Get the new Sony Inzone H5 gaming headset for ?11 off at Amazon
Sony's mid-range PC and PS5 headset bridges the gap between the H3 and H7.
At the end of 2022, Sony launched its line of Inzone gaming headsets with the H3, H7, and H9 models. These were designed for PC gaming while also being PlayStation 5 compatible.
In October 2023, just under a year after the initial product launch, Sony released the H5 wireless gaming headset. I was sent this particular headset to test for a couple of weeks, so I can see how well it compares to other models in its Inzone family and other headsets around its price range.
The H5 has an MSRP of £139.99/ $149.99, which nicely places it in-between the H3 and H7.
You can actually pick up the Inzone H5 for £129 at Amazon UK but it is full retail price at Best Buy in the US. The H5 has only been out for a few months now, but I expect it could go on sale in the near future. Should it go to around £100 or lower it will be an even better deal.
In short, the Inzone H5 is a good headset for its price. It's well-made and comfortable with a long battery life for the 2.4GHz wireless connection that works with a PC or PS5. The H5s have decent audio out of the box, but the Spatial Sound options vastly improve the immersion and directional sound. This feature does, however, only work on PC and requires the Inzone Software and a mobile app to get it working, so you won't benefit from those options if you're primarily a PlayStation player.
I've shared more of my thoughts further down, or you can check out the links to where you can buy the Sony Inzone H5 for the best price in the UK and US below:
Where to buy the Sony Inzone H5 in the UK
 | Sony Inzone H5 - £129 at Amazon UK (was £140) |
Where to buy the Sony Inzone H5 in the US
| Sony Inzone H5 - $149.99 at Best Buy |
Out of the box the H5 feels very familiar, keeping that same sleek design that matches the glossy-white finish of the PlayStation 5, though this time you can also get the headset in black, unlike the H3 and H7.
It's smaller than the H7 and larger than the H3, with the same matte black headband, earcups, volume wheel and flippable microphone. What is more noticeable is how much lighter the H5 is compared to the H7, coming in at 260 grams compared to the latter's 356 grams.
That lighter weight certainly made a difference when it came to wearing the H5 for longer periods, and made up for the slightly narrower fit it has around the head compared to the H7. The H5's fabric ear cups and headband are also excellent and overall the H5 was great to wear for multiple hours. You also get an impressive level of passive noise isolation from the earcups which snugly house the ears.
Once on your head the Inzone H5 delivers an excellent gaming audio experience for the price, which can get even better once you get to grips with Sony's 360 spatial audio, but more on that later. The headset connects via the 2.4GHz dongle with a solid battery life of up to 28 hours. You can also connect it to a PS5 with the dongle, through the USB-C port or 3.5mm jack on the left side of the headset - no Bluetooth connection this time.
The default sound profile of the H5 is impressive, offering smooth audio with good mid-range performance, though the lows were a little lacking in games where you expect to hear stronger bass. I'd say the H5's default sound performance is one of the better sound stages you can get in headsets at this price range, but it can be taken further with Sony's 360 Spatial Sound.
After using the 360 Spatial Sound app on my phone to take pictures of my ears and sync them with the Sony Inzone software on my PC, I had created a personal sound profile that made a serious improvement to the overall experience. Playing my usual go-to shooters of Counter-Strike and Apex Legends, I could far more easily place where footsteps, gunshots or world interaction was coming from compared to using the H5 straight out of the box.
With the Spatial Sound working the H5 is definitely one of the better sounding PC headsets for the price, unfortunately it's only the case for PC as the spatial sound profile isn't stored on the headset or dongle and needs the Inzone software to work, so it doesn't have any use on the PS5 console experience which is a shame.
Overall the Inzone H5 is a very comfortable, high quality headset for its price and although it's Spatial Sound options only work for PC, it still offers great audio quality out of the box for PS5 players. The H5's battery life is long which means you won't have to be reaching for the charge cable very often and its smaller, lightweight design means you can wear it for longer during those extended gaming sessions.
You can find out when it goes on sale by checking out our PS5 deals hub, following the Jelly Deals Twitter account and by following the deals topic on Eurogamer using the tag below.