Sennheiser Game One Open Acoustic Gaming Headset - Black

My Sennheiser PC363s broke after 6 years after pretty much daily use so I needed new set. I tried a Razer Blackshark 2 and a SteelSeries Arctis 7, both for around a week before settling on these Sennheiser Game One headsets.The sound quality is superior to either of these to my ears, even with this being an open design. The sound is not as "tinny" as those other 2 headsets and seems both more natural and more detailed to me; the Sennheiser are better than the Razer and SteelSeries for gaming and way better for music. I think the sound is probably even better than my old Sennheiser PC363s that cost twice as much.The "lift up to mute" mic is surprisingly handy, firstly it is obvious when you are muted and are you are live, secondly you can get it out of the way when not talking - or when eating a snack. Recorded sound quality on the mic seems clear with no glaring problems. Volume control on the ear is convenient. This headset can go surprisingly loud if you really want to rock out.Windows recognised the headset with no issues and no “extras” need to be installed – looking at you Razer.I have a large sized head and this head set is snug but comfy. The open back design helps with keeping your ears cool. The fabric ear pads are OK but I find they can soak up sweat during very hot summer months and then are a bit unpleasant. I will be swapping these out for some Geekria Comfort Velour Replacement Ear Pads as soon as I can, I had these on my old PC363s as replacements and they are great.The Game One has a 3.5mm jack but I found it worked fine with the USB adaptor that came with the PC363, I assume any such adaptor would work if you needed a USB headset.

This is my first ever headset so I did research for a whole week and finally settled on these due to good reviews and Sennheiser's good reputation.I love the build quality, it is plastic but it feels sturdy and thick. Not thin and flimsy at all. The padding on the headband and earcups is super comfortable and super soft which I like. The fit is tight, so it makes a good tight seal around your ears. I had borrowed my brother's cheap headset before and it would droop and wiggle around all the time - super annoying. You don't get that with this at all. Some people may find it too tight and uncomfortable but it works great for me.The material of the padding is a dust magnet and if you're like me and like to keep your tech clean, a lint roller does the trick.I'm not an audiophile so I think the sound quality of these are really good. Good bass and while testing Razer Surround Sound with these I was blown away by the quality.The default settings for the mic make you sound VERY low. I tested the mic with friends, different applications and even recorded myself. The sound is crisp and clear, but it sounds like I'm whispering. I had to fiddle around with mic settings A LOT before my amatour self (and Google can take some credit too) finally figured out how to get the mic to sound like I wasn't whispering. I had to go into mic settings in Windows and boost the dB on the mic to +10.00. I feel like I shouldn't have had to do that, at all.Now whether this is the case for all mics, or not I don't know. I am still very new to this and I am still learning. It could have been a software issue, mic, or both.Now that people can actually hear me properly, I get nothing but compliments on how clear I sound.I have now bought these as well to keep my headphones in a safe placeBrainwavz Hengja - The Headphone Desk Hanger

Pros:- SENNHEISER. Can only speak of it in superlatives in every aspect.Cons:- Had to nitpick, but the volume wheel's placement and turn resistance is a bit counterintuitive.Probable cons for some:- A little rough padding finish if you have a sensitive skin- Close to zero noise isolation- Undetatchable mic- High impedance means it will sound a bit worse when plugged into low-power sockets like smartphonesIn the first two cases, I suggest you grab a pair of the G4ME ZEROs which are completely noise isolating and the pads have a leatherette finish.Good for:- games- musicDecent for:- movies with HD Surround audioBad for:- social lifeAs a long-time Sennheiser user who was always fond of the company's ear-canal phones, I was looking to grab a pair of these cans ever since they were announced, and boy the wait was worth it! They sound great even with a mediocre-ish motherboard (Gigabyte H110M), although the EQ needs some touches here and there - of course everyone has their own preferred sound.The only department where this headset is not top of the line (only way above average) is when it comes to movies with HD Surround Sound, but everywhere else, it is great.For music, the sound fidelity is absolutely brilliant, I would have discovered some new instruments in my favourite songs if I wasn't using their in-ears for the past 15 years.But since this is a gaming headset by design, let's take a look on how it feels in games:Given its open-back design, the soundstage simply goes beyond anything I got used to with my closed-cup headsets so far, but - according to my girlfriend - the sound leak is minimal. The positional audio is so amazingly precise that I could tell that the enemy Tracer was moving eratically a level above me to the point where I could figure out her movement pattern even before I could see her. It really gives you so much new information when compared to the USB gaming headsets that it's almost disgusting.For comms, the mic is really delivering quality. My friends told me they heard me as if were standing right next to them, but for this a high quality encoded TeamSpeak room is kind of a must :D The pick-up pattern is a hundred percent noise cancelling, so now I can go voice activated without people having to listen to my keyboard, and the flip-to-mute is also a welcome feature.The only thing I didn't grew to like though, is the volume wheel on the right cup. At least for me it's highly counterintuitive that it's placed on the right cup while gaming, but only because I find WASD easier than my mouse. Anyways I simply programmed volume adjustment to my sidescroll buttons on all my game profiles after dropping my G633s in favour of this piece of art. Another con is that the wheel itself has very little resistance physically so it's more difficult to make precise adjustments with them.The headset comes with a Y-jack cable as a default, but Sennheiser thought of notebook users and threw a combined jack cable into the box, so there is no side purchase required.Hardwarewise the build quality is excellent, but the velvet padding covers might be a bit too rough for some when compared to the HyperX Cloud II for instance, but this is not a major issue unless you have VERY sensitive skin. The band clamps to your head firmly but stable, and the velvet finish on the pads give them an extra bit of stability due to their friction. The cups are slightly tilted vertically towards the back axis to provide ergonomical perfection for a wide array of ear sizes and shapes, and the adjustable headband is more than enough to be put onto my ginormous head bestowed upon me by genetics.Due to its open design, you can hear almost everything around you, so if you have loud roommates, you'll be better off with the GAME ZERO, which boasts professional level noise isolation. The sound leaking from the headset into the mic is technically nonexistent even if you're blasting music, and the braided cable makes almost no contact noise when brushing against your clothes.The black is looking superamazing, but imo the white looks even better though my girlfriend told me she'd boot me from the apartment if I bought the white ones :(