Digital Trends

Sennheiser PC 160 January 11th, 2006 | by Brandon King

Features and Design

There are two classes of gaming headphones:  Those with and without an integrated microphone. Without a microphone, the makers are basically marketing the bass response, relatively low cost, and eccentric plastics. With the explosion of online gaming over the past five years, especially MMORPGs, there has been a parallel explosion in gaming headsets with microphones. The idea really took off with online console gaming, with Xbox Live and SOCOM for the PS2, since users had a limited number of buttons and no keyboard with which to communicate in a traditional manner. Add to that the ubiquity of broadband gaming, and the availability of more bandwidth for the voice data, and you have a flourishing market thirsty for new equipment.

Sennheiser is one of our favorite headphone manufacturers. The legendary sound quality and the appeal to audiophiles in nearly everything they produce make Sennheiser a super power in the headphone world. The PC160s are the flagship gaming headphone, making them of particular interest to us. There is a PC160SK, which has the same innards but a stylized casing, and a PC165, which includes an adapter to use with a PC USB port.

The package contents are slim and straightforward. You get the headphones with a non-removable microphone, and that's it. Rather than play games with USB sound card drivers and “surround sound” abilities, the PC160s sports two standard 1/8” plugs:  One for sound in and out. The two cords are fused together for most of the length, with four inches at the plug end split. The point where the two plugs split has a piece to prevent further separation of the two cords. The headset's cord measures an ample nine feet and enters through the left earpiece. There is also an inline volume control and microphone mute button three feet from the headphone end.

All this extra weight on the left earpiece does not make the headphones feel lopsided. Overall, the fit is snug, but not too snug. Each earpiece adjusts independently, and the microphone swivels up and out of the way for regular listening. The ear pads are covered with a soft velour that won't trap heat and can easily be worn for hours. The open air design ensures that the outside world is still audible. We were annoyed by the small earpiece size, which rests on the outside instead of around the ears. Usually, the raised puffy surrounding padding fits around the ear, resting on the head. With the PC160s, the padding rests on the ear itself. The microphone features built-in noise canceling technology and can be flexed along the stalk. There is an optional windscreen piece that reduces pops and wind noise while speaking.

Image Courtesy of Sennheiser