CONCLUSION

   The 9H Gaming Headset is amongst the very few virtual surround headsets ever designed and manufactured by SteelSeries so that alone was enough reason for us to have high expectations from it. Unfortunately once again at the center of the device we find a virtual surround USB soundcard which doesn't offer the best positioning experience out there although to be completely fair SteelSeries has once again done much better than most manufacturers so although we do prefer "real" surround headsets more this time over the gap in performance was very small. Where the 9H shines however is when used as a plain stereo headset plugged into a good soundcard or an Audio/Video amplifier since it offers excellent mids and very accurate highs although the 40mm drivers can't produce equally impressive bass. SteelSeries has also used the same retractable noise-canceling microphone we've seen with many of their solutions (perhaps slightly improved) so it worked very well as expected. The 9H is also very comfortable since the large earpads hug the ear almost completely while the headband is very soft so even after playing Planetside 2, Mass Effect 3 and Battlefield 4 for quite a few hours we hardly had any neck pain at all (at first the earcups may squeeze your ears since the headband is quite sturdy however that will wear off quite fast). The only somewhat issue we came across with the 9H is its volume levels when used with the USB surround soundcard and although most people will have no problem with that still we feel that SteelSeries should tend to that (boosting the default volume levels automatically through the software shouldn't be hard).

   SteelSeries currently places the 9H Gaming Headset 3rd from the top (after the H Wireless and the Elite) so price may also be an issue for some people since currently it retails for USD170 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 138.89Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de). Of course it goes without saying that at around the same price range you can even find "real" surround sound headsets but leaving out the fact that SteelSeries has a very loyal audience and that the 9H actually sounds very good they also sell quality and there aren't many headsets out there that can compete with their top models in terms of durability something that plays a significant role for many people. Overall the latest 9H Gaming Headset may not be perfect but it's very good and that's why it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Audio Quality (Very Good Mids/Highs)
- 7.1 Virtual Dolby Surround USB Sound Card (For Some)
- Very Comfortable
- Noise-Cancelling Uni-Directional Retractable Microphone
- Engine 3 Control Software
- Single 3.5mm & Dual 3.5mm Cables
- Extension Cable

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Bass Levels
- Volume Levels (When Using The USB Soundcard)