No computer yet

Well, after ordering most of the parts for the new computer - they are going to be delivered a day late.  I DID get my steelseries 5H v2 gaming headset, so I thought I'd write a quick review for it.  

I was a little apprehensive about buying a "gaming headset" because most products marketed to gamers are all flash and little functionality.  However, there really are few choices in the headset market.  Most headsets are $15-$25 cheapo behind-the-head sets and then a big gap to the high-end (nearly $100).  I wanted a circumaral headset that was comfortable (over the top of the head) with some decent sound.  I was also uninterested in the 5.1 or 7.1 "virtual surround" headsets, so it really narrowed down the options.  I've heard good things about USB headsets, but I thought I would stick with the simple 3.5mm versions which do not require any software.  I'm running Vista x64 and it's unlikely there would be good support on that OS.

I've been listening to them for a while, and I'm pretty happy.  The sound is evenly balanced which was surprising.  Most headphones have way too much bass, but these seemed to have a good response across the frequency range.  I'm not blown away by the sound, but it's more than acceptable for gaming.  The mic is good quality and with the sound card's noise cancelling turned on my voice came across very clearly.  The headphones themselves are comfortable and I could wear them for hours.  They don't "seal" against the head and I can hear the TV / dishwasher when no sound is playing.  However, when listening to music or playing a game it blocks out enough sound that I can hear everything clearly.

A few nice options on the headset are the in-line volume control and a switch to turn off the mic.  The mic slides neatly into the headset and the headset disassembles into 3 peices.  I'm not sure I would  use this functionality, but I guess it gives you some options for storage/transport.  There's also a clip for stabilizing the cord.  The cord is a 2-peice affair which is nice if you have a small Shuttle-style computer on your desktop or are at a lan party with your computer setting on a table/desk.  The extension is plenty long to reach around my desk and plug into the front ports on my computer on the floor.

Overall I think it's a pretty good headset for the price.  The MSRP for this set is $100, but I picked them up for $86 at Newegg.  I wanted to get the cheaper Sennheiser 151's (at $38) which is a more well-known brand, but they are prepetually out of stock.  I wouldn't recommend them if to someone looking only for headphones however.   There are many higher-quality headphones available for under $100 at HeadRoom.