Sennheiser PC 350 Special Edition High Performance Gaming Headset (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

The audio quality of the PC 350 series, when driven with a proper amplifier as in the Xonar Essence STX, is far lusher than its open-air cousin, with a far more complex range of mids and highs along with a refined, recalcitrant (albeit not overly so) bass that knows its place far better than the brash little braggart that overwhelms the mids and highs on the PC 360.Then again, modern taste-making being what it is in the overdriven, bass-heavy world of 24/7, sunny, soul-dehydrating Top 50 electro-club fare and vapid, toothless mumblepop, most people might discount a subdued bass as a pejorative assessment. Those people would be better serviced by a Cadillac prescription of Beats by one Dre, M.D. of the M.C.'s. Nothing against Dre as a pioneer of G-Funk; I just think his brand of audio equipment ain't nothin but a B- thing.The microphone is clear and sharp, filtering out extraneous noise as advertised. It's among the very best of built-in gaming headset microphones, far superior to most mediocre omnidirectional noise-picker-uppers that come as sad little clip-ons to remind the lonely of the perpetual unimportance of their being heard, regarded, and understood compared to the integral voyeurism of their watching, listening with salivating eyes and moistened ears.The entire effect of the PC 350 is to encapsulate the enraptured listener in twin domes, plush aural portals that snuggle the listener with a kiss in sounds' form and lull him away and above.That is, until he leans back a bit and causes the cord to drag against cloth of any sort, or even soft bare skin. Then, a horrible dragging sound, as of a corpse over a chalkboard, resonates through both sealed chambers of worship, sundering the altar (let alone the vestal virgins) and inciting the wrath of their Godhead's not-so-godly head.The cord tangles far too easily, and basically has to be run behind you if your computer happens to be to your right if you don't want noise to play guiro against your eardrums. Which mine does, unfortunately, in both senses of the former vaguely-subjectified meaning.Why a noise-dampening block or strip of foam of some sort couldn't be attached where the nylonesque wire meets the earpiece (the Antichrist heart of Noise Incarnate), I do not know. The headset meets all of Sennheiser's requirements for a truly luxuriant audio experience save this minor, yet awful nuisance.Yet I can deduct but one star, as I am soft of heart (and occasionally head) and prone to hearing-based hedonism. Be forewarned: you need a sound card that's better than the usual lot of Creative Labs pap - one that can drive the unit via a powered headphone jack. You also need taste and refinement, but that's something you can both have and not, depending on your self-awareness of your own inadequacy and fallibility as a human being.

TL:DRBuy these if you need:a gaming headsetstill want to listen to musicdon't need to look 1337are at least 40% less than retailSounds great, like another review said, once you set your equalizers properly. They are more of a studio monitor type true to sound, they don't "bump" out of the box. They aren't trendy and they don't have trendy synthetic sound.Mic is quiet, so I have boost up 30db and even at 20db it picks up insane amount of ambient noises. Not really different than any other mic I've owned though.Had to purchase when my Logitech G35 just decided to snap at the tiny little plastic connection the ear pad rotated on. These definitely should not do that since it seems to be metal at those points and not a hairline piece of metal either like the plastic Logitech ones.Sound quality:Extremely better than my G35A notch below my Sony MDR-V6Leaps and bounds better than the Skullcandy cans I used to own before they snapped in half after minimal use.Prefer to any Dre Beats I've listened to in stores. But I don't listen to Drake so...If you want Big Bass bump up the low frequencies on your equalizer and they will hit uncomfortably hard (and get a little muddy). They also won't have fake !@$# sounding base like Dre Beats'.Build quality:Main skeletal support seems to be metal. metal hinges, I assume a thin metal strip running through the head band.Mainly plastic otherwise. Closed air cans are made of plastic, therefore do not sound dampen anywhere near a pair of Sony studio monitors which practically are noise cancelling.Volume toggle is smooth and works well. It's also plastic.Mic is a little wonky, I can see how reviewer say theirs broke. I am under the assumption I take care of my stuff better and should not break it.The "leather" or whatever covers the padding seems to be the same that come on Sony MDR-V6/7506. It started peeling off after a few months of use. Hopefully they won't on these. (Highly doubt it. It peeled off my G35 also)At the retail price they are extremely over priced. You'd be better off getting a good pair of headphones and a cheap desktop mic.

The sound quality on these is exceptional! The only critisism I have is that I personally found my ears became quite hot while wearing them for any extended period of time. This is solved by simply lifting them off for as few seconds, but it may be worth bearing in mind if you are hot blooded as I am. That aside, they are certainly a high quality product with great performance, the boom you experience while firing sniper rifles in BF4 for example really shakes your head! I am using them in conjunction with a good quality sound card. If you are lucky enough to have good stores in your area and do have the ability to try before you buy, it is always advised. I don't but I'm happy enough with these over all.

As a gamer who plays (and has played) an unhealthy amount of hours per day, splashing out on this headset was a welcome change from the desktop mic and speakers combo that I was used to. Before I surrendered to that combo, a long line of disappointing, cheap headsets that did nothing for me left me feeling as if I just wasn't built for a headset/headphones.Jumping into the drink with this purchase turned out to be a good idea. The audio is quality excellent - practically as good my hifi speakers - and performs exactly as it's supposed to; in Counter Strike I can hear the position of my opponents really well, even over people talking in teamspeak.Comfort is crucial to me because I want to use them from sun up to sun down, and the pc350se delivers here as well. The pads completely encircle your ears and I've experienced no pain at all while wearing them. This is incredible when I consider I've had very few good experiences with earphones in the past. That said, they do make my ears sweaty after many long hours of wear and I couldn't say I was completely comfortable with wearing them at a 6 hour stretch without a break.Where this headset really shines, however, is the mic quality. It's vastly superior to anything I've owned before and in my experience blows most other headsets completely out of the water with barely any configuration on my part. Moreover, the noise cancelling works basically flawlessly. It picks up whispers but doesn't pick up breathing.The only downsides, then: the comfort is good but not 100% ideal; the audio doesn't match a purpose built pair of headphones; you can hear every sound that the cord makes, which is slightly annoying when you notice it. Is it worth £100~? Probably, but I wouldn't say it was a bargain.

Sennheiser is usually a guarantee for good sound and quality.I was once again happy to become the owner of a Sennheiser headset for my gaming habits, as once again, it fulfilled all my desires, whether I'm on teamspeak or listening to music.The earphones sits well on your head, and even after hours of gaming, you do not feel a need to remove them. They furthermore shield out external noise well.The microphone works well, I am sounding nice and clear for those I speak to, and even when I record singing, it sounds well, it's me singing... but the recording is great.It handles all ranges of sound well, I've mainly tested it with rock.

I have this headset for more than a month and overall I'm satisfied.The good:1) The microphone is great once I plugged it in my add in sound card (Asus Xonar DG). The on-board card gave me some hissing noise, but it clearly wasn't microphones fault;2) The sound on the headphones is nice and precise with enough bass;3) The heaphones are very comfortable - they adjust to the head very well (they have both vertical and horizontal tilt) and although the pressure from clamping force is on the high side, the headphones are so large that the pressure evens out and doesn't bother me.4) Volume regulator on the headphones themselves and microphone on/off switch by lowering or rising the microphone boom is super convenient when compared to in-line controls.The bad:1) The sound is good, but it's not great for music. I'm no audiophile, but I feel that some of my other non gaming headphones are more pleasant to listen to;2) When the cord slides along my clothing it picks up some mechanical vibration that is passed to headphones. In effect I can quite clearly hear how headphone cord brushes against my sweater's zipper. No big issue, but I thought I might mention it.3) They are quite expensive, but for the build quality it's understandable.

I upgraded from an older headset and I am very happy with this new headset. The sound is crisp and clear. The microphone works great. Recommended for screaming at usless DOTA2 players as well as coordinating death in Battlefield 4 matches. You may also use it to speak to loved ones over Skype. All my trance and house toons sound fantastic with it.