Audio hardware
Sennheiser PC 166 USB
| Manufacturer: | Price: |
| £59.99 inc VAT |
| Reviewer: | Review Date: |
| Ben Pitt | Feb 2008 |
|
| Sound | 26/30 | 90% |
| Features | 24/30 | 87% |
| Value | | 80% |
|
|
Verdict: Fantastic sound quality.
Sennheiser's flagship gaming headset looks pretty dull, but it doesn't skimp on any other features. The soft velvety ear pads cover the ear and feel positively cosy. The microphone boom allows for a little horizontal adjustment and swings upwards when not in use. This is a practical idea, but it's a shame that it can't be detached altogether for use with an MP3 player. The earphones seem robust but the headband creaks under pressure - we'd recommend treating them with respect to make sure they last.
This headset has an incredibly small sound card integrated into the USB plug. Out of this sprouts two 10cm cables with in-line mini-jack sockets for the headset's microphone input and headphone output. This means that the PC 166 USB can connect via USB, or directly into another sound card or audio device. The USB interface works with Windows' own drivers, which is fine, although monitoring the microphone is tricky with Windows' convoluted controls.
If you don't need USB, the same headset is available without the adaptor as the PC 161 for £42.99. However, this adaptor made us appreciate how crap our Realtek on-board sound's headphone output and microphone input are. Switching to the USB adaptor eliminated the substantial background noise in the microphone signal and provided much more solid bass in the headphones (a dedicated Creative sound card offered similarly high quality).
Even after removing the USB adaptor from the equation, the PC 166 USB displayed a clear advantage for sound quality, with solid, powerful bass and spectacular detail into the high frequencies. Game and DVD soundtracks burst with energy, and music was spine-tingling. Only a £125 set of headphones (Audio Technica's ATH-ANC7) was able to reveal flaws in the PC 166 USB's sound quality, with the ANC7 providing more coherent lower-mid frequencies and a smoother upper mid-range, but the difference was subtle. Microphone quality was closer to that of the cheaper headsets, but the headset still slips into the lead.
The PC 166 USB is the most expensive headset on test, but for quality like this, it's money well spent.
