GIGABYTE AORUS H5 Gaming Headset Review

GIGABYTE is slowly building up its line of gaming peripherals, and it comes as a surprise to us that its next product is in the form of a gaming headset. Not just a gaming headset that follows the standard, however. GIGABYTE is betting big on Beryllium instead of the standard Neodymium that we’ve seen with gaming headsets of late. Let’s see how it fares.

GIGABYTE is slowly building up its line of gaming peripherals, and it comes as a surprise to us that its next product is in the form of a gaming headset. Not just a gaming headset that follows the standard, however. GIGABYTE is betting big on Beryllium instead of the standard Neodymium that we’ve seen with gaming headsets of late. Let’s see how it fares.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Type	Headphones: Stereo
	Microphone: Unidirectional
Driver Diameter	Headphones: 50mm Beryllium
	Micrphone: 4*2mm
Impedance	Headphones: 32Ω
	Microphone: 2.2KΩ
Frequency Response	Headphones: 20Hz~20KHz
	Microphone : 100Hz~10KHz
Sensitivity	Headphones: 100 ± 3dB at 1KHz
	Microphone : -44 ± 3dB at 1KHz
Cable Length	3m
Weight	285g±10g (exclude cable)
Connector Type	USB2.0,
	3.5mm/ 3 ring Mic
	3.5mm /3 ring Audio

PACKAGING

The AORUS H5 arrives in a black, bulky packaging that carries a familiar design signature by GIGABYTE. It’s not as heavy as it looks upfront, it’s just big from the getgo. Once you open the box, there’s the AORUS H5 itself encased in semi-hard plastic together with the detachable microphone, with the cables on the other end of it. There’s also one sheet of paper that only gives minimal and general product information, but nothing really specific about the gaming headset.

There are no carrying cases included in the package or extra earpads, unfortunately.

DESIGN

When it comes to aesthetics, the AORUS H5 easily wins it by making it edgy. It’s not too flashy that blatantly makes a statement of being a gamer, but it’s lowkey enough to make it feel not off when you’re listening through it in the office or similar environment.

GIGABYTE’S AORUS’ brandings are located on the suspension and on the two sides above each earcup. And of course, how can we forget its highlight, RGB. It boasts 16.7 million colors shinging brightly on the AORUS logo. To top it off, its RGB feature will even get a section of its own, so we’ll get to that soon.

As far as the build quality is concerned, it’s quite worrying because we’re seeing a lot of plastic. To top it off, the wires passing through the suspension are very thin, and are also only protected with more plastic instead of braided cables.

The comfort on the other hand is very much a pleasure. Its lightweight frame reduces the overall pressure and contributes to the comfort, and the soft cushions didn’t feel warm even after prolonged use.

The microphone on the other hand is very bendable and is detachable, as is tradition with gaming headsets of late.

PERFORMANCE

Beryllium headphones are quite new in our quarters, and with that said we’re rather excited to compare it with standard neodymium sets. On the onset, headphones with beryllium drivers produce a cleaner and more accurate sounds. The bass on the other hand is more powerful and a bit heavier on its approach compared to neodymium, and is tame.

GAMING

Of course, GIGABYTE is targeting the AORUS H5 at gamers, and with good reason. Well, we’re setting aside its RGB feature just in case you’re wondering that the primary reason why you should even pick it up.

GIGABYTE isn’t exactly specifying its target market when it comes to what type of gamers it’s targeting, so we’ll go ahead and test it out with several titles ranging from high blasting shooters to FPS and to immersive horror games.

7.1 channel audio, even virtual, can easily give you the leg up in first person shooter games if you know how to take advantage of the feature. We’ve grown accustomed to it, so it feels a bit off when hearing sound elements on the AORUS H5 during the first brush. You’ll grow on it and over the course of usage the sound feels more natural and cleaner, but again you’ll need more precision on this segment.

Gaming with immersive horror titles really does bring out the best out of the AORUS H5, as the audio as mentioned feels more natural and cleaner with very minimal distortion even on peak volumes. Our run on Amnesia: The Dark Descent was quite fun given the sound elements and cues were right where it should be, plus the crisp and clear volumes from the headset took the experience up a notch. 

MICROPHONE

The microphone quality does indeed show promise when it comes to its durability, but its sound quality leaves much to be desired. Listen to the audio quality recorded at full volume below:

RGB SOFTWARE

I wish GIGABYTE was clear from this from the get go as we had to look around in order to search for this as we had to try out the AORUS GRAPHICS ENGINE to find out it’s where the controls are. Basically, you can cycle for different RGB animations such as Consistent, Breathing, Flashing, Dual Flashing, and Circling. Depending on your choice, you can specifically choose which color you want. You also have the option to choose the brightness level. As blasphemous as it may sound, we aren’t really fond of RGB, so we’ll stick it to one color.

Unfortunately, that’s where it all ends with the software. It’s all RGB, and no tweaks or features that can help you fine tune your setting.

CONCLUSION

Beryllium is a new deal for us, and we’d dare say it brings a new aural experience. We’ve grown too familiar with standard Neodymium headphones, and to say the least we would prefer the clarity that comes with Beryllium to be honest.  The sound quality is simply superb, but we’re still missing 7.1 channel so to speak.

On the other hand, the microphone needs some adjustment when it comes to volume levels and noise cancellations, and build quality shouldn’t be a compromise for comfort. Although, to its merit, the in-line analog controls come in handy.

The RGB Feature, if it’s your cup of tea, really does bode well for it. That’s 16.7 million colors and five different modes to choose from, or go GIGABYTE all the way and kick it off with the orange theme. Quite frankly, it’s either that, or white, or simply no illumination for us, but this is more of a personal preference.

If we were to base the pricing on GIGABYTE’s XH300 and other Beryllium headphones, we could expect the AORUS H5 to cost around $100. Should this be the case, it’s easily one of the best cans you can get for the price. But as a gaming headset, it needs to step up its microphone game for it to stand toe-to-toe against other products in this price segment. 

Update:

We have a price! The GIGABYTE AORUS H5 Gaming Headset comes with a suggested retail price of Php3,750. There are many offerings at this point that can present as a welcomed adversary, but the competition isn’t as fierce. In this regard, headphones with 50mm Beryllium Drivers are very rare in these parts, and most of the ones you can find themselves north of Php4,000 even. Now, the problem here still remains – the microphone needs a heft of improvement for it to work as a proper gaming headset. We just can’t stress enough that voice comms are very essential in esports, and that’s where the AORUS H5 wants to be in.