Sennheiser Momentum Headphones & PC350 SE & PC363 Gaming Headsets Linus Tech Tips CES 2013
Linus Tech Tips
·Linus Tech Tips
·2013-05-07
·
1,248 words · ~6 min read
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at the Sennheiser booth. We're going to take a look at some of the most exciting
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products that they're showing off. This one is all over the booth. You guys have
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what at least like 20 of them on display here. So this is the Momentum Circumarl
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headphone headset, whatever you want to call it. It does have a mic built in
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with volume control and track skipping. It's made of metal. So this is a very
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premium product. And we've got Scott from Sennheiser here to tell us a little
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bit more about what makes the Momentum so special.
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Yep. Well, with the Momentum, we're taking a a retro look at the headphones.
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Uh very very similar to Sennheiser's past. We're using leather ear cushions,
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leather headband, replaceable inline cord. So, the cord if
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something were to happen, it is replaceable. Everything is modular. Uh
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here with the all metal headband design, very durable. You know, it can stand to
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be thrown in the bag, taken with you, good on commutes. The cushions
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with it being the soft leather, great for isolation of outside noise and
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supplying the best premium sound. Yeah, I can I can vouch for that. You were
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saying that you guys are using a leather that's also quite moisture and sweat
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resistant as well. Although, I'd imagine if you're carrying something this light
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around on your head, you probably shouldn't sweat too much unless you're going for a jog.
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Yeah. No, this would be if you're uh wearing them on the plane and it gets a
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little hot. So, it won't, you know, you're not going to break your headphones just with a little sweat.
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So, tell me why they cost $349. Do they
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sound that awesome? They do sound that awesome. This is one
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headphone that we are extremely excited about uh especially soundwise. Uh it
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brings something completely new to the market uh with sound, with features, the
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design, the style at that price point really fits in with a lot of how the
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market is going today. Very exciting. Now, we're going to head over and check out some PC gaming
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headsets. Gaming headset wise, Sennheiser has what looks like pretty
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much a complete refresh of the high-end. The PC 350 has been replaced with the
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350SE. The 360 has been replaced with the 363D.
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And they've got a very exciting sort of multi-platform headset as well. So
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Scott, why don't you start with the 363D? Is this something that someone
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like an HD55 user such as myself would
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want to upgrade to to get a headset rather than a headphone? AB:
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Absolutely. And it's uh funny you mentioned that because the 363D also
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uses the same drivers from that series of headphones. So we're giving you the
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audio file headphone quality in this headset and then throwing on a noise
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cancelling microphone, a uh analog or USB uh decoding uh option. So you can
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play a 5.1 7.1 surround enabled game and
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get that simulated back into the headset too. uh which is uh you know in an
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excellent way. So you're not doing a because there's no good surround way for
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for the headsets these days. So doing it through the decoding having it come out
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is a much more accurate much more lifelike response. I I actually have a
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lot of people a lot of viewers ask me about getting 7.1 headsets with the
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actual sort of four speakers in each ear. And I always tell them the same
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thing. You have two ears so you need two
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speakers. you want to do it with software in order to get bigger, better
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drivers. And I mean, I think yeah, you're just giving me the old nod here.
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So, why don't we move along? That's the U320. So, you're saying this is with one
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cable compatible with PC, Xbox, and PS3.
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So, how much does that cost? Uh that's at a $179.95.
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Uh and along with uh PC, Xbox, PS3, also
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Mac uh platform as well. So with uh
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you'll have a USB connector uh as well as a set of RCA analog uh to get your
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audio out whether it be from your TV through the audio cables of the console
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gaming itself. Uh so now you have just a one solution for all of your gaming
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needs. Fantastic. Okay, I just want to show one thing about the 360d here. So there are
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a couple upgrades versus the 555s that would get me thinking about it. So
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you've got the boom mic that has uh active noise cancelling on it, right?
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active noise cancelling and also an automatic mute function when the
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microphone is in the up position. And then the other thing here is you've
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got volume control built right into the side of the headset. Something that you
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don't necessarily see on headphone products, right?
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Okay. So, let's move over to the 350 SE. Now, I'm more of an open headphone guy,
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so this this isn't so much my cup of tea, but my wife loves her 350s. What
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does the 350SE add that she didn't that she doesn't already have? Uh, with this
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it's it's a lot of cosmetic differences.
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So, we're improving the structural integrity of the headset. So, slightly
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different design on the headband and the yolk. Uh, braided cables, so better
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durability at the cable side. Uh, and slight improvement. Again, we're putting
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in the volume control on the ear cup, automatic muting on the mic. Uh, before
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in the previous generation, all of that was inline on the cable. So if anything
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were to happen, that whole that whole part would have to be replaced. Here
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we're making it easier for a modular service design. So this way there's not
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so much more downtime if you uh need any
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parts. Why don't you do just a quick spiel on open versus closed for for the viewers
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here? Yep. Uh with a closed headset, you're getting more isolation from ambient
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noise. So if you're in a uh dorm or a noisy environment, you want to keep a
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lot of the noise out. That's normally when you'll go with closed. They're also
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a bit more aggressive sounding. So, it'll be a lot more base bas uh
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emphasis. Uh be a little bit boomier. Uh especially if you're doing a
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first-person shooter or something along those lines. With an open air, it's a
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much more natural listening environment because you're allowing the air and acoustics to flow in and out and you're
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you you will be more aware of your surroundings. Uh but what we find
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happens with that with the natural environment, you're getting a much more
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transparent, much more accurate response. Uh, it's much more pleasing to
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our ears and the way our brain is perceiving it when it's done that way.
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All right. Well, you know what? Thank you so much. This has been fantastic, Scott. And guys, don't miss any of our
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