I never thought I’d be able to sit here and talk about a bottom-of-the-line gaming headset that comes with an asking price fast approaching £100. But with the EPOS | SENNHEISER GSP 300 Closed Acoustic Gaming Headset, that’s exactly what I’m doing.
You see, EPOS | SENNHEISER are well known in the audio industry as one of the go-to names for those looking for a top quality sound experience, and that means you’re going to have to pay up for what they deliver. Recently they’ve brought all their skills and knowledge to the gaming world with multiple lines of headsets, and seen great success – the GSP 602 and GSP 500 lines are nothing but superb. But with any brand, you’re going to find a lower quality headset that kicks off the chance for gamers to join the party with an entry price point, and a simple product. That’s where the EPOS | SENNHEISER GSP 300 Gaming Headset comes in. And you know what? It’s bloody good.
‘Entry level headset’ in the whole EPOS | SENNHEISER range means a product that kicks off with an asking price of £89.99. Now, I can’t ever pretend that this is ‘cheap’, and it’s most certainly still going to be out of the range of many looking for a first foray into the audio scene – especially when you can pick up headsets for less than £20 like the admittedly rubbish TRUST GXT 310 Radius – but for something that allows EPOS | SENNHEISER to come to the market at pretty much half the price of their other headsets, it’s definitely worth consideration.
Coming with the SENNHEISER name attached pretty much guarantees that you’re going to be getting good audio, and it is that which is the star of the show here. The GSP 300 comes in a black and blue variety, with the same slightly mechanical feel and visual look that the rest of their range comes with. Created from black plastic with hints of blue seeping out of the inner earcups, the headband padding, and around important areas like the volume dial and flip to mute mic, while it won’t blow you away, looks really nice. I do have issues with the plastic used though as it feels a bit low quality for something that is coming in with nearly a £100 price point, however this in turn allows the 300 to come in at only 265 grams in weight. In turn, this ensures that this is easily a headset that you can throw into a backpack, or pass around family members without a care in the world. In fact, that’s what has regularly been occurring in this house, with the GSP 300 sitting on the side and becoming the go-to headset for family members looking for a quick audio hit.
It feels good in the hand, and is super comfortable on the head, mostly due to the blue padding which covers the underside of the split headband. Whilst not delivering the most padding I’ve ever seen on a headset, when combined with the weight, the pressure-relieving headband split and the overall fit, it works brilliantly; this is quite simply an audio bringer that can be worn for three minutes or three hours without a care. It’s helped along further still by some really well-designed oval earcups that come with a ton of cushioning. With closed backs so little audio creeps out and the important stuff is kept in – although, it’s certainly not sound isolating – and a leatherette feel to the cups that caress your ears, this provides a wonderful fit no matter what size head you own. The earcups also attach to the rest of the headset via ball pivots which, whilst not allowing for swivel, do make sure the overall fit is on point. Of course, you also get a fully adjustable headband to help.
Running off of the outer side of the right earcup is a simple to use main volume dial, with a permanently attached 2-metre long cable allowing you to plug and play the GSP 300 into whichever device you are using: as long as it comes with a 3.5mm jack, you’re sorted here with Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, PC and mobile gamers all covered. The left cup meanwhile plays host to the flip-to-mute mic, and this is a sturdy old beast. Flipping down with ease, and up again to mute, this mic is similar to those found on the likes of the GSP 602 and is quite possibly one of my favourite mics of recent years. It allows you to chat to online party friends with ease, and throughout my time with this headset I have seen communications between teams be nothing short of brilliant. EPOS | SENNHEISER sell this on the back of being ‘broadcast quality and noise-cancelling’ and I’d personally have no qualms about using it for any form of broadcast.
The sound coming in is just as good. Again, that SENNHEISER name comes to the fore whenever we talk about audio – it’s why I’ve been a brand fan for decades – and that which is found here is superb. It feels slightly bassier than many other units on the market, but you can also easily pick out the detail in pretty much everything you are listening to; whether that be your favourite tunes off YouTube Music, or in gaming sessions that require a deft audio touch. Perhaps turning the volume right up to the max brings a bit of harshness to the party, but really that’s being a massive nitpicker and for the most part it’s more than loud enough to ever really feel the need to push things to 11. In all, if you buy this headset, you’ll love the sound provided.
In fact, should you buy the EPOS | SENNHEISER GSP 300 Gaming Headset you’ll probably be very impressed with everything it brings. Aside from some scratchy plastic outers, it does the job required of any headset, let only a brand entry level one. It feels great on the head, it provides some awesome sound, and the mic is a joy to use. Of course, you’ll need to put up with a single cable running from headset to device of choice, but honestly that’s never really an issue and in some ways it’s a better option than having to worry about charging and battery woes. £90 may seem a lot of money for EPOS | SENNHEISER’s baby headset – and I’d still try and find the extra cash for a purchase of the GSP 602 – but if you find the GSP 300 within your budget, this is 100% a headset to consider.
Huge thanks go out to EPOS | SENNHEISER for providing the GSP 300 Gaming Headset for unboxing and review. If you wish to pick up a unit for yourself, head on over to the EPOS | SENNHEISER direct.
Related: Unboxing the EPOS | SENNHEISER GSP 300 Gaming Headset
