First off let me say this...
This is my first review, I've decided to start somewhere between the upper echelon, and the top of the gaming headset realm.
Sennheiser being my choice for gaming, I rounded up the numbers of very satisfied, loyalists to the brand. Come to find out, their needs differ entirely from mine, although I do enjoy a finely, tuned machine that serves form & function, over aesthetics. I purchased the G4ME ONE headset on a whim, knowing my Tritton 5.1's were on their last, very last leg. I got tired of constantly adjusting the bulky almost robotic medium fit headset to sit comfortably on my ears. The faux leather ear pads softened up over the 2.5 years I owned them - which I kinda got used to. Another thing that forced me to search for a new competitive gaming headset was the constant need/use for a microphone in online gameplay. I could've taken other measures and wrapped a bluetooth, or integrated modmic somewhere and made due, but again, I went out on a limb this time....
So back in April, I started researching the most outstanding gaming headsets that money could buy, yada yada yaa...
I came across the probably more useful 7.1 Sennheiser PC 363 series, and they seemed like the proper candidate for headphone replacement, it's just that it's included external USB card wouldn't be compatible for my console gaming setup. Damn, oh well. So now back to the drawing board...
Sennheiser just recently updated their product line-up for the 2014 year. The G4ME ZERO & ONE were released, I figured what the hell, seems legit. I immediately honed in on the specifications for both and realized I would need a solid, dedicated external amp to extract the utmost from these cans. I looked into ASUS, Creative Labs, and a few other competitors. Again, I'm not really inclined to stereo headphones versus your more modern "surround" headphones, I think after owning the Trittons, with that 5.1 field of aural soundstage - I really thought they would be tough to beat. I chose the G4ME ONE initially because of the brand pedigree Sennheiser has. Secondly, the fit on these cans are pretty snug and unnoticeable after several hours of intense gaming. I will add the minor disappointment, comes from the lack of solid dedicated drivers. I really wanted these cans to punch me in the drums, and show me some depth. Wishful thinking again, not working. Well, after taking these for a test drive through just basic mic hookup, I finally wound up choosing the Astro Mixamp Pro 2013 7.1 as a quick solution fix to drive these guys, and I can really start to tell a difference in the enhanced sound the G4ME ONE's deliver.
Overall, these guys really only get a 4. At $190 they leave me expecting much more than I had hoped.
I just really wish, these things had more depth over clarity. The stereo sound is great - dialogue superb. There's just no dimensional accuracy, and no sense of audio submersion in the acoustical environment your viewing.
This is my first review, I've decided to start somewhere between the upper echelon, and the top of the gaming headset realm.
Sennheiser being my choice for gaming, I rounded up the numbers of very satisfied, loyalists to the brand. Come to find out, their needs differ entirely from mine, although I do enjoy a finely, tuned machine that serves form & function, over aesthetics. I purchased the G4ME ONE headset on a whim, knowing my Tritton 5.1's were on their last, very last leg. I got tired of constantly adjusting the bulky almost robotic medium fit headset to sit comfortably on my ears. The faux leather ear pads softened up over the 2.5 years I owned them - which I kinda got used to. Another thing that forced me to search for a new competitive gaming headset was the constant need/use for a microphone in online gameplay. I could've taken other measures and wrapped a bluetooth, or integrated modmic somewhere and made due, but again, I went out on a limb this time....
So back in April, I started researching the most outstanding gaming headsets that money could buy, yada yada yaa...
I came across the probably more useful 7.1 Sennheiser PC 363 series, and they seemed like the proper candidate for headphone replacement, it's just that it's included external USB card wouldn't be compatible for my console gaming setup. Damn, oh well. So now back to the drawing board...
Sennheiser just recently updated their product line-up for the 2014 year. The G4ME ZERO & ONE were released, I figured what the hell, seems legit. I immediately honed in on the specifications for both and realized I would need a solid, dedicated external amp to extract the utmost from these cans. I looked into ASUS, Creative Labs, and a few other competitors. Again, I'm not really inclined to stereo headphones versus your more modern "surround" headphones, I think after owning the Trittons, with that 5.1 field of aural soundstage - I really thought they would be tough to beat. I chose the G4ME ONE initially because of the brand pedigree Sennheiser has. Secondly, the fit on these cans are pretty snug and unnoticeable after several hours of intense gaming. I will add the minor disappointment, comes from the lack of solid dedicated drivers. I really wanted these cans to punch me in the drums, and show me some depth. Wishful thinking again, not working. Well, after taking these for a test drive through just basic mic hookup, I finally wound up choosing the Astro Mixamp Pro 2013 7.1 as a quick solution fix to drive these guys, and I can really start to tell a difference in the enhanced sound the G4ME ONE's deliver.
Overall, these guys really only get a 4. At $190 they leave me expecting much more than I had hoped.
I just really wish, these things had more depth over clarity. The stereo sound is great - dialogue superb. There's just no dimensional accuracy, and no sense of audio submersion in the acoustical environment your viewing.
I know a lot of the experienced audiophile types here will probably dismiss these and recommend that you just save some money and buy a headset and attach a modmic, but I think they strike the perfect balance in what a gamer/music lover would want. You're basically getting a 558 with a really good mic. I know it costs more than the other route, but to be honest, the mic is fantastic and I love that you can mute it quickly in game just by swinging it up. The dedicated volume control on the right ear cup is also very convenient. Those last 2 features are worth the extra money for me.
If you're primary concern is positional audio for shooters, then I would recommend pairing it with a decent sound card that has a built in headphone amp. I use the base model Soundblaster Z. Using the SBX Pro Studio options in the software you can tweak the surround settings to get excellent positional accuracy. I came from the Astro A40 PC analog headset to these(didn't buy the mixamp because I use my sound card), and the difference is literally night and day. I can tell exactly where enemies are at on the map and this headset has the precision to differentiate whether they are in the same room or behind a wall due to the distinctness of the sound. I am also picking up things with these that were lost on the Astros. The highs and mids are much more pronounced and I can notice little things like fans when walking by industrial equipment on the map that the Astros for the most part just drowned out. As far as saying they don't have much depth in sound in the review above, I found the opposite to be true. I'm guessing your referring to the lack of bass, which is really not what you should prioritize in a gaming headset in my opinion. The sound stage on these is very good and is only enhanced by not pushing for an over emphasis on bass. If you want more bass, most sound cards have a bass boost gain to help with this, but you still won't get the boom of the cheaper gaming headsets because that seems to be what they go for over clarity.
For music, you can just turn off the SBX option and the additional sound processing to get a more pure audio representation(sounds bad if you don't turn this off). Listening to music on these is a joy. I switched back to my old headset to see how much of a difference it would make and I was floored by how much better the Sennheisers are. I'm sure there are better headphones you could spend your money on if you are only concerned about music/movies, but these are still excellent despite them being marketed as a gaming-centric headset. Best of both worlds for me.
Don't dismiss the sound quality of these just because they have a mic attached. They are really quite good and probably the best dual purpose...