A Closer Look

The headphones themselves do not really look out of the ordinary and have a very solid feel. As you can see, the two cups are connected via two sturdy plastic straps, while a second, inner strap is used for wear. This means that you will not feel the weight of the entire headset, as the Saitek labeled strap carries some of that.


The outside of the cups are made of metal mesh and plastic. There is an SRS symbol on either side and it feels very well built. The microphone can be shaped a bit and seems long enough even for large heads. The tip is covered by some foam. The entire microphone cannot be removed from the headset, but can be turned 90° to point upward if not needed.


Saitek opted to use two black connectors for the audio input and output. So you have to take a close look to read the symbolic label on each, before plugging them in. It would have been better if these were in green or pink colors, to denote each function.

SRS Unit

The cable is roughly 3 three meters long. Saitek decided to place the SRS unit at the one meter mark from the headsets. This means that you will loose a bit of cable length, if you decide to secure it somewhere on your upper body. The front of the unit houses the big SRS power switch. The red LED turns on once that switch is used. The right side of the device features the general volume control and a hi/med/low switch. This adjusts the microphone level.


The back is taken up by a solid, metal clip, so that the device can be secured on a piece of clothing if you wish. The last side houses the surround meter.


While the headset does work without an additional power source, to use the SRS feature an AAA battery is needed. Saitek decided not to include one inside the package, so you better have one handy if you want to use what you paid for right away. There is no mention as to how long the GH50 lasts on one battery.