SteelSeries Steel Sound 3H Headset Conclusion

Performance

To test the sound quality of the 3H, I played a few of my favorite PC games and listened to a variety of songs on my desktop PC, Toshiba Satellite laptop and iPod Nano 2GB. The games I played were Quake 4, F.E.A.R., Doom 3 and RTCW: Enemy Territory and sound was delivered by a SoundBlaster Live! Sound card. The music I listened to included a wide range of music types, including rap, hip-hop, alternative and some classical music to round things out. All testing was conducted with the sound settings in "Stereo" mode. To test the microphone, I used Skype exclusively.

Since the 3H is primarily designed to be used in a gaming setting, I spent the majority of time using them while playing Quake 4, F.E.A.R. and RTCW: ET. All three games sounded excellent using the 4H, with both ambient sound effects and enemy sounds coming in very accurately and distinctly. The separation of sound effects and the accuracy of the reproduction made it easy to track enemy movement, which is an important feature for any set of headphones to have for FPS gaming. The gunfire and explosions were also impressive, with the low-end frequencies coming through with quite a bit of gusto. There was no fuzziness or other loss of sound clarity from these high-impact effects.

In terms of comfort, the 3H's are quite comfortable to wear for regular use. However, for extending gaming or listening sessions of an hour or more, I found that the pressure of the ear cups pushing my ears against my head became bothersome. The cushioned ear cups provide a soft feel for a while, but after an hour of straight use I needed to take a break from wearing the headphones to relieve the pressure.

During my music listening sessions I found that the 3H's sound very powerful for rap and hip-hop, with a very hefty amount of bass highlighting the experience. The bass was a bit boomy and not as tight as you'll find with higher priced headphones, but it was powerful and more than you can typically expect in this price range. They produce smooth vocals and do an admirable job of producing high frequencies, although at higher volumes the accuracy of the mid-bass and upper frequencies starts to weaken. The mid-bass and higher pitched vocals tended to blend together when listening to other types of music at high volumes. This is not a serious issue, as the 3H's perform well overall, but discerning music listeners will yearn for more clarity than the 3H's can provide and should look to a higher-end model.

A plus point of the 3H's is their easy transport for use with MP3 players and at LAN events. Folding and unfolding the headset is a breeze, and the hinges are rugged enough to last through the inevitable bumps and bruises that go along with transporting headphones. I used the 3H's at the gym as well as to a friends house, and they survived without a scratch.

During my testing of the microphone, my voice was picked up accurately and the other people I spoke with on Skype had no trouble hearing me. I made multiple calls and had no issues with background noise, even though there were other people in the room with me. The retractable microphone was easy to pull out of the ear cup, although it does require two hands to pull it out or to push it back in. It stays in place fairly well once you've adjusted it, although not as securely as the microphone on the 4H. Overall, the microphone was quite handy when I needed to use it and was not awkward to get out of the way when I didn't need it.

3H's folded	3H connections	View of the microphone

A final positive point with the 3H's is the amount of external environment noise they block out. I like to be completely immersed in whatever game I am playing or song I am listening to, as I am easily distracted by outside noise. Dogs barking, doors opening and closing and anyone talking are all distractions that annoy me when I am trying to focus. By design, the 3H's do a good job of forming a tight seal on your ears and blocking out these types of noises. In some cases I could still hear outside noises, but they were muffled and much quieter due to the noise attenuation provided by the 3H's.

Steel Series SteelSound 3H Headset

Pros: Very good in-game sound, comfortable for average length listening sessions, effective microphone, very competitive price

Cons: Struggles with some types of music, uncomfortable after 1+ hour of continuous use

The Verdict: With high-quality in-game sound, easy transport and a very competitive price, the Steel Sound 3H Headset is a solid choice for a headset and deserves a close look for budget-minded gamers.

www.steelseries.com