The EPOS GSX 300 is a small DAC/Amplifier combo (7.1 sound card and external amplifier) designed to make headphone drivers sound louder and better. Aside from improving the sound quality of stock headphones, the EPOS GSX 300 gives you access to other options such as Surround Sound, Side Tone and Frequency settings via the EPOS Gaming Suite software.
The top and bottom sections of the GSX 300 shell are slanted inwards, while the front side of the unit is also inclined, giving the GSX 300 a rather striking sloping look with good ergonomics. On the base of the GSX 300, there are two large rubber strips that keep the unit firmly rooted on the desk without sliding.
The volume knob integrates a blue led ring around it, as well as a silent rotary encoder with infinite spinning; hence the volume knob spins ad infinitum in either direction without making a clicky sound like some rotary encoders do. Compared to a regular volume potentiometer (aka POT), there is really not much between the two types. It really comes down to preference whether you like an old-fashioned rotary knob (potentiometer) with stoppers or a rotary encoder, which spins continuously like the scroll wheel of a mouse.
Some rotary encoders even integrate a push button that doubles as a mute toggle switch, which would be a neat feature on the EPOS GSX 300 for quickly disabling the volume of the headset on the fly. The GSX 300 could also benefit from a beep or audio prompt when reaching maximum volume, although most external sound cards DACs don't seem to integrate this feature either. The GSX 300 is not designed to balance in-game and chat volume, which is worth noting if you own the GSP 670 headset.
That said, if you want to enable the full functionality of the GSX 300 and adjust settings, you will need to download the EPOS Gaming Suite software, which is only compatible with Windows computers. The GSX 300 hardware is also only compatible with PC; hence the GSX 300 does not work with Mac computers or video game consoles such as the PS4 or Xbox.
EPOS Gaming Suite software is currently not compatible with Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 operating systems and other audio enhancement software. In fact, you won't be able to enable Windows Sonic for Headphones in Windows 10 while running the software. Support for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 is set to become available in the upcoming months.
The EPOS Gaming Suite features a 9-band customizable equalizer, as well as several microphone settings for reducing background noise, regulating sidetone and noise gate level. There is also a microphone effect setting to alter the pitch of your voice. Both noise reduction and noise gate work similarly, although noise gate gives you the ability to completely cut off certain frequencies, rather than filtering/suppressing them like noise reduction does. Sidetone works similarly to Transparency Mode, letting you hear your own voice while talking on the microphone.
From back to front, the GSX 300 measures 9.3cm deep including the 25mm diameter volume knob, which protrudes 1.5cm out. Without taking the volume knob into account, the GSX 300 has a 7cm depth. The length of the unit (side to side) is longer at the top (8cm) and narrower towards the bottom (7cm). The The GSX 300 measures 4cm high. There is included also a 1.2 meter long cable (Sennheiser branded) cable. You can buy the EPOS GSX 300 from amazon. Check out the review of the Sennheiser CX 400BT true wireless.
To give you an idea how the Sennheiser HD 450BT and EPOS GSP 601 headset sound without the EPOS GSX 300 DAC, checkout the volume tests from the video below:
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