Hardware Sennheiser G4ME Zero Review

A truly accomplished gaming headset, but it won't be for everyone.
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/peripherals/2014/01/29/sennheiser-g4me-zero-review/1

 

I've had a pair of PC 350's since their release and they have been hands-down the best headset I've ever had, or tried. The 'lack of bass' I have never found to be an issue, it's great in films, games, music (even some good durty hardstyle) so I've never seen that as a flaw.

Still, these do look nice and if my current set were to give up the ghost.... I'd go back to them.

 

Yeah, I was very conscious of not criticising them too much for the lack of bass as it's such a contentious subject, but comparing to the dozens of headsets and headphones I have or have used/reviewed there's no doubt that they are a bit lacking. To a certain degree you get used to the sound of any piece of audio equipment after a while (thus the myth of burn in) but that doesn't mean you can't get 'better' products.

 

Sennheiser having too little bass? Usually their cans have too much of it.

I think that the price is rather steep, and you can definately get more for your money by buying a good pair of $200 stereo-headphone like the AKG K701 and attach a mic to it like the cheap Zalman ZM-MC1 or the excellent AntLion Modmic. And I'd still pay less than for the Sennheiser G4ME Zero actually.

 

Funny you mention the K701 - they're probably about on about the same level for sound signature. Been a while since I heard them, though, so couldn't say for certain. Also only heard the Quincy Jones variant.

 

Sure this generation is a little pricey, especially when you compare them to what they replaced but I've still not found a headset with a comparable sound quality and a truly good microphone in one unit. The ZM-MC1 is frankly awful in comparison, never tried the AntLion Modmic but I'd be surprised if it was on the same level as the Sennheiser boom mic.

 

Personally I like the idea of having a removable mic and so am looking forward to reviews of the FUNC HS 260.

 

I have owned this headset for about a week now and while I agree with most of this review, I find the conclusions around sound quality to be most odd since I have not noticed any lack of bass whatsoever. Coming from my HD800's in fact, they have noticeably more bass impact, though they don't extend quite as low. Compared to my LCD-2's they do have less bass, but those cans are known for their flat frequency response and excellent bass reproduction, and you pay 4 times as much for the privilege. Everything is relative, and personally I wouldn't want any more bass from these as a primarily gaming oriented headset.

Do note however that I have been using my Woo Audio WA7 to drive these - in fact they seem to be harder to drive than my HD800's and about the same as my LCD-2's, so that may be a consideration if you are thinking of buying these. I will have to try them again unamped and see how that affects the SQ.

 

I'd be very interested in the results of this. My current build doesn't have the room for my Asus STX so a cheap external amp may well be the way forward if there is a noticeable difference.

 

Well, the HD800 are rather trebly so that would make sense. I much prefer the warmer sound of the GS1000 and by the sounds of it the LCD-2 would be up my street too. As I said, I was wary not to be too critical of the Zero for its lack of bass but ultimately for the majority of the population that treble-centric sound isn't desirable - it's an audiophile's sound, not a gamer's sound. Not to suggest all gamers want masses of bass but if they're upgrading from, say a PC 323D G4ME then the lack of warmth and impact in the Zero will be disappointing.

 

£200 on headphones....if anything is going to give you buyers remorse the next day, its this.

 

I prefer the term 'detailed' rather than 'trebly'

And FWIW the HD800's are probably some of the best headphones I've used for gaming. Super comfortable to be worn for hours on end and the cavernous soundstage combined with pinpoint imaging mean they're brilliant for positional audio. Not tremendous amounts of bass, but you really do learn to live without it. I guess it's an acquired taste

Haha...how cute

Try dropping £600+ on a couple of pairs of headphones and the same on an amp, then we'll talk

No buyer remorse yet BTW

 

Owning the PC 360, I have found the only problem with these mics is the lack of included foam for a wind screen. If you like to game with a fan blowing on you, this will set off your voice activation (if you use it). Sometimes, even breathing through my nose set it off. If I adjusted my sensitivity settings, the voice activation would not always pick up my voice.

I called Sennheiser to see if they made a foam windscreen for this model, and they did not.

So, I ran down to Guitar Center, and picked up a rather large (only size they had) foam windscreen. I made a cut or two, and used electrical tape to really secure it on the end of the mic. Now I can game without my fan (or my nose) setting off my voice activation. It doesn't look as sexy, but I found it a necessary mod.

Obviously, if you use push-to-talk, this wouldn't be necessary.

Overall, the mic quality is great. I heard some livestreams, and I could tell I had better voice quality than anybody else in my guild.

 

I own an Antlion as well... it is much better than what I used to use which was the mic on the Logitech c910 webcam. Although I do use the SR325is with it, I'd still do the same instead of buying a headset. Although I drive it with my home theater amp, personally I find it much better than any other gaming headset I have owned.

Next up for my purchase after I move for my uni studies will be new headphone amp (o2/odac combo? schiit? Nad 3020?) ... home theater amp (another Onkyo)... speakers (would love to own those B&W 685s)... 2160p TV... hmmm so much stuff... yummy

 

I find it funny how often the thread for a review of a PC gaming headset of any value turns in to an audiophile tech bragging match where people talk in model numbers and that the value of headsets, amps, speakers, etc... mentioned often cost more than most people's PC's as a whole.
Also, there seems to be a wide range of very expensive, high end USB speakers that totally negate the need of a dedicated soundcard, why are these items never covered here on Bit-Tech?

 

Well, the world of 'proper' audio is vast and covered in depth elsewhere so it's never been a priority for Bit-Tech. Obviously there are a few crossover products such as the B&W MM1 and Harmon KardonGLA 55 but they were out well before my tenure.

If there is anything specific you'd like us to review, though, then pop it in the review request thread.

 

Personally I wouldn't know where to start. Maybe it does hint at the answer to the situation I have brought up many a time previously in that with Mini-ITX becoming ever more popular, what do people do (and what are their recommendations) for decent PC audio as you can't add in a dedicated sound card, external USB soundcards are few and far between and the general consensus is that onboard audio is useless.

 

Onboard-audio isn't useless for alot of people, but those who really listen to music instead of just turning the radio on in the background can't be satisfied with onboard-audio ofc.
Or if you just watch some movies with the TV-speakers as an output, the onboard-audio will be sufficient aswell, while people with home-theater-setups cringe thinking about it.

As Meanmotion said, this is primarily a forum for PC-users and not for audiophiles or film-freaks and because of this there's reviews of headsets, but not headphones and there's reviews of small 2.1-systems with integrated amps, but not of 2.0 stereo-speakers that cost a couple hundred pounds.

And sure, people who know some about HiFi come into these reviews and share their knowledge about better solutions, especially if they aren't anymore expensive than the reviewed hardware.

 

Onboard audio is fine for about 95% of people. Only if you're listening to something very quiet and have particularly awful onboard audio, do you notice bus noise (or maybe you've got an amp plugged in), while most people psychologically adapt to differences in DAC quality. I spent a whole 30 quid or so on a Xonar DX to see if it was worth it - and it isn't really, more than anything else it's a pain needing to use the desktop app to switch output between rear and front panel, and not have auto-sensing based on headphones plugged in.

Pretty much all the Sennheiser headphones I've worn are light on bass. All closed back though.

 

If they are strictly used as the title a gamers headset then there are far cheaper options that will do the same job with similar talk quality.

not really sure the market for £200 headphones when you can buy some £30 ones and spend the £170 on more fps which would be better from the gamers point of view.