Logitech G435 Lightspeed: The Lightweight Gaming Headset That Won’t Weigh You Down

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The Logitech G435 Lightspeed: A Light, Comfortable Gaming Headset With Mixed Results

The gaming industry continues to thrive, with countless players dedicating thousands of hours to their favorite titles. The pandemic fueled this growth, pushing gamers to seek solace and connection in the digital sphere. In this ever-evolving landscape, Logitech remains a prominent player, consistently delivering quality gaming peripherals. Its latest offering, the Logitech G435 Lightspeed gaming headset, priced at Rs. 7,495, promises a comfortable and wireless experience for console and PC gamers alike. But is it truly the best headset under Rs. 10,000? We put the G435 Lightspeed through its paces to find out.

Logitech G435 Lightspeed: Design & Specifications

The G435 Lightspeed embraces a familiar gaming aesthetic, featuring sleek earcups and headband without any flashy RGB lighting. The headset is available in three color variants: Off White and Lilac, Blue and Raspberry, and Black and Neon Yellow. Our review unit sported the Black and Neon Yellow combination, giving it a minimalist appeal.

On the left earcup, you’ll find all the controls, including a power button, battery level indicator, volume controls, a mute button, and two beamforming microphones. Unlike many headsets, Logitech has opted for beamforming microphones instead of traditional boom arms. A USB Type-C port on the left earcup handles charging. The right earcup simply displays the Logitech logo.

Gaming peripherals, particularly headsets, are known for their weight, often feeling heavy and bulky. The G435 thankfully breaks this trend, boasting a featherweight design at just 165g. This makes it significantly lighter than headsets like the HyperX Cloud Core 7.1, which weighs around 300g without the boom microphone.

The G435 is entirely composed of plastic, another contributing factor to its lightweight nature. Logitech also emphasizes its commitment to sustainability, incorporating a minimum of 22 percent post-consumer recycled plastic content. It boasts a frequency response ranging from 20Hz to 20KHz with an impedance of 45 Ohms. The package includes a Lightspeed USB dongle, a USB A to USB-C cable, user documentation, and the headset itself.

Comfort and Fit

The earcups are adjustable, mounted on rails that allow for up and down movement for a personalized fit. However, there’s no swivel functionality. While the rails survived some accidental drops, they feel a bit fragile, raising concerns about long-term durability.

The memory foam earcups provide exceptional comfort, preventing any discomfort even during extended gaming sessions. The inner plastic covering the drivers lacks fabric coating and features large openings, so caution is required to prevent dust entry. The headband frame, made of plastic, lacks cushioning, relying only on a smooth cloth covering for minimal padding. Despite this, the G435 is remarkably comfortable thanks to its lightweight design.

Controls & Connectivity

Initially, the controls on the G435 Lightspeed can be a bit confusing. Holding the power button turns the headset on or off, while a single click reveals the estimated battery percentage. A green light indicates 31 to 100 percent battery, while a red light signifies 15 to 30 percent. A flashing red light for five seconds indicates a battery level below 15 percent. Unfortunately, there’s no voice prompt for precise battery level information.

The mute button also doubles as a connectivity button, enabling switching between Logitech’s proprietary Lightspeed dongle and Bluetooth connectivity. Lightspeed, which uses the 2.4Ghz frequency channel for wireless devices, delivers lower latency than Bluetooth, making it ideal for gaming. Long-pressing the mute button for three seconds toggles between these options. A cyan light signifies Lightspeed mode, while blue indicates Bluetooth activation.

While Lightspeed generally offers a more responsive experience, we encountered a peculiar bug during our tests. When connecting the Lightspeed dongle and another USB device (in our case, an external hard disk) to adjacent USB ports, significant sound distortion occurred. This issue resolved itself once we unplugged the external hard disk, suggesting a possible compatibility problem.

Aside from this bug, connecting the G435 Lightspeed is a breeze, and switching between Bluetooth and Lightspeed is seamless.

Sound Quality and Performance

The G435 Lightspeed boasts 40mm drivers that deliver decent sound quality, featuring decent highs and lows for the majority of scenarios. While the sound quality isn’t exceptional, it’s perfectly adequate for gaming.

We tested the headset with a diverse set of games, including Valorant, Apex Legends, CS:GO, Back 4 Blood, Tomb Raider, and Forza Horizon 5. In first-person shooters, where subtle sound cues can be crucial, the G435 performed admirably.

The soundstage is balanced, allowing for clear discernment of explosions and rumbles even at moderate volume levels. Precise location of targets in Valorant and CS:GO was effortless. Distinguishing the direction of sound effects was also accurate, enhancing immersion.

However, sound leakage becomes noticeable at volume levels exceeding 85 percent. Lack of active noise cancellation and the memory foam earcups mean passive noise isolation is insufficient, allowing outside sounds to penetrate.

Microphone Performance

Instead of a traditional boom microphone, Logitech has opted for beamforming microphones on the G435 Lightspeed. While voice quality is decent due to the microphones’ proximity to the mouth, they are prone to picking up ambient noise, which became a source of frustration for our Discord partners. Boom microphones are generally a better choice for gaming, but they would inevitably add weight to the headset.

Battery Life & Charging

Logitech claims an 18-hour battery life on a single charge, and our testing results came close to this estimate. We achieved approximately 17 hours of usage per charge with the volume typically set around 80 percent. Bluetooth connectivity for smartphone calls and music listening was possible during this time.

The G435 Lightspeed charges via USB Type-C, requiring approximately two hours for a full charge. The lack of a 3.5mm audio jack is a significant drawback for a gaming headset. Running out of power during a game leaves you with no option but to switch to another device or wait for the G435 to charge.

Software & Compatibility

The G435 Lightspeed doesn’t support G-Hub, Logitech’s PC software that allows users to customize settings for their devices. This means users cannot adjust the equalizer, bass boost, or volume boost settings. Relying on console or PC output settings for these adjustments is necessary.

Verdict

Logitech’s vision for the G435 Lightspeed is clear: create an affordable wireless headset that’s lightweight, comfortable, and specifically targeted towards entry-level smartphone and console gamers. While the headset triumphs in some areas, it stumbles in others.

The integration of Lightspeed is a commendable step, offering low latency and wireless convenience. However, the microphone performance falls short, posing a significant drawback for gamers who rely on clear communication.

Overall, the Logitech G435 Lightspeed is a decent headset that could be a good option for entry-level users. However, several alternatives in this price range might be more compelling, including the Razer Nari Essential (Rs. 8,341), which also offers wired connectivity, and the JBL Quantum 400 (with USB connectivity for audio and a boom microphone).

Article Reference

Brian Adams
Brian Adams
Brian Adams is a technology writer with a passion for exploring new innovations and trends. His articles cover a wide range of tech topics, making complex concepts accessible to a broad audience. Brian's engaging writing style and thorough research make his pieces a must-read for tech enthusiasts.