Sennheiser GSP 370 & 670 Gaming Headsets Review
When you think of the best audio experiences, who do you think of? Maybe Bose, maybe Sony, but almost certainly you think of Sennheiser. So when you hear they have some wireless gaming headsets, with MASSIVE mics and supposedly amazing audio quality, you can see why I jumped at the chance to check them out. Sadly though, I’m not sure they are all they are cracked up to be.
Let me break these down into their main parts – first is audio quality. These are, without a doubt, brilliant. While I couldn’t really discern any difference between the two of them, the audio they gave was crisp, clear, well rounded with good bass, mids and highs and good resolution too. While I can’t say that they are significantly better than something like my AudioTechnica ATH-G1WLs, they are certainly a great listening and gaming experience.
Next up is the mic, which is honestly underwhelming. Here’s a test of them, and I’ll throw in a comparison to my audiotechnica’s which are £60 cheaper than the 670s, but around £60 more than the 370s.
As you heard, both Sennheiser headsets sounded compressed and very much like cheap gaming headsets, whereas the audiotechnicas, while a little noisier at the volume I have my videos at, was much more clear, and a lot less compressed. This is especially disappointing given it’s gargantuan size. Now I should add that those tests were ran without any software tweaks from their “Gaming Suite”, but I couldn’t see much of a difference with any of the features they offer in there. Both headsets do have the feature of muting the mic by lifting it up though, which is nice.
Then there is comfort. The 670s are massive, they really are very bulky and sit very wide on your head. They do have a few more features for their size though, from more flexibility in the ear cup position, to sliders on the headband that let you adjust the tension the headset provides, but I would add make sure you don’t adjust that while it’s on your head or you will find yourself literally pulling hairs out. Even with all that adjustment, the headset really didn’t fit my head. It felt like it was squeezing my head just below my ears, and seemed to be designed for people with much, much smaller heads than me as i had to adjust the headset almost all the way out to fit, something I don’t normally have to do. I couldn’t imagine gaming on this for any length of time as it got uncomfortable almost instantly.
Then there is the 370s, which are much, much better. I’ll touch on build quality in a sec, but suffice to say these are lighter, with a more conventional fit on the head, and a lot more comfortable. While they still aren’t the best, I’d be much happier gaming on these for a while than the 670s.
What’s left then? Well, there are the added features. First lets look at the 670, since it’s the £300 option. It uses a USB dongle to connect to your PC or PS4, and has around 20 hours of battery life, give or take a few hours, and it charges with micro-USB which isn’t the best, I would much rather have seen type C here for durability. It also has bluetooth built in, although it will automatically cut connection to whatever bluetooth device you are using if the dongle gets plugged in or your PC starts playing any audio, so no multi-input support here.
On the 370’s you have a stunning 100 hours of battery life, claimed anyway, which is light years ahead of the competition. They claim this is done thanks to better battery management, and a larger battery, which is impressive given their weight, at around 10g lighter than the already featherweight audiotechnicas. Otherwise, they use a usb dongle to connect, no bluetooth here and other than an absolutely tiny, and pretty cheap feeling power switch, have a decent set of controls including a large volume wheel on the side of the ear cup.
And i think that brings me nicely to build quality. For £300, or the £170 Sennheiser want for the 370’s, you’d expect good quality materials and headphones that feel like they will last, right? Sadly, you don’t get much of that. The 670’s in particular feel cheap in the hand, the plastics aren’t great and it feels like you could snap them in half without even thinking about it. While the 370’s are a little better, and their light weight construction gives them a little more lee-way, it’s still all plastic, and not that nice feeling. Keep in mind the audio technicas I keep talking about have a metal headband and a bit of screwed in padding, and yet feel premium and great quality.
I think the conclusion then, is pretty obvious. I’m not a big fan of these headsets. If you had to buy one, hands down I’d go for the 370s, not only because they are almost half the price for a very similar audio experience, but because they are genuinely a much better set of headphones, with amazing battery life too. At this sort of price point though, I think I would much rather get a set of the ATH-G1WLs, or perhaps a Corsair Virtuoso – which I will have a review on very shortly by the way – over the GSPs. While Sennheiser has done a good job of improving their design from the 670s to the 370s, I think they still have a little way to go before I can wholeheartedly recommend them.
Want one? GSP 370 on Amazon: https://techteamgb.co.uk/gsp370
GSP 670 on Amazon: https://techteamgb.co.uk/gsp670
Products shown provided by: Sennheiser
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