Sennheiser Game One vs Game Zero: No Brainer Choice

In this post today we are dealing with Sennheiser Game One vs Game Zero, the two best gaming headsets that are popular for an excellent performance.

Sennheiser prides itself as the first company to manufacture products for both game producers and gamers.

The importance of sound in games has increased over the past decades. Today,  game developers put so much emphasis on sound design that the companies spend a huge chunk of their budget achieving a larger-than-life sound.

Game Zero and Game One are examples of such products. These headphones were created to give the ultimate pleasure of listening and communicating while enjoying your favorite game.

So, which of these two Sennheiser gaming headphones is better?

Is there any reason to choose one (pun intended) over the other? This article gives an in-depth, yet a relatable comparison of both headphones.

Sennheiser Game One vs Game Zero: Here is the winner!

Design and build

Game One's build is indicative of modern engineering. It's made of plastic but feels solid at the same time. It's the modern way of making a product light and solid at the same time.

Game Zero is also mostly plastic, but it has some metal parts. There are some parts of the headphone that may easily get damaged or worn, having those parts as metal protects the headphones better.

Zero's metal parts are limited to the hinge that helps the earcups to swivel and the joint that holds the headband and earcups together. Game One has no metal parts, but it also has no hinges that may crack.

Game Zero is quite collapsible. You'll notice this once you see the slim packaging. You can practically flatten it out with the earcups swivel.

Game One is not so flexible, it only allows you to change the width by sliding the earcups in and out of the headband.

Speaking of earcups, Game One has comfortable velvet earcups that fit around your ears. These oval-shaped earcups make long hours of listening easier, because they don't rest on your ears, causing irritation.

It's why I always prefer oval earcups to round ones. Zero has leatherette earcups that also fit well over your ears.

However, when used over long hours, it begins to feel a bit warm. It takes velvet longer to start feeling warm on your ears.

Sound and performance

On paper, both mics have similar sound characteristics; frequency response of 15Hz to 28000Hz for the headphones and 50Hz to 16000Hz for the mics. The mics sound quite similar in reality, but the headphones have a number of differences.

Because Game One is an open back headphone, the bass rbe described as decent. It gives a little extra punch in that region.

This may work for you if you like your pc gaming sound quite natural, with no particular parts of the sound sticking out.

On the other hand, if you would prefer some bass pump, you should look towards Zero. Its closed-back design keeps the bass punchy and more rounded.

That being said, both headphones produce all the bass elements in your game sound, leaving nothing out. It's just the emphasis that differs.

Game One's open-back design has a notable advantage; it gives you a wide, more realistic soundscape.

By listening, you can know where the different elements in your game are, even when they're not on screen. Zero also gives stereo sound. But Game One does it better.

To make up for the soundscape width, Sennheiser introduced some dip in Game One's mid frequencies. This way, the speech, and other mid-frequency elements do not sound too narrow.

Even though both headphones reach beyond human hearing capacity in high frequencies, they do not have the presence boost that most headsets give.

This factor makes both headphones a little less suitable for music since they lack that high boost that makes vocals pop.

However, I think it works well for gamers.

Here's why:

Most gamers play for long hours, and these high frequencies cause ear fatigue when listened to for a long stretch.

So, less high-frequency levels, less ear fatigue. Also, this characteristic automatically reduces the game music level and gives more priority to speech and other sound effects.

The mics on both gaming headsets are noise canceling, and they sound clear on the other side; which is what you need from gaming headset mics.

Features

Both Sennheiser Game Zero and One have a volume knob on one of their earcups. This makes control much more convenient.

If you feel you need more or less volume while playing a game, you simply need to turn the knob on the earcup. It's easier than reaching for your amp or computer volume control. The knob is quite loose, and very easy to turn, even if by accident.

Connectivity in both headphones is via a TRRS cable or two TRS cables. The TRRS connection is used for more modern laptops that have just one integrated audio port that works with both the mic and headphones.

It can also be useful if using this headphone with your phone. The dual TRS connection is for older laptops, desktops, and other systems that use two TRS ports for mic and headphones.

These cables are interchangeable, although the ports on your computer or console may not be.

The headphones are also quite similar in terms of compatibility. They both work well with any computer or gaming console that uses either a TRS or TRRS port.

Also, they're both plug-and-play, which means you don't need to install any app or driver to make them work.

Additionally, Sennheiser Zero and One both have 50 ohms impedance. With such low figures, you can easily hook them up to your phone, laptop, desktop or gaming console without using a preamp, DAC or headphone amplifier.

Also, they can produce sound at high volume levels from these devices without any external help.

The mics also contribute to the similarity in features between these two headphones.

You can easily swing the mic upwards when you do not wish to use it. There's a mute function that is triggered when you move the mic up.

The noise-canceling feature on the mics work quite well, and even though Sennheiser did not state a particular pattern, this mic sounds more like a cardioid mic.

Even though they reject most noise, high-frequency background noise still has a way of getting in.

Similarities and differences

Similarities

• Both Game Zero and One have oval over-ear earcup designs.
• Both headphones have a very wide frequency range; 15Hz to 28000Hz.
• They both allow dual TRS and single TRRS connection.

Differences

• Game Zero has an open back design while Game One is a closed-back design.
• While One's earcups are covered in velvet material, Game Zero has faux leather earcups.
• Game One is all plastic, but Zero, on the other hand, adds some metal to the mix.

Pros and cons

Game Zero

Pros:

• Wide stereo sound; makes games sound more realistic.
• All sound elements in the game will be heard because of the extensive frequency range.
• Volume knob gives easier control.

Cons

• Open back design allows external sound to seep in.
• Bass not well emphasized.
• Not suited for musical use

Game One

Pros

• Punchy, well-rounded bass.
• Tempered high frequencies prevent ear fatigue during long game sessions.
• The detachable cord can be easily replaced if damaged

Cons

• Earcups may get warm during long use.
• Mic gives pop sound when directly in front of the speaker's mouth.

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Verdict

Before choosing any of these headphones, I think Sennheiser deserves some credit for coming up with such cool names for these headphones.

Moving on, both Game One and Game Zero have quite a number of similarities. Even most of the differences are more of different preferences rather than one being better than the other.

Having said that, Game Zero stands out just a little bit in my opinion.

Here's why: Game One is open back, and it allows background sound into what you're hearing.

Ordinarily, this may be acceptable or even preferred. But for gaming background sound is really not welcome.

In some games, your survival rests on how you can anticipate some scenarios.

In such cases, you don't want to mess up your sound cues. Also. it keeps you focused when all you can hear is the game sound. Hence, while Game One is also an awesome headset choice, Game Zero is my best pick.