Last year, Logitech released an update of their crusty G430 design. They touted new larger drivers, an improved microphone capsule, and leatherette ear pads for increased isolation. I was baffled by this decision at the time. The 430 is an early, legacy gaming headset product, and although it was decently-regarded at the time of its original release over seven years ago, Logitech has crafted so many superior designs and driver technologies since then that rehashing this old design seemed like mistake.

Turns out it was indeed.

The G432 features the same metallic stickers I didn’t like on the much more expensive G Pro X.

The G432 sells for $80 normally, but I got one on sale on Amazon for $50. It’s a closed-back, wired gaming headset with a permanently-attached cable and microphone, and also includes a USB surround sound dongle. The headset uses a standard 4-pole 3.5mm connection, so if you want to hook other gaming headsets to the dongle, you could easily do that. It comes in a blue and black color scheme. The G332 is identical except it does not include the USB dongle and comes in different colors.

Sound signature wise, the G432 is surprisingly balanced. The original version of the headset was one of the first dedicated gaming audio products I ever owned, and it had a slightly boomy bass-focused sound that was common in gaming sound at the time. This new model is more flat and relaxed, and if anything, the bass and treble are both under-emphasized. The ho-hum bass response wasn’t helped at all by the seal against my head, hampered both by the massive size of the ear cups and the stiff foam not playing nicely with my glasses. But even with my glasses off, the G432 presents a flat, gentle sound that doesn’t really stand out in any way. You may want to use the dongle’s included EQ options to tweak the sound to your liking.

That dongle is great, and is arguably the best part of this package. It includes a robust implementation of DTS Headphone: X 2.0, and it sounds far better than the shockingly poor version included with the Logitech G Pro X. Surround is big, expansive, and full, with proper rendering of 7.1 game audio tracks. The dongle also has a competent sidetone function for mic monitoring, and the mic is loud and crisp and free of any noise gating issues like the recent JBL Quantum 300 had (click here for my review of that headset on Medium).

But then, it all falters.

If these pads were softer, the headset would be dramatically better.

The comfort simply isn’t good. This frame was built around the hyper-soft cloth cushions of the original model. The new leatherette pads here are stiff and cheap-feeling. They don’t use memory foam, and the hard foam inside rebounds almost instantly. The feel a little bricks sitting against the sides of my head. When combined with the high clamping force, the discomfort of the pads never goes away. The foam is stiff enough that it never wanted to seal properly around my glasses, and the holes are so large I had to carefully position them against my head each time to further minimize leaks.

On the headband there’s one small strip of padding, but it’s just as stiff and unremarkable as the ear pads. Without the right placement and some occasional readjustment, it would cause hotspots on my head after around thirty minutes. On the plus side, the headband has ample adjustment room. On my large head I only needed to open these around halfway, and the ear cups twist enough that you should hopefully find a good fit, position-wise. You just might not like how the foam feels once it’s on your head.

Logitech has so many other designs that are more comfy than this, including the G433, G Pro, G Pro X, G635, and G935. All of those use a softer foam that’s better at sealing comfortably against your head. The recent JBL Quantum 300, which sells for an identical price to this heasdet, is miles better on comfort, with some of the best ear pads I’ve seen on any audio product.

Build here is nigh-identical to the original G430, except they’ve updated the fake metal G stickers on the sides with their new logo. I didn’t like these stickers on the G Pro X, and I don’t love them here either. The plastic frame is reinforced with metal inside the headband, and it all feels fine to me. The microphone has a wide range of adjustment and a decent sound, though nothing that will outdo the HyperX and Steelseries models in this same price range. Heck, Logitech now owns Astro, and the microphone on the cheaper Astro A10 totally crushes this one. That model has a removable cable, too.

In 2019, this product made almost no sense, and in 2020 It’s even worse. It was outdone out of the gate by other better models for the same price. Now that we live in a world with the Razer Blackshark V2, the JBL Quantum series, the Arctis 1, and constant discounts on other better Logitech models…I don’t know who this is for. I guess if you’re nostalgic for the original design and want to see how it does with slightly nicer drivers and different pads, then go for it. Otherwise, in the $80 price range, you can trip over countless better options that will be much more comfortable and not have stickers on the sides.