Sennheiser Game One or Sennheiser Game Zero?

[Jason099]

I’m currently deciding between getting either the game one or game zero. I’ll be getting it mainly for gaming on my PC. I’ll be using it with my onboard audio for now (SupremeFX onboard audio). I may decide to get a DAC later on but no plans as of right now. For my gaming, directional and positional sound quality is important.

How different is the sound quality between the game one’s and gamer zero's? How much different or better is the directional and positional sound between the two?

I hope anyone who has experience between these two products can help me out to make a decision. Thanks in advance!

 

[ssddx]

apples to oranges.

the game zero is similar to the pc363d and older pc360se headset. they are VERY bass light and concentrate more on treble and midrange. without a decent soundcard i've heard some people say they can be tinny sounding. if you want pure advantage (hearing footsteps easier in fps games) its a good headset but its not one for much enjoyment.

the game one is based on the hd598 headphones. they are fairly neutral in sound signature and are not overly bright nor bassy though bass levels are certainly much better than the zero. they are a bit slow, however this makes them easy listening headphones and many people can listen to them for hours without getting fatigued. the hd598, and likewise the game one, are good all a round headphones if you arent sure what you like and are certainly more enjoyable sounding than the zero would be.

both are decent choices depending on what you expect out of headphones..

if you like the sound of the zero.. you might also like the athadg1 (or just getting ad500x or ad700x headphones and a mic). if you like the sound of the one but wanted more bass, perhaps going with some headphones and separate mic instead.

in any case, a good soundcard would be suggested although you may be fine for now with asus's onboard audio.

 

[Jason099]

apples to oranges.

the game zero is similar to the pc363d and older pc360se headset. they are VERY bass light and concentrate more on treble and midrange. without a decent soundcard i've heard some people say they can be tinny sounding. if you want pure advantage (hearing footsteps easier in fps games) its a good headset but its not one for much enjoyment.

the game one is based on the hd598 headphones. they are fairly neutral in sound signature and are not overly bright nor bassy though bass levels are certainly much better than the zero. they are a bit slow, however this makes them easy listening headphones and many people can listen to them for hours without getting fatigued. the hd598, and likewise the game one, are good all a round headphones if you arent sure what you like and are certainly more enjoyable sounding than the zero would be.

both are decent choices depending on what you expect out of headphones..

if you like the sound of the zero.. you might also like the athadg1 (or just getting ad500x or ad700x headphones and a mic). if you like the sound of the one but wanted more bass, perhaps going with some headphones and separate mic instead.

in any case, a good soundcard would be suggested although you may be fine for now with asus's onboard audio.

Thanks for the fast reply. I've done a bit more digging and read that an open back design is better for positional/ directional sound over a closed back design in FPS games. In this case between the zero's and one's, wouldn't the ones be the better choice in this regard?

I was thinking about the HD 598's actually, it's these three (zeros, ones, HD598) that I was debating between. I just need to know which will give me the best audio of positional/ directional sound in games. Music comes second but not as important to me as my gaming audio.

 

[ssddx]

the game one IS the hd598... with a mic attached. same thing basically.

open headphones have larger soundstaging generally (more depth to the audio). meaning sounds can sound close or far away. closed cans with smaller soundstages might sound much closer to your ears. as for 360 degree positional, both are capable and it depends on the actual headphone in question as for how it performs at this.

generally yes, open is suggested for gaming since many feel the depth of field to the audio helps. this is not to say that it is required...as you can certainly be competitive on closed cans.

as i said before, its up to what kind of audio you like. if you liked the idea of the zero, there is another headset/headphones you can look at. if you like the sound of the one then perhaps that or similar headphones is what you should go with.

 

[Jason099]

the game one IS the hd598... with a mic attached. same thing basically.

open headphones have larger soundstaging generally (more depth to the audio). meaning sounds can sound close or far away. closed cans with smaller soundstages might sound much closer to your ears. as for 360 degree positional, both are capable and it depends on the actual headphone in question as for how it performs at this.

generally yes, open is suggested for gaming since many feel the depth of field to the audio helps. this is not to say that it is required...as you can certainly be competitive on closed cans.

as i said before, its up to what kind of audio you like. if you liked the idea of the zero, there is another headset/headphones you can look at. if you like the sound of the one then perhaps that or similar headphones is what you should go with.

I've actually never tried closed or open headphones to be honest. The only audio products I use are earbuds and a on ear headphone (50$ worth) that don't wrap around the entire ear, rather pressing on it.

I do use my earbuds over my on ear headphones as I feel they are better at blocking out noise but I'm sure the game ones will do a better job then my on ears I have in blocking out noise.

My main decision will be based on which of the two will be better for directional and positional sound. I know that the design of the cups will play a factor but between these two headsets, which of the two would you say would be better for directional/ positional? I don't know to much about these two headsets to make the correct decision other than one is opened and the other is closed and that opened is better for directional sound. The closed is better at blocking out ambient noise and that the closed will make my ears hot over longer sessions of use.

 

[ssddx]

actually... iems (the deep in ear canal ones) are the best at blocking noise out of any type of headphone. canalphones (outside edge of ear canal) arent bad and are similar to some closed cans). earbuds... are not isolating at all.

on ears can be either open or closed as well just like headphones.

both of the choices will offer good gaming performance.. instead of worrying about positional audio between the two i would highly concern myself over what you want them to sound like. most people will like the game one, though the game zero is either a you like it or you hate it deal.

 

[Jason099]

actually... iems (the deep in ear canal ones) are the best at blocking noise out of any type of headphone. canalphones (outside edge of ear canal) arent bad and are similar to some closed cans). earbuds... are not isolating at all.

on ears can be either open or closed as well just like headphones.

both of the choices will offer good gaming performance.. instead of worrying about positional audio between the two i would highly concern myself over what you want them to sound like. most people will like the game one, though the game zero is either a you like it or you hate it deal.

So basically the game ones and HD598s sound very similar if not the same? I assume this is the case for gaming as well? Or is there a difference between these two for gaming?

Sennheiser changed the naming from G4me to just Game, do you know if they changed anything in terms of hardware? The latest versions of the zeros and the one's microphone will sound the same as the earlier versions right? Just making sure so I don't need to go searching for the earlier iterations if somehow the newer ones are somehow worst.

I think I may settle with the Ones but I might purchase both at the same time and test them individually to see which one I like more.

 

[ssddx]

the game one is based on the hd598 so should be the same thing.

not sure if there are any other differences but i know the zero changed in impedance from 150ohm to 50ohm. likely they did a bit of changes since many people were using onboard and having trouble driving them effectively. as far as how they sound... should be similiar. just my thoughts... i havent researched it in depth.

 

[Codex77]

The Game Ones have an open design, so should be more comfortable, with a wider soundstage. They will leak considerably more sound though. They are slightly lighter too but probably not noticeably so - 12g difference. They both have the same mic. The frequency responses are slightly different but probably not noticeably so - One 15-28000 Hz, Zero 10-26000 Hz. The only other real difference is that the One has an impedance of 50 ohm, vs 150 for the Zero. This means that you will need a high end sound card, or decent audio solution to get the best out of the Zeros but that, if you do, you should get a better sound from them.

Both are rated as excellent headphones, so you will be ok whichever one you choose.