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edit: I just now realized that most of my recent reviews have attachment links that NO ONE can see, and so all of my images have been there for MY eyes only. It's quite upsetting. This is so disheartening. Now I'll have to spend a day redoing ALL the image attachments for so many reviews. Now I wonder how dry and boring my reviews must've looked without images for you guys...
Anyways, this is the new PC38X review, now with image links that ACTUALLY work.
Sennheiser PC38X
Where to buy: Drop.com as of September 2020 ($160-ish)
Disclaimer: A special thanks to Drop.com for sending the PC38X out to me for review. As always, whether products are sent to me or not, I do my best in being 100% honest with my views and opinions. If I don't like a product, I will refuse to write a review of it, or at the very least mention what I don't like about them, though I like to focus on products that people would like or at the very least are interested in. The only bias I have is to my readers and making sure they know about good products.
Intro
Drop is back at it again, this time with a successor to the Sennheiser PC37X. The PC38X doesn't outright replace the PC37X, which remain in Drop's arsenal at a lower price. I find the price difference mostly negligible, and the improvements made with the PC38X are absolutely worth the difference, particularly if you're lacking a headset. Some people may immediately ask if these are just a PC-37X with new pads for added bass or any of the other sonic differences, with no other major changes. The answer is, no. The welcome note in the packaging states:
"Enjoy the best of two of Sennheiser's leading open-back gaming headsets: The PC38X combines the clarity and immersion of the PC37X with the impressive deep bass of the GSP 500.
This has been achieved by using a custom designed driver, which implements a heavier voice coil to deliver impressively deep bass for an open-back design, as well as careful tuning to deliver a rich and immersive sound experience."
Are these statements accurate? From my experience, I find this an incredibly accurate assessment of the PC38X. I have not heard the GSP 500, but if the bass on the PC38X is any indication, they are indeed deeper and more extended in bass than the PC37X.
What's In The Box?
I must say, I really like the small, plain jane, cardboard box used for the PC-38X. Less material, packed with all the essentials.
Pouch - A fabric pouch with 'DROP' printed on the surface. It's super soft, and large enough to fit the headset without any issues. Perfect to store the headset or taking it on the go.
Cables - A 3 meter cable that splits into audio and mic 3.5mm plugs. Also a 1.2mm cable with a TRRS plug for inputs that accept both mic and audio channels in one plug (like a mobile device).
Spare Velour Pads - My guess is that these seem to be just like the velour pads used on the PC38X's older siblings. A nice inclusion, which may have an impact on comfort and sonic characteristics, if subtly so.
Build Quality
Before I say anything of the PC38X's build quality, I have to tell you guys that I will be reiterating a lot of what I've said on the GAME ONE review (with some pasting of some statements), as the PC38X shares most, if not all design and build aspects, save for color scheme and outer cup grill design. I believe this design started with the PC360, then moved on to the GAME ONE, PC37X, and finally the PC38X. "Don't fix it if it ain't broke" must be one of Sennheiser's favorite proverbs.
The PC38X retains the typical dark color palette Drop uses for their variants, with little in the way of Gamer-esque flourishes (in contrast to the white GAME ONE, which was a step in the other direction with bright colors to appeal to the younger gaming crowd).
Frankly, I'm not a huge fan of aesthetics on the GSP line of Sennheiser headsets, so I'm quite thankful the PC line of headsets exists, as I find them to look much more elegant and classy, compared to the bulkier, gamery nature of the GSP line. Personal preference, of course.
Headband:
The PC38X's headband is kept strictly business, akin to the PC360 and PC37X. Mostly all matte black plastic. The underside has two area of cushions, thicker and more spread across the headband than the HD6XX, covered in the same, newer fabric material as the earpads (as opposed to typical velour or leatherette). There is a small gap directly in the center to keep the headband from hotspotting on the very top of your head, which I find to be the correct choice, as 10 and 2 on your head can deal with hotspots better than 12 o' clock.
The extension arms are thin but sturdy, with plenty of length for all head sizes. There are clicks when extending, but no notches or other markers to count, so it may not be the easy to get both sides to end up perfectly equal in size, if you find yourself obsessing over such small details.
Cups:
Typical to most Sennheiser headphones I've reviewed, the cups are oval in shape. There is minimal swivel (just enough for secure fit), but plenty of vertical pivot in the cups (45 degrees if my calculations are correct). In a step back to the more open design of the PC360, Sennheiser opted to ditch the slotted vent openings of the GAME ONE and PC37X, in favor of a more traditional mesh-style grill covering the drivers. These possibly give the drivers less resistance, allowing the drivers to pump out sound with less reflective surface area bouncing the sound back towards your ears.
The outer right cup houses the volume dial which I find slightly insensitive in terms of travel to volume change ratio. I find this to be a good thing, as minor volume adjustments can be made. Turning the volume all the way down doesn't completely mute the audio, yet goes low enough to allow for your attention to be diverted to the outside world. The volume dial also doesn't lose perfect channel balance at low volumes unlike other headsets with inline volume adjustments.
The outer left cup holds the lengthy boom mic which has a black matte rubbery portion in the middle to allow some bending. Positioning the mic upwards mutes the mic as labelled on the cup itself where the mic is attached. The bottom of this cup is also where the 2.5mm cable input is located, and only needs the detachable cables to be pushed in; no twist and lock mechanism. I find this to be more than adequate, and more versatile if cable swaps/mods are something deemed worthwhile. Just be mindful that it carries both audio and mic channels.
Pads:
A change from the previously used velour pads on the older headsets, the PC38X uses a denser foam padding covered in different fabric material. If I could make an educated guess based on subjective listening impressions, the pads seem to allow the PC38X to retain more of the low end bass decay compared to the velour pads that are also included with the PC38X as spare pads.
The pads are generously large, deep, and ultimately top notch in comfort. They snap off the headphone easily, where you can see a plastic ring permanently attached to the underside of the pads which snap back onto the small 'teeth' on the driver housing. This is one of the easiest attachment/removal designs I've seen on any headphone.
Cables:
As mentioned earlier, the PC38X comes with two cables in the package. A lengthy 3 meter cable which terminates into both a 3.5mm audio plug, and 3.5mm microphone plug. The cable seems to be paracord-style, with nice sleeving, and a durable feel.
The other cable is a short 1.2mm cable with a TRRS plug. It's the same quality as its longer counterpart. I see this as a cable to be used for devices close to you, such as a PS4's Dualshock 4 controller with audio input, or a mobile device.
I would have liked to seen a Y cable adapter for the longer cable that joins both audio/chat together into one TRRS plug, for people whose devices are considerably further than 1.2m.
Final Build Impressions:
The PC38X, is made of highly durable plastics that I feel will take moderate abuse without any major issues. There's really nothing bad that can be said of the build quality here.
Comfort
Weight:
At 285g, the PC38X is light for a full sized headset, though not the lightest pair I've used. It falls somewhere in the lighter side of the average, which allows for all day listening without any real strain. Personally, the PC38X is one of the more comfortable headphone/headsets I've used in terms of weight.
Headband:
The PC38X has a wonderfully fabric padded underside which rests comfortably on the head. I initially felt some discomfort, but after a period of adjustment, I didn't feel any hot or sore spots coming from the headband. You may need some breaks here and there, but you should be able to wear it all day without much fuss.
Pads:
The pads size and depth are large enough to fit most ear sizes, and deep enough to keep your ears from bottoming out and pressing against the driver enclosure. The pads are soft fabric, more dense than velour. I can wear the PC38X for many hours and not feel the need to take them off. The alternative velour pads are perhaps a hint more comfortable to due it feeling cooler on the ears.
Clamp:
This is the one debatable area in comfort for me, as it tends to be with most Sennheiser headphones. The PC38X isn't exactly super heavy on clamp, but it is moderate and enough for me to feel to stretch it out over some game/dvd cases. I do feel some unwanted pressure from the area around my ears due to the clamp. Not much, but enough to remove the headphones at random intervals to relieve some of that pressure. It's really no big deal, and something you grow accustomed to with Sennheiser headphones. The upside is the very secure fit you will always have with the PC38X. I find that setting the extension to be more than what you feel is your optimal length, can relieve some of that pressure.
Overall Comfort Impressions:
The PC38X falls under the list of headphones I can wear all day with a few breaks to relieve some clamp pressure. That's a win in my book, and I consider the PC38X to be generally comfortable overall. If I were to give it one of my old system ratings, I'd say "Very Good" even close to "Great". For most people, it shouldn't fall under anything less than great.
Noise Control
As an open-backed 'acoustic' design, the PC38X isn't for those who want supreme noise control, isolation, and leakage kept to a minimum. It's not the loudest open design out there (you'll find much more sound leak from planarmagnetics), but you definitely don't want to use the PC38X at loud volumes in quiet settings. Behind a closed door, there shouldn't any major issues disturbing others, however. External sources of noise can easily be heard through the headphone, so you may want to consider a closed-backed headphone/headset if external noises bother you.
Sound
I'll be the first to tell you that if/when I need to use a headset over a headphone, sound quality isn't at the top of my necessities. What I mean by that is that I'm not a very good multitasker. If I'm chatting while gaming or otherwise, it's often hard for me to focus on game audio. For example, when I play Call of Duty's Warzone, my game audio is set VERY low in volume, so I can focus on chatting with my mates. Of course, this is opposite of a competitive gaming mindset, where you'll mainly chatter to rely pertinent information about what's going on during the game.
That makes me a casually competitive gamer, where I mainly chat nonsense with my friends, but every once in a while I'll need to relay information to them. So I need a headset's sound quality to be good enough to highlight details and have a great sense of spatial awareness, even with such a limited volume. Does the PC38X pull through? Does it set itself apart from the PC37X/GAME ONE? If you're longing for an improvement over the improvements those headsets claimed over the original PC360, then yes. Yes it does.
And here, Uncompensated:
(Note about the velour pads: My sound impressions were mainly done with the stock pads, as opposed to the spare velour pads. The velour may affect the sound in subtle ways, and if I ever feel comfortable enough to commit to sonic impressions without expectation bias, I'll share the difference. That being said, I DON'T feel comfortable, as it takes me too long to swap the pads, and the slight differences I hear may just be what I THINK is different, not what truly IS different. Hope you guys understand. If you still want to know, I think the bass gets slightly faster in decay, the sound gets airier, and a little more dry/not as full bodied. So I feel the velour pads may be less fleshed out, but more detailed. I'm not 100% convinced this is accurate, so your mileage may vary. Take this with a grain of salt.)
I was sent the graphs to showcase the difference, so extrapolate what you can out of it. For me, looks like there's very little difference in terms of response, other than past 10khz. That still doesn't highlight what I feel may be the body and decay differences, though that may just be expectation bias.
Bass:
It's almost like Sennheiser wasn't done with tooling the low end musicality of their open backed headsets. Drop and Sennheiser has once again one upped their previous headset with even MORE musicality, particularly in the bass, where it has allowed the bass to reach even lower than before, as well as flattened out the bass to midrange. It's more balanced, and reaches lower.
While I said much of the same with the GAME ONE, it still wasn't a headset that I could personally just stick to for purposes outside of competitive gaming, including music listening and casual gaming. It does it well enough, but in the back of my mind, I'd want just a little more out of it. The PC38X's deeper bass really puts it much, much closer to my target sound. It's an incredibly enjoyable bass section that does justice to my bass influenced music without it sounding lacking in body or impact.
As far as frequency testing goes, the PC38X remarkably goes all the way down to 20hz. At my desired volume for music, the bass goes very deep down. I've heard planars with less presence down low. That lets you know that the PC38X is not playing around with bringing you information down to the depths. The bass is voluminous at at around 35hz-40hz which is my ideal range for immersive bass rumble. The PC38X is a satisfying headphone, and it doesn't even need to be basshead level to do that. While the PC38X isn't a basshead headphone, it should still satisfy most audiences. The extension and rumble certainly impressed me well enough.
Midrange to Treble:
If there is one thing you can almost always count on from Sennheiser, it's that their headphones will inherit a well balanced midrange without any areas of over emphasis, shrillness, or otherwise truly bothersome hotspots. The trend continues on the PC38X. Well balanced is exactly how I hear it, neither being too forward, or too spaced back. It sounds quite natural, linear, and highly detailed. It doesn't sound overly warm, nor dry. It's what I'd consider an ideal forwardness, and tonal character.
Frequency-wise, there is plenty of presence throughout the midrange with a slight dip at 1.5k, but back to good presence all the way up to a 5k peak, which slopes down at 6k, slight rise at 7k to its steepest level in the dip at around 7.5k, back to good presence up to 10k and extends and shimmers all the way up to my hearing limits at 16k. No part of the frequencies from midrange to treble come across overly harsh or piercing, though 5k sticks out the most in the transition from midrange to treble. Based on what I'm personally hearing, the only things I could see as an improvement to the tonal balance, is reducing 5k a few decibels, and raising 7.5k quite a bit. Otherwise, the rest of the sound fantastically present and without any glaring issues.
The spare velour pads shared the same general balance curve with the exact same 5khz peak and 7.5khz dip.
All in all, plenty of detail and sparkle without it feeling overexerted. The high end extension is actually one of the best I've heard in a long time. Usually, just past 10k I start noticing a massive slope into the nether with many headphones. The PC38X manages to continue its airy extension far longer than I would've deemed necessary, which is an absolute, welcome surprise. Considering how so many Sennheiser headphones end up soft and steered downwards in the treble, the PC38X has one leg up in terms of extension and shimmer.
Soundstage:
Soundstaging was a strength in the PC360, as well as the GAME ONE/PC37X, and I would've been incredibly surprised if the PC38X failed to deliver on a solid, open soundstage set by its predecessors. Thankfully, my expectations were happily met. Even in stereo, the PC38X sounds fantastically spacious, and holds plenty of air to allow objects in the virtual space to fill the room.
As I tend to mention in my impressions of headphones, soundstaging isn't a trait in headphones I hold to a particularly high standard (in stereo), though it is always a great boon when done well. A great soundstage has been a trademark of the HD5xx line of headphones that started with the HD555 and HD595. It moved on to the HD558 and HD598, and I assume would hold true with the HD599. There's a reason HD5xx line were popular among gamers, and why I believe Sennheiser modeled the PC360 and onwards after them. Soundstaging, and detail retrieval good enough to take advantage of it.
The PC38X can fill out a room quite nicely, and is absolutely brilliant when applying a virtual surround dsp for video games and other media, like movies.
I'll quote what I said of the GAME ONE's soundstage here. I've replaced GAME ONE with the PC38X below, though the statement is accurate to my beliefs, and applies to both.
"It isn't constricted and kept inside my head, but I'm not one to think that sounds just outside my headspace is considered huge. It is with virtual surround DSPs like Dolby Headphone, and Creative SBX where I can gauge how well a headphone or headset can fool me into thinking sounds are coming from around me as opposed to inside my head. In that regard, the PC38X (like the PC360 and PC37X), throws out a FANTASTICALLY large soundstage with a great sense of space and directionality. The PC38X for virtual surround gaming is an absolute treat. There is clear distance between positional cues in a 360 degree front to back circle. This means the PC38X is in the upper echelons of headphones/headsets tested for positional accuracy when gaming."
Clarity:
Clarity is something one should expect from a top notch gaming headset. For what good is a headset if it can't deliver the clarity needed for voice communication, positional awareness, and minute detail retrieval? The PC38X continues its reign of excellence, with clarity that picks up the subtlest of nuances. As the PC38X isn't truly steered towards warmth, and there is plenty of details all the way up to the upper limits of human hearing, there's little to say about the PC38X that isn't completely positive in regard to clarity. You'll be hard pressed to find anything lacking, other than perhaps a noticeable dip at about 7.5khz which may allow some sounds to come across as subdued if they land in this range. Aside from that extremely small range of sound, the PC38X won't fail to impress. There isn't much out there I've heard that would do better than the PC-38X's immediate clarity without sacrificing too much in other areas.
Sound Signature:
The PC38X is on the natural/warm-neutral side of tonal balancing, with bass that is linear and extends quite low, without sounding thin, nor emphasized. I'd consider it bass neutral, which will fit whatever you're listening to. Give EDM with a thumping bass line, and you'll find the PC38X thumping and rumbling with the best of them. Not any more, not any less than needed.
The midrange is also quite linear with a natural voicing, as well as neutral forwardness. It sits perfectly in the middle, neither pushing things forward, nor giving up too many rows backwards in virtual seating. Those that like a forward midrange may want something a bit more intimate, though for anyone else, I doubt they'll find any issues with the presentation.
Treble is detailed, sparkly (if just so), and incredibly well extended. Either than 7.5k hitting a bit softly, there's plenty of shimmer and sharpness throughout without overexertion. One of the best Sennheiser headphones I've heard in this regard.
Overall, I'd find it hard to call the PC38X warm-warm, or bright. It sits in between, if just slightly warm. A testament to Sennheiser's prowess in tonal balancing.
Microphone
Sennheiser is known for their great headphones as well as microphones. Thankfully, the PC38X continues this well known fact. I wonder if anything has changed from the PC360 days in terms of the microphone, but regardless, it's fantastic, and should keep your voice quality clean and clear. As you can hear, just like the sound coming off the PC38X's drivers, the microphone is pretty clear, with no sibilance or compression. I don't think anyone would have any real issues with this mic.
Below are a few examples, showcasing how the PC38X's mic sounds through various gear.
Amplification:
Gaming headsets shouldn't be hard to drive properly. This general understanding continues with the PC38X. I rarely ever keep my amplifiers in low gain, yet that's precisely what I did with the PC38X, as it sits in the sweet spot of the volume pot, on all of my amplifiers. You really don't need much. The PC38X sounds great off anything you hook it up to. My recommendation is a neutral, clean sounding dac and amp, regardless of power. Something to further aid its sharp detail and focused sound. To anyone worried about numbers, the PC38X is 28ohm, at 108db SPL @ 1khz. Very efficient.
Gaming
Sennheiser headsets of its kind have always been stellar gaming performers. The PC360 was an amazing realization of the HD595 turned headset. The GAME ONE/PC37X succeeded in making such an amazing design more musical and engaging without sacrificing the strong competitive gaming aspects of its sound. The PC38X further dips its toes into musicality and engagement while still remaining faithful to the strong gaming performance needed for competitive play. If you've felt you'd desire a more robust low end and energy from Sennheiser's open headsets, the PC38X should fit that need. The deeper low end (not necessarily bass heavy but well extended bass) really fleshes out the sound that was slightly missing from the GAME ONE/PC37X. It sounds more natural, balanced, and true to life than its predecessors.
The spacious soundstage, sharp details, great tonal balancing, top notch extension both down low and up top make the PC38X a prime candidate for best gaming headset. In virtual surround, the PC38X is among the very best I've heard for accuracy, positional awareness, and object definition. Testing something like Call of Duty's Warzone with both Dolby Headphone 2, and Creative's SBX, I was extremely aware of where all my enemies were coming from, and where all the loot was in my general vicinity. For the PC38X, it's a very simple matter. Just stellar positional cues, soundstage depth, and great imaging. Rest assured, the PC38X is a monster for gaming. You can't do wrong here in choosing the PC38X for all your gaming needs.
Personal Recommendations
Media:
Considering the PC38X hits deeper and sounds more natural than the past few open Sennheiser headsets, I feel the PC38X is the best all rounded open headset of the bunch. This makes it a great choice for a variety of media. That's the strength of having an all rounder. It may not be the best at any one thing, but it works well with everything. If you felt the PC-360, GAME ONE, or PC37X lacking, the PC38X may satisfy you in ways those headsets could not.
Practicality:
I'd consider the PC38X to make most sense in an office or home setting. Considering its open backed design, it wouldn't be my first choice for public use. Not that I'd typically consider any headset for outside home use. So if you want to game on a laptop in public, I'd advise the PC38X only in quiet locations.
Who's It For?
Personally speaking, I generally wouldn't opt for a headset over a headphone, but if you MUST have a headset, I don't see any reason why you would go for anything else in its price category if you're looking for an open-backed, audiophile level headset. It's a competitive gaming beast, without sacrificing much of casual engagement. It does it all so well.
If you already own the PC37X, perhaps there might not be a pressing need to upgrade unless you want an improvement in the low end extension, and want a more natural sound. Both are incredible at hardcore/competitive gaming. So the question is whether you want your sound to be more fleshed out and enjoyable. If so, then yes, the PC38X is worth the upgrade. Consider it a more perfected form of what Sennheiser would want from an open backed headset.
If you DON'T own the PC37X/GAME ONE, then I would absolutely recommend moving past those and jumping immediately to the PC38X. As far as headsets go, this is the absolute best bang for buck I've heard to date.
You know what I'd like to see? A headphone model of this headset, no mic. It would have my full on recommendation. Yes, the HD58X Jubilee and HD6XX already exist and are highly regarded, but those require and scale with moderate amplification. They're not as efficient, and aren't ideal when used with a larger variety of things like phones, and laptops without at the very least, a decent portable amp. That's where a headphone variant of the PC38X would fit in, for those that don't want a headset/microphone, and don't wanna use an amplifier. There are times I'd love to use the PC38X as a headphone (and I do), but making a product just for that purpose would be fantastic. Personally, I prefer the PC38X over the HD598, so I think it warrants attention. Just something to think about it, Drop.
Likes and Dislikes
Likes:
Dislikes:
Final Impressions
Not one to rest merely with a good product, Drop decided they wanted more than what the PC37X provided. The PC38X was the result. While it may not be leaps and bounds better than the PC37X, it does flesh out and improve on the sound with a better bass extension, and tonal balance, without giving up what makes these headsets so good for competitive gaming.
It's hard to find something to recommend from the Sennheiser camp in terms of Drop variants. I say this because they're ALL good. Sitting firmly within a slew of other Drop x Sennheiser products, all being fantastic, you won't be lacking for options. While not quite reaching the legendary levels of the 6XX, the PC38X fills out its own role as a headset, as well as being quite a bit more efficient, where amplification isn't required. It's always good to have a headset on hand, and I can't think of a better one anywhere near its price range, from any company. You're getting exceptional clarity, great tonal balancing, stellar gaming performance, and plenty of music enjoyment here. The PC38X isn't just a good headset, it's an audiophile level headphone, period. The fact it's more versatile than the other Drop x Sennheiser headphones makes it quite beneficial to fledging audiophiles, or those that just don't want to lug so much gear around.
If you're looking for a no frills, no gimmicks, solid banger of an open-backed headset that is good enough to replace an audiophile headphone, this is it, chief. The PC38X puts so many others to shame.
Anyways, this is the new PC38X review, now with image links that ACTUALLY work.
Sennheiser PC38X
Where to buy: Drop.com as of September 2020 ($160-ish)
Disclaimer: A special thanks to Drop.com for sending the PC38X out to me for review. As always, whether products are sent to me or not, I do my best in being 100% honest with my views and opinions. If I don't like a product, I will refuse to write a review of it, or at the very least mention what I don't like about them, though I like to focus on products that people would like or at the very least are interested in. The only bias I have is to my readers and making sure they know about good products.
Intro
Drop is back at it again, this time with a successor to the Sennheiser PC37X. The PC38X doesn't outright replace the PC37X, which remain in Drop's arsenal at a lower price. I find the price difference mostly negligible, and the improvements made with the PC38X are absolutely worth the difference, particularly if you're lacking a headset. Some people may immediately ask if these are just a PC-37X with new pads for added bass or any of the other sonic differences, with no other major changes. The answer is, no. The welcome note in the packaging states:
"Enjoy the best of two of Sennheiser's leading open-back gaming headsets: The PC38X combines the clarity and immersion of the PC37X with the impressive deep bass of the GSP 500.
This has been achieved by using a custom designed driver, which implements a heavier voice coil to deliver impressively deep bass for an open-back design, as well as careful tuning to deliver a rich and immersive sound experience."
Are these statements accurate? From my experience, I find this an incredibly accurate assessment of the PC38X. I have not heard the GSP 500, but if the bass on the PC38X is any indication, they are indeed deeper and more extended in bass than the PC37X.
What's In The Box?
I must say, I really like the small, plain jane, cardboard box used for the PC-38X. Less material, packed with all the essentials.
Pouch - A fabric pouch with 'DROP' printed on the surface. It's super soft, and large enough to fit the headset without any issues. Perfect to store the headset or taking it on the go.
Cables - A 3 meter cable that splits into audio and mic 3.5mm plugs. Also a 1.2mm cable with a TRRS plug for inputs that accept both mic and audio channels in one plug (like a mobile device).
Spare Velour Pads - My guess is that these seem to be just like the velour pads used on the PC38X's older siblings. A nice inclusion, which may have an impact on comfort and sonic characteristics, if subtly so.
Build Quality
Before I say anything of the PC38X's build quality, I have to tell you guys that I will be reiterating a lot of what I've said on the GAME ONE review (with some pasting of some statements), as the PC38X shares most, if not all design and build aspects, save for color scheme and outer cup grill design. I believe this design started with the PC360, then moved on to the GAME ONE, PC37X, and finally the PC38X. "Don't fix it if it ain't broke" must be one of Sennheiser's favorite proverbs.
The PC38X retains the typical dark color palette Drop uses for their variants, with little in the way of Gamer-esque flourishes (in contrast to the white GAME ONE, which was a step in the other direction with bright colors to appeal to the younger gaming crowd).
Frankly, I'm not a huge fan of aesthetics on the GSP line of Sennheiser headsets, so I'm quite thankful the PC line of headsets exists, as I find them to look much more elegant and classy, compared to the bulkier, gamery nature of the GSP line. Personal preference, of course.
Headband:
The PC38X's headband is kept strictly business, akin to the PC360 and PC37X. Mostly all matte black plastic. The underside has two area of cushions, thicker and more spread across the headband than the HD6XX, covered in the same, newer fabric material as the earpads (as opposed to typical velour or leatherette). There is a small gap directly in the center to keep the headband from hotspotting on the very top of your head, which I find to be the correct choice, as 10 and 2 on your head can deal with hotspots better than 12 o' clock.
The extension arms are thin but sturdy, with plenty of length for all head sizes. There are clicks when extending, but no notches or other markers to count, so it may not be the easy to get both sides to end up perfectly equal in size, if you find yourself obsessing over such small details.
Cups:
Typical to most Sennheiser headphones I've reviewed, the cups are oval in shape. There is minimal swivel (just enough for secure fit), but plenty of vertical pivot in the cups (45 degrees if my calculations are correct). In a step back to the more open design of the PC360, Sennheiser opted to ditch the slotted vent openings of the GAME ONE and PC37X, in favor of a more traditional mesh-style grill covering the drivers. These possibly give the drivers less resistance, allowing the drivers to pump out sound with less reflective surface area bouncing the sound back towards your ears.
The outer right cup houses the volume dial which I find slightly insensitive in terms of travel to volume change ratio. I find this to be a good thing, as minor volume adjustments can be made. Turning the volume all the way down doesn't completely mute the audio, yet goes low enough to allow for your attention to be diverted to the outside world. The volume dial also doesn't lose perfect channel balance at low volumes unlike other headsets with inline volume adjustments.
The outer left cup holds the lengthy boom mic which has a black matte rubbery portion in the middle to allow some bending. Positioning the mic upwards mutes the mic as labelled on the cup itself where the mic is attached. The bottom of this cup is also where the 2.5mm cable input is located, and only needs the detachable cables to be pushed in; no twist and lock mechanism. I find this to be more than adequate, and more versatile if cable swaps/mods are something deemed worthwhile. Just be mindful that it carries both audio and mic channels.
Pads:
A change from the previously used velour pads on the older headsets, the PC38X uses a denser foam padding covered in different fabric material. If I could make an educated guess based on subjective listening impressions, the pads seem to allow the PC38X to retain more of the low end bass decay compared to the velour pads that are also included with the PC38X as spare pads.
The pads are generously large, deep, and ultimately top notch in comfort. They snap off the headphone easily, where you can see a plastic ring permanently attached to the underside of the pads which snap back onto the small 'teeth' on the driver housing. This is one of the easiest attachment/removal designs I've seen on any headphone.
Cables:
As mentioned earlier, the PC38X comes with two cables in the package. A lengthy 3 meter cable which terminates into both a 3.5mm audio plug, and 3.5mm microphone plug. The cable seems to be paracord-style, with nice sleeving, and a durable feel.
The other cable is a short 1.2mm cable with a TRRS plug. It's the same quality as its longer counterpart. I see this as a cable to be used for devices close to you, such as a PS4's Dualshock 4 controller with audio input, or a mobile device.
I would have liked to seen a Y cable adapter for the longer cable that joins both audio/chat together into one TRRS plug, for people whose devices are considerably further than 1.2m.
Final Build Impressions:
The PC38X, is made of highly durable plastics that I feel will take moderate abuse without any major issues. There's really nothing bad that can be said of the build quality here.
Comfort
Weight:
At 285g, the PC38X is light for a full sized headset, though not the lightest pair I've used. It falls somewhere in the lighter side of the average, which allows for all day listening without any real strain. Personally, the PC38X is one of the more comfortable headphone/headsets I've used in terms of weight.
Headband:
The PC38X has a wonderfully fabric padded underside which rests comfortably on the head. I initially felt some discomfort, but after a period of adjustment, I didn't feel any hot or sore spots coming from the headband. You may need some breaks here and there, but you should be able to wear it all day without much fuss.
Pads:
The pads size and depth are large enough to fit most ear sizes, and deep enough to keep your ears from bottoming out and pressing against the driver enclosure. The pads are soft fabric, more dense than velour. I can wear the PC38X for many hours and not feel the need to take them off. The alternative velour pads are perhaps a hint more comfortable to due it feeling cooler on the ears.
Clamp:
This is the one debatable area in comfort for me, as it tends to be with most Sennheiser headphones. The PC38X isn't exactly super heavy on clamp, but it is moderate and enough for me to feel to stretch it out over some game/dvd cases. I do feel some unwanted pressure from the area around my ears due to the clamp. Not much, but enough to remove the headphones at random intervals to relieve some of that pressure. It's really no big deal, and something you grow accustomed to with Sennheiser headphones. The upside is the very secure fit you will always have with the PC38X. I find that setting the extension to be more than what you feel is your optimal length, can relieve some of that pressure.
Overall Comfort Impressions:
The PC38X falls under the list of headphones I can wear all day with a few breaks to relieve some clamp pressure. That's a win in my book, and I consider the PC38X to be generally comfortable overall. If I were to give it one of my old system ratings, I'd say "Very Good" even close to "Great". For most people, it shouldn't fall under anything less than great.
Noise Control
As an open-backed 'acoustic' design, the PC38X isn't for those who want supreme noise control, isolation, and leakage kept to a minimum. It's not the loudest open design out there (you'll find much more sound leak from planarmagnetics), but you definitely don't want to use the PC38X at loud volumes in quiet settings. Behind a closed door, there shouldn't any major issues disturbing others, however. External sources of noise can easily be heard through the headphone, so you may want to consider a closed-backed headphone/headset if external noises bother you.
Sound
I'll be the first to tell you that if/when I need to use a headset over a headphone, sound quality isn't at the top of my necessities. What I mean by that is that I'm not a very good multitasker. If I'm chatting while gaming or otherwise, it's often hard for me to focus on game audio. For example, when I play Call of Duty's Warzone, my game audio is set VERY low in volume, so I can focus on chatting with my mates. Of course, this is opposite of a competitive gaming mindset, where you'll mainly chatter to rely pertinent information about what's going on during the game.
That makes me a casually competitive gamer, where I mainly chat nonsense with my friends, but every once in a while I'll need to relay information to them. So I need a headset's sound quality to be good enough to highlight details and have a great sense of spatial awareness, even with such a limited volume. Does the PC38X pull through? Does it set itself apart from the PC37X/GAME ONE? If you're longing for an improvement over the improvements those headsets claimed over the original PC360, then yes. Yes it does.
And here, Uncompensated:
(Note about the velour pads: My sound impressions were mainly done with the stock pads, as opposed to the spare velour pads. The velour may affect the sound in subtle ways, and if I ever feel comfortable enough to commit to sonic impressions without expectation bias, I'll share the difference. That being said, I DON'T feel comfortable, as it takes me too long to swap the pads, and the slight differences I hear may just be what I THINK is different, not what truly IS different. Hope you guys understand. If you still want to know, I think the bass gets slightly faster in decay, the sound gets airier, and a little more dry/not as full bodied. So I feel the velour pads may be less fleshed out, but more detailed. I'm not 100% convinced this is accurate, so your mileage may vary. Take this with a grain of salt.)
I was sent the graphs to showcase the difference, so extrapolate what you can out of it. For me, looks like there's very little difference in terms of response, other than past 10khz. That still doesn't highlight what I feel may be the body and decay differences, though that may just be expectation bias.
Bass:
It's almost like Sennheiser wasn't done with tooling the low end musicality of their open backed headsets. Drop and Sennheiser has once again one upped their previous headset with even MORE musicality, particularly in the bass, where it has allowed the bass to reach even lower than before, as well as flattened out the bass to midrange. It's more balanced, and reaches lower.
While I said much of the same with the GAME ONE, it still wasn't a headset that I could personally just stick to for purposes outside of competitive gaming, including music listening and casual gaming. It does it well enough, but in the back of my mind, I'd want just a little more out of it. The PC38X's deeper bass really puts it much, much closer to my target sound. It's an incredibly enjoyable bass section that does justice to my bass influenced music without it sounding lacking in body or impact.
As far as frequency testing goes, the PC38X remarkably goes all the way down to 20hz. At my desired volume for music, the bass goes very deep down. I've heard planars with less presence down low. That lets you know that the PC38X is not playing around with bringing you information down to the depths. The bass is voluminous at at around 35hz-40hz which is my ideal range for immersive bass rumble. The PC38X is a satisfying headphone, and it doesn't even need to be basshead level to do that. While the PC38X isn't a basshead headphone, it should still satisfy most audiences. The extension and rumble certainly impressed me well enough.
Midrange to Treble:
If there is one thing you can almost always count on from Sennheiser, it's that their headphones will inherit a well balanced midrange without any areas of over emphasis, shrillness, or otherwise truly bothersome hotspots. The trend continues on the PC38X. Well balanced is exactly how I hear it, neither being too forward, or too spaced back. It sounds quite natural, linear, and highly detailed. It doesn't sound overly warm, nor dry. It's what I'd consider an ideal forwardness, and tonal character.
Frequency-wise, there is plenty of presence throughout the midrange with a slight dip at 1.5k, but back to good presence all the way up to a 5k peak, which slopes down at 6k, slight rise at 7k to its steepest level in the dip at around 7.5k, back to good presence up to 10k and extends and shimmers all the way up to my hearing limits at 16k. No part of the frequencies from midrange to treble come across overly harsh or piercing, though 5k sticks out the most in the transition from midrange to treble. Based on what I'm personally hearing, the only things I could see as an improvement to the tonal balance, is reducing 5k a few decibels, and raising 7.5k quite a bit. Otherwise, the rest of the sound fantastically present and without any glaring issues.
The spare velour pads shared the same general balance curve with the exact same 5khz peak and 7.5khz dip.
All in all, plenty of detail and sparkle without it feeling overexerted. The high end extension is actually one of the best I've heard in a long time. Usually, just past 10k I start noticing a massive slope into the nether with many headphones. The PC38X manages to continue its airy extension far longer than I would've deemed necessary, which is an absolute, welcome surprise. Considering how so many Sennheiser headphones end up soft and steered downwards in the treble, the PC38X has one leg up in terms of extension and shimmer.
Soundstage:
Soundstaging was a strength in the PC360, as well as the GAME ONE/PC37X, and I would've been incredibly surprised if the PC38X failed to deliver on a solid, open soundstage set by its predecessors. Thankfully, my expectations were happily met. Even in stereo, the PC38X sounds fantastically spacious, and holds plenty of air to allow objects in the virtual space to fill the room.
As I tend to mention in my impressions of headphones, soundstaging isn't a trait in headphones I hold to a particularly high standard (in stereo), though it is always a great boon when done well. A great soundstage has been a trademark of the HD5xx line of headphones that started with the HD555 and HD595. It moved on to the HD558 and HD598, and I assume would hold true with the HD599. There's a reason HD5xx line were popular among gamers, and why I believe Sennheiser modeled the PC360 and onwards after them. Soundstaging, and detail retrieval good enough to take advantage of it.
The PC38X can fill out a room quite nicely, and is absolutely brilliant when applying a virtual surround dsp for video games and other media, like movies.
I'll quote what I said of the GAME ONE's soundstage here. I've replaced GAME ONE with the PC38X below, though the statement is accurate to my beliefs, and applies to both.
"It isn't constricted and kept inside my head, but I'm not one to think that sounds just outside my headspace is considered huge. It is with virtual surround DSPs like Dolby Headphone, and Creative SBX where I can gauge how well a headphone or headset can fool me into thinking sounds are coming from around me as opposed to inside my head. In that regard, the PC38X (like the PC360 and PC37X), throws out a FANTASTICALLY large soundstage with a great sense of space and directionality. The PC38X for virtual surround gaming is an absolute treat. There is clear distance between positional cues in a 360 degree front to back circle. This means the PC38X is in the upper echelons of headphones/headsets tested for positional accuracy when gaming."
Clarity:
Clarity is something one should expect from a top notch gaming headset. For what good is a headset if it can't deliver the clarity needed for voice communication, positional awareness, and minute detail retrieval? The PC38X continues its reign of excellence, with clarity that picks up the subtlest of nuances. As the PC38X isn't truly steered towards warmth, and there is plenty of details all the way up to the upper limits of human hearing, there's little to say about the PC38X that isn't completely positive in regard to clarity. You'll be hard pressed to find anything lacking, other than perhaps a noticeable dip at about 7.5khz which may allow some sounds to come across as subdued if they land in this range. Aside from that extremely small range of sound, the PC38X won't fail to impress. There isn't much out there I've heard that would do better than the PC-38X's immediate clarity without sacrificing too much in other areas.
Sound Signature:
The PC38X is on the natural/warm-neutral side of tonal balancing, with bass that is linear and extends quite low, without sounding thin, nor emphasized. I'd consider it bass neutral, which will fit whatever you're listening to. Give EDM with a thumping bass line, and you'll find the PC38X thumping and rumbling with the best of them. Not any more, not any less than needed.
The midrange is also quite linear with a natural voicing, as well as neutral forwardness. It sits perfectly in the middle, neither pushing things forward, nor giving up too many rows backwards in virtual seating. Those that like a forward midrange may want something a bit more intimate, though for anyone else, I doubt they'll find any issues with the presentation.
Treble is detailed, sparkly (if just so), and incredibly well extended. Either than 7.5k hitting a bit softly, there's plenty of shimmer and sharpness throughout without overexertion. One of the best Sennheiser headphones I've heard in this regard.
Overall, I'd find it hard to call the PC38X warm-warm, or bright. It sits in between, if just slightly warm. A testament to Sennheiser's prowess in tonal balancing.
Microphone
Sennheiser is known for their great headphones as well as microphones. Thankfully, the PC38X continues this well known fact. I wonder if anything has changed from the PC360 days in terms of the microphone, but regardless, it's fantastic, and should keep your voice quality clean and clear. As you can hear, just like the sound coming off the PC38X's drivers, the microphone is pretty clear, with no sibilance or compression. I don't think anyone would have any real issues with this mic.
Below are a few examples, showcasing how the PC38X's mic sounds through various gear.
Amplification:
Gaming headsets shouldn't be hard to drive properly. This general understanding continues with the PC38X. I rarely ever keep my amplifiers in low gain, yet that's precisely what I did with the PC38X, as it sits in the sweet spot of the volume pot, on all of my amplifiers. You really don't need much. The PC38X sounds great off anything you hook it up to. My recommendation is a neutral, clean sounding dac and amp, regardless of power. Something to further aid its sharp detail and focused sound. To anyone worried about numbers, the PC38X is 28ohm, at 108db SPL @ 1khz. Very efficient.
Gaming
Sennheiser headsets of its kind have always been stellar gaming performers. The PC360 was an amazing realization of the HD595 turned headset. The GAME ONE/PC37X succeeded in making such an amazing design more musical and engaging without sacrificing the strong competitive gaming aspects of its sound. The PC38X further dips its toes into musicality and engagement while still remaining faithful to the strong gaming performance needed for competitive play. If you've felt you'd desire a more robust low end and energy from Sennheiser's open headsets, the PC38X should fit that need. The deeper low end (not necessarily bass heavy but well extended bass) really fleshes out the sound that was slightly missing from the GAME ONE/PC37X. It sounds more natural, balanced, and true to life than its predecessors.
The spacious soundstage, sharp details, great tonal balancing, top notch extension both down low and up top make the PC38X a prime candidate for best gaming headset. In virtual surround, the PC38X is among the very best I've heard for accuracy, positional awareness, and object definition. Testing something like Call of Duty's Warzone with both Dolby Headphone 2, and Creative's SBX, I was extremely aware of where all my enemies were coming from, and where all the loot was in my general vicinity. For the PC38X, it's a very simple matter. Just stellar positional cues, soundstage depth, and great imaging. Rest assured, the PC38X is a monster for gaming. You can't do wrong here in choosing the PC38X for all your gaming needs.
Personal Recommendations
Media:
Considering the PC38X hits deeper and sounds more natural than the past few open Sennheiser headsets, I feel the PC38X is the best all rounded open headset of the bunch. This makes it a great choice for a variety of media. That's the strength of having an all rounder. It may not be the best at any one thing, but it works well with everything. If you felt the PC-360, GAME ONE, or PC37X lacking, the PC38X may satisfy you in ways those headsets could not.
Practicality:
I'd consider the PC38X to make most sense in an office or home setting. Considering its open backed design, it wouldn't be my first choice for public use. Not that I'd typically consider any headset for outside home use. So if you want to game on a laptop in public, I'd advise the PC38X only in quiet locations.
Who's It For?
Personally speaking, I generally wouldn't opt for a headset over a headphone, but if you MUST have a headset, I don't see any reason why you would go for anything else in its price category if you're looking for an open-backed, audiophile level headset. It's a competitive gaming beast, without sacrificing much of casual engagement. It does it all so well.
If you already own the PC37X, perhaps there might not be a pressing need to upgrade unless you want an improvement in the low end extension, and want a more natural sound. Both are incredible at hardcore/competitive gaming. So the question is whether you want your sound to be more fleshed out and enjoyable. If so, then yes, the PC38X is worth the upgrade. Consider it a more perfected form of what Sennheiser would want from an open backed headset.
If you DON'T own the PC37X/GAME ONE, then I would absolutely recommend moving past those and jumping immediately to the PC38X. As far as headsets go, this is the absolute best bang for buck I've heard to date.
You know what I'd like to see? A headphone model of this headset, no mic. It would have my full on recommendation. Yes, the HD58X Jubilee and HD6XX already exist and are highly regarded, but those require and scale with moderate amplification. They're not as efficient, and aren't ideal when used with a larger variety of things like phones, and laptops without at the very least, a decent portable amp. That's where a headphone variant of the PC38X would fit in, for those that don't want a headset/microphone, and don't wanna use an amplifier. There are times I'd love to use the PC38X as a headphone (and I do), but making a product just for that purpose would be fantastic. Personally, I prefer the PC38X over the HD598, so I think it warrants attention. Just something to think about it, Drop.
Likes and Dislikes
Likes:
- Great bass and treble extension
- Tonal balance
- Weight
- Volume adjustment dial
- Deeper, more natural sound from stock pads
- Spare velour pads
- Efficient
Dislikes:
- Initial clamp
- TRRS cable could stand to be a little longer
- A little peaky at 5khz
Final Impressions
Not one to rest merely with a good product, Drop decided they wanted more than what the PC37X provided. The PC38X was the result. While it may not be leaps and bounds better than the PC37X, it does flesh out and improve on the sound with a better bass extension, and tonal balance, without giving up what makes these headsets so good for competitive gaming.
It's hard to find something to recommend from the Sennheiser camp in terms of Drop variants. I say this because they're ALL good. Sitting firmly within a slew of other Drop x Sennheiser products, all being fantastic, you won't be lacking for options. While not quite reaching the legendary levels of the 6XX, the PC38X fills out its own role as a headset, as well as being quite a bit more efficient, where amplification isn't required. It's always good to have a headset on hand, and I can't think of a better one anywhere near its price range, from any company. You're getting exceptional clarity, great tonal balancing, stellar gaming performance, and plenty of music enjoyment here. The PC38X isn't just a good headset, it's an audiophile level headphone, period. The fact it's more versatile than the other Drop x Sennheiser headphones makes it quite beneficial to fledging audiophiles, or those that just don't want to lug so much gear around.
If you're looking for a no frills, no gimmicks, solid banger of an open-backed headset that is good enough to replace an audiophile headphone, this is it, chief. The PC38X puts so many others to shame.
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