Before anything, I'd like to point out this is my first real headset that costed me more than $100, which I bought along with my gaming rig. The sound is flat and neutral, which is perfect in my case because I'm the type to take time on fine-tuning my equalizer according to my taste. I usually have mine set at a "W" pattern, with little modifications here and there depending on what I feel I should hear. I enjoyed my gaming sessions very much because of the way this headset fit around my ear; it is snuggly. From time to time, I do feel the need to introduce new air in for the fact that it is a closed back type headphones. The fact didn't matter to me because I'm the type to take quick breaks here and there anyway. Not a deal breaker. The microphone on this excellent; probably the best I've heard from my friends by the way they describe it as clean and not hearing my window AC running in the background. The mic's arm is flexible, so I can adjust it to how close/far I want it from my mouth. I found it bad to bring it too close to your nose though. During my quick breaks, I found the mute function when the mic boom is brought up very convenient. Being able to quickly mute yourself from a chat group is amazing. As for the volume control located on the left ear cup, I'll get back on that later on. If I'm not playing games, I'm listening to music. I listen mainly to acoustic, rock, metal, and alternative. As I said earlier, these headphones are flat/neutral. I don't consider myself an audiophile, but I do appreciate good music. Along with my gaming rig, I also purchased a sound card, a Sound Blaster Z. I wanted this particular sound card because it can drive headset's impedance rating. The sound card comes along with a software that allows me to modify with their 10 band EQ. One of the challenges I've experienced with these headphones was the head and ear cushions eventually fell apart. It fell apart after using it at least 4-5 days every week for 3 years. The 'leather' were slowly chipping away. It may have been my fault for always sweating on them, so someone else's mileage may vary. I replaced my cushions, by ordering here. Like new again. :) When I do use the headset, I always set my volume rocker control to max. If I need to change volume, I use the music players' control. Reason being is that, I found out that if you max the players' control and control the volume with the headset's rocker, when your music peaks to a higher volume than usual, the sound will dip a bit. I believe when that happens, the headset doesn't get enough power from the rig. That is why I max the volume on the headset -- I allow the headset to pull as much power from the sound card so the sound doesn't dip when the music peaks. This is something I realized from playing around with the headset when I thought it was defective. To simplify, maxing the headset's volume and control the volume from your music player will allow the headset to pull as much power as it needs to prevent the sound from dipping during peak. You need a sound card for this. I would suggest the same sound card I have purchased because the software that comes along with it has great EQ and microphone sound isolation/cancellation. Just something to note about the mic sound isolation -- turning the settings on will delay your voice delivery a bit due to post-processing. But as long as you don't plan on monitoring your own voice, it shouldn't be an issue. Overall, as long as you have the proper sound card to drive this headset, you will love the experience. I've had this for years now and I still love the way it pulls me in to the experience.
