Logitech’s first headset to incorporate BLUE VO!CE is highly impressive, with mic quality that’s just as good as the speaker output
- Manufacturer: Logitech G
- Model: Pro X
- Price: £109.99 RRP
- Supported Platforms: PC, Xbox One, PS4, Switch, Mobile
- Reviewed on: PC, Xbox One X, Mobile
- Supplied by: Manufacturer
The Logitech G Pro X is the successor to the G Pro headset, and the first headset to employ BLUE VO!CE software following BLUE’s recent acquisition by Logitech. BLUE are, of course, the manufacturers of the excellent Yeti microphones, so we are excited to see how well Logitech have amalgamated this into their headsets.
Continuing the design aesthetic introduced with the Logitech G Pro, the Pro X has an understated but distinctive style. Fashioned in an all-black colourway, Logitech has eschewed the flashy RGB typical of many PC oriented headsets. Unlike other gamer focussed devices, the Pro X steers clear of sharp, angular design and flashy chrome fittings, with the distinguishing features reservedly being kept to a very tasteful metal disc, engraved with microscopic concentric circles and bearing the Logitech G logo, adorning the centre of each earcup. When it catches the light, it’s truly beautiful. The only other noteworthy feature is a monochromatic embossed Pro logo on top of the headband. Despite the lack of flashy features, Logitech has deftly managed to avoid having the Pro X come across as plain, with the styling instead carrying a sophisticated, premium finish.
Compared to other headsets bearing similarly sized 50mm drivers, the earcups are quite small, but they fit snugly around the ear. The earcups themselves are firm, covered in a soft-touch, matte black plastic housing. It’s a testament to the ability of Logitech’s engineers that they have managed to get such rich sound from such a compact frame. The Pro X comes with the leatherette pads fitted as standard, and they create a smooth seal around your ears, but if you aren’t a fan of the leatherette ear pads, the included cloth alternatives are luxuriously comfortable, and comparable to those found on Astro’s premium headsets. The sound and isolation are marginally better with the leatherette ear pads but for me, the fabric earpads are much nicer to wear for prolonged periods.
Weighing in at 320 grams, they aren’t heavy, yet they still have a reassuring heft to them in the hand. The headband is constructed from steel, with a foam and leatherette covering, leading down to the aluminium forks connecting to the earcups. Build quality is superb. Even subjected to forceful twisting, squeezing and flexing the Pro X doesn’t make a creak. The fit of all the components is absolutely perfect, and the detailing is immaculate, right down to the stitching around the headband.
Somewhat unusually, there is no horizontal rotation at all in the ear cups. Whilst this isn’t an issue if you are wearing them properly over both ears, if you like to occasionally have them over one ear DJ style as I often do, this lack of rotation causes the headset on the ear to lift, breaking the seal, which causes the bass quality to drop significantly. Likewise, the earcup that is moved aside doesn’t sit properly behind the ear, instead digging into your head, and it isn’t comfortable at all. Obviously they aren’t supposed to be worn this way, so whether you view this as a negative depends entirely on how you use your headsets, but it’s certainly a consideration to make.
Connectivity is, as you’d expect from a wired headset, superb. With the 3.5mm jack, you can connect to pretty much any console or mobile device you can imagine, whilst an included Y-splitter cable allows you to plug into a PC sound card with separate mic and headphone connectors. There are two cables included: A longer 2m braided cable, with inline volume and mute controls, is provided for PC or console use, while a shorter 1.5m cable with an inline microphone is provided for mobile use. If your device has a 3.5mm input, you should be able to use this headset with no problems.
If you’re connecting the Pro X to a PC, however, you really want to be using the included USB sound card (DAC), as with this connection you have access to the simply remarkable BLUE VO!CE software features, as well as the excellent DTS Headphone:X 2.0 surround sound. Installing the GHUB software and connecting the Pro X opens up a huge amount of audio customisation options for both the mic input and speaker output. A range of EQ presets are available, mirroring those used by eSports professionals such as TSM Myth and Tactical. You can quickly and easily switch between presets, or create your own to your preferences, and save it to the USB DAC so you can easily take your headset with you to LAN parties or tournaments and have your preferred sound, even if it’s not on your usual hardware.
The speaker EQ works very well, with a relatively simplistic but effective 5-band equaliser, and a range of acoustic options. With surround sound activated, you can fine-tune each of the virtual channels’ output volume, though in our usage we didn’t need to adjust this as balancing was perfect. There is an option to switch on DTS Super Stereo Mode, which can change the focus of the audio in front of you, or to virtually expand the soundstage, however, in our testing, we found it introduced an undesirable tinniness and echo to the sound. It’s used to great effect on the Audeze Mobius and Turtle Beach Atlas Aero, but the implementation here is disappointing, especially compared to the excellent DTS virtual 7.1ch surround sound.
When it comes to the audio the Pro X pumps out, though, this headset can easily hang with the big boys. Put up against much more expensive rivals such as the Audeze Mobius or Astro A50’s, the Pro X can comfortably hold its own. With the default EQ, bass frequencies have been tuned to give a subtle but solid punch, although you can boost this through the GHUB software if you prefer your bass booming. Thankfully, and despite the closed-back design, this doesn’t come at the expense of introducing suffocating reverb. Mid-range frequencies are tight and detailed, capturing the dynamics of the sound extremely well, while high-end frequencies are crisp. Remarkably, the closed-back design hasn’t impacted the width of the soundstage, with directional audio cues being especially easy to pinpoint. Although there aren’t the usual generic footsteps or gunfire EQ presets, many of the pro-EQ’s are tuned to boost these frequencies and with a little experimentation you should be able to find a tune that’s perfect for what you need.
When listening to music through the Pro X, the sound reproduction is brilliant. Even without the benefit of the adjusted EQ, the sound is clear, the trebles bright, the bass is punchy and the overall sound is vibrant and a pleasure to listen to. The same is true when connected to an Xbox controller. Without the EQ, the sound is still rich and detailed, and the wide soundstage, when utilising Windows Sonic or Dolby Atmos, provides accurate surround sound, and directional audio is accurate and genuinely advantageous.
We found listening to 2ch stereo sound such as music, with surround sound turned on, introduced massively over-saturated bass, and diminished the mids and treble, so we recommend turning off the DTS 7.1ch processing for music and other stereo sources.
It’s fair to say that, in my opinion, these are quite easily the best-sounding headphones that Logitech have made. Considering their relatively cheap price, the sound quality matches that of headsets several hundred pounds more expensive.
So we’ve ascertained that they sound great to listen to, but how about for everyone who has to listen to you?
Thanks to Logitech’s recent acquisition of Blue, these are the first headphones they’ve released that come with BLUE VO!CE microphone technology, and in short, it is simply incredible. Using the GHUB software, you can activate the BLUE VO!CE software, and the huge amount of customisation which that comes with. You can record a short sample of yourself speaking and, in real-time, play it back and adjust it on the fly. Low, mid and high filters, compression, de-esser, limiters and more can be tweaked to a very high level, and the end result is a highly professional sounding output of your voice.
If you don’t use your mic for anything other than communicating with your party in games, it may not be too significant for you (although your friends will appreciate the amazing quality). For streamers or YouTubers, being able to customise, check and save your preferred vocal levels via the GHUB and BLUE VO!CE software means you can spend more time in-game and less time in pre and post-production. While the quality may not be quite as refined as that found on a dedicated standalone desktop mic, it’s pretty damn close, and it’s far superior to the mic on any other headset we’ve reviewed. If you place any kind of value on quality voice audio, then the G Pro X should be at the top of your list.
In 2020, when many manufacturers, Logitech included, are placing more of a focus on wireless and Bluetooth for their premium headsets, I suppose you could call the fact the Pro X is wired-only a negative, but that would be disingenuous. Considering the Pro X only costs £109.99 RRP (less, if you shop around), you already get a lot of bang for your buck. Adding wireless connectivity would not only increase the cost, but it would also affect the size, weight and styling, and this headset is near enough perfect as it is. Saying that, if they do bring out a Pro X wireless headset, I’ll be on that like a tramp on a Big Mac.
The only other downside, as we mentioned earlier, is the lack of rotation in the earcups. Whether this would really be a deal-breaker is debatable, but as we mentioned, unless you have the headset properly sat over both ears it can be quite ungainly.
Summary
The Pro X is Logitech’s best headset yet, with superb sound quality and excellent surround sound processing, and with the addition of BLUE VO!CE functionality, you get the best sounding mic on any headset. It’s a potent package, made all the more remarkable by the fact it comes in at a very affordable £109.99. There really is no better headset in this price range, with the Pro X offering sound quality on par with headsets many times the price.
