Sennheiser PC 373D 7.1 Dolby surround sound gaming headset review

1. Introduction2. Unboxing3. Sennheiser PC 373D 7.1 headset4. Testing5. Closing Thoughts6. View All Pages

Sennheiser is often considered more of an audiophile brand rather than one catering to movie and gaming fans, but that is not always the case. Take the new Sennheiser PC 373D 7.1 Dolby surround sound headset that we are looking at today. It has everything that other gaming headsets have: solid drivers, great padding, surround sound audio and strong microphone clarity.

Of course that all comes with Sennheiser's high quality and high price tag and it looks very different from your average gaming headset. But it should be a very strong performer.

Of course, it may not be worth it considering the hefty price tag. But that is what we are here to test, so let us see what the Sennheiser PC 373D can do.

Impedance Headphone: 50 Ω.
Connection: USB.
Frequency response (microphone): 50 – 16, 000 Hz.
Frequency response (headphones): 15 Hz – 28,000 Hz.
Sound pressure level (SPL): 116 dB.
Ear coupling Around-the-ear: open acoustic design.
Cable length: 1,7m + 1,2m.
Pick-up pattern: Noise-cancelling.
Microphone sensitivity: -38 dBV/Pa.

The packaging for the PC 373D is of a real high quality. It is never something that you really need, but when you are spending a £200+ on a headset, it is nice that it arrives in a fancy bit of packaging. All of the card is of a high quality and the pictures of the headset are clear and artistically done.

The back breaks down a lot of the most exciting features of the headset like the transducer technology, detachable cable and plush velvet ear pads. Inside, along with the headset itself, you find a pair of cables for hooking the headset up to your PC, a warranty leaflet and a quick set up guide.

For such an expensive gaming headset, you might expect the Sennheiser PC 373D to have big RGB lighting, some giant styling features and be big, brash and loud – but that is not the case at all. It is very understated, with a matt black paintjob that covers almost all extremities and only a little bit of red styling here and there.

It is not even made with exotic metal or anything that fancy. It is a plastic framed headset. It feels sturdy and flexible, but not unbreakable. Be careful twisting the frame too much. I would want to bring a carry case with me if I was travelling with these. Not because they are fragile, but because when you are spending this much, if they are not made of cast iron you want a bit of added protection.

 

The ear cups on this headset are matt black, just like the rest of it, with some perforated grills which let air circulate so you do not overheat while wearing these cans. On the right hand side, there is also a volume wheel, which is easy to find while the headset is in use and gives you manual volume control without the need for a weighty in-line remote.

Inside you have velvet earcups, which are very sort to the touch, with a red interior that does give the headset a little bit of style out of the mass of black.

The ear cups have some movement to them, like the headband does, meaning it should be easy to get them in the right position when on your head. There is also plenty of space inside the earcups, which makes fitting them over your ears a cinch.

The headband is similarly well padded, offering a thick and comfortable band of material to rest on your head. It also has plenty of give, so this headset should fit those with even the largest of heads.

The left hand ear cup has a 3.5mm connector for the audio cable, which lets you plug just the standard cable in for straight 3.5mm audio, or attach the additional Dolby surround sound adaptor which outputs to a standard nickel plated USB connector.

Alongside that hole though, you will find the microphone boom. This is hard-attached, so is not removable. But it can be rotated to and from your face to give you some customisation on placement, or you can move it out of the way if you do not need it at the time.

The microphone itself looks particularly cool, with some red, anodized aluminium bands along its length and on the mic-input. It looks so good, I wish there was some more of it at certain spots around the headset to make it stand out a little more.

Methodology

To test the Sennheiser PC 373D surround sound headset, I used it for a period of two weeks as my day to day headset. That involved playing a number of games from different genres with it, as well as listening to music and watching a couple of movies. All the while I noted it for its audio capabilities, including placing sounds in a 3D space, its comfort and build quality.

Gaming audio and surround sound

Considering Sennheiser is not particularly well known for its gaming hardware, you might expect this headset to be more capable when it came to music listening, rather than the sounds and noises of your average game. You would be wrong though.

This pair of cans sound absolutely fantastic in every game we threw at them. In big, explosive shooters, there was a great sense of presence in the audio field. The surround sound effect, though virtual, was impressive to say the least, letting you hear bullets as they whip past you, or explosions that rock the floor from somewhere behind you.

The same was true in virtual reality titles, where positional audio is incredibly important. It can go a long way to making you feel immersed in the scene and especially in smaller scale experiences; hearing something behind you rather than sort of, omnidirectionally (as is the case with stereo headsets) can make a big difference in how realistic the scenes feel.

Hearing this guy roaring away in the distance is always terrifying with a good headset. Source: TreyNutz

While surround sound enthusiasts or those that want a truly accurate headset for Esports or VR gaming may prefer a real surround sound speaker system, or a multi-driver headset, the PC 373D does a great job with what it has. Indeed it does a much better job than most other virtual surround sounds we have tested and even sounds better than a couple of real surround sound sets too.

When you are not so worried about knowing exactly where your enemies are coming from, the Sennheiser PC 373D is equally impressive. The headset delivers booming explosions and a strong representation throughout the frequency range to make sure everything from in-game dialogue, to subtle changes in environment noises are captured and broadcast at crystal quality to your ears.

You know you have a good headset on when you hear something new in the sound mix that you did not pick up on before.

If I had one complaint about the Sennheiser PC 373D headset during game testing, it is that I occasionally wished for a little more volume. Even with the headset at its maximum and my system likewise, there were times when I wished for a louder boom, or a more terrifying roar from some alien entity.

For most gaming situations it is plenty loud and you can of course use in game controls to give yourself a little added oompf, but I would have liked a little more raw power too.

Music

Music wise, the PC 373D's do an excellent job of reproducing all sorts of sounds in a variety of different genres. It has a wonderfully full bodied sound, with extremely well represented parts of the spectrum.

The bass is heavy and thick and these cans easily reproduce the punchy bass that is common in a lot of dance tracks, as well as that ulra low rumbly bass. Better yet, at full volume there is no change in the crispness and clarity of the audio, which is not something you can say for most headsets.

There are also no obvious weak points in the mix. The mids are just as powerful as the bass but highs come through without being buried by their counterparts at other frequencies.

My only criticism is that again, I wished for a little more volume. There is plenty for listening to music comfortably, as with the game playing, but it would be nice to occasionally be able to turn these cans up to 11 and that functionality just is not there.

Comfort

The fit of these headphones is very sturdy. The earphones sit very snuggly against your head, which might feel a little odd to start with, but it is far better than having the ultra-loose, slide-off-your-head feel of headsets like the ASUS Strix set we reviewed recently.

The padding in the earcups and on the headband is excellent and cushions your head in a manner that means you can play or listen for hours upon hours without difficulty. My head never felt like it became too hot, or that the headset might slip from it. Likewise my ears were never crushed by overly aggressive foam and the whole fit was sturdy, but far from heavy.

These headphones have an excellent fit.

Microphone

The microphone sounded fantastically clear, much more so than most gaming headsets I have tested in the past. This is something that could be of a major boon to those who are regular team players, as making sure people can hear what you are saying is very important.

I liked how the microphone mute was built into the boom's movement, clicking the mic on as you bring it down, or turning it off as you raise it.

Software

One area I did have a few problems with the PC 373D headset was with Sennheiser's software. Although it worked initially, I soon found myself incapable of even opening it. While the headset still functioned, I had to spend a lot of time uninstalling, reinstalling and fiddling around with it to bring it back to a working condition.

This could have been a fluke with my particular hardware set up, but it is not something I have encountered with any other manufacturers.

When it was working, the software was simple and effective, but did not offer anything that really made it stand out.

There are simple EQ presets, as well as the ability to turn on and off microphone noise cancelling. It's not the most impressive feature set, but it offers some basic customisation.

For a company that does not often try its hand at hardware marketed at gaming audiences, Sennheiser sure does a good job of it. The PC 373D are an absolutely fantastic set of gaming headphones, offering much higher quality sound than your average gaming headset, with a few nice features – but at a price.

Although this headset may look a little dull on the outside, inside it is hiding some absolutely fantastic hardware. The audio produced in games, movies and when listening to music is really of an order of magnitude better than even some of the £100+ gaming headsets we have reviewed.

The music playing abilities of this headset cannot be overstated either, as while some headsets are not as capable of producing the nuanced sounds of certain tunes, these ones can. And that makes a real difference in games with wonderful soundtracks as you get the full experience, rather than just catering to the booms and bangs of the action sequences.

Not only that but its surround sound capabilities are excellent. Despite being software controlled (virtual), the positioning of audio sources in games' 3D spaces was simply excellent, giving a real feel that a sound was ahead or behind the player.

It is not quite perfect, as I do feel like these headphones lack the kind of ear splitting volume that is always nice to turn to occasionally when losing yourself in a gaming world, or really blasting that favourite track of yours. The software is a bit weak too, though that could be improved with time.

It is supremely comfortable though. I have worn it for hours at a time without difficulty.

The only big problem with this headset is its price. At north of £200, it is not a cheap headset. Though it is worth it if you really value your sound quality and want a great gaming and music listening headset, this is outside of most people's budgets.

You can buy the Sennheiser PC 373D from Overclockers UK for £219.95.

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Pros

• Fantastic sound quality in games, music, movies.
• Supremely comfortable throughout hours of play.
• Strong microphone boom, great mic clarity.
• Surround sound placement is excellent.

Cons

• Could do with a bit more volume.
• Looks bland.
• Very expensive.
• Some minor issues initiating software.

KitGuru says: The Sennheiser PC 373D is up there with some of my favourite gaming headsets ever. I just wish it had a bit more volume and was not quite so expensive. While certainly worth it for the quality, it is hard to justify that much unless your PC is already a monster and you have the cash spare.

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