Review: Steelsound 5H v2 headphones

There is plenty of choice in the headphone market but most of those available are targeted at people who demand high-quality playback of music.

In contrast Steel Series has released a headset tailored specifically with the gamer in mind.

Its second version of the Steelsound 5H has a frequency response range which is well suited to the sounds generated in computer games. To gamers for whom accuracy is everything, this is a real boon.

Multiplayer first person shooters in which survival can hinge on hearing an enemy's footsteps across a map are best placed to take advantage of this.

We tested the Steelsound 5H with the game FarCry and believe it to be better at reproducing short, sharp sounds than a cheap pair of headphones but found it hard to discern differences between this headset and high quality alternatives when hearing gaming sounds.

Audio quality when playing music is good and maintained, even when volume is pushed up to the highest level.

The adjustable headband is padded and quite comfortable. It’s possible to detach it from the earphones, splitting the headset into three parts for easy storage when travelling to and from Lan parties.

A microphone is located on the left earphone. It has a flexible cord that assumes whatever position it’s bent into. When not in use it retracts up into the earphone.

The microphone and input jack cord is 3m long (including the extension). This allows plenty of leeway to move around without worrying about disconnecting the cord. There’s a small volume controller on the cord that can also set the microphone to high, low and mute.

The two full-size over-ear headphones rotate about a limited plane and have large cloth cushions that should cater for the biggest of ears. They do provide a measure of noise reduction but are no substitute for specialist noise-cancelling headphones.

We like these headphones but they are expensive and it will take a seasoned gamer to appreciate the subtle differences in audio rendering.

Also consider:
Sony MDR-NC50 noise cancelling headphones
Minimise ambient sounds with these new noise-cancelling headphones

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