Sennheiser PC 350 Collapsible Gaming Headset with Vol Control & Microphone Mute by Sennheiser
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Digital camera reviews of Sennheiser PC 350 Collapsible Gaming Headset with Vol Control & Microphone Mute
Digital camera Review: A bit high priced, but worth every penny
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought these as a gift, but I've used them also. They are amazing sound quality and comfort. Makes it hard to hear anything except the sounds that are coming through the headphones :)Digital camera Review: A great headset!
Summary: 5 Stars
Pros: Comfortable, great sound, pretty good bass, microphone is excellent, foldable for storage, long cord.
Cons: Could have more bass, rather have velour padding than leather but it's still good.
Overall, great value for your money. Better than many more expensive headsets.
Digital camera Review: A well engineered product, but it's being returned anyway.
Summary: 2 Stars
I've been using a pair of Sennheiser PC 151s for a couple of years now and I've always been pleased with their performance. After listening to a friend rave about his recent acquisition of Razer's newest stereo headset offering, I figured I'd try upgrading to something a little more high-end. And hey - who doesn't want to look like an air traffic controller or a football coach?
As everyone else has raved, the packaging is top-notch. Incredibly easy to open while also conveying that this is a premium product that needs to be shipped safely. But not to worry - these cans are built like a tank. They have considerable heft to them while the plastic feels very solid, even if the metal hinges are mostly for show. I have a big head and these headphones fit shockingly well - snug, but not tight. The large ear cups surrounded my ears completely and the foam isolated me from the room so much that I didn't hear my phone ringing while it was sitting just a few feet away from me. I also really liked the solid feel to the cord, the thin nature of the cord on my PC 151s is a constant annoyance to me, I'm always afraid that I'm going to snag or snap it.
All in all, these are well designed headphones. Sadly I'll be returning them anyway.
Why you might ask? I can't use them without spending at least another $100 and possibly modifying them to void the warranty.
If you look at the technical specifications of any of the other Sennheiser headsets or even any of the headsets from Logitech or Razer, you'll see that their nominal impedance is rated at 32 ohms. This headset? 150 ohms. It's a much harder load for the weak onboard soundcard's amp to drive. Highs and upper mids sound well defined and rich, but mid and low bass material is weak and ill-defined if it exists at all. I found myself wanting to turn the music louder and louder to try and compensate for missing frequencies on material that was familiar to me - and that's a great way to acquire some hearing damage.
I went ahead and borrowed a small Yamaha mixer from my office to test and ensure that the load on the soundcard's amp was my issue. With the headphones powered by the more significant headphone amplifier on the mixer these headphones sounded absolutely wonderful. With some extremely minor (~10% above flat) boost to the mid and low frequencies these headphones sounded really quite good. I enjoyed the tightness given to the bass definition by virtue of the sealed enclosure. Some people have instead chosen to modify their PC 350s by drilling ports into the enclosure to enhance the low-end response and follow that up by packing the rear cavity with fiberfill as well. (Search head-fi.og for "modding the pc350" if you're curious for the details.)
So, I'd have to buy a headphone amplifier to really make reasonable use of these headphones. For anything of reasonable quality we're looking at ~$100, minimum.
The final straw that lead me to decide to return these headphones was actually the reason I'd bought them to begin with - they isolated too well, really. When I finally tried to speak to a friend on ventrilo while wearing them the result was.... odd. I couldn't hear my voice in the room, just the sound echoed back from within my own head - almost as if I'd had a bad headcold or a horrible ear infection. If there was any noise in the headphones I found myself shouting to compensate for it, which was just obnoxious.
So, between the expense of the headset itself, the added expense for a headphone amplifier and the additional possible need to modify the design, I decided it just wasn't worth it. My old PC 151s still work as well as the day that I purchased them, and they're already paid for and can be powered perfectly by my soundcard. I'll just continue using those, I suppose.
Digital camera Review: A winner
Summary: 5 Stars
I am very pleased with my Sennheiser headset, I travel frequently with them folded inside my laptop bag, they are comfortable and the sound quality is excellent. I couldn't be more pleased.Digital camera Review: ATH-700AD vs Sennheiser PC-350
Summary: 4 Stars
I started looking for an awesome headset for LANs and as a secondary pair (to my ATH-AD700). My Icemat Siberias finally broke after 5-6 years of use (fatal!ty rests its soul). I didnt care for all these non-flexible headsets that are branded by the big names in gaming headsets. Finally, I found these, the Sennheiser PC350. It looked to have everything I needed, but was it everything?
Tested: Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Team Fortress 2, Heavy Metal Music
- Pros: Sound quality, Mic Quality, Noise Canceling.
Putting them on for the first time, the sound quality for gaming was pretty nice. The bass was surprisingly good as bullets went off, near and far. The attached mic is flexible to a point. There is a part of the boom that is flexible so you can move the mic closer or farther away from your mouth. The only downside is that its not detachable, which is not a downer for me.
However, the sound quality for music was a bit lacking compared to my 700s. I have heard that open headsets are better for sound quality and now I hear why. This is not just an audiophile thing, you can hear the difference. The music sounded a bit distorted and the initial bass only helped create a headache.
As for the noise canceling, it does a good job for a closed headset. The downside though is that I am used to being able to talk to friends close by while gaming. This requires one side off my ear at all times, otherwise I will not be able to hear them. However, if you are tired of having noise all around you while gaming, this can help greatly.
- Cons: Comfort, For some, the build quality feels a bit flimsy
Again, putting them on for the first time, it almost immediately felt wrong. Before adjusting it, it started to squeeze my head. Once I did adjust it, that did get rid of most, but not completely. As for long use wear time, I would say about 2-3 hours. Beyond that, be prepared for a headache or sweaty ears from time to time. As with any closed headset, it does get warm after awhile and your ears start to get hot.
The build quality is better than most that I have seen, and could most likely take a decent amount of abuse, but I would not push it. The reason this is a con though is because my 700s feel ALOT more solid than this.
Overall: Sadly, they did not replace my ATH-AD700s as my primary pair. My 700s are just too comfy to let go. However, these Sennheisers do stand up and are noticed for gaming.