Sennheiser GAME ZERO Review

👤by Tony Le Bourne Comments 📅28-11-15
Performance Testing

Setup, Design & Observations
Setting up a headset which connects via 3.5mm jacks will be relatively straight forward as there are no drivers that need to be downloaded or installed, though, if you intend on using the GAME ZERO with a PS$ or Xbox ONE you may need to dig around for a 4pole adaptor as there doesn't seem to be one included. Sennheiser do have an adaptor available which will cost you an extra £8/$10 which seems fairly steep.

The second you pick up the GAME ZERO, you can feel the softness in the memory foam and the plyability of the braided cable. This instantly gives a high quality impression. On wearing, the triple layer memory foam pads on the earcups get to work and the large opening easily surrounds your ear for complete circum-aural comfort which provides passive noise cancelling from the outside world. The comfort we would rate very high, easily amongst the most comfortable on the market, maybe just falling short of the supreme comfort of the Siberia V3 Prism.

The volume dial on the right side earcup is easy to access and rotates smoothly, and the microphone is the highest quality boom microphone we have encountered. There is a definite tactile click which tells you when it mutes/unmutes as you raise and lower it, and the flexible centre is easy to position exactly as you want it. These functions built into the headset remove the need for an in-line remote, something that we advocate is a good thing, as inline remotes often create a weakpoint in a hardlined cable to your headset.



Multimedia
As with all our audio tests, we first start by doing some subjective listening to familiar audio tracks which are in mp3 320/ or flac lossless format with all audio enhancements (either by the headset or audio drivers) disabled. This allows us to recognise the accuracies and characteristics of the sound created and judge the precision relative to other headsets. After listening through various tracks, ranging from bass heavy electronic music such as that found here to Metal/rock and pop tracks. The GAME ZERO does indeed have that next-level superior audio accuracy comparatively to the run of the mill headset. The audio playback has impressive clarity and natural sounding audio, with well pronounced separation between the bass, mids and treble. The bass is felt and heard, but lacks a real deep punch which some gamers may prefer, but Sennheiser are known for the perfect balance, which is represented by the GAME ZERO.

In gaming, the impressive soundscape created by the GAME ZERO gives an impressive stereo experience, though as a gaming headset, some may prefer a virtual 7.1 experience in regards to directional audio (Razer have a solution for this), though this doesn't stop the GAME ZERO from giving minute, off screen details. The lack of punchy bass created a strange, less stressed 'in-your-face', experience in FPSs (Battlefield 4/CS:GO) but the clarity gave for a more realistic level of immersion.

Microphone
The microphone was a joy to use being easy to mute by raising and unmute by lowering. In Skype, my voice was loud and clear with low static and noise picked up and was said to sound good quality and natural.


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