14 DAY TRIAL // Though some may disagree, audio always comes second, or third or fourth, when putting together a gaming system, or really any sort of PC, because the CPU and graphics cards are always much more expensive, requiring more financial deliberation.
And yet companies like SteelSeries have a solid market for audio products to enjoy. Sound boards may not be very widespread, since integrated audio (in motherboard) is actually decent nowadays.
Speakers and headphone sets come in many forms though, which is why SteelSeries so eagerly launched a new range of the latter.
Called H-Series, it is made of three members, at least for now: SteelSeries 3Hv2, 5Hv3 and 9H with Dolby Technology.
The 3Hv2, priced at $39.99/ €39.99, is the low-cost option, with a foldable design and an adapter that allows it to connect to PCs, Mac, tablets and phones. It has extra-padded leather cushions, a retractable microphone system, and in-line audio controls.
The 5Hv3, priced at $79.99/ €79.99, has a retractable large, high-end microphone, a sound isolating double enclosure earcup technology, and double-braided nylon cable and in-line audio controls.
That leaves the 9H headset with Dolby Technology ($159.99/ €159.99), with 7.1 channels of realistic multi-channel surround sound, Dolby Prologic IIx technology (multiple listening modes, among other things), swappable cable system, in-line audio controls, the same sound isolating double enclosure earcup technology as above, and a retractable microphone (again, as above).
Finally, there's the SteelSeries Engine software (mic noise cancellation, auto mic gain, unlimited game specific audio profiles, 10-band equalizer settings).
"The H-Series Headset line was introduced to the competitive gaming world in early 2005 with first-to-market features like the retractable microphone system and a custom engineered soundscape that was so good that the world tagged them as the cheating headsets," said Bruce Hawver, SteelSeries CEO.
"Twelve years ago we believed that eSports would see incredible growth and we designed entire product lines for this emerging market. Today, we introduce this next generation of competitive players to our new H-Series and believe that the audio experience, combined with the comfort and features, will set a new standard for today's competitive gaming headsets."