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AKG GHS1

post #1 of 10
11/4/10 at 1:42am
Thread Starter 

AKG has a gaming headset now, called GHS1. I was wondering if these headphones are similar to any of the other AKG headphones.

 

Frequency range (Hz-kHz) - 18 Hz - 24 kHz

Input impedance (ohms) - 32

Sensitivity (dB SPL/V) - 115

Max. input power (mW) -  35

 

 

 

akg_ghs1_black.jpg

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post #2 of 10
11/4/10 at 3:53am

Interesting! Sennhesier were making a killing with their gamer line up.


Edited by MomijiTMO - 11/4/10 at 5:35am
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post #3 of 10
11/4/10 at 4:38am
Thread Starter 

Makes sense that they would make a killing, and AKG to try and do the same. I havent seen these for sale on amazon or any other major online shop, but the local audio shop has them for sale at 103 euros. 

No reviews on these, and I am very curious to how they are and to what one can compare them to?

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post #4 of 10
11/29/10 at 8:09pm

does anyone have any news on this?

http://www.akg.com/personal/,pcp_id,161,_psmand,1.html

it's on the website but 0 reviews or shops selling them

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post #5 of 10
12/13/10 at 12:07pm

Okay, since there are basically no reviews up on the net, probably also thanks to the "wide" availability, here comes a short first impression and an overall review

"Small greatness"

 

Coming from a Sennheiser PC161, I wanted something more comfortable. Probably also somethng better looking. Plus it's AKG and thanks to my heritage I have the patriots duty to review them thusly :-P


Packaging

Nice. Looks much more stylish than Sennheisers offerings. Take note, this is how you want sophistication to look, not packaging that wants a middle aged man to hide his purchase.

Build quality

This headset oozes quality. Everything about it looks solid and well built, the plastic feels high quality and the metal elements just say "sturdy". The cable is nice, thick and rubberized and splits into two standard 3.5 mm jacks at the end. Aside from the not so hot volume control which is somewhat hard to get to and operate, there's really nothing I could critisize here. Well done, AKG.

Design

Pictures are readily available and it certainly matches the expectations in person. Looks actually good on your head. The orange-black topic is very nice. Also looks good when worn. Didn't win the RedDot design award for nothing for sure. Best looking headset aside from the MMX300.

Comfort

I did say small greatness. And literally, it's small. Probably designed by the midget fairies of tinyland, this makes you wonder if they browsed through available European heads. The largest setting is just comfortable for my head. And it's not particularly large. Sennheiser has a far better adjustability there. The clamping is decent and simply feels solid, nothing too tight or gripping as opposed to some of their other offerings. The earpads are well padded and will precisely sit on your ears thanks to a very free and easy operating mounting (hinge? help me out >.<)
The headband is ok though I expected it to be more comfortable like on my K240. It took me some searching until I found the right position but then it's actually quite ok. Also seems to take some time to destiffen the plastic rims which seam the thin center fabric. Much better than the PC 161s headband in the long run. The longer I wear it, the less it bothers me.

The mic

Sound quality is clear and crisp and very nice. Beware that it is NOT a noise cancelling mic and therefore will pick up all surrounding noises which accompany you. Push to talk during gaming is suggested instead of an always open comm. You are now informed.

The sound

Definitely a highlight of this set. Sound is actually very clear and pretty full. It offered a big leap in clarity and overall soundscape to the PC161. It also really likes bass and not only produces spades but quality ones of it. I actually had to turn it down, it seemed do drown the whole thing a tad.
Highs are pretty fine and sharp without being tinny, mids are well defined and bass... yeah, definitely not the usual AKG fare there.
Also, it sounds really defined even on my lowly Audigy 4 so I guess it's really easy to drive. I'd have to do some cross listening with proper amping but an external amp is definitely not on the "must have" list.

The verdict

Asmall headset with some headsize problems, an open mic and superb sound. If your head fits the bill and the price your wallet, definitely worth trying out.

Personal stuff

I'd really have imagned the wear comfort to be higher from the construction but meh, guess you can't judge from looks. Also, sound is really surprisingly good when you think that a PC161 is ~€ 65 and the GHS1 is ~€ 90. For the 25 bucks you get spades of build and sound quality. I'll see how it is with the open mic on skype >.<
I mostly got it for comfort and style and while the comfort is only slowly growing on my head, the sound really surprised me. The more I listen to this headset, the more I am impressed. For the price, I'd really like to hear how the PC360 sounds in comparison.
So far, thumbs up.


Edited by FoxSpirit - 12/13/10 at 12:10pm
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post #6 of 10
12/13/10 at 12:42pm

Welcome to head-fi fox!

 

What a nice way to start, the impressions are very good. I never been into headsets but this one caught my attention...from what i see, its worth it....and does have a good sound. 

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post #7 of 10
5/25/11 at 5:26pm

i have one- these are like a k81dj with cloth pads. sounds better than the k81 probably because of the cloth pads- bass is cleaner, highs/mids less muddy

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post #8 of 10
5/27/11 at 12:09pm

Loved the review FoxSpirit, thank-you! How would you rate the sound isolation?

 

Ignoring SQ (shocking - I know!), the GHS1 is closed and on-ear; the PC360 is open and over ear. While both are gaming oriented, they seem to have completely different target audiences.


Edited by MtnSloth - 5/27/11 at 12:10pm
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post #9 of 10
5/27/12 at 2:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by FoxSpirit View Post

For the price, I'd really like to hear how the PC360 sounds in comparison.

 

 

 

Hi, I've both of them (AKG GHS1 and PC 360) at hand right now (connected to an X-Fi Titanium).
 
If you want me to test something in particular comparing the two, just ask. I'll keep the GHS too, until the day I find somebody to sell it to.
 
I got the GHS1 first (80E here in france), but I was very disappointed by the microphone: I use voice activation under mumble and any tiny noise was triggering it (mouse clicks, keyboard clicks), no matter the settings in mumble. The mic was not directional enough and not well placed. Mind, if you use the mic only for skype or similar or use push-to-talk, then it will work perfectly.
 
So I decided to go for the PC 360 that is close to 160E here.
 
I tested them on music on my X-Fi titanium and on a portable mp3 player (Sansa Clip Plus, with rockbox of course), with quality recordings (.flac, some Chesky records stuff, ...) and with less than good stuff (mp3 at 128K).
 
For music I'm not convinced the 360 is clearly better than the GHS1. To me they are close enough to make one better than the other depending on the music type and personal preference.
 
The 360 lacks bass. I'm not a bass-head, but I mean, even my Brainwavz M2 IEM have more bass than the 360. However, the 360 have a better mid and high than the GHS1. The 360 seems also more detailed and with a larger sound stage.
 
Both characteristics above may turn  out as advantages or disadvantages over the GHS1: in some occasions I really missed the GHS1 bass, in some others I felt the extra bass was making the GHS1 sound muddier. Sometimes the 360 sounded too detailed: different instruments seemed all separate, not blending together.
 
Gaming wise, you have to separate a normal gamer from somebody into competitive gaming.
For a normal gamer, I would advise the GHS1, while for a competitive gamer the PC360 wins hands down: you can just locate your enemies so much better (I only play cod4). That assumes you can shed the double of the price for that advantage.
And of course, the pc360 mic is much much better.
 
Build quality is very good on both.
Design-wise, the GHS1 looks very good compared to the plain PC360.
Ergonomics: the volume control on the right barrel of the PC360 is excellent but cutting the mic rotating the boom takes slightly more time than hitting a button/switch. I would prefer a button on the left barrel of the 360 to cut the mic: mechanically simpler and quicker.
Comfort: the GHS1 is supra-aural, the first 2 days you use it your ears will suffer, but then you no longer notice it. 360 = super-comfy for me. Much more sounds leaks out of the 360 (of course, it's open back): keep in mind if you need to play without annoying somebody near you (which by the way is almost impossible when you have a mech keyboard, click like a mad men, tons of fans on your overclocked pc and you scream at camping noobs).
 
Take my opinion above a just a personal one: I don't have a lot of experience with headsets and  headphones.
 
MaX.
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post #10 of 10
9/21/12 at 4:06pm

Thanks for the review guys!

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