SteelSound Headsets

Steel also offers a wide variety of headsets which are specially designed for gamers. All of the headsets come in proper plastic packaging, simply designed and clearly naming their specifications and most of their features at their back. According to the company, each of them offers several innovative features to enhance your gaming experience that are hard to find on most gaming headsets. We will examine them one by one and note the unique features that each of them has to offer.

Steelsound 5H v2

Technical specifications:

Headphones
Frequency response	16 - 28.000 Hz
Impedance	40 Ohm
SPL@ 1kHz, 1 Vrms	110 dB
Cable length	1 + 2 = 3 meters (10 feet)
Connectors	3.5 mm
Microphone
Frequency response	75 - 16.000 Hz
Pick up pattern	Uni-directional
Sensitivity	-38dB
Impedance	2k Ohm

The 5H series are the best and most expensive headphones SteelSeries offer. The 5H v2 is only second to the 5H v2 USB, which has an integrated soundcard. Despite the size, they offer the best performance and the highest flexibility. The cable is sleeved inside a hard net which will increase durability. Instead of using a long cable directly which will cause problems if the audio jacks are close to the user, Steel attached a short cable at the headphones which is less than a meter long and includes a long expansion cable inside the package. So whether the audio jacks are right in front of you or 2 meters away, you won’t face any problems with the cable.

The connectors are gold plated for best performance and audio quality. Finally, a small volume regulator is attached on the cable which also offers 3 options for the microphone (high, low, off).

The 5H v2 are also designed for maximum comfort. The headphones are very large and will cover your entire ear, reducing distractions caused by outside noises to a minimum, though they are soft enough to keep your ears from becoming sore after a few hours of gaming.

The headphones can also be turned a few degrees horizontally rather than vertically alone, allowing them to adjust and press on your ears evenly. A soft cushion at the top of the headset ensures that it will stay comfortable on your head for hours, despite its slightly heavy design. Finally, the 5H can be dismantled for easy and secure transportation.

The final feature of this headset is the microphone, which is retractable. The microphone is almost entirely hidden inside the right headphone and can be pulled out whenever it is needed. It is extremely easy to be adjusted; just pull it close to your mouth and it will just stay there. The microphone cable is protected by a metal spring and is engulfed inside a thin plastic tube.

After testing the 5H v2 we found it very comfortable to use, but its benefits are not limited to comfort. We used the headset while playing several games, watching a movie and listening to several music tracks. While gaming the sound was crisp and clear, definite and distances were easy to discern. We could easily not only listen to things like footsteps but after a little bit of experience we could also understand the distance they were coming from.

Although we initially did not believe the claims from SteelSeries that the SteelSound headphones enhance in-game frequencies, we were proven wrong when we switched in-game to an average Philips  headset; it became very clear that the headphones enhance sounds like footsteps as we lost a lot of our ability to identify in-game movements.

Watching a movie was also a very good experience with the 5H v2. The headset sealed out all environment noises and the sound was crisp and loud through both calm romance and loud battle scenes. Finally the sound reproduction of music tracks was very good, staying very crisp throughout several music genres and volume levels. The headset was miraculously clear when playing soft audio tracks at low volume levels and effectively sealed out most of the environment noise, but it also was very good at high volume levels. In order to push the headphones to their limit, we had to connect them on a home cinema amplifier and push the volume level real high. We noticed noise and heavy bass distortion only at very high volume levels, levels which are unbearable for the majority of users and can easily cause hearing damage!

SteelSound 4H

Technical specifications;

Headphones
Frequency response	16 - 28.000 Hz
Impedance	40 Ohm
SPL@ 1kHz, 1 Vrms	110 dB
Cable length	1.8 meters (6 feet)
Microphone
Frequency response	75 - 16.000 Hz
Pick up pattern	Uni-directional
Sensitivity	-38dB
Impedance	2k Ohm

The middle range headset from Steel is the SteelSound 4H. Basically, the headset is similar to the more expensive 5H v2 , but lacks many of its features. The size of the 4H is nearly identical to its more expensive brother, but the weight is considerably lower. The headphones design is also identical. The large headphones surround your ears, minimizing external noises and improving comfort, while they can also be turned both horizontally (by a few degrees) and vertically in order to perfectly sit around your ears.

The small cloth cushion still provides enough comfort, but lacks the luxury and feel of the synthetic cushion found on the 5H. Most headsets do not have a cushion at all, so it is better than none. The cable is not sleeved, neither expandable; it is a simple long cable which splits and connects on each headphone individually. Nonetheless, the cable connectors are still gold plated for maximum conductivity and there is a small volume regulator attached on the cable which also offers 3 options for the microphone (high, low, off).