The new Logitech range which includes the G733 Lightspeed headset does a lot to find the middle ground for Logitech. Logitech has always made spectacular hardware but they have often struggled to find a balance between their more practical products and their G gaming range. The G733 takes the great performance that is required from the gaming range, needed for gamers to perform at their optimal levels and blends it into the more practical and playful looks that Logitech has often lacked. Still, very much business orientated, but the G733 shows that work can be done even if you loosen the tie and ruffle the hair ever so slightly…
Design
On most occasions, headsets that are rather lightweight tend to feel and are generally cheaper and not built too well. As a general rule of thumb, with a bit of weight comes better build quality and a stronger structure in general. The Logitech G733 ditches these ideas and gives you a headset that is extremely light. Only weighing a measly 278g, which is a significant weight cut compared to other high-end Logitech headsets. Although 278g might not sound like much, when you are wearing a headset for many hours continuously, you will thank Logitech for making such a lightweight headset.
The comfort does not stop there. The earcups are lined with soft flexible memory foam cushioning that offers a comfortable fit and helps with sealing off the outside world as well as not causing too much heat after wearing them for extended periods of time. The new headband system that Logitech has adapted to for the G733 is simply fantastic. Many other brands have been using it for quite some time, allowing for the weight of the headset to be spread across a band over your head rather than using a single contact point as “traditional” headsets do. The headband makes the G733 feel like it’s floating above your head and only attached to your head at the earcups. If for some reason, the headset doesn’t fit quite right, the headband can even be adjusted to sit more snug, well done Logitech! Did I mention the headband elastic is reversible if the already funky colour doesn’t quite suit your mood for the day?
Although the straight and square design is rather new to the Logitech roster (copying more of the Astro look than Logitech) it is made from all plastic rather than the more carbon and metallic bits are seen on other high-end Logitechs’. The plastic is strong and durable but it always will bring in a sense of cheapness even though, in this case, it is not the case. Being plastic also allows the G733 to be made in bright and beautiful colours such as black, white, grey, and a beautiful blue. The front rim of the earcups is embellished by an RGB strip that acts as two programmable areas for RGB.
Features
Let us start with the controls. Firstly, the G733 connects wirelessly via a USB dongle. This works fine and dandy on the console but the G733 is more at home on the PC. More on that a little later. On the left earcup, you will find the microphone, which now features Blue Voice, thanks to Logitech’s purchase of Blue Microphones. On the rear of the earcup, there is a discrete flat button that allows for microphone mute. When pressed you will hear an audio queue acknowledging that you are now muted or unmuted. Extremely handy when you are not sure if you hit the mute button before you start conveying your disgust at a stupid play a fellow teammate made.
Below the mute button, there is a volume dial, this dial can turn endlessly both ways and adjust your PC’s main volume. So when turning you should get the volume level displayed by Windows. The last button on the rather barren G733 is the power button, hold to switch on, hold to switch off, a short press will have a lady tell you the battery level in your ear, nice!
The aspect that has really made me fall in love with Logitech is how amazing their Ghub software is, and the resulting performance you get from the headset. The G733, thanks to the Ghub software, can compete with headsets that are much more expensive, due to the customization levels introduced in the Ghub software.
Ghub Customizations
The most obvious customization feature is RGB. Like all the other Logitech products, the G733 features the same options when it comes to RGB settings. Rainbow sliders and the normal options, I prefer to use a screen sampler, which allows the RGB on the headset to mimic what is happening on the screen. Newer game titles are also supported for custom RGB features. While playing Mafia Remastered, I found that when I was being chased by the police, all three ( keyboard, mouse, and headset) would flash red and blue as the police sirens and light would do. That really makes immersion fantastic and with constant games being added to the supported list, this is spectacular.
The G733 features virtual surround sound thanks to DTS. The virtual surround sound that is featured with most Logitech headsets is some of the most accurate I have experienced in any stereo headset. Some other well-known brands seem to sound more like an echo than actually true spatial sound. After tinkering with the surround sound there is more equalizers and settings to fiddle with until you have tweaked the audio to just what you want. If you can’t quite tweak it your way, why not simply download a preset that someone else has made and uploaded to the Ghub. Quick and simple, find a setup you think might work and download it and test it out. This is an approach more companies should take. I have become a snob because of this feature and setting my own equalizers have now become somewhat of a pain.
The recent addition of Blue Voice in top-end Logitech headsets is tremendous. Suddenly your Logitech headset can replace the likes of a separate stand microphone thanks to the amazing tech crammed into a small headset mic. Not only can you set your microphone equalizer to allow you to sound perfectly crisp and clear, but there are also presets such as AM Radio, broadcaster, FM radio and presets for soft, loud, high and low voice types! If anyone has ever told you that your voice would not suit radio, the Blue Voice tech can make you sound like you have the sweetest voice on earth!
Performance
The Logitech G733 is a wireless headset, and with that comes certain “problems” when it comes to the audio performance. When there is no audio playing, even at low volume, there is the normal hum. Not a big deal, but to someone who believes in wired is better, this can be very annoying. Fortunately, the G733 makes up for this slight flaw with exceptional audio quality. With the extremely powerful equalizer that can be tuned to make nearly any form of music or in-game audio sound perfect, we were hard-pressed to really find something wrong. So to be completely unbiased I decided to give the G733 to a few people to give their opinions in terms of audio. The G733 is fitted with the same 40mm drivers as the G Pro X which is still our favourite all-time headset. For this reason, the G733 sounds nearly exactly the same. Mids are spot on with highs being at the verge of being too high. Lows are firm and strong but can become slightly muddy when the mids are truly working hard. This was only slightly noticeable during some intense BFV firefights.
The Logitech G733 soundstage is clearly taken from the G Pro X which is intended with esports in mind, hence the stage is smaller and closer than other headsets. This is by no means a deal-breaker because when I took them for a spin in Horizon Zero Dawn the vast openness and gusts of wind perfectly gave the sense of a massive open area.
Verdict
The Logitech G Pro X was easily our favourite headset and our standard to which all headsets are measured. This leaves any other headset that lands in our hands at an immediate disadvantage. The G733 put a smile on our face when we put it on, it is comfortable and light. When we turned it on and started using it our smile increased even more! Chatting to friends online and hearing them say “wow, you sound so perfectly-clear” simply made us fall in love! The G733 takes what made the G Pro headsets so wonderful and adds in some refreshing styling showing that you can be both business while still looking great and fun!
If you are looking for a wireless option and the GPro X or G935 just does not do it for you, why not take a look at something just as good but a little more pleasing to the eye.
Special thanks to Logitech for supplying the review hardware
