Logitech G633 Artemis Spectrum Review

When it comes to gaming headsets I have always been skeptical as the main selling point often isn’t audio but flashy packaging and weird headset design. This unusual and wrong focus makes me question the quality of the audio. Luckily gaming companies are now realizing the need to step up their game, and I’m happy to say that as a gamer today you have far better heads and options than a year ago.

Thanks for this emergence of good quality audio drivers, proper software support, and extra functionality for games, all of which are found on the new Logitech G633 gaming headset. The G633 is actually a unique headset because despite having this gaming-centric physical design it delivers quite well in the audio department. The lighting sections of the headset include an illuminated G and a strip on the back of the headset.

Integrated Lighting

Now at the moment there is a zero functionality to RGB lighting on a headphone, but as gaming companies enter the eSports arena with sponsorships this is an effective way to build brand recognition. Plus, imagine if a team member dies, the light goes off or health status is coloured coded, or even perhaps the lighting interacts with music or the gaming environment. As of now, the user is still limited to solid colour, breathing, or the cycling effect. Now the sliding on the sides and back will be visible for spectators only without, it doesn’t create any unwanted reflections on your screen. It is vibrant and RGB so you can colour match it to your other peripherals and that is appreciated.

Build Quality

The build quality may appear to be weak just because the headset is extremely light and it’s mainly plastic, but there is a metal headband. The ear cups are pretty loose, which I don’t find amusing. However, keep in mind perception of weight does not equal build quality. I actually like what Logitech has done here, giving us a lightweight frame with better grade screws and decent plastics, so that this headset can be worn for hours at a time without causing any head band fatigue nor any pressure anywhere.

The ear cushions are perfect for exactly that, with non-irritating and pleasant feeling fabric that is washable, plus they are deep enough so your ears don’t make any contact with the internal drive wall. They also allow you ears to breathe, which is super important. I went for an 8 hour day wearing the G633 non-stop, and they let my ears breathe and most importantly they were comfortable.

Ear Cups Features

For extra customization the side plates are magnetic and thus removal. You can see the illumination better with the side panel off. This should let users 3D print their own plates and allow Logitech to release title specific editions of this headset. On the left ear cup there are several buttons that I thought I would never use and were completely pointless, but they are actually quite handy. Starting from the bottom, there is a volume wheel that has very light steps but allows either really fast volume change or precise in two-step intervals. Next is a dedicated mic mute button that you cannot remap and I find that pointless as the mic is muted when in the upright position. Simply tucking away the microphone is easier than having to reach all the way back to press the mic mute button.

Microphone

While we are on the topic of the microphone, it is stashed away on the left and features extra extendable reach with the flexible cable. There is a red LED on the side to indicate when the microphone is muted, and it’s perfectly visible within your peripheral vision. With this headset there is an ability to enable side tone, which allows you to hear yourself in-game, which I love. I hate not hearing myself speak inside the game when all the audio is blasting in the headphone. You can actually control the volume of the side tone or disable it completely, and you can map that also to the G-Keys, which I have done and is super useful. Probably is the only fault of this microphone is the noise cancellation, which doesn’t do a job of eliminating noises like typing noise. As far as mic sound quality, well it sounds a little distant, but overall it’s still way better than average.

G-Key Buttons

Then we have three G-Keys that are programmable to anything you want, like enabling 7.1 surround sound, changing EQ settings, switching between colour profiles or your sound profiles, etc. I left them at their default functionality as they were never used during my game time because my left hand is on the keyboard and taking that off to fiddle around with the buttons on the headset means jeopardizing my keyboard reaction time. For productivity it’s actually quite handy for media controls, like selecting play/pause without having to reach for the keyboard. Now unfortunately, despite having different shaped keys for easier distinction, they are so close together that even after trying to learn where those G-Keys are I always pressed the wrong one.

Inside & Outside Use

And finally, at the very top is a switch between PC or 3.5mm jack since this headset can either be used in USB mode or you can use the second provided cable for analog mode. That cable has an inline remote with a short clip with play/pause functionality, volume adjust, mic mute, and your choice of microphones to use. It’s a pretty handy little inline remote. Given how bulky the headset is I doubt it will be used outside of the home for music listening, but to each their own. I also love the foldable feature that allows the headset to rest around your neck without any movement restrictions, and because of this I kept the headset around my neck quite often when not in use rather than taking it off and placing on the desk.

Sound Quality

As for sound quality, well this has become my go-to headset for gaming because Logitech has done a fantastic job with the Pro G drivers. They use a hybrid mesh for the driver cone to eliminate frequency distortions, with excellent clear highs and controlled bass that feels powerful and non-destructive to the mid-range if pushed higher. The stereo projection is beautiful and it allows detection of any surround elements in game. When enabling surround sound mixer you have an option of DTS:X with three room profiles that fine tune the EQ for either a movie playback, FPS gaming, or music studio. You can choose between either front or wide stereo mode that modify the soundstage with great results. Enabling Dolby surround sound just expands the soundstage even further, but I found it to completely remove any accurate positional awareness in games. I did not use it at all, just stick to the stereo profile for best detail. If you want to select a EQ profile there are a bunch to choose from, and of course there is always the option of full manual EQ as well. The Logitech gaming software is actually one of the best with user-friendly tabs and options.

Conclusion

To conclude, the Logitech G633 is one of the best gaming headsets on the market right now. It sounds fantastic, has a great microphone, it’s comfy, and while the $150 USD price tag is a bit high you won’t need to upgrade for a while. As a result, we are giving the G633 Artemis the hardware Canucks Dam Good award. That’s it for this review, but hopefully we get a strong competitor to this headset soon.