Logitech G35 Review (7/10)

Well I've had the Logitech G930 for a few days now and there was an opportunity to get a second headset. I debated on getting the Razer Megalodon to do a proper head-to-head comparison with the very impressive wireless unit from Logitech. Alas today is not that day (one day!), today I've got the Logitech G35. When I went to buy the G930 a few days previous, I had hoped to snag a G35 but they were out of stock. I was originally enamoured with the prospect of commuting witha wireless headset and while it was a decent concept - the risk of losing the relatively small dongle (and thus wiping out the value of the headset -- as they are permenantly paired) wasn't worth it. I needed a no-compromise wired headset. In my previous review of the G930 I commented that the G35 was a wired version of the G930. Oh how wrong I was....




I commented that I thought the G35 was a wired version of the G930 and the latter traded comfort (in the form of switchable pads) for mobility. I didn't realize how right and how wrong I was. Soundwise, I am pretty certain the two units are equivalent: that is, the mechanics behind the speakers etc are identical.  There are some common elements between these two top-tier headsets:

• They both require drivers to be installed in order to unlock 7.1 mode. Out of the box, they only give stereo
• They both have the same sound-dampening cushions, auto-muting flexible mic, adjustable headband, hardware volume and mute options, G-buttons and  a physical button to toggle the "surround sound upmixing"

So why didn't I like the G35?

• While not a fault of the G35 (technically I should blame the G930 as it was released after) but in a fit of stupidity, Logitech decided to have separate software drivers for the G35 and the G930. Why couldn't they just have one interface that toggled functionality depending on the detected hardware? Their SetPoint drivers have been doing that for ages.
• That being said, while I thought the G35 and the G930 were essentially identical after driver installation, the G35 lacks the ability to tune the individual volume channels. While the majority of users will not have a need for this, [a] it's a software setting and as such, costs nothing to implement and [b] there are legitimate scenarios where you may need to do this (i.e., background noise in movie drowning out a center voice channel). For something so easily implemented, tsk!
• One of the selling points of the G35 is the user-swappable head-cushions. This is great -- however, the design of the headset means the headband part (the chassis that goes over your head) is a flexible rubber material. In English, this means the headset fails to stay on your head. The slippery nature of the cushion paths means if you tilt your head forward (say, to look at your keyboard), the headset begins to slip! The easy counter solution to this is to simply remove the damn cushy pads (meaning you have velcro on your head which may be discomforting to some). This is by far and large the biggest aggravation of the unit. Had they used the hard plastic chassis used in the G930 the user could have both the swappable pads and not have to worry about the headset slipping off their head.

The latest drivers for the G35 seem to be a bit more polished and responsive. This could be because they have had more development/polish time or just because the available controls are much simpler. The bottom line however, is that I wouldn't reccomend buying the G35 - the G930 is a much, much more capable product. Having a solid 40 foot wireless range (naturally, your milage may vary) and a headset that doesnt slip off my head are, to me, worth the extra 30-40 dollar premium. Final verdict for the G35: 7/10.