Sennheiser has always been at the leading edge of the industry when it comes to gaming headsets. One looks back at the Game One headset and the PC 363D headset with fond memories of an immersive auditory experience. But it’s time for an upgrade, specifically for the latter of the two headsets I mentioned. The Sennheiser PC 373D is the latest derivative of the immersive, surround sound headset yet to come from the German company and while the price is quite the premium, so is the product.
Sleek, polished and velvet-heaven is how I would describe the PC 373D. The matte black plastic and the plush, black velvet ear cups serve to give it a rather pristine appearance. The ear cups themselves have grills on the outside, giving you the impression of an engine inside each ear cup (more on that below). And while you can’t remove the microphone, the glossy red bands on its boom arm just adds to the premium design of the PC 373D.
Hands down, the PC 373D is the most comfortable headset I’ve ever used in my life. If you wear glasses, which I do on account of being too lazy to wear my contact lenses on a daily basis, then you’ll be familiar with the agonizing feeling of having the frame of your spectacles dig into your temples when you wear headsets. The result is having a rather comical, mercifully temporary, indentation on your skin. I normally rectify this by having my glasses rest on my headset ear cups instead of my ears, which while more comfortable isn’t as secure. But rather than go on about glasses and the 69 different ways you can position them, my point is that not once during the 6-hour sessions a day I wear the PC 373D do I feel them digging into my skull.
The 373D is light, weighing just 355 grams. That, coupled with the velvet padding on the headband, results in me often forgetting I’m still wearing it, leading to rather droll situations where I get up and walk away only to be yanked back by the cord. The headband itself is adjustable, letting the headset scale comfortably to a number of head sizes and the swivelling earcups ensure that your ears are always securely locked away in acoustic heaven. Furthermore, thanks to the open design of the earcups and the grills, it never gets too hot.
But the important question is, how does it sound when it comes to games?
The 373D features Dolby 7.1 surround sound, but to make it work you’ll have to download the audio drivers off of Sennheiser’s site but trust me it’s worth it. The result is a truly immersive gaming experience that’ll knock your socks off. Every game I tested out with this headset sounded absolutely mellifluous as though it had been lacking something before. The sound of fire crackling to a horse’s gallop in the Witcher 3 became alive, leading me to once again spend a couple of hours simply traversing the game’s landscape. Similarly, first person shooter games like Overwatch, which relies heavily on audio cues, were transformed. Arrow’s whizzing past my head could easily be pinpointed in origin thanks to the 373D’s surround sound feature and more often than not I was alerted to the presence of a flanking Genji thanks to the sound of his footsteps. While the PC in PC 373D is self-explanatory, that doesn’t mean the headset won’t work on a Playstation 4. However, the surround sound feature won’t work. That said, it still sounds significantly better than any stereo headset I’ve used, even with the surround sound turned off, though you do notice a loss in directionality.
The companion software is largely responsible for the extra kick when it comes to the surround sound and it’s attractive, largely because it isn’t overly complicated. You can choose from 3 available presets to fine tune your audial experience, or you can turn the equaliser off for a more balanced and neutral encounter. The “music” preset gives a boost to bass, and the “game” preset is nearly identical. It’s the “Esport” preset that truly stands out, as it’s thanks to this that I could pinpoint the location of my opponents from their footsteps in-game. Furthermore, the software also lets you toggle the microphone’s noise cancellation and the feedback loop, to let you hear your own voice when chatting.
The mic itself is fantastic, picking up your voice from around -35 decibels and thanks to the noise cancelling, the audio you hear through the headset won’t “leak” to the microphone. Friends I chatted to were relieved about that last bit, and when recording myself on Audacity, my voice came out crisp and clear. Muting yourself is as easy as lifting the mic boom up to hear a satisfying click, signalling that no one can hear you munch away on your lunch. The two cables that come with the 373D results in just under 3 metres worth of freedom, letting you pace around your desk whilst listening to your favourite tunes. A button on the cable’s dongle lets you toggle the surround sound off and on, something that is also signaled by a LED light on the dongle changing colour from red to white. Unfortunately, my main concern with the PC 373D is the lack of a normal 3.5 mm cable; Sennheiser uses a USB cable for connecting to your PC. That and the price (it retails for around $250) is a deterrence for most prospective buyers.
However, the Sennheiser PC 373D outperforms most of the competition in nearly every single avenue, from sound to voice clarity and comfort. While it isn’t wireless and lacks a normal 3.5 mm analog cable, it’s a premium product with a premium price tag attached.
