Audio-Technica has started to make audio products geared towards gamers, for the ATH-G1WL is the wireless version of its ATH-G1 gaming headset. Unlike most gaming headset where RGB colour effects are aplenty, Audio-Technica keeps the ATH-G1WL design clean. The ATH-G1WL retails for S$338.
Unboxing
In the box, you will find the following items:
- ATH-G1WL headphones
- USB-A to USB-C charging cable (2m)
- USB transceiver
- Spare earpads
- Microphone
- User manual
Tech specs
| Headphones Type | Closed-back dynamic |
| Driver | 45 mm |
| Frequency Response | 5 – 40,000 Hz |
| Sensitivity | 101 dB/mW |
| Impedance | 45 ohms |
| Battery | 3.8V rechargeable lithium polymer battery |
| Battery Life | 15 hours |
| Weight | 290g 297g including detachable microphone |
| Charging Time | 7 hours |
| Microphone Type | Condenser |
| Microphone Sensitivity | -43 dB (1V/Pa, at 1 kHz) |
| Microphone Frequency Response | 30 – 20,000 Hz |
| Microphone Polar Pattern | Hypercardioid |
Build quality and design
The ATH-G1WL has a the iconic Audio Technica design of the color accent ring around its logo, similar to the highly popular ATH-M50x headphones. The ATH-G1WL presents a somewhat industrial looking design with its metal headband and construction.
The wires are exposed, which to be honest looks a little messy and dangerous as you may accidentally hook it against something and damage the headphone. Other than that, the build quality on the ATH-G1WL is good. The metal construction of the headband feels sturdy yet flexible. The plastic earcups have a nice matte finish which resist fingerprints well, and do not have any signs of flex or creaking.
Buttons, dials, and connectivity
All the buttons and dials are located on the left ear cup. You have the on/off switch. volume dial-and-surround sound button, micro USB port, mic monitor button, 2.5mm microphone jack, and a mic mute switch. It’s a little cluttered so it’ll take a while to get feel the placement of the buttons.
The ATH-G1WL is a wireless headphones that connects to your PC or Mac via the 2.4GHz USB dongle. Speaking of the dongle, the USB dongle is actually quite long so if your ports are on the back of your PC which is flushed closed to a wall, you might have to make some room for it. The connection is established almost instantaneously. Using it on my Windows, I had no issues with the connectivity. But on my Mac, the audio sometimes have a 1 second black out before resuming. As the ATH-G1WL doesn’t offer an AUX input, it is limited to use via the wireless 2.4GHz option.
Battery life
The ATH-G1WL is rated to last about 15 hours of use on full charge, which isn’t the longest but still decent enough for a long gaming session before needing to charge it up. Unfortunately, the charging is done via micro-USB. You can use the headset while it is charging.
Comfort and fit
The headphones are incredibly comfortable to wear. They feel light on my head and the clamping pressure is just nice. I do wish the headband had a little wider cushioning so it offers more surface area coverage. But overall, it is very comfortable to use for extended periods of gaming.
The earpads feature a mix of leather and mesh material, which is soft and does not feel too warm while wearing. The mesh material is the one that will have contact against your skin. I really like how Audio-Technica decided to go with mesh because it provides so much more breathability compared to if it was leather. There is a good amount of room in the ear cups as well. I found them to remain cooler than the Creative SXFI Theatre, and I can wear the ATH-G1WL for longer periods of time. Audio-Technica also included a spare set of earcups in the packaging which is nice to see.
Sound quality
The ATH-G1WL has a some emphasis on bass which gives the lows more thump and depth to it. When gaming, the slight boost in bass adds more flavour to sound effects such as explosions. As for midrange, vocals stand out well with good amount of clarity and separation with the instruments. Highs are clear and smooth, instead of sounding bright to give it a good balance in the overall mix. Soundstage is wide and sound imaging is accurate. Be it listening to music or playing games, it is easy to discern the instruments or the various sound effects.
Surround Sound
The ATH-G1WL features a 7.1 surround sound feature. When enabled, the soundstage does feel slightly wider. Generally, the mids and highs gets boosted so if you’re listening to music you lose some of the body in the song, and for games, it will sound more airy to offer that sense of space. It does decently well to emulate a wider soundstage but it isn’t as big of a difference compared to JBL’s QuantumSurround or Creative’s Super X-Fi.
Microphone quality
The microphone on the ATH-G1WL is good and reliable to use in games. My voice sounded clear, detailed, and there were also some levels of bass and depth in my speech. The microphone largely focuses on capturing mid-tones of my voice, resulting in warm output.
The microphone is detachable which is great if you just want to use the ATH-G1WL for casual media enjoyment. There is also this feature called mic monitor. When enabled, you will be able to hear how you sound like on the microphone on the headphones. This is quite useful if you want to gauge your voice levels.
Conclusion
The ATH-G1WL wireless gaming headphones offers great sound, comfort and microphone – which are the fundamentals of any good gaming headphone. The surround sound feature is not too impressive, so don’t see it as a key feature of the headphones. The low latency wireless convenience is also great deal for me as I really prefer gaming without wires. At S$338, it is quite costly but if you care about the basics being done right, the ATH-G1WL could be one to consider. For S$100 less, you can opt for the wired version – ATH-G1, which does not have the surround sound mode, mic monitor feature, and spare earpads.