Sennheiser is well and truly one of the most respected headphone makers around when it comes to headphones built for listening to music, but some may not know that the company also makes some very successful and great-sounding gaming headphones too. Case in point: the Sennheiser Game One headphones.
These headphones highlight one thing in particular — Sennheiser is a versatile beast. Audiophiles want headphones that reproduce audio purely and without adding their own color to the sound. Gamers, on the other hand, want headphones that enhance their gaming experience — whether it reproduces the sound faithfully or not. We already know that Sennheiser is good at making audiophile headphones, but is it any good at building gaming headphones too? Turns out it is.
Design
The Sennheiser Game One headphones seem to infuse Sennheiser’s classic style with something gamers would be into, and it does so quite well. The headphones look relatively stylish with their white plastic with red trim — a look that does away with Sennheiser’s typical black and gray color scheme.
We mentioned that the headphones are built largely from plastic, and while at first glance that can seem a little flimsy, in reality the headphones have quite a solid build. It’s generally a higher grade of plastic, and on the side you’ll see a grill carved into the plastic, which is helpful in the headphones’ open-back design.
We’ll talk a little more about the velvet ear pads late on, but for now we’ll say that they do collect some fluff during use. That shouldn’t be a big deal for most, but it’s still something to keep in mind.
The controls on these headphones are also extremely easy to use. On the right earcup, you’ll find a single volume wheel, which requires almost no learning curve The left earcup doesn’t really include any controls other than a microphone mute — which is automatic depending on the positioning of the microphone. Lift it up to mute it, and pull it back down in front of your face to activate it again. That microphone is not removable — so there’s no denying that these are purpose-built gaming headphones, and may not be the best choice for taking on the road.
Some might be frustrated at the lack of controls present on these headphones, but we think the simplicity is a good thing. There are cheaper gaming headsets on the market with a more comprehensive feature-set, but it will be important to ask yourself how important these features really are. The Sennheiser Game One’s may not offer a lot of features — but the features they do offer are well-built and easy to use.
In the box you won’t find much, but you also probably don’t need much. Apart from the headphones themselves, you’ll find a standard 1.2m audio cable, and a much longer, 3m cable that splits out the connectors for the microphone and audio source. Even those cables are relatively well built, featuring a nice braided nylon rather than a plastic coating.
Comfort
Of course, design doesn’t mean much if the headphones aren’t comfortable. Thankfully, however, they are. The velvet coating on the earpads is really nice and soft, and is a nice change from the hundreds of leather-padded headphones we review. There’s also a nice amount of foam under that velvent, in both the earcups and on the headband.
Perhaps the only downside is that the clamp on the headphones is really quite tight. It’s not a deal-breaker, to be sure, and once you get used to the feel the headphones will be a lot more comfortable.
Sound
Gaming headset companies often put sound quality well and truly below things like comfort and look, but thankfully that doesn’t seem to be the case for the Sennheiser Game One headphones. Still, while the headphones sound great, some might find them a little too flat.
As mentioned, the Sennheiser Game One headset features an open-back design, which essentially means that outside noise is let in, and inside sounds are let out. This creates an overall slightly more realistic sound, and widens the sound stage a little — which is a good thing. Still, if you generally play in a noisy environment these might not be the best headphones for you.
When it comes to bass, the Sennheiser Game One headphones offers a good amount, but is somewhat lacking at times. A little more bass, and a little deeper bass, would be very welcome on these headphones. That’s not to say that they don’t have bass — just that they could certainly use more, especially for those explosion-heavy gaming experiences.
The mids, on the higher hand, are very well tuned — there’s enough to make sound reproduction nice and realistic, but too many as to cause the audio to sound like you’re listening through a cheap radio. We can’t really fault the mid-range tuning here.
The high-end is similarly well tuned, which is good news for gamers, as it ensures that voices are nice and present, and it adds a shine to things like gunshot noises and the clink of swords.
Microphone
The microphone on this headset is very much a staple of its design — and thankfully it sounds great. Like other Sennheiser gaming headsets, the microphone is noise canceling, meaning it will attempt to pick up only your voice and block out any background noise when you’re not speaking. It seems to do this quite well in most situations, which is great.
When you are speaking, your voice is nice and crisp, and your teammates should be able to hear you well. It won’t replace a dedicated microphone for those recording podcasts or Lets Play videos — but it’ll certainly do the job for most other applications.
Conclusions
The Sennheiser Game One headphones are really a nice pair. They sound great, are pretty comfortable, and have a nice design. Sure, you may miss some of the extra features you can find on other gaming headsets, but if you don’t need those extra features then you’ll be very happy with both the performance and the look of the Sennheiser Game One’s.
Unfortunately, there is one other downside to these headphones — they’re somewhat pricey, at least if you buy them from Sennhesier directly. Thankfully, if you buy them on Amazon or from Best Buy they’re a little cheaper. If you don’t have a budget then these are a great pair of headphones, but if you do, perhaps something like the HyperX Cloud Revolver may be a better choice.
| Store | Price |
|---|---|
 |
$169.97 |
 |
$175.99 |
| Sennheiser | $249.95 |
| Frequency response | 15Hz – 28kHz | Active noise cancellation |
No |
| Driver size | Unknown | Noise attenuation | Unknown |
| Driver type |
Dynamic | On-ear controls | Yes |
| Design |
Open-back | Microphone | Yes |
| Sensitivity | 116dB | Earpad material | Foam |
| Rated impedance |
50Ω | Magnet material | Unknown |
| Total harmonic distortion |
Unknown | Water resistance | No |
| Rated input power |
Unknown | Battery life | N/A |
| Maximum input power |
Unknown | Wireless distance | N/A |
| Wireless connection |
No | Cable length | 1.2m (4ft), 3m (10ft) |
| Wired connection |
3.5mm | Case type | N/A |
| Detachable cable |
Yes | In-the-box | 1.2m cable, 3m cable |
| Weight | 300g (10.6oz) | Colors | Black, white |