The big brother to the Lenovo H300 that you won’t be able to discern by looks alone. The H500 Pro looks very similar to the H300 with subtle differences. If you have to stretch your budget a bit, you can get the H500 Pro with plenty of additional features that sets it apart from the H300. Is the H500 Pro worth the extra cash? Let’s find out!
Design
Looks like Lenovo is staying true to their minimalist look. The H500 Pro shares the same size, shape and design of the H300. The ear cups are very comfortable and are made of memory foam for maximum comfort.
A difference from the H300 though is that the H500 Pro doesn’t have the inline controls in its cable, but it does come with a USB sound card with the volume and mute buttons plus a switch to enable 7.1 sound.
Yes, you read that right, the H500 Pro is a 7.1 headset. You can still use the H500 Pro even without the sound card, if you have your own DAC. One thing to keep in mind though is the wire from the headphones is only 1 meter long. The USB sound card adds 1.3 meters from the USB port to the sound card.
The sound card also has 3 EQ presets available: bass-boost, vocal and flat.
Performance
I’ve always been skeptic of the 7.1 implementation on headphones. I saw it as a gimmick to sell to unsuspecting consumers as you only have 2 physical drivers driving the headphones as opposed to a true 7.1 setup that offers a wider sound stage. But turning the 7.1 emulation, I fired up CS:GO and tested it with Overwatch, to my surprise that it does help boost the sound stage of stereo headphones. The 7.1 option gives a more distinct direction to where sounds are coming from.
Do note that listening experiences may vary as we perceive sounds differently, but in my experience, the 7.1 surround sound do help with immersion and gives you a clearer picture of where something is.
Just like the H300, the ear cups isolate sounds from the outside and gives you a wider soundstage with its 50mm drivers. The noise-cancelling microphone isolates well from outside noise, but I do suggest to use noise gates, as with any microphone, to control ambient noise.
Conclusion
7.1 capability for an additional 2,000 php? The Lenovo H500 Pro retails at 4,995 php, so if you have the budget to spare and wanted a headphone with a bit more oomph versus the H300, the H500 Pro is still a good buy. The PU leather and the ear cups are very comfortable with minimal clamping force that makes it perfect for long gaming sessions.
The 7.1 surround sound that you can enable/disable with a button provides another dimension of immersion to your favorite titles. Again, with the subdued aesthetics of the Legion gaming family.