Massdrop x Sennheiser PC37X Gaming Headset — Noise-Cancelling Microphone with Over-Ear Open-Back Design, 10 ft Detachable Cable, and Velour Earpads,Black

TL;DR: Sound quality of both headphone and mic are worth the price. Don't buy unless you're using in your own room.I'm a gamer but I also work from home. I heard about open back from some friends. Buddy had these and loves them. Clamping force is strong but easy to break in. Sound quality is really good for both headphone and microphone. I'd been using a Blue Yeti and my audacity comparison surprised me. Microphone quality is excellent. But my reasoning for writing a review is the open back vs closed back.I'm not an audiophile so I'm gonna describe it like this: take a "regular" set of headphones and lay them on your desk. Turn on your game/music and then set the volume to where you normally have it. Now walk to the other side of the room where someone else might be sitting. Hear that? That's about what they'll hear if you buy an open back headphone. However, do the same experiment and just listen to their TV show or general movement. Hear them? Yep, ya do, cuz that sound isn't being blocked. Goes both ways. These allow sound out and sound in. Meaning you are more aware of your surroundings and your surroundings can hear what you're listening to. Lower volumes won't be as bad but you get my point.To me it feels more "natural", almost like a pair of good speakers are close to me vs a normal headphone that is pumping sound directly into my ear. Hard to explain but now that I've experienced open back for work meetings and gaming, I can't use regular headphones unless I have to. I like hearing if my son is messing with my office door or if my wife is busy and there's a knock at the door. I'm not on an island. The only downside I can think of is the clamping force out of the box is strong. I wear a size 8 hat and these were uncomfortable. I broke them in by clamping them around my throttle but something like a thinner computer case would work too. Now I can wear them all day.You can read about features anywhere so I won't go into those. I'll just finish up with this: these are expensive and open back is a completely different headset experience. I'm glad I took a chance and trusted my friends' experience. Just be sure you adjust your expectations. These aren't going to bass you out of existence or provide an ounce of sound isolation. That isn't what these do. These are made for someone who wants excellent sound quality, can't or won't use speakers, and wants to stay aware of their surroundings. If that you, these are 100% worth the cost (break them in). If that isn't you, find a good closed back headset.

I have had this headset for over 8 months. I use it for work (remote IT support) 8 hours a day, 5 days a week and they do not come off my head during my working hours (unless I'm on a bio break). They are so comfortable I forget I have them on. I will say when I first bought them there was an adjustment period. They fit a tad tight at first but can be "broken in" for comfort. The headband/earpads have superb padding that is soft and does not cause sweating.Structure wise, they are sturdy. I'm not a very gentle human and they hold up to my fumbles and has taken many hits to the floor without damage or performance issues.Audio is clear and clean and the mic is outstanding. I have tried other headsets and by far this headset has the best input and output quality for my type of use.As long as the mic rests right below my mouth,you cannot hear any breathing, just my crisp clean voice. I have had issue with other mics that picked up my breathing no matter where the mouth piece was. This headset is total silence until I speak!It's important to note that this headset is open back. Perfect if you are in an office/room alone, but if you are looking to block out all other sounds, this is not the headset for you.Volume could be higher. I always have my head set to max volume for my phone calls. I can hear just fine but I can imagine this could be a drawback for others.

So the first thing you need to know, is these are open back headphones. If you're a dad of 6, married, and have two cats and two dogs, these are not the headphones for you (especially if you're keeping your pc in a major common room). That being said, they sound absolutely fantastic, and truly rival my Sennheiser 580 and 600, which is why I picked them up to begin with (same driver for the speakers), and have a built in mic. I just didn't think the open back would be that big of a deal... with my chaotic family, it's a no-go and I've learned my lesson. In the mean time I've just JB Welded the accidentally sat upon 600's back (The wife put them in my chair and I went and sat down on them in the dark). I almost kept them for one of the kids that plays games, but again the open back soundstage would just cause a further nuisance than anything for our environment. If you have just yourself in a room, GET THESE. If you're a bachelor, GET THESE. If it's just you and your significant other, GET THESE. However, if your a dad of chaos... these are not recommended for you.

As a long time fan of Sennheiser, I already knew I'd like these before I purchased them. I personally care way more about music and mic quality than I do gaming audio, and having owned several Sennheiser headphones in the past, this headset was the perfect combination of amazing music listening quality while also having what is probably the best quality mic you can find on a gaming headset. They do have a bit of clamping force on the head that may take some time to get used to, but I wouldn't say they gave me constant headaches or anything like that. My only nitpick is that the build quality could stand to be a little better, because I've actually purchased these twice, and it was solely due to parts of the plastic snapping or falling off over time (one pair might've had a cable issue).