Ask around and you’ll find people still using a G432 they bought years ago, and mine has outlived two keyboards, which tells you more than any spec sheet. It’s a wired gaming headset with 50mm drivers, a 6mm flip-to-mute cardioid mic, and DTS Headphone:X 2.0 surround delivered through an included USB adapter, with a 3.5mm cable in the box as well. It weighs 259 grams without the cable, the cable itself runs two metres, and it typically sells somewhere between $30 and $50. Nothing to charge, nothing to pair.
The audio is pretty accurate across the board, which is a better verdict than most gaming headsets earn. There’s a slight bass over-emphasis that can mask strings and cymbals when you listen to music, but for games it’s well judged. The surround implementation gets real praise, described as robust and set-it-and-forget-it rather than the gimmick it often is. One catch worth knowing up front: DTS Headphone:X only works over the USB connection on a PC, so plugging into a console or a controller with the 3.5mm cable gets you plain stereo.
Longevity is the thing owners actually talk about, with units lasting several years and in some cases close to a decade, which at this price is remarkable. The large cups get consistent praise for multi-hour sessions. But the rest is harder to defend: the build feels cheap with plastic that bends and creaks and only a single metal reinforcement, and comfort is merely average because the foam pads are rigid enough to bother anyone wearing glasses. The microphone is the real weak spot, with a large de-emphasis in the bass and mids that makes deeper voices sound thin.
Two connections, two experiences. USB on a PC gets you the DAC and the surround; 3.5mm gets you stereo on anything with a jack, including consoles and phones. The mic flips up to mute, which is the most reliable mute mechanism there is because you can see its state at a glance. There’s no wireless, no battery, and no latency. Logitech’s G Hub software handles the EQ and surround settings, and you’ll want it if you’re on PC.
Buy these if you want a cheap wired headset that will outlive its price several times over, particularly on sale in the thirty-dollar range, which is where they make the most sense. Skip them if you wear glasses, since the rigid pads are the most consistent comfort complaint, or if your voice sits low, since the mic thins it out. Plenty of options under eighty dollars outperform it, and it’s worth being honest about that. But very few of them are still working in five years.
Pros
• Owners report them lasting years, sometimes close to a decade
• Accurate audio for a gaming headset at this price
• DTS surround that’s genuinely well implemented, not a gimmick
• Flip-to-mute mic, the most obvious mute there is
Cons
• Build creaks, with plastic where you’d want metal
• Rigid pads are uncomfortable with glasses
• Mic thins out deeper voices noticeably
• Surround only works over USB on a PC
Our score: 7.1/10