EPOS I SENNHEISER GSP 500 Wired Open Acoustic Gaming Headset, Noise-Cancelling Microphone, Adjustable Headband with Customizable Contact Pressure, Volume Control, PC + Mac + Xbox + PS4, Pro –Black/Red

I bought both HD 660s and GSP 500s for comparison for PC gaming purposes: tldr:HD660s A word of warning about SteelSeries Arctis sponsored - be sure to look for these outside of amazon... nothing about it. Initial impressions: I used lossless music for initial testing and then got into the game. I appreciate and like good sound but by no means an audiophile. For some reason, one of my biggest issues was getting past the marketing of surround sound headphones. I've learned that your sound card, windows etc will turn any headset into surround if you want it, you don't need to buy a brand name USB surround (commercially available) headset for this. The GSP500 sounds wonderful, in fact, it sounds awesome. Without having anything to compare them too, I would have kept them because they sound really good. However, between these and the HD660s, it's a tougher choice. I won't say it's dramatic, but the difference is significant enough to justify spending the extra coin on the 660's IF you're using your headphones for music and desire a wider, more accurate stage. It's quite pronounced. Obviously the HD660s must be used with a separate desktop microphone. The GSP500s are a bit more punchy, they seem to have a bit of a deeper bias, and lose some small details in the mids. An example, on the HD660s, I could choose the sound of a guitar note being pulled from the string, rather than just hearing the guitar note on a particular acoustic song during the test. The most dramatic difference between them was the width of the soundstage on the HD660s. This could be attributed to the fully open design of the 660 versus the open port of the GSP500. The sound of the GSP500 is wide, wider than a much tighter closed back. It REALLY helps with positioning and range. The HD660 I found a bit more precise on positioning. The partially closed feature of the GSP controls some loss of sound coming out of the cups. It also isolates slightly more outside noise than the HD660s, while retaining the feel and comfort of the open back. For gaming, this could be the perfect balance. The GSP500s are 28 ohms, while the HD660s are 150 ohms. Don't forget to adjust your sound card for the difference in ohms. Mine had a selector. My cup size is 7 5/8", the GSP500s were comfortable, after a while the ear cups seemed to fit into place. No problem wearing them for 6 hours. The adjustable tension on the GSPs is really smart. -head is a bit bulkier on the GSP, I ended up finding the HD660 more comfortable, lighter, less bulky all around.perfect.The little machined fittings on the GSP are a great touch, where the wire plugs in and on the ear cups it has a quality, masculine, machined feel and look.They really feel and look like a quality set as they are.I don't think any headphones will recreate properly configured 5.1 speakers and adjusted in terms of surround positioning.However the quality of the audio itself is 10x better than my surround speakers (low end by z906 comparison),this goes for BOTH the GSP500 and HD660s.Mic quality on the GSP 500 had u no lingering effect noise cancellation, which diminished part of the range of my voice when transmitting. The blue yeti usb wins here. The GSP500 mic is very tolerant of background noise and does a good job of suppressing noise at the expense of some vocal range. A desktop mic like the yeti is going to give you extra range, but you need to stay on top of the background noise because it's going to pick up everything. If you're buying open-back headphones, you're probably already in a pretty quiet environment. Ultimately, if you can afford the HD660s, enjoy a bit more detail in sound, a wider stage, will listen to music, go with the HD660s. Otherwise I think the GSP500 sounds 85-90% as good as the HD660, includes a great mic, for half the price it's a ton of value. Specifications: Win10, z170 i7 6700k, sound card: creative AE-5 used as direct sound to headphones, Blue Yeti usb microphone