MSI IMMERSE GH61 Hands On Review: Onkyo Drivers on a Gaming Headphones?

Gaming Headphones are the staple and go-to choice for entertainment centric tasks rather than pro creation. We have seen a bunch of cool collaboration like HyperX with AUDEZE and so on. MSI on the other hand, teamed up with an audio company that makes pretty much one of the best gears you could find in the market for production, Onkyo and these drivers are baked into their gaming headphones, the MSI Immerse GH61 – is it any good? Well, time to find out.

Looks and Comfort

1/5

The Immerse takes the comfort based on your personal taste – it comes with a Protein Leather (a fancy name for faux leather) which is nice for extended use and a Fabric Ear cup which is softer and breathable. You can swap between whichever you like and since it’s an over-ear headphone, it sits nicely around your ears with no such pain or discomfort. The band on these headphones are most definitely thick and it is adjustable, so it should be nice and fit for anyone. The padding on the top of the band is important for me because this is where a lot of manufacturers tend to cheap out and make things uncomfortable, but that’s not the case here as the GH61 has a nice “protein leather” texture headband that doesn’t dig into the head after prolonged use.

1/4

It’s important that the headphones create a good seal to prevent sound leak and the whole design is well done that the sound leak isn’t severe and just too mild. So, you can have someone else in your room while you play games, and they will be able to watch and listen to their favorite thing on the big screen and not be disturbed at all. The MSI Immerse is definitely going up there as the most comfortable Gaming headphones I have used so far.

Features and Specification

Just like any other Gaming Peripherals, the IMMERSE GH61 comes with its own set of features:

• Users can opt in to connect directly via a 3.5mm Jack or use a pre included DAC and controller through USB Connectivity.
• Houses a decent quality retractable microphone to capture better voice over gaming sessions.
• Comes with the ESS Sabre DAC baked into the USB Controller and on top of that supports Nahimic for the 3D spatial audio.

Sound Quality

These headphones have a 40mm Neodymium drivers from Onkyo. Surprisingly, there is no color with the driver – the bass isn’t intense, rather more on the flatter sides. Low, mids are perfectly handled and the highs can be a little too sharp but at a sweet volume spot, it sounds beautiful. The clarity on the driver is phenomenal and the DAC does offer a certain amount of improvement in the audio, which is exceptionally fine and for the most part, I doubt it would be any noticeable to general consumer. The headphones provide good staging and well produced finer notes especially while trying out some songs through the headphones.

1/2

It Supports Hi-Res Virtual 7.1 – the virtual based toggled via a software which also happens to control the Nahimic for Headset. Surprisingly works better than I anticipated. Good spatial audio experience in games with demanding audio like Division 2 and Ghostpoint. But then again, it still isn’t authentic like what you get on a proper 7.1 channel surround experience and just like in the past, I always have a love-hate relationship with Nahimic’s approach of engineering surround sound virtually and it’s an absolute hit and miss. The contender – HyperX with Audeze does a better job in providing better spatial experience and a much better virtual 7.1 Channel Surround thanks to the planar magnetic drivers and Waves Nx audio science.

Conclusion

The MSI Immerse GH61 tries to emulate a better sound experience with the help of Onkyo for the drivers, Sabre for the DAC and Nahimic for the software enhancements. Personally, Nahimic software approach for the audio still doesn’t stick with me as the whole audio tinkering experience still feels raw and makes the experience with the DAC a little too sour. But that said, if you forget about the Nahimic software and use the GH61 with or without the ESS Sabre DAC, you are looking at a fantastic gaming and creators’ headphone with the best comfort one could get from a Gaming Headphones.

It doesn’t look flashy at all, which most definitely make it a cool headphone to look at on the headphone stand on your table.

Thanks to MSI Malaysia for gracing us with this review sample and for making this review happen.