Stellar Sound, Interesting Build Quality
Welcome back to another review here at OneMoreReview. Today I have finally decided to review my Sennheiser gsp 500's powered by a Sound BlasterX G6. I have ran this setup across many electronics over the last year and I feel like I have gathered enough of an opinion on this product someone else may find useful. Lets dive right into the review by approaching this as if you, the glorious reader, were a pal of mine and asked my what I thought of these particular headphones.
Right off the bat I am going to tell you to check the price on these bad boys. Coming in at $230 new and in the box, it is a pretty large hole in the ole wallet. Even in the used in good to okay condition, the Sennheiser gsp 500's are around the $150-$190 price point. Which I recently checked on for a reason I will discuss further into the review. Lets say you already knew about the price point and decided you were finally going to adventure into 'high quality' headphones. I will say awesome, these were some of my first pair of what I believed at the time to be top-tier headphones. Don't get me wrong, in terms of sound these headphones sound like a warm breeze rolling off salty ocean waves on a sunny day. True easy listening, great for the whole competitive gaming scene, but even better at just listening through that same playlist you have heard a thousand times. These headphones have consistently surprised me what can be done with a external DAC and some good cans.
Now in terms of build quality these headphones look pretty cool if you're looking for that very abstract gaming theme. The design of the each individual side looks phenomenal with the silver metal bracing connecting each can to the head strap. The soft bits of red ringing the microphone fixture on the left and then around the volume knob on the right. The over-head band is very comfy with two strips of foam that get the job done. Also this headset has adjustable pressure points in the head band to really fine tune the overall head feel for the user. The memory foaminess of the cups and the headphone strap feel amazing every time you put them on. The open back design is the perfect for opening up the sound stage while also letting ambient sound through. The one draw back here and with many headphones of this caliber is the amount of plastic used. While it has the silver connecting piece on each side that is made of metal, the majority of this headset is plastic and feels like it. After a year of own the Sennheiser gsp 500's the left side of the adjustment mechanism snapped and while the wires are still connected, I have not found another solution to fix the brace besides the classic strip of duct tape.
Lets talk a bit more about the sound of these headphones and why they are great for casual computer usage, all purpose gaming, and true music listening. As I previously mentioned, these headphones are open-backed which means the have a section in the cup that allows noise to escape and enter. While right off the bat that may not sound good for the competitive gamer, they work beautifully when paired with the Sound BlasterX G6 and probably most external USB style DAC/AMPs. Footsteps, character ques, and ambient playing field noises are crisp and clear. Also, this headset comes with a microphone that mutes itself whenever its lifted to the resting up position. The microphone works well is is better than most headphones with a mic even in a noisy environment. Since the Sennheiser gsp 500's are open-backed, if you are in a noisy environment these may not be for you unless you care to blast your eardrums and crack these bad boys to 11. Since these headphone are open-backed, others around you will be able to hear what you are listening to depending on how high you turn up the volume. For me though, this is not an issue and I now prefer these style of headphones when I care to sit down for play games.
