We’ve been looking at quite a few different gaming headsets here at Techaeris lately. Our Sennheiser PC 373D review takes a look at a 7.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset with a USB connection, pro noise-cancelling microphone, and velvet plush ear pads.
Specifications
The Sennheiser PC 373D 7.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset has the following features and specifications:
- 7.1 Surround Sound
- Pro noise-cancelling microphone
- High comfort cushioned headband and plush velvet ear pads
- Integrated volume control on right ear cup
- Impedance Headphone: 50 Ω
- 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
- Color: black
- Wearing style: Headband
- Connector: USB
What’s in the Box
- Sennheiser PC 373D 7.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset
- 1.7m Surround Dongle cable
- 1.2m Micro-USB to USB cable
- Surround Dongle quick guide
- Safety guide
- 2-year warranty
Design
One of the first things you might notice with the Sennheiser PC 373D 7.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset is that the ear cups and headband is lined with a soft velvet material instead of the usual felt, leatherlike, or leather material. The velvet plush headband and ear pads are very comfortable and are definitely very soft on the ears. The ear cups are connected with a thick adjustable head band, and the Sennheiser logo is printed just below the adjustment arms.
The ear cups are angled back, with the bottom of the ear cup sitting more forward than the top. While the ear cups twist slightly in and out to match the angle of your head, they do not tilt forward and back. When the ear cups are positioned on your ears, I found in my case that the headband felt like it rested a bit more forward on my head than I usually like. It wasn’t uncomfortable by any means, but I definitely would have liked to see less angle on the ear cups or at least more adjustable ones.
The ear cups themselves are constructed of a hard plastic with a metal piece in the center of the outside. This metal plate has vents in it for an open acoustic design which also adds “cool comfort” while wearing for extended periods. The right ear cup has a volume dial, making it easy to adjust your volume while in the middle of a game.
The microphone is attached to the left ear cup and tilts up and down. Tilting it up mutes the microphone, while pulling it down allows you to use it during gaming to speak with fellow gamers. The microphone boom arm has some nice red accents, and the actual microphone end has a series of ten cutouts on each side with red mesh visible adding a nice touch.
The Surround Dongle connects into the left ear cup via a 3.5mm audio jack. The Micro-USB cable then attaches to Surround Dongle and to your computer via the USB-A connection on the other end. The Surround Dongle is pretty simple and has a single Dolby button for toggling 7.1 surround sound on and off, and an LED light near the end that changes color from red when surround sound is off to white when surround sound is on.
Overall, this gaming headset is pretty well designed and very comfortable for extended sessions but could use a couple minor tweaks as mentioned.
Sound
The Sennheiser PC 373D is an excellent sounding 7.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset. Everything from lows to highs is crisp and clear, and when toggling between surround sound on and off, you really notice the difference. Sounds come from all directions, and it definitely lends to a more immersive gaming experience.
Gaming in 7.1 surround sound definitely has its advantages in most games, especially first-person shooters, and makes general gaming a more enjoyable experience as well. I did have issues with the headset on one computer with explosions and lower tones sounding a bit muddied, but on the other three computers I tested the headphones on the sound was crisp and clear across the board so I’m going to have to chalk that one up to computer issues with the one system.
Music sounded great as well, although there could be just a touch more bass for music output.
Microphone/Voice Quality
During our testing, the microphone worked just fine with the other parties being able to hear my fairly clear and crisp. Being able to flip the microphone boom arm up to mute is handy as well and worked as expected.
Software
The Surround Dongle software is pretty simple and allows you to do some very basic functions. With it, you can toggle surround sound, change your preset from off to Music, Gaming, or eSports, toggle microphone noise reduction on or off, and set the microphone sidetone between off, low, mid, and high. Music and Gaming sound pretty similar, while eSports really emphasises voices and speech for better clarity.
While the software does work, it would be nice if the software had more configuration and custom equalization options like other gaming headphones are apt to include for finer sound tuning.
Price/Value
The PC 373D gaming headset has an MSRP of $249.99USD which is a decent price given the comfort and 7.1 surround sound options.
Wrap-up
The Sennheiser PC 373D 7.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset is a comfortable, great sounding gaming headset which could use some more configuration options in its included software.
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