SteelSeries SteelSound 5H V2 Headset

Performance:

When trying out the SteelSound 5H V2 headphones we had attached them to a computer backed with a Creative Labs Audigy 2 ZS sound card. The system was running Fedora Core 6 Test 3 with ALSA 1.0.12. The assortment of games played under Fedora was Doom 3, Enemy Territory, and Unreal Tournament 2004. While these headphones are clearly designed for gaming, we had also listened to several FLAC audio files and watched a couple of movies. While testing audio products such as headphones are rather subjective, we were thrilled by the audio quality of the SteelSound 5H V2 when gaming. While the recently reviewed Razer Barracuda HP-1 headset had the benefit of being 5.1 surround sound, the SteelSound 5H V2 was able to compete with these headphones while gaming. However, we did feel that the Barracuda did possess the audio advantage in non-gaming environments. We had also tested the SteelSound 5H V2 headphones with Linux Skype, and had no microphone issues.

Conclusion:

The SteelSound 5H V2 headphones from SteelSeries is definitely a solid offering, and does posses several unique characteristics. Most notably, these headphones can disassemble into three parts to safely and easily stow away while transporting gaming gear. Secondly, we were very appreciative of the microphone design found on the SteelSound 5H V2. The audio quality of these headphones was a pleasurable listening experience while gaming, but they are not the best headphones if gaming is not your primary activity. At the time of publishing, these headphones can be bought directly from SteelSeries for $99 USD. SteelSeries also offers a USB version of the SteelSound 5H V2, which will completely bypass your internal sound card.