signal as well, and that's going between three walls. Last night I went in game with only a partial charge, the software said 7 hours of battery life left. I played a little over two hours, left game, and it said I still had five hours left. Good stuff.
I love this headset. Completely. After years of frustration over broken wires ruining headsets, I could not be happier with this product. If you've got a nice, functioning headset already, like a g35 or whatever, I couldn't justify telling you to purchase this. However, if you've got a cheap POS, or if you're in the market to buy a new headset because you rolled over your current pair's wires one too many times with your chair, I couldn't recommend this enough. I've never spent this much money on one before, I've always been in the 50-70 dollar range. Dropping 160 wasn't easy for me to do, money is tight these days. I don't regret the purchase at all.
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11/26/11 Update: Ventrilo PTT key now works very nicely. You can set up a standard keyboard key to PTT from the keyboard, and a G-Key to PTT from the headset when you are AFK. I have used the headset for more than 1 year now, a minimum of 3x3hr sessions per week on Ventrilo and a few hours a week on Skype. The headset has performed perfectly. Upgraded the rating to 5-stars which applies if you are purchasing these to game and use Ventrilo.7/5/12 Update: I've used this headset now for nearly two years, same usage pattern, and it still feels and functions as new. Normally I'd have concerns about the life of built-in rechargeable batteries, but this headset just plain continues to work. Even if/when the battery ultimately fails, it can still be used as a corded headset. This is a good one :)
[original review follows, edited to show PTT now works.]
First off, the G930 is physically a nice headset. Adjustable, comfortable, not too heavy compared to other full-sized, circumaural headphones. I'll leave full judgement on the quality of sound to others, since these older ears are no longer qualified to critique. But I *can* say you get clear, soft or loud sound from them :)
Ventrilo 3.0.5 Push to Talk (PTT)
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The only reason I'm writing a "Day 1" review (which is normally not worth much lol) is to note a key advertised feature that does not work. The reason I bought these headphones vs several others was the three G-Keys, and their ability to send commands to my PC while I am physically away from the keyboard. Specifically, the advertisement that Ventrilo "Push to Talk" was supported. It is not. [as of 3rd quarter 2011, this feature works very well].
The G-Keys work with a drop-down, limited LIST of applications, ie., Windows Media Player, iTunes, Winamp, PowerDVD, WinDVD, and the G930 software itself. Ventrilo 3.0.5 (app & version number) is also listed, and a listed action for this app is "Push to Talk". I checked all those things before I bought, but after an otherwise pleasant hour with Logitech support in the Philippines, the function does not work, it is a known issue, and "they will get back to me when there's further information". [It's meaningful to note that Logitech support *did* get back to me several months later to notify me that the PTT feature now worked.]
Logitech G-Keys What is Expected from a Brandmark
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The other thing you should know is this: When Logitech mentions "G-Keys", that word invokes the functionality of EVERY other Logitech product that has "G-Keys". PC gamers know the term. G-Keys can be programmed to send any key, key combination, or string with one key-press as if it were typed, very quickly, via the keyboard. The "G"930's G-Keys do NOT work that way. Each of the few listed apps has only a short list of pre-determined command choices. This important difference is obscured, no doubt intentionally, in Logitech's limited literature.
Other Observations
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Range: 40' seems a fair estimate of range vs the advertised range of other products. So I get a little more range than bluetooth, and arguably half what I get from, say, Sennheiser RF Headphones (100' "open air" advertised). At the edge of signal loss, the headset becomes slightly directional, ie, you can at times re-acquire or lose the signal. This is pretty much standard in my experience.
Environment: My G930 needs to operate in a "radio-noisy" and highly metallic environment (lots of gear, transmitters, metal in/on exterior walls), and it performs as well as any RF devices I have used here.
Ergonomics: Pretty good, with some "buts". All the keys placed on one ear piece is a good decision, but crowding can lead to indvertant button presses when picking up and donning the headset. Choosing the left ear piece was a good choice, but left-handed mousers will have some adjustments. OTOH, the G-Keys don't have much er, any practical gaming function, so this isn't an issue.
The "Power On" key implementation is unusual, and very poorly defined. The best I can tell, to turn the device off, hold the button in for 3 seconds (not 5), and if it changes to blinking green when you release it, you have successfully shut it off. If it doesn't, hold the key a little longer next time lol.
I'll be back with updates when I have used the device long enough to know it. Yes, I'm keeping it, yes I like Logitech products, and I'm hopeful eventually the G-Keys will eventually be real G-Keys. (As of 11/11 they are not.)
10/20/10 Update:
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I originally posted these two as workarounds for PTT. While they are no longer required, they may still prove useful:
1) Very Cumbersome: When going AFK, switch Ventrilo to "open microphone", and rotate the headset microphone up to mute, down to talk.
2) Highly workable: G930 software supports "plug-ins". Fortunately, a User has created one that works not only with Ventrilo (I tested it), but should work with other voicechats. The sole drawback is you push the Gkey once to "talk", and once to "stop talking". The download, description, and cause of this drawback is in this Logitech forum thread (Page 2 at this writing).
Honest reviews on Logitech Wireless Gaming Headset G930 with 7.1 Surround Sound
Customer review from the Amazon Vine ProgramIn my video review here I mostly offered general raves about how much I like the headset. It's true, the headset really amazes me with its quality and ease of use.
Because my nicer desktop crashed not too long ago, I've been without good sound. Yes, I have a 5.1 speaker system and an adapter to make it work with my laptop, but it's not the same.
This headset allows for a significant boost in the quality of audio in games, with music and video, and just about every other way.
I have tried and been disappointed by other products claiming to adapt sound to fit to a 5.1 system. Lots of promises, but the actual result is subpar. With the Logitech G930, the promises really do work out. The sound quality is top notch. Yes, the 5.1 and 7.1 sound is software driven, but the software works great and works great without being needlessly bloated, complicated or distracting. There is a simple panel that shows the level of charge, gives options for volume levels of overall volume, microphone, sidetone (how much you hear yourself in the headset), and basic treble and bass sliders. There is an option to shift these basic adjustments to a more full equalizer. In the bottom right corner, you can control the volume of each of the 7.1 simulated speakers in the headset, allowing you to balance it out as you wish. In the bottom left corner is the G-Key section where you can assign or adjust the three g-key buttons on the headset itself.
All very straightforward. Though, at first I was frustrated because I wasn't getting surround sound. A quick look in the provided manual pointed out the surround sound switch on the headset, right under the power button. When it is down, surround sound is on, and the icon on the screen turns red. Easy answer to the problem.
All in all, this headset delivers what it promises. I compared the quality of it while plugged in and while wireless, and found there was absolutely no difference in sound quality or response, meaning the wireless capability delivers.
So, I'd definitely recommend this for gaming. Indeed, this is where the headset will really be able to shine, as it uses the full 7.1 sound and microphone. But, it goes beyond being useful for gaming. For those with a less than stellar audio setup, this might be a great, relatively cheap alternative to getting a high-end sound card and speakers. This is especially true for most of us who can't exactly boost the sound whenever we want without disturbing other family members. This is a great headset for listening to music, or as I used it yesterday, for language learning software like Rosetta Stone.
This headset blocks a significant amount of noise, and also contains its own noise very nicely. I turned on a song with heavy bass, turned up the volume, sat next to my wife, and she said should couldn't hear it. The microphone also is advanced. While recording the video I had a fan blowing on me, and there was a neighbor using a leafblower outside. The microphone took care of these often very irritating sounds.
So, all in all, I couldn't be more pleased. The Logitech headset meets and exceeds my expectations. Indeed, they perform as promised, something that sadly far too few games or accessories do. These definitely earn five stars, and more if I could give them based on how much my audio experience has been boosted over the last several days.
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So I had this for 3 weeks after being recommended by a friend. I wanted a wireless headset that fit OVER my ears, not touching them since I use them for long periods. These were the perfect match. I loved them.After a week I noticed a short couple beeps in my headphones, thinking nothing of it I kept using them, after 3 weeks I asked my friend and he said he did not have them. I then noticed the beep was actually the USB dongle disconnecting from the headset, the green light would go out, then flash and come back. It happened every 5 minutes. I tried using the new software from Logitech, it didn't help. I tried using different USB ports, didn't help. I tried using native Windows 7 drivers, it didn't help. I exchanged them with a new set.
That day same issue with the new ones, called Logitech since I found I was not the only one with the problem, on teh Logitech forums many folks had this issue. Called support, they really didn't know, so I decided to RMA them back for a refund.
With the headset disconnecting, it is a useless device. You may get lucky, and then again, you may have them until your return period is up then it starts to fail...so buyer beware. I am now trying to decide if I want the wired version or just another brand assuming I can find one that truly fits over the ear.
EDIT: I went with the G35, the wired version of the G930, and it has yet to fail me. Great headset.
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