(NEW) EPOS I Sennheiser GAME ONE Gaming Headset

TL;DR: All headsets have their tradeoffs. These strike the most perfect balance of the many I have tested. **Note: I am not an expert headphone reviewer but I have listened to a lot of headphones. I apologize in advance for my rambling. I prefer to plug my PS4 headsets into the bottom of my controller. I know the sound is not at maximum potential compared to a headset directly wired to the PS4 but it has a few advantages over other wireless options. For one, I found the connection to be more reliable both in not dropping audio, not having static interference, and having no mic connection issues. Second, I only have to worry about charging one device versus two. At third, I have more flexibility and variety when it comes to the headphones themselves. I've tried a variety of headphones/headsets including the PS Golds, Astros, Turtle Beach, and even high end headphones without boom mics like my Oppo PM-3s, Sony MDR1As, Bose in ear monitors with mic, Sennheiser Momentums, V-Moda ZNs, and even some HiFiman HE 400is. Long and short of it, I've tried a large buffet of different headset options and these are my absolute favorites for PS4 gaming. They offer the best balance of sound quality, durability, mic quality, comfort, reliabilty, and convenience. ** Sound Quality vs. ** A lot of my regular headphones (non gaming headsets) have better sound quality. For example, these could never compete against my Hifiman headphones. But regular headphones generally don’t have a mic and if they do, they aren’t as specialized as gaming headset mics. For example, the GAME One’s have sound cancelling tech in them that works really well. I have kids and they often can’t be heard in the background through my mic. Not only that, but a lot of times my regular headphones are too fragile or expansive to merit having them around as simply gaming headphones. A pretty solid headphone for use with a PS4 controller are the Bose Soundsport headphones, especially the ones with the Android compatible mic (the iOS mic is not compatible with the PS4 controller btw). I recommend them if you are looking for something very versatile. As for other gaming headsets, I’ll write about a few notable observations. I think these have better sound than the GAME Zeros. They are open headphones and they have better sound imaging (I can pinpoint individual sound sources better), a wider sound stage (they sound more like listening to my living room speakers), and overall better sound quality. As far as the sound quality goes, they aren't quite as good as the Astro A50s but they are absolutely good enough and they have superior connection reliability and mic quality (the mic alone is why I would choose these over Astros). I also greatly prefer the open nature of this headset (they leak noise FYI, but not too much to be bothersome to my wife). Most headset headphones, unless they play back your own voice, make my voice sound muffled, like I am speaking underwater. This is due to the closed nature of the headphone. Since these are open, when I speak, I sound like I'm speaking naturally in my living room. I also greatly prefer the more expansive sound, I prefer it anyway over simulated surround sound. I think simulated surround sound is almost a gimmick. The trade off in sound quality has never made it worth it and I will always pick really good stereo over ok simulated surround. A lot of headsets seem to favor specific audio frequency bands. For example, I think the Sony headsets have more a V-shape, meaning they favor bass and higher frequencies. This makes for an exciting and fun sound but I think it’s somewhat fatiguing and the bass can blur out some of the midrange sounds (where most of the sound exists). Another example is how the steelcase headsets I tried seem to favor the midrange sound frequencies, which is good for identifying sounds with precision, things like footsteps and gun shot direction. To me, this sort of sound emphasis is somewhat boring. Compared to many I would call the Sennheiser GAME Ones as balanced. They have good bass, good midrange, and decent highs. They are an all-around headphone but don't excel at a particular sound frequency (the Mario of the bunch). The other notable thing for me is that these can be powered very well with my controller. They get surprisingly loud and aren't too power hungry. Many higher end headphones I used that have better sound can't be powered by the controller (not a surprise). I thought for a long time that I was stuck having to use in-ear headphones like the Bose Soundsports I mentioned. When I saw how loud these could get (I never use them at max volume for example), I was very surprised. ** Mic vs.** These have the best mic. Period. The mic’s sound isolation, voice quality, build quality, and convenience are fantastic. ** Comfort vs. ** I definitely have more comfortable regular headphones, like my Sony MDR1As and the Steelcase headsets are more comfortable. But with that in mind, these are quite comfortable. I have a big head and with a bit of headband stretching, these are comfortable for me for hours of gameplay. Other headphones may sit on my head more comfortable but they get sweaty. These being open backed don’t do that. So in the end I prefer these. They “disappear” on my head better. ** Issues ** My only complaint is that I wish the build was like the GAME Zeros, where the ear pieces swiveled and the whole headset can collapse. I also wish they had the carry case that those come with. If Sennheiser could blend the headband and case of the GAME Zeros with the open back and sound of the GAME Ones, they would be the perfect gaming headset for me on my PS4.