WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:07.120 Linus Tech Tips coverage of CES 2014 is brought to you by ncx.com, your source 00:00:05.200 --> 00:00:11.280 for great technology, selection, and service along with Corsair Memory and 00:00:09.519 --> 00:00:16.960 Western Digital. We're going to kick off our Sennheiser booth tour with a look at 00:00:13.440 --> 00:00:18.960 their game series headsets. Now, they 00:00:16.960 --> 00:00:23.039 did make a bit of a mistake here. They they spelled game wrong. They're like 00:00:21.119 --> 00:00:26.800 German or something. So, maybe spelling in English isn't a strong point, but 00:00:25.039 --> 00:00:32.239 designing headsets is. So, we're going to start with the game one. If you've 00:00:29.039 --> 00:00:33.680 ever used an HD 500 series headphone in 00:00:32.239 --> 00:00:38.079 the last little while, these will probably look familiar. They've got 00:00:35.280 --> 00:00:42.559 cloth padding. They have sort of a it's a soft but not memory foam style 00:00:40.480 --> 00:00:46.399 padding. The drivers inside them are actually very similar to 500 series 00:00:44.559 --> 00:00:51.600 drivers, but they've made a couple small tweaks to enhance things like sound 00:00:49.039 --> 00:00:55.760 effects as well as dialogue in games without completely destroying the sound 00:00:53.520 --> 00:00:58.879 signature because Sennheiser does know a thing or two about not destroying the 00:00:57.199 --> 00:01:03.680 sound signature on their products. They have also updated the ID. So, they've 00:01:01.199 --> 00:01:08.080 got kind of a white glossy design that's quite beautiful looking with a red 00:01:05.920 --> 00:01:11.520 metallic accent color that goes around certain parts of it. They've got a 00:01:09.600 --> 00:01:15.439 self-muting microphone. So, all you got to do is lower that to get it to work 00:01:13.520 --> 00:01:19.200 and then raise it to get it to stop transmitting. And then finally, to make 00:01:17.360 --> 00:01:24.799 it a gaming headset, they of course have a volume control knob on the other ear. 00:01:22.240 --> 00:01:29.040 Now, this is the lower end of the two, although both of them cost over $200. 00:01:27.600 --> 00:01:32.880 But this one right here is the one that I think many gamers will find quite 00:01:30.720 --> 00:01:37.200 interesting, where the Game One uses an open back design, meaning that sound 00:01:34.720 --> 00:01:40.799 tends to leak both in and out, which is not the greatest thing for immersion. 00:01:39.040 --> 00:01:44.960 Personally, I prefer open back just because it does give a bit more of a a a 00:01:43.200 --> 00:01:50.079 natural feeling to the sound. I think many gamers will be looking for the Game 00:01:47.280 --> 00:01:54.000 One. So, this uses a closedback design. They've got sort of a pleather synthetic 00:01:52.159 --> 00:01:58.000 leather cover on the ear cups. This enhances the noise isolation as well as 00:01:56.560 --> 00:02:03.759 being more comfortable for certain people, although I personally do prefer 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:05.439 cloth. It also has a memory foam design 00:02:03.759 --> 00:02:08.319 for both the ear cups and for the headband. And as you can see, that 00:02:07.200 --> 00:02:12.319 happened while I was sitting here holding it. It has nice swiveing ear 00:02:10.800 --> 00:02:16.080 cups so you can easily hang it around your neck, as well as a folding design 00:02:14.319 --> 00:02:21.680 so you can pack it up and take it with you wherever you go. Now, both of these 00:02:18.160 --> 00:02:24.000 headsets use standard 3 and 12 mm jacks, 00:02:21.680 --> 00:02:27.680 which is great for PC gamers because with the way that sound card technology 00:02:25.760 --> 00:02:32.160 has advanced in the last little while, even on just integrated Oh, I just 00:02:30.640 --> 00:02:38.000 turned on those speakers because I unplugged this. Anyway, even with onboard sound, um I don't see a 00:02:36.239 --> 00:02:41.200 particular reason why you would need a USB interface unless you, you know, 00:02:39.840 --> 00:02:46.640 really had some special effects you wanted to apply to it. But the good news about it is that with this simple little 00:02:44.560 --> 00:02:50.879 adapter, you've got not only PC compatibility, but also PlayStation 4 00:02:49.120 --> 00:02:54.000 compatibility out of the box. This adapter is going to come at about 00:02:52.160 --> 00:02:57.040 $14.99. It'll be available in a little while. However, you know, even though 00:02:55.840 --> 00:03:01.680 we're standing in Sennheiser's booth, I'll tell you guys, there's nothing particularly special about it. It's a 00:02:59.840 --> 00:03:05.599 four-pole to dual three-pole adapter. You can pick these up almost anywhere 00:03:03.360 --> 00:03:10.159 and boom, you're ready to go on your PC or on your PlayStation with either of 00:03:07.840 --> 00:03:13.440 these Game Series headsets. We've got three significant updates to 00:03:11.440 --> 00:03:16.319 Sennheiser's Pro Series products. Now, I'll start with what they all have in 00:03:14.800 --> 00:03:20.400 common. They all come with a professional-grade hard case. It's 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:24.560 actually super super nice. It's got gorgeous hard foam inside. I wouldn't be 00:03:22.560 --> 00:03:27.599 worried about damaging these at all. They both come They all come there are 00:03:26.239 --> 00:03:31.519 actually three models. They all come with two sets of ear cups. you whether 00:03:29.760 --> 00:03:36.400 you prefer more of a pleather feel or whether you want something that's a velour which is a little bit different 00:03:34.720 --> 00:03:40.080 from the traditional cloth ear cup that you'll find on headphones because it 00:03:37.840 --> 00:03:43.920 will tend to help with noise isolation a little bit more than a very very 00:03:41.599 --> 00:03:48.560 breathable cloth. They all come with detachable cables which you can actually 00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:52.000 plug into either side. So if you have mixing equipment that tends to sit more 00:03:50.400 --> 00:03:55.280 off to your left and you don't want the cable coming up that side, that's going 00:03:53.599 --> 00:03:59.840 to be no problem for you. And they all come with both a straight cable and with 00:03:57.680 --> 00:04:03.760 a coiled cable. The last thing that they all include is of course robust, rugged 00:04:02.159 --> 00:04:11.360 build quality, although one of them is a little bit ahead of the others in terms of that space. Then we've got the HD7 DJ 00:04:08.400 --> 00:04:16.639 and HD8 DJ. The key differences between these two are that the HD7 DJ tends to 00:04:14.560 --> 00:04:22.400 have a little bit of a brighter sound at the high end and has a uh metal and 00:04:19.759 --> 00:04:27.919 plastic construction. Other than that, they are lower impedance than the HD6 00:04:25.280 --> 00:04:34.160 Mix. So, at 95 ohms, they can be used on pretty much anything. And they both have 00:04:31.040 --> 00:04:35.680 ah, yes, this is a first for Sennheiser. 00:04:34.160 --> 00:04:40.800 Check this out, guys. They've got a swiveling ear cup design that has three 00:04:38.880 --> 00:04:44.960 distinctly locking positions. So, you can position them directly over the ear, 00:04:43.040 --> 00:04:49.120 a little bit kind of half off the ear, or 00:04:46.800 --> 00:04:53.600 way up there, so they sit on the head in a comfortable manner while being 00:04:50.960 --> 00:04:58.479 completely out of the way. Now, I'd like to move on to the HD8 DJ. This one 00:04:56.639 --> 00:05:04.720 features an all- metal construction, so it has some additional robustness uh to 00:05:01.440 --> 00:05:06.800 go along with the well DJ optimized 00:05:04.720 --> 00:05:14.000 sound signature. So, that is to say that unlike the HD6 Mix, these ones are 00:05:09.759 --> 00:05:15.360 fairly fairly more neutrally except in 00:05:14.000 --> 00:05:22.240 bass. So, they're going to be able to pound the bass and they're going to be able to pound it hard. They're both 00:05:18.160 --> 00:05:24.000 capable of delivering up to 115 dB of 00:05:22.240 --> 00:05:27.199 highquality sound to your ear, which is something that I wouldn't necessarily 00:05:25.280 --> 00:05:30.000 recommend doing. But hey, if you're in a loud club and you got to hear what 00:05:28.400 --> 00:05:33.600 you're working on, then I guess you don't really have much of a choice. So, 00:05:32.080 --> 00:05:37.600 thanks for checking out our Sennheiser booth coverage, guys. Don't miss any of 00:05:35.199 --> 00:05:40.479 our coverage of CES 2014 by making sure you're subscribed. And just as a 00:05:39.280 --> 00:05:44.400 reminder, our trip to the show is powered by ncx.com, your source for 00:05:42.400 --> 00:05:48.479 great technology selection and service, as well as Western Digital and Corsair 00:05:46.800 --> 00:05:52.639 Memory. A huge thanks to those guys because we wouldn't be able to be here 00:05:49.840 --> 00:05:52.639 without them.