SteelSeries Arctis 5 RGB Illuminated Gaming Headset - White (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

The Steelseries 61444 Arctis 5 is a great headset. While the Logitech G-35's (Now discontinued, I believe) had better bass to it, these headset's make up for the loss of bass in clarity of the over-all sound. The headset feels somewhat durable, but don't expect to be able to bend it a whole lot.The rotary joints for the earmuffs provide a very good level of comfort around the ear, and the earmuffs are not leather (Which is good, because most leather muffs tend to peel off over time, and these allow your ears to breathe).The ski-band, while at first glance to be superfluous, is surprisingly comfortable, and is a decent trade off for non-vertical adjust-ability that most headsets offer (Such as the logitech G-35's, an older model headset, that allowed individual movement of the left and right earmuffs, depending on head-size). That said, it should be noted that if you have a larger or wider head, these might not fit as well as you are used to in comparison to other headsets. I generally prefer a snugger fit around the ears, like the old G-35's could provide with band-adjustment, and feel like the headset will often fall off (though it never has).The headset loses me at the cable(s). The cable is a long, USB *Non-BRAIDED* cable, that is plugged into this strange chatmix dial, that has another *Non-BRAIDED* cable plugging into the headset that you wear. The length of the cable is fairly long, and you'll often find this strange dial falling to the floor, or the long cord getting caught on something in the way. This is probably the worst part of the headset, and any headset design, I have seen so far, as the dial is very sensitive, and will adjust/mute your volume often. My solution to this, was to get a plastic tie, and tie the cable coming from the chatmix dial to the headset up a bit, so it lays at waist level. However, I still find the entirety of this particular design choice very ridiculous at worst, and superfluous at best. It should be noted, that you can fore-go the chatmix dial and plug in via jacks provided, however, I've noted that there was a quality loss, and you also lose the RGB function of the headset (A selling point, to be sure). This means that you can plug these into your phones to listen to videos and music, and that can be a plus for some who travel a lot. The quality loss while using this headset on a phone isn't to large, and actually sounds and feels refreshing, and is only really noticed on computers. I'd recommend using the USB connection, despite the hassle it is simply for that reason alone.Another complaint is that the microphone does not turn off on it's own, you have to press an on-ear button to mute/unmute the microphone. While this is also not a huge-complaint, as the microphone is a good quality microphone (though not on par of stand-alone sets, and will never be), and can pick up your voice even if fully retracted.If you are looking for a good headset with decent sound quality, and aren't exactly looking to drop 100 or more, these headsets are pretty solid.The things to watch out for are: The un-braided cable, which for some are a deal-breaker due to quality concerns, the non-auto mute mic, the non-adjustable headband that many gamers are accustomed to, and the cable length and chatmix dial. I think if I had it my way, the only change to this item in particular would be the cable/chatmix dial, as those are the only cons that truly impact my experience.I would recommend these for gaming or general computer-use only, and not necessarily for those looking to use these for listening to audio/music. While the quality is there, you may want to find headsets that offer that clarity of sound, while providing better bass levels.

I will start by saying this headset is near prefect, just buy it. This headset surprised me by how good it is. First the quality of construction materials and the overall fit n finish of the entire setup is top notch. The plastic it's constructed of is weighty and all the hinges are sturdy and have no creaking noises. The surface has a subtle rubberized feel which is nice but it also gives it a slightly matte appearance which I like. The quality of sound from the drivers is better than great. Across multiple formats and devices I never had any sort of distortion from bass or loud sounds. I operate these with the ear cup volume at max and when there is no sound supposed to be coming out they are 100% dead silent. I have a USB DAC that at high volume I can detect a light hiss when I use ear buds through it but the DAC that is integrated in this headset I get absolutely zero. The mic is also very clear and precise. I have a foam "clown nose" cover I put on the mic because it would pick up wind noise from my desk fan but with it installed there is no background interference. The way the ear cups angle to fit to my head is absolutely perfect. It also aids in them staying put while I wear them, they are heavier than a TB headset I own but I don't have any issues with them falling off of my head or even shifting out of the prefect fit.There are a couple of things I would consider minor cons but before I mention them I want to stress it's just me being picky and do not detract from their stellar performance. The most notable con is the game / voice cross fader. The travel with the knob is very small before the volume you are fading out dramatically decreases. Ideally the decrease is volume would be more gradual so that you could more accurately dial in your desired mix however it is still possible, it's just touchy. The other con I mentioned earlier is with the mics ability to pick up wind noise. The addition of a foam mic cover seems to be necessary for people that have a fan blowing in their face, it would be nice if it were included. The propriety cable that is used is annoying on paper but in practice there is no downside. If their excellent audio characteristics are a byproduct of the proprietary cable then even more reason I'm not bothered by it.The 7.1 DTS Surround is purely a gimmick though. They sound absolutely great with it off, muddy with it on, so just leave it off.Overall they are superb and the only cons aren't really worth calling cons but maybe slight possible improvements. If you're looking for a headset in this price range, look no further. Buy these, they are perfect.

Finally after lot of (re)search, I was able to find that perfect Headphone + Mic combo with Steelseries Artics 5. It offers great sound, connectivity and customization options at a fairly competitive price. Steelseries Artics 5 has good ergonomics and can be worn easily for long stretches. Thanks to USB connectivity it can be plugged directly to Steelseries Engine 3 and let you customize audio as well as mic settings to suit your need. Steelseries Engine software also gives you option to listen to mic input directly so that you can know which setting can give what kind of performance. clear cast mic works as advertised (including noise cancellation) and can be used for video recording too. Deducting one star because as per the size of headphone the drivers could produce more bass (that could be personal) and could also sound more loud. Also the customization options are only for USB connection, others (read 3.5 mm jack) can't be use to change them. A very good option overall.

The sound and mic quality is amazing . The RGB lighting is also subtle and awesome . But bad thing about it , is the connector , it's a proprietary connector called uc e6 . If you break it , steel series doest ship a new one to India , so if you break the wire , the headset becomes useless . Keep that in mind before buying this .Other than that , a really good product .

These headphones have quite the awesome Audio and Mic on PC The SteelSeries engine had a nice amount of customisation but I had issues with it at first surrounding the options not changing on the device, however on console they're quite horrible, the audio quality leaves much to be desired and can quite often get an echo for the MIC.

Very good product. Had my reservations about the brand before purchase especially coming form my dead Astro A50s but I have to say this was worth it. Very light and comfortable. Although it sounds ok out of the box, i would recommend looking up optimal product & windows settings on google for the product to make them sound heaps better. RGB is also not overpowering/ distracting in a dark room which is good. The mic I have been told is ok.

The sound quality is amazing and very helpful while playing competitive games. But if you lose any cable that comes with it, say goodbye to the headphone because the replacement is not available anywhere in India.