SteelSeries 9H Review

[section_title title=Conclusion]Conclusion

After using the SteelSeries 9H gaming headset for just under a week, I have put it through its paces, played numerous types of audio ranging from gaming, to music, to listening to ABBA (don’t say a word!), but now it’s time for me to give my final thoughts.  Is it another improvement over the already good quality SteelSeries range or is it lacking in certain areas?  Let’s get cracking…

The overall audio performance for me was quite sporadic in my opinion but let me explain.  First off, the audio when gaming was nothing short of fantastic and obviously with the 9H being geared for gaming, it was no surprise.  However, when playing audio, specifically rock music, the tone was very muddy and I’m not sure if it was because there was too much low/mid/high combined and the drivers couldn’t handle it, or the songs format was off; it sounded amazing with the Siberia Elites so I am leaning more towards the first explanation.  This left me in limbo regarding rating the performance as for a £150 headset. I would expect versatility to be one of key selling points but that just wasn’t the case.  Some songs sounded great, especially SOS and The Dawn, but anything else just didn’t really sound as full as other comparable headsets.  Overall though, gaming is the focal point and it was also the strong point with the 9H.

Touching on the aesthetics, I think SteelSeries have combined the plushness of the Elites and put them on a Siberia v2 body; this isn’t necessarily a bad thing but improving on something already good is always a hard job.  I feel £150 for a full plastic headset to be a little saddening though but at least the adjustable headband mechanism is made from metal and it gets big thumbs up from me regarding that.  The black sleek plastic design also looks good and as I pointed out in the closer look, the silver part connecting the headband to the cup looks nothing short of gorgeous!

One thing I do admire about the design is the retractable mic which has a plush fit when pushed in; good design is good design!  I also like the fact the cables can be swapped around depending on what you are using with the 9H which makes it versatile in the sense that it is compatible with many different types of products such as mobiles, tablets and even MP3 players.  Inclusive of the design, the 9H uses the SteelSeries Engine 3 software which if you read previous reviews, I am a huge fan of it and find it to be one of the easiest to use but feature packed and stable peripheral software set I have ever used; I have used too many to count and the Engine 3 software comes out on top.

Aside from the performance and design, you are looking at paying anything between £140-160 for a pair of the 9H which isn’t cheap by a long shot and in my opinion, it is priced way too close to the top of the range Siberia Elites; which if you haven’t guessed, I love with a passion!  If they were priced around £120, then I would say they were a bargain for at the high end of the £140-150 price mark I sadly can’t they are value for money with what I have just said.   With that being said, you do get Dolby Pro Logic IIx which can effectively convert a 5.1 signal into 7.1 for an even immersive experience; that is if the game supports it.  Overall the SteelSeries 9H has all the tools required for the gamer who demands the best quality audio while playing but if you are looking for a dedicated headset for listening to high quality audio with, then I would consider looking for a dedicated set of headphones from the likes of Audio Technica or Sennheiser.

Thanks to SteelSeries for sending the 9H gaming headset in for review and I look forward to seeing more in the near future.

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