EPOS-Sennheiser GSX 1200 Pro Gaming Series Audio Amplifier Review

1. Introduction & Specification Details and Close-up
2. Design, Close Up & Specifications
3. Performance
4. Final Thoughts

TweakTown's Rating: 95%

The Bottom Line

Overall the GSX 1200 is a great product that offers many features for both gamers and audiophiles. Additionally, the GSX 1200 has smooth features and an even smoother aesthetic. Definitely consider it as a potential upgrade to your audio setup.

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Introduction & Specification Details and Close-up

The GSX 1200 Pro is an audio amplifier created with gamers in mind, made by EPOS in collaboration with Sennheiser.

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The GSX 1200 Pro is the bigger brother to the slightly cheaper GSX 1000, adding support for daisy-chaining up to eight GSX 1200 Pro's together for lag-free, hard-wired communication in a LAN setting and volume controls for inbound and outbound communications.

It features a dedicated DAC (Digital-to-Analog Converter) chip, a proprietary 7.1 virtual surround sound algorithm engineered by EPOS, and an LED touchscreen to control the various available settings. The GSX 1200 Pro has a solid construction of primarily plastic and a clean, black design with red lighting and silver accents. On the underside is a short stand used to prop up the device at an angle. On the backside are all of the inputs and outputs, including three 3.5 mm connections for headphone, microphone, and speaker audio, micro-USB for power, and two 2.5 mm connections used to connect multiple GSX 1200 Pros.

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Jak's Test System Specifications

• Motherboard: ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Hero X570 (Wi-Fi) (buy from Amazon)
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600X @ 4.4GHz (buy from Amazon)
• GPU: EVGA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER XC GAMING (buy from Amazon)
• Cooler: be quiet! Silent Wings 3
• RAM: 16GB (2x8GB) Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB 3200MHz (buy from Amazon)
• SSD: GALAX HOF Pro SSD PCI-E M.2 2TB
• Power Supply: Corsair CX Series 750 Watt (buy from Amazon)
• Case: be quiet! Silent Base 600 (buy from Amazon)
• OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (buy from Amazon)

EPOS | SENNHEISER GSX 1200 PRO Gaming Audio Amplifier

	Today	Yesterday	7 days ago	30 days ago
	$244.58	$244.58	$244.58	$249.99	Buy
* Prices last scanned on 12/26/2022 at 7:26 pm CST - prices may not be accurate, click links above for the latest price. We may earn an affiliate commission.

Design, Close Up & Specifications

Design

On the left side is a small volume control dial marked OUT, which along with the dial on the right side marked IN, controls the volume of inbound and outbound communications with other players.

On the face of the device is the circular touchscreen, surrounded by a large silver aluminum ring for volume control, which has a red light beneath it, providing an aesthetically pleasing glow from all angles. The volume control ring is buttery smooth, spinning freely in either direction, taking about one and a quarter revolutions to take the volume from minimum to maximum or vice versa. In the corners of the face panel are four narrow backlit strips which are touch-sensitive and correspond to different presets that are reflected on the settings displayed on the touchscreen. Each strip lights up red, with the currently in use one lit in white.

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In the center of the touchscreen is a large number indicating the volume, ranging from 00 (which immediately changes to --) to 99. Six settings are addressable in a circle around the central volume indicator, all by tapping to cycle through the available options. The settings from the top left clockwise include Source Switch, Audio Preset, Speaker Orientation, Audio Channel Switch, Sidetone, and Room Scale Reverb Control. Shortly after being operated, all but the volume indicator disappears, with the volume indicator dimming and the preset indicators in the corners of the device also turning off until the device is interacted with again.

Included in the box are the GSX 1200 Pro itself, a slick Sennheiser branded red 1.2-meter Micro-USB to USB-A cable with black connector shrouds, an all-black 2.5 mm to 2.5 mm cable with gold-plated right-angle connectors, and documentation. Documentation includes warranty and safety information, a compliance and specification sheet, and quick start guide for setup and directions to firmware, and full user guide downloads from EPOS's website.

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Visiting the provided link takes you to a download page for the "EPOS Gaming Suite." A mild annoyance presents itself when trying to download the software, as the page requires you to register to download, enter in your first and last names, email address, and tick a box to accept terms, all of which seems rather unnecessary.

Specifications

• Sample Rate 96 kHz
• Bit Depth 24 Bit
• Connection micro-USB to USB-A
• Binaural Rendering Engine Yes
• ChatLink Support Yes
• Dimensions 100 x 28 x 100 mm (W x H x D)
• Weight 200 g (0.44 lbs)
• Connectors 3.5 mm headset socket, 3.5 mm microphone socket, 3.5 mm loudspeaker socket, micro-USB socket, 2.5mm chat interface socket (A+B)
• USB Cable Length 120 cm (approximate)
• Power Supply 5 V DC (USB port)
• Total Harmonic Distortion 0.005% THD @ -3 dBFS
• Maximum Output Voltage 1V RMS @ 32 Ω, Dynamic Range >95 dBFS A-weighted, 20 HZ to 20 (Headphone Output) kHz
• Sample Rates Supported Main Audio: 7.1 44.1 kHz@16 bit, 7.1 48 kHz @ 16bit, 2.0 44.1 On Both Endpoints kHz@16 bit, 2.0 48 kHz@16 bit
• Main Audio HD: 2.0 96kHz@24 bit
• Communication Audio: 1.0 16 kHz@16 bit
• Headphone Output 16 Ω to 150 Ω (recommended), 0 to 48 kHz, DC coupled & dual rail power supply
• Line Output 1V RMS @ 10 Ω, Dynamic Range >98 dBFS A-weighted 20 Hz to 20 kHz
• USB Standard USB 2.0 Full Speed USB Audio 1.0
• Warranty 2 Years

Performance

The GSX 1200 Pro works as expected immediately out of the box, plugging and playing without any additional setup necessary. It is compatible with Mac and PC, but in this review, the device was used with Windows 10. After Windows completes the initial device setup, the GSX 1200 Pro is set at the main audio output and input device.

The quick start guide directs the user to enable 7.1 surround sound by visiting Sound settings in Control Panel, selecting the "Configure" option for the GSX 1200 Pro playback device, and changing from stereo to 7.1 surround. However, this will return an error message, as the GSX 1200 Pro defaults to 48 kHz @ 24-bit, as Windows does not support eight channels of surround sound at 24-bit bit depths.

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To remedy this, you must first select "Properties" for the playback device, navigate to the "Advanced" tab, and change the default format to a 16-bit output before revisiting the "Configure" option to select surround and adjust the settings to reflect your setup. EPOS provides a downloadable PDF on the product page for the GSX 1200 Pro, which walks through this process.

Despite some setup needed for actual surround sound support in Windows, virtualized 7.1 surround can still be toggled directly from the GSX 1200 Pro without any configuration immediately after initializing the device. This extra setup step is partly due to changes to Windows 10 since the release of the GSX 1200 Pro.

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On the other hand, you can adjust the output format in the other direction, increasing from 48 kHz @ 24-bit to 96 kHz @ 24-bit. Changing to this format will disable all features available on the touchscreen apart from source switching, displaying that in addition to the volume indicator and appending HD to the 2.0 text usually accompanying the Audio Channel Switch setting icon.

Changing to this format is only necessary to maximize sound quality, such as when listening to lossless music files encoded in at least a 96 kHz @ 24-bit format. Still, it is very welcome for the audiophiles among us. None of the disabled settings in this mode impact what the format is designed to achieve, so they are not a concern.

As far as the adjustable settings go, the top left setting for Source Switch is very convenient, allowing for seamless switching between the headphone and speaker outputs with one tap. In the top right is the Audio Preset setting, controlling preset equalizer settings, of which there are four: Gaming, Music, Movies, and Default. When touched, white icons appear surrounding the Audio Preset button to indicate the selected mode, with a crosshair, music note, and clapperboard icons denoting each of the first three presets, respectively. When none appear, the default mode is active.

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The Audio Channel Switch control is found in the bottom right, with either 2.0 or 7.1 text icons appearing to denote which mode is active, able to be cycled between with one tap. In the 7.1 mode, icons for the Speaker Orientation and Room Scale Reverb Control settings appear in the 3 and 9 o'clock positions, respectively, around the volume indicator.

Speaker Orientation can be toggled to bias audio toward the front or back of the surround setup, virtualized or otherwise, or left unbiased. Room Scale Reverb Control provides three reverb settings, providing a different feel to the sound stage.

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The final setting is Sidetone, found in the bottom left of the display. It is essentially microphone monitoring, controlling how much audio is heard in the user's headphones from their microphone, and has three adjustment levels.

The GSX 1200 Pro also sports a few other nice features, such as the ability to lock in settings, so they aren't accidentally adjusted while gaming. A sensor also detects your hand hovering over the touchscreen, which disables the dim temporarily to show what settings are enabled. Global presets can also be adjusted and saved to each of the four preset buttons in the corners of the face panel. This lets you bring the GSX 1200 Pro into new environments and take your presets with you.

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Certified for eSports use as a general communication device, you can bring it to tournaments to keep your familiar setup. Thanks to the ChatLink support and the included 2.5mm to 2.5mm cable, you and up to seven teammates can connect all of your GSX 1200 Pros and enable lag-free, hard-wired communication, all with independent inbound and outbound microphone volume controls, separate from the game volume. These volume controls only work for communication software such as Skype, Discord, and Teamspeak and do not support in-game chat communication such as in CS:GO.

The EPOS Gaming Suite software is also available for download to accentuate the experience, providing playback settings for stereo and surround mode selection, reverb adjustment, and preset controls while also acting as a hub for firmware updates for the GSX 1200 Pro and supported headsets. A 9-band equalizer is also available to tweak with a selection of presets, with a sound test button to check your changes. Additionally, microphone settings such as gain, noise gate, noise cancellation, mute, voice enhancer, and sidetone can all be adjusted.

Final Thoughts

What's Hot

• Clean and appealing design, with intuitive controls.
• Superb audio quality, elevating speaker, headphone, and microphone audio simultaneously.
• Latency-free communication when daisy-chained with other GSX 1200 Pros.
• Quick switching between audio outputs with one tap of the touchscreen.
• Plug and play works beautifully.

What's Not

• Accompanying EPOS Gaming Suite software has difficulties detecting the GSX 1200 Pro in many setups, with many users reportedly not even being able to open the software.
• Higher-end headphones with impedances higher than 150 Ohm will have suboptimal performance with this amplifier.
• Documentation to clarify the specifics of each setting, such as their names and how each one can be adjusted, is lacking, left to the user to explore.

The GSX 1200 Pro also sports a few other nice features, such as the ability to lock in settings, so they aren't accidentally adjusted while gaming. A sensor also detects your hand hovering over the touchscreen, which disables the dim temporarily to show what settings are enabled.

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Global presets can also be adjusted and saved to each of the four preset buttons in the corners of the face panel. This lets you bring the GSX 1200 Pro into new environments and take your presets with you. Certified for eSports use as a general communication device, you can bring it to tournaments to keep your familiar setup.

Thanks to the ChatLink support and the included 2.5mm to 2.5mm cable, you and up to seven teammates can connect all of your GSX 1200 Pros and enable lag-free, hard-wired communication, all with independent inbound and outbound microphone volume controls, separate from the game volume. These volume controls only work for communication software such as Skype, Discord, and Teamspeak and do not support in-game chat communication such as in CS:GO.

The EPOS Gaming Suite software is also available for download to accentuate the experience, providing playback settings for stereo and surround mode selection, reverb adjustment, and preset controls while also acting as a hub for firmware updates for the GSX 1200 Pro and supported headsets.

A 9-band equalizer is also available to tweak with a selection of presets, with a sound test button to check your changes. Additionally, microphone settings such as gain, noise gate, noise cancellation, mute, voice enhancer, and sidetone can all be adjusted.

Overall, the GSX 1200 is a fantastic product that offers many features for both gamers and audiophiles that enjoy the pleasures of listening to lossless music. Additionally, the GSX 1200 has smooth features and an even smoother aesthetic. Definitely consider it as a potential upgrade to your audio setup.