Etekcity Scroll H5GX Gaming Headset Review

Pleasantly surprising, affordably priced gaming headsets.

Today, I’m reviewing a very respectable wired headset by Etekcity, the Scroll H5GX Gaming Headset. I’ll be reviewing it on style and construction, sound quality, and features.

Style and Construction
I was very pleasantly surprised by the build quality of this headset. It feels like it was engineered to last. Being a bald man, I really appreciate the well designed cushion on the headband.  It was comfortable right against my head for a music listening session or PC gaming. The microphone is on a movable boom on the left ear piece. It makes a very satisfying ratcheting sound as you swing it down to make a Skype call, yell at your squad-mates, or record a podcast. Artistically it looks great and has kind of an industrial look with its red LED gear design on the right ear.

Some over the ear headphones feature a hinge on the earpieces to help even the pressure on the ears from the force of the headband. Sadly these do not, and you will experience some fatigue as the earpieces push harder on the bottom than the top. For me it didn’t become a problem, but it is something to keep in mind if you plan to use these for long gaming sessions.

Sound Quality
These are not studio quality headphones, but I did find them to be more than adequate for casual music listening and gaming. They did an excellent job of blocking ambient sounds as the earpiece cushions adequately insulate. I found the high end to be a little lacking however, but the low end was pretty reasonable. A little EQ on your soundcard or music app can compensate somewhat for this effect. My laptop and my smartphone’s headphone amplifier was able to drive these to a pretty high volume level. The microphone was perfectly adequate for its designed purpose. I appreciate it being on a boom instead of some headsets which have microphones in the earpieces themselves. This design is more optimal for picking up normal talking voice levels.

Features
These are pretty basic headphones. At first when unpacking I saw the USB connector and assumed it had a USB audio adapter inside, but strangely the USB is only to power the LEDs on the unit to make it look “cool”. This is something I would have definitely omitted if I were on the design team. The cord is very flexible and covered in a weaved red and black fabric or polymer strand which is very nice, however it separates into 3 separate connectors at the end. One for the headphones, one for the microphone, then the previously mentioned USB connector. This does not help clutter, and I would have preferred it to use the 4 position 1/8″ jack that many smartphones and laptops have for combined mic and sound. In fact most (all?) newer MacBooks only offer the combined port, so you wouldn’t be able to use these headphones for both mic and sound at the same time without an adapter. Also included on the cable is an analog volume dial. I’ve never really understood these things. I’m already wired to the device I’m using and just a keyboard shortcut away from volume control (or a amp knob), why would I want to lower the volume with a integrated volume control?  That said, it didn’t get in my way or weigh down the headset.

Final Thoughts
For me, when I’m at my desk I do prefer the “always-ready” convenience of wired headsets, and the quality of these are very respectable for the cost. If you find yourself gaming, listening to music, or voice calling in a noisy and distracting environment, I would recommend this headset. The only really “negatives” are slight ear fatigue and just average audio quality.

Buy on Amazon: Etekcity Scroll Gaming Headset

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