Sennheiser has been offering high-end audio products to high end customers for quite a while now; their name is almost synonymous with top-notch quality.
The PC 373D 7.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset hopes to fit right in to the company’s storied lineage by promising top of the line audio quality and true 7.1 surround sound in the form of a light and comfortable pair of headphones.
There’s pretty stiff competition in the gaming headphone space that can be bought for cheaper – particularly wireless ones, but if you’re in the market for premium audio then the PC 373D should be at the top of your list.
Style
A successor to Sennheiser’s 363D, the 373D looks almost identical with its modest black plastic frame. Red accents adorn the headset, and fit right in with the red plush velvet ear cups. Looking at the 373D, nothing in particular really stands out, that is until you slide the microphone down and notice how abnormally large it is.
The ear cups are angled – which could take some getting used to, as they do not tilt much though they do swivel. On the right ear you’ll find a volume dial for on-the-fly adjustments.
Most pieces on the 373D are plastic, which certainly aid in the comfort and lightness of the headphones, but give them a cheap feel especially when compared to the similarly-priced Blue Microphones Mo-Fi headphones.
Comfort
The 373D weighs in at around 12.5 ounces, a few ounces heavier than the HyperX Cloud Stinger – one of the lightest gaming headsets on the market; so not too shabby. I spent hours gaming and watching a few movies and as a true testament to the headphone’s comfort I rarely had to adjust them or “rest my ears” because I could barely feel them.
The Sennheiser PC 373D are incredibly light and comfortable, and fairly customizable – the headbands have about 2 inches of travel and you adjust them to better fit your head, so a dome as big as mine can fit pretty comfortably in them.
Performance
There’s a lot of technology packed inside these headphones – starting of course with the Dolby 7.1 Surround Sound, then there’s Sennheiser’s proprietary transducer tech which promises hi-fi dynamic audio, the large noise-cancelling microphone, and more.
What this boils down to is an immersive audio experience while gaming or watching movies – both of which I did on my PC.
The 373D’s companion software features 3 presets: Game, Music, and Esport. Game and Music give a noticeable boost to the low-ends while Esport brings up the mids and highs for clearer footsteps and gunshots. The software also allows you to control the equalizer, toggle the noise cancellation, and adjust the sidetones.
The microphone on the 373D feature the flip-up to mute function we’ve become rather accustomed to and have impeccable voice clarity. I was incredibly impressed by the quality of the microphone; crystal-clear is the first adjective that comes to mind.
The included dongle features a single button – a toggle for the Dolby Surround Sound; no volume rocker or mute button which I couldn’t help but miss while I used the 373D.
Quick note about the software, download, installing, and configuring it was a little cumbersome – installing and configuring it for the first time is a 20 step process by itself. That being said, it’s very well worth it because once configured correctly, the 373D’s sound unbelievably good.
Overall
The Sennheiser PC 373D Surround Sound headphones sound spectacular and feel airy-light, but the premium audio does come at a premium price tag, as the 373D does not come cheap. If you care deeply about audio fidelity while gaming, then the 373D’s are the headphones for you – if not, then you were probably looking elsewhere to begin with.
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