Logitech Made Its Popular Gaming Headset Even Better

Logitech’s gaming headsets are popular for good reason: they’re comfortable, sound great for their price, and excel in microphone quality. All of these qualities remain true in the Logitech G522 Lightspeed, a refresh of the company’s midrange line that’s only a few flaws away from perfection.

Logitech G522 Lightspeed Wireless Gaming Headset

$150 $160 Save $10

Microphone

Yes

Compatibility

PC, Mac, Switch 2, PlayStation Pro, Xbox Series S|X

What’s Included

USB-C to USB-A cable, 2.4 GHz receiver, detachable microphone

A wireless gaming headset with 2.4 GHz “Lightspeed” connectivity and multipoint Bluetooth pairing. It has pads with memory foam, a fabric band that adjusts to your head size, RGB lighting, and a detachable microphone.

Pros & Cons

• Wide soundstage gives a gaming edge
• Detachable microphone sounds great
• Easily identifiable controls
• A comfortable fit
• Outstanding battery life

• Flat sound for cinematic games
• No media control buttons
• Pointless RGB lighting

Price & Availability

The Logitech G522 Lightspeed retails for $160 and is available in black and white. Included in the box is a USB-A 2.4 GHz receiver and a six-foot USB-A to USB-C cable.

A Mix of Brilliant and Baffling Design Choices

Since social gaming typically involves multi-hour play sessions, gaming headsets are made or broken by how comfortable they are to wear for long periods of time. It’s therefore no surprise that this is where the G522 Lightspeed shines brightest.

The over-ear headphones use soft cushions padded with memory foam, and a loose fabric overhead band cradles your head from the plastic casing. That fabric band also serves as a natural size adjustment as it fits itself to your head. Because it sets in naturally, the headset always felt stable without the pads or top band asserting pressure. All this is buttressed by the G522 Lightspeed’s light weight, resulting in a headset that I often barely noticed I was wearing.

Similarly, excellent are the on-headset controls. They’re easy to discern by touch given their distinctive analog input methods: a switch to turn the headset on and off, a small button to swap between the Bluetooth and 2.4 GHz wireless modes, a wheel for volume, and a pop-out button to mute and un-mute the microphone. This intuitive design meant I was never fumbling with controls, as is often the case with the touch-based inputs common in modern wireless headsets.

Unfortunately, that repertoire feels incomplete without media control buttons. The inability to play and pause media alone hampers the experience of using the G522 Lightspeed as Bluetooth headphones. It’s an unfortunate oversight given the detachable microphone is intended to give the headset this versatility. Something as simple as making the volume wheel double as a clickable play button would have gone a long way.

Also, the RGB lighting might be a nice flair for streamers but is otherwise a pretty comically useless inclusion. It cuts the headset’s battery life in half for something you’ll never see. I’d applaud Logitech for its suite of RGB customization options if it were in service of a worthwhile feature, but instead it’s in service of a marketing gimmick that could’ve been cut to keep prices down.

Game-Elevating Audio

The wide soundstage of the G522 Lightspeed’s drivers is fine-tuned to enhance in-game situational awareness. For example, if you’re playing a shooter, the spacious audio makes it easy to pick out important details like the distance of footsteps and gunfire. This careful layering also helps separate the voices of your teammates from the game’s sound. Logitech has honed this technology across multiple iterations of this headset, and it shows.

You do lose a bit of texture in the process. The bass is a bit flat, highs tend to crackle, and there’s an overall lack of immediacy to the mix (though you can tweak this using the customization app). If you’re looking for a pair of headphones that will do full justice to sweeping cinematic scores and big explosions, the G522 Lightspeed isn’t entirely there. It’s hard to get too caught up in this when the layering is truly exceptional, making it perfect for its intended purpose of increasing spatial awareness in games.

I was also quite impressed by the microphone. It’s detachable, flexible, and has a nifty red light to indicate if it’s muted. But most importantly, its vocal capture is clean and clear, even if a touch soft. It also does a good job of canceling out minor background noise like fans and air conditioners. The only issue I ever encountered was people saying my voice sounded too faint, but bending it in close to my mouth fixed that entirely. You can hear me recreate this in the microphone test clip below.

Great Wireless Connectivity and Battery Life

There are three connectivity modes: wired, Bluetooth, and 2.4 GHz wireless. Multipoint Bluetooth pairing allows you to customize the headphones on your phone while a game runs on your computer, and it connects to your devices virtually instantaneously when powered on. You’ll probably want to opt for 2.4 GHz wireless when gaming to reduce any lag, and that’s made easy by a click of a button on the headset. Note that the wired connection runs through a USB-A connector, and you’ll need to buy a third-party cable if you want to plug into a 3.5 mm port.

I was blown away by the insanely long battery life of this headset. After two weeks of very regular use and the RGB lighting turned off, I had only depleted half of the battery. One six-hour session resulted in a 10% battery drain, putting it at roughly 60 hours (less than the 90 that Logitech touts, but not to any extent that matters). Turning on the RGB lighting makes the battery deplete about twice as fast, which is still great even if the useless feature isn’t worth the dip.

Should You Buy the Logitech G522 Lightspeed?

If you plan to use the Logitech G522 Lightspeed for gaming—and that’s what it’s intended for—then this wireless headset is about as good as it gets for a midrange price. The wide soundstage, clear microphone, and seamless comfort pair perfectly with long gaming sessions.

Logitech G522 Lightspeed Wireless Gaming Headset

$150 $160 Save $10

Microphone

Yes

Compatibility

PC, Mac, Switch 2, PlayStation Pro, Xbox Series S|X

What’s Included

USB-C to USB-A cable, 2.4 GHz receiver, detachable microphone

A wireless gaming headset with 2.4 GHz “Lightspeed” connectivity and multipoint Bluetooth pairing. It has pads with memory foam, a fabric band that adjusts to your head size, RGB lighting, and a detachable microphone.