These wireless headphones can link to a PC or a PlayStation 4 or 5 via a dongle or Bluetooth. They have a built-in microphone for yelling at (or talking to) other people while you’re playing online games. If you own an Xbox, you won’t have any joy with them as they’re incompatible.
Logitech claims these headphones are made with a proportion of recycled plastic and are certified as carbon-neutral. New Zealand retailers have them going for about $250 a pop.
James – the 33-year-old child
I’ve always loved playing video games. My wife hates them with a burning passion.
Like the division at the 38th parallel, we live in an uneasy truce.
While it works most of the time, the apple cart gets upset when I play loud games that involve zombies growling, booming gunshots and visceral splatters being projected throughout our home.
At the latest peace conference, it was decided I needed some gaming headphones sooner rather than later.
Logitech G435 Lightspeed headset.
The trial
Clearly built with younger consumers in mind, these headphones are small with some bright colour schemes available.
I had the comparatively subdued black and neon green pair to trial and I stretched the size limits to fit them on my head.
The first thing I noticed when I picked them up was their lack of weight (they feel like nothing at all), which made for a comfy experience when sitting down for a few hours of wearing them.
I paired them with my PlayStation 5, using the supplied USB dongle. They worked flawlessly from the get-go.
In terms of sound quality, it wasn’t as good as my sound bar, but it did make for a more immersive experience as it gave the sound more direction – if a zombie was growling on my left, it was clearly projected in the left cup.
In the end I preferred them to the sound bar. So did my wife.
Would I buy them?
They worked well, the household was Zen-like and there were no pesky wires for the cats or dog to pull out as they wandered by.
They’d be perfect for me, if it wasn’t for the price. While $250 seems a bargain for household peace, we get absolutely punished when you compare the price of these cans abroad. They’re advertised at US$80 a pop in the US – that’s NZ$113.
I’d refuse to buy them based on that fact alone. I’m not sure where the elephantine mark up is coming from, but I don’t want to be a part of it.
If they were offered at something resembling a fairer price, I’d happily part with the cash.
Fred – the 13-year-old child (and the target market)
I use my gaming headphones for playing games such as Minecraft and Rocket League. I also use them for watching YouTube and other tv shows on my PC.
The trial
The good things about these are the sound quality, the mic quality, the comfort and the design. The pillows are very squishy and have a very nice fabric, and the design is very sleek and simplistic.
The sound quality is very good. I could hear all the little sounds in games that don’t come through with some other headphones. The sound is crisp and you can crank them up pretty loud!
The mic is also very good. I asked my friends how they found it and they said it was way better than my other mic (on a $40 pair of gaming headphones from The Warehouse). It was very clear, easy to tell what I was saying, and it didn't cut out too much.
Unfortunately, the battery doesn’t last a whole day. Over the days I have tested these headphones, the battery has died after about eight hours of use. They also charge very slowly. I left them to charge overnight, and they didn’t fully charge. It might be the reason why they didn’t last a full day, but it’s still very annoying.
Would I buy them?
I wouldn’t save up $250 for them as there are a lot of other options for almost half the price. But I would still be stoked to get these as a Christmas present …
Our reviews are trials of new and interesting products from the perspective of our product experts. Our lab-based tests offer truly objective product comparisons. These headphones were loaned to us by Logitech.
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