Disclaimer: I'm not an audio expert or even an audiophile, so bear in mind that despite the lengthy review, I am not a qualified "expert" and this is just my opinion based on my limited experience with this product.The PC38X is a light, comfortable headset which at first glance almost gives off a cheaper vibe due to its light weight, and heavy use of plastic rather than metal materials. The weaker initial appearance is immediately redeemed by its comfort as soon as it's placed on your head, as its lightness is actually an advantage, favouring comfort - I can easily wear this all day without getting a sore head or neck. The ear pads are soft enough to comfortably fit your head and ears shape, and firm enough not to compromise the isolation. The clamping force is just right, an improvement over my previous HyperX Cloud Alpha headset which always lacked clamping force which ultimately resulted in compromised bass levels. They also come with what appears to be a spare set of smaller, softer replacement pads - clearly, Sennheiser valued comfort for this headset, which makes sense considering it is part of their selection of gaming-oriented headphones.The sound quality is good, with an extremely noticeable bass boost over the HyperX Cloud Alpha. The bass is rather well balanced, although it can sometimes overpower the mids. The high are crisp and clear; hats, cymbals, and other thin sounds are clear and can be heard through other heavier, deeper sounds. The mids such as vocals however, tend to lack that extra crispness I would hope for when listening to music. The bass may be a bit too loud to allow the mids to rise to expectations, but overall the benefits of hearing clear bass and highs alongside generally good mids makes me overlook the mids' shortcoming.These are open back headphones, so I'll add a little note here in case you are not familiar with what this means - these are not noise-cancelling, like, at all. Expect to hear almost completely clearly through your headset, and people may hear through your headset. This favours audio quality, but may not be the right choice if you are in a noisy environment, or you don't want anyone around to hear the sounds coming from your headset.The microphone's audio quality isn't the best thing in the world but it works just fine, and meets my expectations for a headset microphone. I immediately loved that the mic boom is completely outside of my field of vision when flipped up, something I had been concerned about when ordering the PC38X, coming from a headset with a removable mic. My only criticism would be that the lack of distance adjustment results in me having to lower the mic completely to prevent breathing noise from my nose, and this results in my mouth being too far from the mic to be heard clearly at times.Included is also a carrying bag which is pretty standard and nothing to call home about, but is an appreciated extra item. Otherwise, it comes with the usual cables and whatnot. The cable seems a bit small compared to what I had on my HyperX Cloud Alpha and therefore gives off a cheaper impression, but otherwise it's a nice, braided cable which has no noticeable flaws.Overall, I would recommend this headset for comfort and audio quality if you're in the market for open back headphones you can wear for hours on a daily basis, and you're ready to pay a bit more than your typical standard gaming headset. I work 8 hours shifts, and watch videos/listen to music as well as gaming outside of work hours, wearing these well over 8 hours daily. I've only ever felt my ears getting sore once, after a very long day of work and then gaming, so I don't blame the headset at all.Hope this review helps shoppers make an informed decision.
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