Epos | Sennheiser GSP 300 review

Our Verdict

85%

Neither versatile nor stylish, but this is a very accomplished gaming headset for the price.

The GSP 300 is Epos | Sennheiser’s entry-level stereo headset. with seemingly as basic a feature set as you would expect for its modest price. However, just about every aspect of this headset offers better quality and a more considered design than its price and spec list would suggest.

Sadly, it’s not pretty. This is a very utilitarian-looking headset with odd angles, lots of plastic and a thoroughly uninspiring grey and light blue color (at least for our review unit). What this design lacks in style, though, it makes up in terms of practicality. That all-plastic construction results in an impressively light headset – it weighed in at just 266g on our scales, despite its very large, permanently attached microphone. The headband adjustment also offers a wide range of settings, making the GSP 300 a headset that should fit on almost any head – many gaming headsets don’t go small or large enough for extreme head sizes.

That ungainly-looking microphone also makes for a wonderfully easy-to-use setup. Just rotate it down when you want to use it, and flip it up out of the way when it’s not in use – it will auto-mute when upright too.

The rather compact and oddly shaped earcups also impress. They’re deceptively deep inside, so your ears don’t get squashed, yet they’re also shaped in such a way that they provide a good tight grip on your head and secure seal around your ears. For those with particularly large ears, the quite small opening might cause some trouble, but otherwise they’re very comfortable.

Meanwhile, the headband uses a split design with relatively slim strips of padding, but the wide spacing distributes the weight well, and provides breathing room – the padding is also comfortable and soft. Combined with the excellent earcup design and ample adjustability in the headband, you end up with a headset that’s quite close-fitting and noticeable when you first put it on your head, but it remains comfortable for long-term use.

For features, you don’t get a great deal. On the right earcup there’s a very large and easy-to-use volume control wheel, but that’s about your lot. The main 2m cable can’t be unplugged from the headset, so any damage to it means a ruined headset, but that’s typical for headsets of this price range.

The cable terminates in a pair of jack plugs for the headphone and microphone. In the box you then get an adapter for recombining these plugs into a single combi-jack, so you can use the headset with a phone or console. We’d prefer if the cable situation were the other way round, though, with a combined microphone/headphone jack on the main cable and an adapter for splitting the signals. The shorter cable would be more convenient for mobile and console use while the extra cable length of adding a splitter cable would likely be beneficial for use with a PC, where the cable may have to trail over the back of a desk and down to a PC on the floor.

The large microphone justifies its heft, however, with by far and away the best audio quality of any headset in its price range. The massive 10-24,000Hz frequency response provides depth and clarity that far surpasses the more compressed, boxy-sounding mics on most rival headsets.

The headphones similarly deliver good levels of detail, again with their wide frequency range being a key indicator of their prowess. The only caveat is that you’re still subject to a ‘gamer’ sound profile with a fairly pronounced bass and treble boost. It doesn’t muddy the sound as much as some other headsets, but you can clearly hear the way low-end rumble is amped up.

Plus, there is still a reason why more expensive headphones cost more, as this headset can’t quite compete for detail levels and stereo image. Sound quality also depends on the quality of your sound card/headphone amp, unlike USB and wireless headsets that include their own amp circuitry.

Epos | Sennheiser GSP 300 pros and cons

Pros

• Lightweight
• Comfortable
• Great sound quality

Cons

• Fussy design
• Quite bass-heavy sound
• Fixed cable

Epos | Sennheiser GSP 300 specs

The Epos | Sennheiser GSP 300 specs list is:

Epos | Sennheiser GSP 300 price

The GSP 300 isn’t the very cheapest headset available but is still very affordable while delivering comfort, sound quality and ease of use well beyond its price.

Price: Expect to pay $50 USD / £50 GBP

Epos | Sennheiser GSP 300 review conclusion

We’re wowed by this headset. It may not look too stylish, and it doesn’t lend itself at all well to playing double duty as a set of headphones for taking out and about, but it’s super comfortable, easy to use and sounds great. All of which combines to make it our favourite wired stereo gaming headset and earns it a place on our best gaming headset list.