Immerse GH50 is the name of MSI’s latest headset to represent the company in the highly competitive mid-range market. The GH50 costs just under 80 euros to start with and is currently available from Amazon for € 79.48 *.
The GH50 offers RGB LED lighting and is therefore always connected via USB. In contrast to the other GH headsets, MSI also uses a detachable microphone. Furthermore, the company promises that the headset will be foldable and therefore particularly suitable for transport. The following test will show whether this complete package is sufficient to make the GH50 a recommendable product.
Scope of Delivery
The GH50 will be delivered as usual in a colour printed cardboard box. This box contains the headset with the permanently installed connection cable. In addition, there is the pluggable microphone and a black carrying case with the typical MSI kite on it.
Technical Data
| Model | MSI Immerse GH50 |
| Transfer system | Headband |
| Headphone format | Over-Ear |
| Impedance | 32 Ω |
| Cable length | 220 cm (With remote control attached) |
| Weight | 306 g |
| Connector plug | USB 2.0 |
| Frequency range | 20 – 20,000 Hz |
| Frequency range (microphone) | 100 – 10,000 Hz |
| Price | € 79.48 * |
Design and Workmanship
MSI’s newcomer relies on the typical headset design: The GH50 rests on the ears as well as the head on pads covered with imitation leather. On the outside, the headset is largely made of grey plastic, while the handsets are mostly black. There is also the MSI logo, which is illuminated by several RGB LEDs.
Inside the headband there are two metal strips that connect the headphones. These can be seen when the headband is pulled out – it can be extended by about three centimeters per side. In addition, the headset should fit snugly to the head thanks to the earcups that can be turned forwards and backwards and tilted slightly. In addition, the earcups can be folded up as a whole. This makes the headset a bit smaller and facilitates transport, which is made more difficult by the permanently installed cable.
The microphone of the MSI GH50 is made of the same black plastic as the earcups. Accordingly, it is rigidly attached to the headset. A standard jack plug serves as the connection, so it should be possible to replace the microphone in the event of a defect.
The headset is connected via a 2.2 metre USB cable. This has a cable remote control that is about 70 centimeters away from the headset. A rotary wheel is available on the remote control for setting the playback volume. Two buttons can be used to activate the (virtual) 7.1 sound and deactivate the microphone, and a slider can be used to activate a vibration system advertised by MSI.
The manufacturing quality of the GH50 is praiseworthy: both the headset itself and the cable remote control are free of optical or haptic defects. All components are cleanly connected, there are no sharp edges or other problems with our sample.
Wearing Comfort
The GH50 offers several ways to adapt to the wearer: The headband can be extended and the ear cups are both rotatable and tiltable. This allows the headset to adapt well to the wearer in practice. The possible turning radius of the ear cups should be sufficient for all head shapes, and the height adjustment also covers even large skulls well.
The headset is just as good with the ear cushions: these are generously dimensioned and lie comfortably on the head. As usual, the heat development in the ears is noticeable, but you should not sweat too much with the headset.
However, the GH50 has to put up with criticism for the contact pressure: This is relatively high, which should be especially noticeable with wide heads. The headset doesn’t hurt that much, but the wearing comfort is still not quite ideal.
The bottom line is that the wearing comfort of the GH50 is well within the price range: The two degrees of freedom in the ear cups are praiseworthy, and the high contact pressure means that we would rather recommend the headset for players with narrower heads. But those who wear glasses don’t have a problem: The temples aren’t pressed in.
Practical Test: Headphones and Microphone
Now to the core discipline of the GH50: sound quality. For playback, MSI has provided the headset with two 40mm drivers, with additional options such as virtual 7.1 sound and a “vibration system”. A detachable and rigid microphone is used for recording, which according to the manufacturer should cover the frequency range of 100-10,000 kHz. Compared to the audible range, this is, at least on paper, a clear cut.
The GH50 is solid in playback: the sound sounds rich and absorbs little detail. MSI rolls up the field from below, so the rather hard bass stands out above all, letting other details take a back seat. This is probably a quite mass-suited tuning, with which the headset presents itself well for the price – but miracles are not to be expected.
The switchable, simulated 7.1 sound is a nice addition – in fact it conveys the feeling of a higher three-dimensionality through an activated EQ and a reverb effect that can be configured in three stages, but the sound image is also clearly distorted. If you want to spice up your gaming experience, you can use this function, but it is not suitable for “neutral” music enjoyment.
The advertised vibration system, on the other hand, does not cause any noticeable change in sound. It is possible that the bass will be slightly stronger, but this effect will be so small that you won’t notice any noticeable difference.
Unfortunately, the GH50 is not fully convincing when it comes to the microphone: you can understand the spoken word without any problems, but the recorded voice loses part of its “timbre”. The GH50 does justice to the occasional use in voice chat, but those who have only slight tendencies towards streaming should long for a better recording quality.
Software and Lighting
To adapt the sound characteristics of the headset, MSI has integrated the GH50 into its own universal software, the Dragon Center. As already mentioned recently in Test of the mouse GM30, it needs a restart for the installation, but it is fast and easy to use afterwards. The sound settings can be found in the product tab, the lighting is configured via a separate menu item. This is especially useful if several MSI products are to be controlled together, otherwise this solution is somewhat cumbersome.
The Dragon Center covers the usual setting range of a sound card: You can select the sampling rate, adjust the volume of the microphone and both handsets, and select an optional EQ. The 7.1 effect can also be adjusted in the software: There are two modes and three levels to choose from.
There are also several lighting options: There are three dynamic effects (rainbow, breathing, music mode) and a static light. The effects can be adjusted in terms of color and playback speed, providing enough flexibility for most applications. Unfortunately, MSI again does not offer the possibility to let the LEDs light up individually in a static color.
In operation, the lighting of the GH50 is an eye-catcher in any case. The LEDs are bright and the light distribution is even. If you’re receptive to such gimmicks, the headset will certainly get your money’s worth.
Fulness
With the Immerse GH50, MSI has introduced a perfectly round product to the market that offers a lot for the money, but cannot override the limits set by the price.
On the plus side of the headset are solid workmanship, well implemented RGB lighting and plenty of freedom to adapt to the wearer. The sound quality is on a par with the competition, with MSI especially emphasizing the bass – slightly at the expense of details in this frequency range.
MSI, on the other hand, has to put up with some criticism for two points: The recording quality of the microphone is sufficient for daily voice chat use, but your voice is noticeably discoloured by the recording – this works better. The contact pressure of the headset is also a bit too high for us, subjectively: This reduces the wearing comfort, especially with wider skulls, and is in contrast to the otherwise praiseworthy ergonomics.
MSI Immerse GH50
Workmanship
Comfort
Sound Quality
Recording Quality
Features
Value for Money
Solid headset with many features, but also slight weaknesses.
