Logitech Releases G633 and G933 Headsets for Premium Gaming Market

Logitech announced  two new products  wireless G933 and the wired G633. These are under the new brand Artemis Spectrum Gaming Headsets.  The G633 has a MSRP of $149.99 putting it at the higher end of gaming headsets.  Compare this to the G35 which originally shared that MSRP, but is now around $79 at retail.  The top end G933 is a pricier option at $199.99 US.

Logitech has done a lot of work in terms of physical characteristics and the software they are using to drive these units.  Neither comes as a pure analog solution, but instead utilizes a USB connection to power the wired and wireless units.  Logitech continually refines its gaming software and this provides a great amount of flexibility when it comes to usage scenarios and audio features for these headphones.

Powering these cans is a newly designed 40 mm driver that is created from a stiffened fabric rather than paper or plastic.  Logitech is branding these as the patent pending Pro-G audio drivers.  The engineers worked with materials people to develop the technology that is said to provide audiophile quality sound across a variety of applications.  I had asked why Logitech stayed with a 40 mm driver when other companies were utilizing larger 50 mm units which can deliver potentially deeper bass.  The answer was that they discovered that 40 mm was the sweet spot for this material to provide a flat curve without diminishing the high end.  The 50 mm prototypes just did not have the high end performance of the 40 mm units, so it was decided to sacrifice a bit of the low end to keep things more balanced and brighter.

The boom microphone is very similar to the previous models.  It can swing down and provide some decent audio for outgoing.  It will not match more professional units, but we can only hope that it is superior to the previous generation of headphones that Logitech has put out.

One area that could potentially be controversial is that of the LED lighting on the headphones.  The headsets light up around the cups and can be changed to the tune of 16.8 million colors.  The side plates can also be swapped, so potentially custom made plates can be swapped in to show whatever logos or pictures as one desires.  One positive of this design is that the LED lights are facing to the rear of the listener’s head, so potential reflections off of a screen (or glasses) will just not happen.  The headphones also feature three programmable G-Keys, a feature that was on the previous G35 units.  It also features the mute button and the scroll wheel to control volume.

These headphones also have a unique feature in that they can dynamically mix multiple inputs.  The G633 can mix audio from two different inputs while the G933 can handle three inputs.  There are multiple use scenarios for this such as playing on a console while having the headphones attached to a cellphone.  Users can mix and match this functionality in a variety of scenarios that will fit their lifestyle.  This is slightly more interesting for the wireless G933 as more devices can be connected, and the user can be free of a plethora of cables attached to the base unit.

The G933 also have an option of being a wired unit through analog cables.  This does provide some nice flexibility for users, as well as playing for hours more when the batteries of the wireless headphones are recharging.  This flexibility was not featured in previous wired headsets and is a nice change of pace..

The G633 will be available starting in September while the G933 will come to market in an October timeframe.  The DTS Headphone:X support will be a software upgrade with the Logitech Gaming software in October.