SteelSeries 9H Gaming Headset Review

Software: SteelSeries Engine 3

The SteelSeries 9H comes with the USB Soundcard V2 which offers advanced codec features when used in conjunction SteelSeries Engine 3. SteelSeries Engine 3 is not included with the 9H and must be downloaded from the SteelSeries website. The USB Soundcard V2 can be used without SteelSeries Engine 3 as a plug-and-play external sound card to bypass other PC audio sources. A mini review of the USB Soundcard V2 was included in our SteelSeries Siberia Elite review.

SteelSeries Engine 3 is SteelSeries unifying software and peripheral control panel. The MY GEAR tab lists recognized SteelSeries devices which can be clicked to access advanced settings or have a configuration selected from a drop-down menu.

The LIBRARY tab shows what programs trigger a configuration for each device. Configurations are created and edited within the device settings.

The setting page for the 9H features an image of the headset on the left, various toggles to the right, and some more menu options on the bottom.

Dolby Headphone is a surround sound emulation technology for stereo headphones that simulates a 7.1 audio experience. Mic Noise Reduction uses software to filter out some ambient noise from microphone recordings. Auto mic compression limits the recording volume range so that recorded speech doesn’t sound either too loud or too soft. Mic Sidetones toggles how loud sound picked up by the microphone is played back to the headset listener.

In this image, all the settings have been toggled and some of the equalizer profiles are shown. There are a total of 12 EQ profiles. The buttons at the bottom right allow for changes to be saved or reverted.

Clicking the Configs button on the bottom right brings up the Configurations sidebar. Configurations can be created, edited, or deleted. Each configuration has its own user-defined settings and can be associated with one or more program.