Hands-on review: EPOS Sennheiser GSP 601 Gaming Series wired headset
EPOS are hitting it out of the park with their range of gaming headsets. They have an audio solution for everyone. The GSP 601 is, however, a very special bit of kit.
For starters, this wired headset is the best-looking headset I've ever seen. It takes a lot of its stylings from the fantastic wireless Epos Sennheiser GSP 670 headset but augmenting the design with a rather snazzy white and bronze look with black trim. It looks at once retro, but with a rather contradictory futuristic motif. The bronze panels above the earpieces can be replaced with white panels included in the box. But as the mic also has a bronze band on the end, the headset looks better as is, in my opinion.
The headset construction is solid. They are not too light and not too heavy. They feel robust. The cushioned earpieces look like they made of decent quality material, unlikely to flake off.
Like the GSP 670 the GSP 601 has a fixed subtle flexible boom mic on the left side that mutes when in the up position. There is also a large volume dial on the right side, so no fidgeting to turn the sound down.
The Epos Sennheiser 600, 601 and 602 are all identical devices save for their colouring. The 600 is black with red trim, the 601 (as sent for review) is white/bronze and black and the 602 is black/blue with, full retro, orange foam earpieces.
The flexible design of the earpiece mounts and the adjustable headband contact pressure make the headset very comfortable to wear. The ear cups completely cover your ears not only insulating the soundscape from the outside but also avoid that annoying pinch that you get from headsets that rest on your ears instead of over your ears.
This is a wired headset. It comes with two detachable cables. The first connects to the front or rear panel of a PC with separate 3.5mm audio jacks one for the speakers and other for the mic. The second cable has just the one 3.5mm audio jack suitable for compatible phones, the Nintendo Switch and connection to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One via the socket in the controllers.
The big advantage of this wired headset is that it can be used with most devices. The disadvantage for PC users is having easy access to the sockets on their machine within reach of the metre or so of cable supplied. If you are not intending to use the headset with anything other than a PC, the wireless GSP 670 may be a better choice.
Alternatively, PC owners can use the GSP 601 with the Epos Sennheiser GSX 300 external sound card. The GSX 300 gives PC gamers the best control over their sound experience, allowing the GSP 601 access to all the features of the Epos Gaming Suite app. The app can be used to customise the sound via a 9-band graphic equalizer or pre-set sound profiles for music, movies and esports. The sound can also be switched from 2.0 to 5.1 surround with an adjustable reverb. Similarly, the mic can be adjusted for side tone, vocal enhancements and noise cancelling.
The sound quality is awesome. This is down to the superb closed acoustic speakers and their 10–30,000 Hz Frequency response. I make no apology for liking the volume turned all the way up to eleven. From Moulin Rouge to Blue Man Group the headset delivered. Over on the gaming front, the glorious audio frag-fest of Doom Eternal didn't disappoint. Similarly, the subtle environmental ambience of Red Dead Redemption 2 all came through in a way that you'd never get with desktop or TV speakers.
The Epos Sennheiser GSP 601 is a superb all-round headset that delivers great audio, be it games, movies or music, and is compatible with most devices. The stylish look is both sophisticated and modern. I'm particularly taken by the black, bronze and white colour scheme. Another very nice audio solution from Epos.
