Installation:
Installation of the 5H headset is very fast and easy. First, plug the USB sound card into an available USB port on your computer. Next, plugging the headset into the sound card is straightforward, two colour coded plugs. The last step is to use the included mini driver CD to install the Xear 3D™ control panel and necessary 5H drivers.

After those installation steps and a quick reboot, you'll want to spend some time in the control panel setting everything to your listening preference.

Testing:
To test the 5H headset I used it instead of my computer's speakers for several days to ensure I'd hear everything through this headset. As if it didn't sound good to begin with, once I started playing around in the Xear 3D™ control panel and enabled the virtual 7.1 surround, things sounded even more amazing! You can control every aspect of this virtual surround, from where the speakers are positioned to where you're positioned and proximity to the speakers. I was honestly surprised how great this sounded. Being one of my first experiences with virtual surround as opposed to the real thing, I wasn't sure what to expect at first. But in the end, I found it hard to believe a stereo headset could do such a thing!

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But now to the overall listening experience now and my experiences with the headset itself. First thing to note is comfort, from the well padded ear cups to the pad along the top band, this is a comfortable headset to wear for any length of time. My listening experience was much the same, the 5H sounds as good as you would expect for paying a price tag of over $100 for it. It's a very full sound, with great highs, mids and lows. Be it music, movies, gaming or anything else, I was not let down with the SteelSound 5H headset.

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When it came time to chat, the mic easily pulled out of the left ear and had a great clear sound. My only complaint here is that I would have liked to see the boom slightly longer so the mic would be place more in front of your mouth. However, Steel Series has just released a second revision of this headset which corrects that problem by incorporating a longer boom.

Conclusion:
In the end, the SteelSound 5H gaming headset has come out a winner in my books. Anyone who knows audio knows that you get what you pay for. Though $135 I think is maybe slightly high for this headset, I'd easily pay around $100 for a good headset myself. For a little more money than a standard headset the 5H is also giving you a great performing, compact USB soundcard and built-in boom mic. This is a headset that will have uses not limited my computer. It's great sound quality has already made it a valuable tool in my studio and around home as well.

For those interested, SteelSeries now has a revision 2 of the 5H headset released. Check out this page for more info!

Pros:
Great sound
Pull-out microphone is built into headset
Comes apart for safe transportation
Included USB sound card
Comfortable to wear
Virtual 7.1 Surround

Cons:
Price is a bit high
Mic boom should be a little longer

Rating: 9/10

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