Between Skype calls, Google hangouts, podcasts and general work I use headphones a lot at my desk. There is just something about using headphones that makes me more productive.

Since I use them so much I have 3 pairs of regular heaphones and 1 pair dedicated to use when I’m biking or running. Here’s a quick list:

Today we’ll review the Logitech G930 headset I use day to day at my desk.

Overview

The G930 are billed as a wireless gaming headset. I don’t do much gaming really but gaming headsets seem to have the best features. If you look around at a headset for Skype calls you’re going to find a bunch of headsets that are poorly built that have poor sound quality and are uncomfortable.

I wear these for 6 hours a day often I don’t want uncomfortable cheap headphones.

The G930 has a solid build (I’ve had mine for 2 years and they are holding up great) and the sound quality is fine for my uses. If you’re on Mac and want the full Dolby support you’re out of luck it’s a Windows only feature so you get stereo.

The battery is strong and I’ve only had them die once when I forgot to charge them for a day and the mic provides good enough sound quality for regular calls. If you want to do a bunch of podcasting then getting a proper mic for recording would still be recommened for the best sound quality.

Sound Quality

While I enjoy good sound quality I’d never say I’m a true audiophile. I just want clean sound that’s not super base heavy and let’s me enjoy classical music and mindless dubstep.

While the G930 supports 7.1 Dolby it only does that on Windows if you’re running the Logitech software. This may bum you out but for me using it mainly for Skype calls and daily music to kill outside distractions it makes no real difference.

I get clean stereo sound and I’m happy with it.

The heaphones have no active noise cancelling, they just damp down the outside sound with the padding around your ears and the casing. They do a decent job of cancelling outside noise but if you want to block out all outside sound these are not for you.

When my 2 year old is throwing a tantrum downstairs I can hear it between tracks or during quiet parts of the music.

I have had occasional sound dropouts with the wireless technology. I think that more than an issue with the G930 I’ve got an issue with a hard drive spinning up. I’ve also had dropouts on my podcast Mic which is wired via USB.

Whatever the reason I just wait a few seconds and the sound comes back. It’s minorly annoying but certainly nothing that makes the headset unuseable.

Mic Quality

For podcasting I have a Blue Snowball and the sound quality difference between the Snowball and the G930 is noticeable.

The Snowball just sounds richer while the G930 sounds flat and has a bit more noise on top of it. So no you probably don’t want to use the G930 for proper screencasting or podcast recording unless your only other option is the built in mic on your computer. The G930 is way better than a built in mic.

Despite the quality difference between the Snowball and the G930 I still get people telling me that the sound quality on my Skype calls using the G930 is great.

So yes the G930 is awesome to use for general calls and hangouts but if you want to do some recording realize that you’re going to get better sound quality out a a proper mic, even an inexpensive one like the Blue Snowball.

Comfort

When you’re wearing something 6 hours a day 5 days a week they better be comfortable. The biggest draw back to the headphones is the weight.

They are way heavier than my Philips headphones but that of course is the fault of batteries. Batteries are heavy and if you want wireless heaphones that last a long time you need big batteries.

So the weight on my head is an ‘issue’ but other than that these are comfortable. The ear cups totally surround your ear and the headband has padding on it for the top of your head.

Years ago I had a cheap pair of heaphones that were really light but the headband was so terrible that they hurt my head after more than an hour. The G930 has never caused pain despite the extra weight and the long use.

The padding on the headband and the ear cups is firm but comfortable. After 2 years of constant use they still look pretty much factory fresh and feel as comfortable as they did day 1.

These are as comfortable as you can expect from a wireless set of heaphones with heavy batteries.

Battery Life

I’m a pacer during calls. It’s not uncommon for me to walk to the front of my house (which is about 20 feet away) and talk to clients while looking out the front window. My need to pace is the reason I wanted wireless headphones.

The battery on the G930 is supposed to last 10 hours and while I’ve never actually tested this I’ve never had them die in regular use.

I typically put these on at 8am and wear them till noon. They get charged for about an hour while I have lunch and hang out with my kid. Then they go back on around 1 till 5pm. After that they hit the charger till I turn off my computer around 10pm.

With that as a typical usage pattern they last just fine all the time. As mentioned in the overview, the only time I’ve had them die is when I’ve left them off the charger after my work day. They still lasted all morning but the 1 hour charge session at lunch just wasn’t enough of a top up to get the headphones through the whole day.

They even last just fine when I end up having an evening video game session of a couple hours. Usually then I don’t have a chance to stick them back on the charger for any length of time before I shut off my computer but they still last during normal usage the next day.

On Board Controls

Logitech G930 buttons
Logitech G930 buttons

Since the headphones are wireless and I pace the on board controls on the G930 get a bunch of use. I’ve just left them at the default settings which means the middle button controls the play/pause of iTunes. The forward button skips forward 1 track and the rear button skips back 1 track (or to the beginning of the current track).

The final button for control is the mute button. I end up using it at some point in most calls when I want to clear my throat or say if my 2 year old runs in screaming about something that is life ending.

All 4 of the buttons feel nice to press, just a bit of force and a bit of a ‘click’ when they activate.

Then you have a dial on the headphones that controls the volume. I occasionally roll this to totally off but that’s about my only annoyance with the volume control.

Then there is the power button which is located on the rear side of the left ear cup. It’s pretty terrible to use. After 2 years I still have to try a few times before I can get the headphones powered down. I guess you have to hold it or something but I’ve never found the exact right interval.

It works but it could use some improvement. It’s certainly not terrible enought to cause me to replace otherwise great headphones but it’s annoying.

Wrap Up

I really like my G930 headset for daily office use. They have lasted 2 years well and the sound quality is good enough for me. I’d start with another pair of Logitech gaming headphones if these ever broke and it would be a hard sell to get me to try something else.

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