MSI GH61 Gaming Headset & HS01 Stand Review

Performance

The MSI GH61 features some pretty exciting audio hardware, especially for something in this price range. It’s not a particularly heavy headset, it does have a lot of plastic here. However, they’ve stuck with a closed-back design, albeit one that looks semi-open, but I assure you it is closed.

That closed-back design helps lock in the sound and block out ambient noise. The effect is more pronounced with the PU leather earpads on, and less so with the foam earpads installed. What this does though is lock-in air, giving you a deeper low-end response and basically just more bass from those lovely Onkyo speakers.

I’m actually a bit of a fan and user of Onkyo AV equipment, so I know they can do good work. What they’ve done here? I’m not 100% sure, but they’re willing to put their name on the box, so they must be confident it was worth it. That being said, the drivers do sound really fantastic. With Hi-Res audio support, you’ll find the extended range of the drivers really brings out a lot of detail in… well, everything actually. They’re just really balanced and crisp sounding drivers, and that’s a rare thing in a sub £100 gaming headset.

With the built-in ESS Saber DAC and AMP at work, the sound really is pin sharp. Plus, with the Nahimic software on desktop, you can tinker with the mix and EQ a bit too. It’s not the most advanced software ever, but it’s enough for tweaking the sound if you need to. Honestly, I suggest leaving it well along, as the stock sound just seems right to me. The only downside of Nahimic 7.1 processing is that you need the software loaded for it. It’s great processing, but if you have something like Atmos for Headphone or DTS:X Headphone, you could use those too and all work really well.

The headset have multiple profiles for the EQ, offering surround sound modes and bass levels, etc, for Movies, Music and Games. However, I saw no real benefit in making them all different. The headset performed well right out of the box. Big volume, big sound, endless clarity, no distortion, and bass that always felt like enough, and was never excessive. A big thumbs up really.

The software is well presented overall, albeit if you’re not using the EQ or the surround processing, it’s not actually needed either, so don’t feel like you have to rely on it. However, it does allow some nice features such as volume stabilizer. I’m not fussed for those features myself, but hey, I’m not everybody. I love the little “try” button on every tab though, each with a nice sample file to test everything.

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