EPOS I SENNHEISER GSP 670 Wireless Gaming Headset, Low-Latency Bluetooth, 7.1 Surround Sound, Noise-Cancelling Mic, Flip-to-Mute, Audio Presets, For Windows PC, PS4, and Smartphones , Black

This is going to be LONG. This is a VERY detailed and honest review where I tell you why you *shouldn't* buy this headset. If you want to skip the details, there is a conclusion on the last line. EDIT: I wanted to add this because I felt it was important. Sennheiser was quick to respond and initiate my RMA for this headset, but after shipping it they stopped responding. A few days after receiving the headset, I emailed them again asking for a status update as I had not received a refund. No answer. Sent 2 more times each a few days apart and no response. I eventually had to file a chargeback with PayPal and they refunded me. That was over a month ago and Sennheiser never responded to a single email of mine, even after the chargeback. Point is, NEVER order direct from them, as it took me over 2 months to get my money back for this trashy helmet. Anyway, onto the original review below. Let me preface. I'm a big Sennheiser fan. Favorite audio brand by far. I have the HD600, 598, 280 and would like a pair of 800S one day. For gaming, I had my HD600s with an Antlion mic stuck on it with a Schiit amp/dac. In terms of sound quality and comfort? Perfect. I wanted wireless. I can't stand the cable getting stuck in my chair. I did my research and found that they were all pretty bad in one way or another. Some have poor sound quality, some have poor comfort, some have poor wireless quality, and some have poor battery life. These headphones have amazing sound quality. Very impressive for wireless. That's where the list of GSP 670 "pros" ends. First of all, the software is TERRIBLE. So on day one I open the box and plug the headphones in via the cable (which is micro-USB in 2019, not USB-C because Sennheiser was too cheap to pay the license fee) and it says there has a firmware update. Noise. I do this, it takes a few minutes, cool. Then it says the dongle has one too. Cool, updated. Then... it says the dongle has an update again but it won't allow me to install it. Anyway, a reboot and that fixed this problem. Now the next problem with the software. Its battery life indicator is buggy as hell. When opening the suite it will quickly show the correct battery life and then change to 100%. You can use the button on the headset itself to tell you the battery life, but that's annoying because it's not easy to press. You have to hold the headset with your hand as you slide that stiff slider back. This is also a very, very rough battery estimate. It is often indicated "battery above 80%" then 20 minutes later "battery above 60%". Yes, it only goes in 20% increments. If my phone can do better, so can you, Sennheiser. Well, that's annoying, but at least there's no real problem with the battery, is there? Wrong. Many times I've had this thing low (battery over 40% depending on headset and software) and it will just disconnect/die. I don't know if the battery is dying or something else, but it happens when the battery is low. Actual battery life seems pretty consistent with their claims. I can play for 12-14 hours without them dying on me. They are closed off and have no "side tone" as they call it. Sidetone is a feature where a tiny part of your voice is reflected in your ears so you don't shout due to noise isolation. It depends on the headset manufacturer's implementation, as doing it through third-party software has a noticeable lag (0.5-1 second). All major helmet brands have this. Shame on you Sennheiser. The wireless range is not very good. I had to move the receiver on the USB hub 2 feet from my head. When it was 4th in my computer there were sometimes noticeable static. I can also barely reach the kitchen in my tiny apartment before they start cutting. My friend's Corsair headset reaches downstairs in his crazy backyard. It's like three times the range of those. There is also a huge lag/latency issue when using voice chat programs like Discord. There will be a legitimate 2-3 second delay in my voice and I can see Discord recording my voice a few seconds after speaking. It's a widespread problem and everyone experiences it, so if it's something you'll be using the headset for (which, of course, is a GAMING headset with a mic), then it's is only one reason to avoid it. It's very bad. Apparently this is due to you walking out of range of the receiver. It's a wireless headset. Part of the reason it's so cool is the ability to walk to the kitchen/bathroom without taking it off. It's been over a month since Sennheiser recognized the problem and still no solution. This is UNACCEPTABLE for a $350 helmet ($400 with tax). Let's talk about a major problem with switching from these to speakers, as I do several times a day. When you plug the headset in to charge, it has 3 audio devices. Two for output (sound), one for input (voice). I don't know why there are two for the release, but there are. One labeled "Speakers" and the other "Headset Earpiece". The speakers are the only ones that actually transmit sound, so you just set it as the default device. Easy, right? Wrong. Once you remove the cable and go wireless, it disables those three audio devices and creates 3 different ones. This means you need to go to Discord/your game/windows etc. and change the default device each time. scary. time you want to charge the thing and use it while plugged in. Wait, I said I wanted to talk about speaker swapping, what does that have to do with speakers. Well, the only way to easily switch from headphones to speakers is to use a program like SoundSwitch. You choose two devices, set up a hotkey, and press the button to swap the default device. Works *beautifully*, that is, until you plug it in and it all ruins because now the audio devices have all changed. Sometimes it doesn't, but sometimes it messes things up SO badly that my games, Windows, and Discord will all refuse to send audio to the headset even when manually changing the input/output for the specific apps. Alright, I've lasted long enough. Let me talk about comfort and I will conclude. The comfort is terrible. It's fine initially but it's very heavy and there isn't really any clamping force on the sides to support the weight of the helmet. Everything is held by the top band on top of your head. This is a problem because after a few hours of play there is a literal indentation on your skull/scalp. You may have seen some of Tyler1's memes online where he has huge bumps on his head. Well, that's right, it's caused by crappy helmet designs. This shrinkage *hurts* and looks like a bruise. It takes almost half a day to get away. Luckily, I have hair to cover it up, but damn it, if you're bald, you'll look so dumb. Time for a conclusion. The sound quality is great, everything else sucks. The wireless quality sucks. buggy software. Huge lag in Discord/Skype etc. Battery issues. The wireless range is poor. Micro-USB in 2019. Awful comfort. The lack of a "side tone" feature on the closed-back headset means you'll be shouting a lot. 2/5 stars because the sound quality on a wireless gaming headset is awesome so it doesn't quite deserve 1 star, but I've given it a lot of thought.