Sennheiser U320 – Hardware Review
To continue the trend of lightweight headsets we will present you our opinion of the Sennheiser U320, which falls in a totally different league when it comes to retail price, compared to the ones we’ve previously discussed on the site. Will price be an obstacle and does price also means quality?
It’s immediately clear that a higher price also means more attention towards detail when designing the headset. The first impression provides us with a sleek and great looking headset. A beautiful implementation of the color blue on the black frame and ear pieces. The padding on the headband doesn’t stand out and the microphone is nicely implemented in the design of the left ear pad. Sadly the microphone cannot be removed from the actual frame. If this was possible, the headset would have also been quite fun to wear outdoors.
As mentioned above, the Sennheiser is a lightweight headset that has been designed for shorter as well as longer gaming sessions. Also there is the option to adjust the headset to your liking if you like it more ‘loosely’ or a tad tighter.
The padding on the inside of the ear pads is softer than most other brands and adjusts to your head accordingly. The pads themselves will cover your ears but will still allow background noise to come through. Again a matter of personal preference is in effect here.
The Sennheiser U320 has a USB connection and serves as an all round headset. This mean you’ll be able to use it for all of your favorite consoles, with the right extra cables attached to it. Of course, hooking this up might take some patience and time, but afterwards, just like the Ceres-500 you can leave the extra cables plugged in, in your television set if you happen to switch a lot between either consoles or console and PC.
Having a cable with a length of four meters will surely give you enough moving space and thus you’ll never have problems when your console or television set isn’t really that close by. Luckily Sennheiser also did the effort to provide you with the extra cables needed for console configuration.
Even though the U320 falls in a higher price range, the control mechanism fitted inside of the cable is still a fairly simple one, but provides you with a fun feature, namely the ‘bass boost’. This will not be like the one on Thrustmaster’s headset, seeing Sennheiser simply chose a on/off button instead of being able to set the bass to your liking. Nonetheless this is a fun feature, especially for those who like the listen as much music as gaming.
Of course sound quality is one of the most important facets when buying a headset and it can be easily said that it is very noticeable that the U320 comes at a more expensive price. The sound is a lot more pure than headsets in a cheaper class. As well as the addition of a bass boost will guarantee you a bass of outstanding quality.
Hearing your companions in the middle of combat, or just when skyping without actually gaming, is no issue either. The sound remains as pure as can be.
Sennheiser opted for a slightly bulkier microphone piece, as with many of the current day headsets. The piece itself is a fairly nice looking one, but cannot be adjusted to your liking in terms of flexibility. You can simply put the microphone up or down, depending on if you’re using it or not. There is also no way of removing the microphone from the headset.
Own opinion
Sennheiser has always been known to deliver items of quality and when looking at the headset alone, without actually testing it, it’s easy to say that the piece of hardware already radiates ‘quality’. The design is firm yet modern.
When it comes to comfort the U320 is also a headset that might be one of the most comfortable pieces that we were able to discuss, sadly comfort often comes at a fairly higher price.
Sound quality was immediately clear upon the first use of the headset. The sound was refined and pure and the implementation of a bass boost was heavily appreciated. Having extra options is always a plus and thus a great feature for those who appreciate music with a punch to it. (Or just a little more bass, when running in the middle of a battlefield.)
Sadly, the microphone piece has no option to be removed, but the creators make up for it by having the option to put it up or down. Combine this with the fact that the headset can only be connected through a USB connection, you’ll have a nice looking headset for even outdoor use that can only be used indoors. A small issue, but a design like this should truly be ‘all round’ for everyone to enjoy.
Conclusion
Even though the Sennheiser U320 comes at a higher price it also provides you with amazing quality. The headset looks great in terms of design, the sounds is equally great as well as user comfort. Add a fun bass boost to the mix and you’re good to go.
Sennheiser U320 - Hardware Review,
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