The Sennheiser Game One is a $115 wired gaming headset made by Sennheiser – a company known for its high-quality audio gear and EPOS – a company that does excellent innovation in the gaming headset niche. Though there’s also a white variation, you’ll likely only find the black in stock.
So, is it a good headset? Well, the only fair reason why you won’t pick a $100+ gaming headset from Razer, Logitech, SteelSeries, HyperX, Astro, EPOS, etc. instead is because you want something different. And of course, you don’t want to buy something from less-known brands or something audiophile-grade from, let’s say, Audio-Technica.
If you’re in that boat then it’s perfectly justified to go for the Game One. It’s not bad at all. It has fairly good features that any gamer will love. Let’s break it down in the review below.
The open-back experience
I generally recommend over-ears that have a closed-back enclosure because silence is critical when gaming. The Sennheiser Game One features an open-back enclosure.
It’s not to say there are no good open-back gaming headsets – but the majority of the good ones are always closed-back, and for good reason.
In simpler words, this headset is not good for gaming in a noisy environment, though the open-back nature improves the sound quality a little.
How?
If you game in a silent room then the open-back enclosure actually improves the 3D soundstage a little. This means gamers who primarily play RPG and FPS games can get a better sense of when someone’s behind you.
But again, the slightest of background noise and all that goes down the drain. It’s really safer to just go for a closed-back enclosure.
Comfort: Fit and ergonomics
The comfort level is the first quality you should look for. Fit and ergonomics determine how comfortable it will be when left on for hours on end.
- The overall fit is nice and comfortable, though it differs head to head.
- A padded headband with a metal frame is the best type of gaming headset support in my opinion. It’s very flexible and ensures comfort. More audiophile-grade headphones need heavier support for listening, but in gaming the best sound quality isn’t a priority – and this is a good middle ground where comfort meets sound quality.
- The headset offers pretty decent breathability thanks to the open-back design as well as the porous earcup padding.
- Stability is also good.
- The headset also features black velour padding, good for those who wear glasses.
Features and connectivity
In terms of overall features and connectivity, the Sennheiser Game One is good for the price point. It’s hard to get remarkably better features in this price range.
- You connect the headset using a split TRS cable – the classic way to have both, sound output and mic input on PCs before USB and wireless headsets became a thing. If you only have a single 3.5mm aux jack, then you’ll need to buy a TRRS adapter (also called a Y splitter). Typically, PCs have a pink (mic in) and green (audio out) port on the back IO panel.
- There’s volume dial and a mute/unmute button. There is no call or music control button.
- Volume adjustment is intuitive and you can quickly control your sound output without much fiddling around.
- The headset comes with two detachable cables (it won’t work unless you connect one of these, it’s not wireless) – one is the standard TRS cable we talked about and another is a 3.5mm jack that you can connect to phones or consoles for audio out.
Sound and mic quality
The headphone’s sound quality is not a huge consideration – but the mic is, if you play many multiplayer games with an open mic or if you stream. This headset doesn’t have noise canceling.
Sound: Balanced and open soundstage
The sound quality is naturally good and pretty neutral. A more neutral sound is always better because it allows the game itself to decide what you should hear – instead of the headset “colorizing” it with more bass, more treble, etc.
If you compare it with a generic Razer or HyperX gaming headset or a non-gaming JBL headphone, you’ll find the sound lacks somewhat in the bass but is generally clearer. In other words, if I was playing to enjoy a game’s soundtrack, I’d go with this one.
Mic: Gain too low
The mic quality is subpar. It’s too quiet. You might need to yell if you don’t have a loud voice. This can be adjusted to some degree if you manually increase the gain. There might also be other problems depending on how you sound, but it’s always an option to go for a dedicated microphone for streaming to fine-tune and calibrate your digital voice perfectly.
For basic communication with your teammates, it’s fine.
Build quality, design, and portability
The headset features a good design and build quality overall. In terms of portability – not so much. It’s a simple and comfortable headset.
- Oriented towards gamers, but without any flashy RGBs or over-the-top cuts – this is a category I personally prefer. But generally, this category offers minimalistic closed-back headsets. I’m not a huge fan of the specific aesthetic of this headset honestly – but design is very subjective. Perhaps you’ll like the accents and shape.
- The build quality and material quality feels high-end.
- In terms of portability, it’s garbage – no ambient noise blocking, bulky design, and too much spill/leakage. The headset also doesn’t fold into a compact shape and the earcups also don’t flatten.
Value for money
It’s hard to accurately say whether the Game One offers good value for money or not. On one side, it technically excels in all parameters a gamer should ideally be interested in – but on the other hand, there are arguably better options from gaming brands.
All in all, I’d say it falls somewhere in the middle. If everything else looks good to you, then there’s nothing wrong with the value it gives for the money.
Sennheiser is one of the most reputable names in the business, and the Game One is no exception. It’s a great product that offers excellent sound quality and comfort, at a reasonable price.
If you’re looking for a gaming headset that delivers great audio performance at an affordable price, you should definitely give the Sennheiser Game One a try.
The best gaming headsets are designed to meet all your needs, so they can easily be used for both gaming and music. This one offers a good balance between the two.
Final verdict
Sennheiser is a well-known brand for audio equipment. The Sennheiser Game One gaming headset is one of the best products from the company. It has been designed for those who want to experience a high-quality sound while playing games on their computer. The headset provides you with an immersive experience and lets you hear every detail in the game. The design of this gaming headset is quite simple and it comes with a large ear cup that can be easily adjusted according to your head size.
The Sennheiser Game One headset is a good choice if you’re looking for a budget-friendly pair of gaming headphones. It’s also one of the most comfortable pairs I’ve tested, and provides great sound quality for its price point. The only real downside is that the microphone isn’t quite as good as those on other models I’ve reviewed.
It’s not perfect though — it lacks bass, and it’s not as good at blocking out ambient noise as other over-ear models I’ve tested (like the HyperX Cloud Alpha).
That being said, the Sennheiser Game One is a great headset for anyone looking to get into gaming or as a gift for someone who already has a setup. It’s comfortable, sounds good, and has great features.
A good gaming headset at its core and terribly bad in terms of portability, work, or music listening – Sennheiser Game One is essentially everything a gaming headset wants to be. The open-back enclosure is a bummer but in return, you get a neutral sound quality and good 3D soundstage. I’d say those are worth it for the majority of gamers.
The Sennheiser Game One is a good purchase if the disadvantages don’t apply to you.
