Closer Examination

If there's one issue I have with this headset, it's the fact that it's very plasticky, which is especially obvious if you go with the white version. The plastic is omnipresent - it covers the ear cups, microphone, and headband. On the upside, it doesn't creak at all, and it definitely won't break easily, which I found out after dropping the headset on a hardwood floor from a table more than once. The photos you see here were taken after it endured a few such nasty falls. It still looks pristine, without a single scratch or dent anywhere on it. My problem with the plastic isn't that it lacks ruggedness. It's that it doesn't have that luxurious look and feel you'd hope for when you dish out a full $230 for a gaming headset. If we take a look at Sennheiser's very own headphone lineup, it's easy to notice that they offer nicer materials and a more impressive design even in lower priced brackets. A positive side of using plastic is that they ended up with a light headset - the Game One weights 300 grams and feels even lighter.


As already stated, the outer sides of both ear cups are perforated, which means that the Game One is an open-back headset. There are many benefits to such a design, most of which I'll mention in the audio performance section of this review. Functionality-wise, the open-back design lets your ears breathe and stay cool during longer gaming sessions. As you'll hear the sounds that surround you almost as if you weren't wearing headphones at all, you won't feel any pressure in your head either, nor will you be inclined to talk louder than is necessary since you'll clearly hear your own voice and have a good idea of how loud you are. This is the effect that some closed-back headsets try to achieve by using the so-called microphone-monitoring function (the sounds picked up by the microphone are played through the headphones). Here, you get it "natively", so to speak.


The right ear cup contains a smooth volume dial. Its outer edge is perforated, so it takes next to no effort to spin in either direction. At first, I used it with two fingers only to realize that it's supposed to be rotated with only a finger - most likely the index finger of your right hand. I'm a big fan of having the volume dial built into the ear cup instead of having it on an in-line remote control as this way, I always know exactly where it is, which made reaching for it second nature after about two days of using it.


In line with what we saw on the Sennheiser GSP 301, the head of the microphone that's affixed to the Game One is massive, which would explain why it has no trouble picking up your voice even when it isn't very close to the mouth. Its quality is absolutely amazing; we'll get to that in the microphone performance section of the review.


The microphone isn't detachable, but it can be pivoted, so it's possible to move it out of your peripheral vision if it's not being used. Another way to hide it from sight is to push it all the way down, which has it fall slightly below the chin. It remains completely usable in that position, which comes as great news to gamers who are easily distracted by their headset's microphone. To mute the microphone, you simply have to pivot it all the way up. This is a quick and convenient way to mute the microphone as you don't have to look for a button or an in-line remote that's somewhere along the cable.


The large ear cushions are made out of plush velvet and surround the ears completely. The same material was used to cover the inner side of the headband. The fabric covering the speaker drivers is red, which works nicely in terms of communicating the gaming nature of the Game One. Not a fan of plush velvet? No problem - the ear pads can easily be replaced with leather ones (sold separately). Here's how you'll go about doing that:



Even though it isn't obvious initially, the Game One's cable can be detached and replaced. As some of you surely know, Sennheiser doesn't use a regular 3.5-mm audio port on its headphones, rather opting for a 2.5-mm version of the connector. You can get a 2.5-mm-to-3.5-mm audio cable without too much hassle, just not as easily and cheaply as an ordinary 3.5-mm cable. Using a 3.5-mm cable and just sticking a 2.5-mm adapter on to an end isn't a viable option in this case as the hole that hides the connector is fairly deep. You should stick to original cables should you need to replace the supplied ones.


The Game One comes with two cables. The 3-meter one terminates in a pair of TRS plugs, and the 1.2-meter one has a single TRRS plug.