The last time I got to play with Sennheiser’s GSP range of gaming headphones, I came away rather unimpressed. Happily, I’ve found their revised design to be a great deal more agreeable.
The GSP-370 range sits at the more affordable end of the scale for Sennheiser, coming in at about $350 AUD. As gaming headsets go, this pricing puts them squarely in the Minor Luxe tier, ahead of your higher-end RIGs and Razers, and within striking distance of top tier Astros or SteelSeries. The highest-end gaming headset Sennheiser offer, the GSP-670, clocks in at a whopping $499 AUD. That’s the kind of rarified air Senny are hoping to occupy with their hardware, and the GSP-370 finds its home with a price point in between.
The first thing I noticed about the GSP-370 was how good it sounded. It’s a Sennheiser headset so this shouldn’t come as any great surprise. It’s as reliable for 7.1 surround gaming as it is for listening to music or watching a video. The audio balance is beautiful. The lows are low, and the highs are high without being tinny or overly crisp. It refuses to distort, even at higher volumes, and the leather wrap on each ear cup reduces audio bleed. Though they are not a noise-cancelling headset, this does blot out a great deal of external sound.
Like previous models, the construction is solid and leans toward a chunky, more masculine aesthetic. This might put a few people off and I can see why — the way the thick microphone boom sits in my lower peripheral vision is still making my eye twitch. The volume dial is similarly chunky and placed over your right ear. You can lift the microphone into a vertical position to mute it, and it will give a soft click to confirm the mute.
The power button is a small, metal pin-point. Push once for power on or hold for wireless pairing mode. While I like the stripped-back approach the headset takes in regard to in-line controls, the power switch is a pain. The look is ultra-modern to be sure, but it’s too small and doesn’t communicate its uses quite clearly enough. Definitely something for Senny to look at next time.
Despite the headset’s overall size and bulk, there’s been a reduction in heavier internal componentry, making it much lighter than previous iterations. The cans are comfortable and can be worn for longer periods without giving you an earache.
If there’s a downside to the new design its the leather wrap around the cups. Leather is always a riskier choice for gaming headsets because, while it provides a softer feel and a more luxe look, it tends to run hot compared to cloth. Where other makers like RIG provide a set of cloth swap-outs in the box, Sennheiser offers no such customisation and, at $350 AUD a pop, they can probably afford to look into it.
The GSP-370 is also fully wireless, running off a USB dongle for its signal. Again, compared to something like the RIGs in the same price range, the GSP-370 sports a pretty short-range signal. My RIGs can make it all the way to the back of my house — 15-20 metres — before they start breaking up. The GSP-370 didn’t quite make it to the kitchen, some seven metres away. It is a low-latency connection however, so what you sacrifice in range you gain in overall audio latency.
To sweeten that trade-off a little, the battery life is quite good. The box advertises a full 100 hours of charge time and you can believe it. I got a full week-and-a-half of frequent and sustained use out of my review unit before it demanded a charge. The headset is charged via micro-USB, and can be connected directly to the PC with the same cable if you’d prefer a wired setup.
So, taken as a single a package, are the GSP-370’s worth the $350 AUD Senny are asking? If great sound is important to you, then yes, definitely. They produce gorgeous audio and mark a significant uptick in overall comfort. Its design shows a willingness to address the problems of previous iterations head-on and to keep trying new things. Despite the problems I have with the GSP-370, that mentality counts for a lot with me. Sennheiser are getting closer and closer to creating the world’s greatest, luxe-tier headset, and they’ve almost got it. Is there still work to be done? Absolutely, but I definitely like where this is going.
THREE AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Highlights: Great sound; Strong design refinements; Increased comfort
Lowlights: Low feature range for the price point
Manufacturer: Sennheiser
Price: AUD $349.95
Website: Sennheiser.com
Review conducted using a loaned pair of Sennheiser GSP-370’s provided by the manufacturer.
An earlier version of this article incorrectly listed the GSP-370 as being $150 AUD. This has since been corrected. We apologise for the error.
