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What we think
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Updated January 10, 2024·
The Sennheiser 450BT offers superior active noise cancelling and better overall sound quality, making it ideal for immersive music listening and air travel where noise isolation is crucial. It also includes a convenient foldable design for portability and supports AptX Low Latency, enhancing TV and gaming experiences by reducing audio lag. Meanwhile, the Steelseries TUSQ is a more budget-friendly option, lighter in weight and has a boom microphone, which can be better for gaming. However, the TUSQ lacks wireless connectivity and noise cancellation, and is not optimized for exercise due to the lack of sweatproof certification. Choose the Sennheiser 450BT for a high-quality audio experience with greater versatility, or the Steelseries TUSQ for a less expensive solution with an emphasis on gaming. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Sennheiser 450BT
- Very good for TV and video
- Excellent for air travel
- Good for podcasts and audiobooks
Advantages of the Steelseries TUSQ
- Good for music
Key differences
Music
6.2
7.6
The Steelseries TUSQ is good for music, while the Sennheiser 450BT is only fair.
Phone Calls
6.9
5.2
The Sennheiser 450BT is only fair for phone calls, while the Steelseries TUSQ is poor.
Podcasts and Audiobooks
7.9
4.7
The Sennheiser 450BT is good for podcasts and audiobooks, while the Steelseries TUSQ is poor.
TV and Video
8.1
7.3
The Sennheiser 450BT is very good for TV and video, while the Steelseries TUSQ is good.
Noise Reduction
9.1
6.0
The Sennheiser 450BT is excellent for noise reduction, while the Steelseries TUSQ is only fair.
Battery
27.5 Hours
N/A
The Sennheiser 450BT has 27.5 hours of battery life. The Steelseries TUSQ does not have a battery.
Cost
$139
$55
$0
$50
$100
$150
$200
The Sennheiser 450BT has a price of $139 and the Steelseries TUSQ costs $55.
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Key similarities
Gaming
8.8
8.5
The Sennheiser 450BT and Steelseries TUSQ are both very good for gaming.
Build Quality
8.0
8.0
The Sennheiser 450BT and Steelseries TUSQ both have very good build quality.
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How the Sennheiser 450BT and the Steelseries TUSQ compare to other earbuds and headphones
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Sennheiser 450BT | Steelseries TUSQ |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$139 | $55 | ||
Brand | |||
Brand | Sennheiser | Steelseries | |
Release Date | |||
Release Date | February 1, 2020 | August 1, 2021 | |
Form Factor | |||
Form Factor | Headphones | Earbuds | |
Connectivity | |||
Connectivity | Wired + Wireless | Wired | |
SOUND | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Music Score | |||
Music Score | 6.2/10 | 7.7/10 | |
Phone Calls Score | |||
Phone Calls Score | 7/10 | 5.3/10 | |
Gaming Score | |||
Gaming Score | 8.9/10 | 8.6/10 | |
TV and Video Score | |||
TV and Video Score | 8.1/10 | 7.4/10 | |
Exercise Score | |||
Exercise Score | 6.1/10 | 4.2/10 | |
PERFORMANCE | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery life | |||
Battery life | 27.5 Hours | N/A | |
Wireless charging | |||
Wireless charging | No | N/A | |
Charging time | |||
Charging time | 2.3 Hours | N/A | |
Bluetooth version | |||
Bluetooth version | 5 | N/A | |
FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Active Noise Cancelling | |||
Active Noise Cancelling | Yes | No | |
Noise Reduction Score | |||
Noise Reduction Score | 9.1/10 | 6/10 | |
Virtual Surround | |||
Virtual Surround | No | N/A | |
Android App | |||
Android App | Yes | N/A | |
iOS App | |||
iOS App | Yes | N/A | |
Mic Quality | |||
Mic Quality | 8.5/10 | 8.5/10 | |
BUILD AND DESIGN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality | |||
Build Quality | 8/10 | 8/10 | |
Comfort score | |||
Comfort score | 7/10 | 7.6/10 | |
Size | |||
Size | N/A | Large | |
Weight (headset or single earbud) | |||
Weight (headset or single earbud) | 240.4 Grams | 11 Grams | |
Microphone style | |||
Microphone style | Integrated | Boom | |
Shopping
Sennheiser 450BT
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Dig into reviews and images
Sound Guys
Lily Katz | March 2022
"The Sennheiser HD 450BT is a very good pair of headphones for the price, noise canceling is good and sound quality is great—quite rare at this price point. Like any product, this headset isn’t without its faults."
Steelseries TUSQ
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Can Buy or Not
Aloysius Low | March 2021
"The SteelSeries Arctis Tusq is a great headset for those on a more modest budget. You can use it for gaming or music, and I daresay it's also great for Zoom meetings when you don't want to be wearing on-ear or over-ear headphones."
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About Sennheiser
A family-owned company, Sennheiser is a German, high fidelity, audio equipment manufacturer founded in 1945. Their consumer audio division is now owned by the Swiss hearing aid and cochlear implant manufacturer Sonova. Sennheiser offers a wide variety of, very high quality, audio equipment solutions, from headphones to earbuds, full sets of monitoring speakers, amplifiers and microphones. They also make what is widely regarded as the best, and most expensive, headphones in existence, the HE-1 Orpheus, costing a whopping $59,000 dollars.
About Steelseries
Steelseries is a Danish gaming products manufacturer founded in 2001 and owned by GN Store Nord. Beside a large variety of gaming peripherals like mice, keyboards, and mousemats, Steelseries markets the Arctis line of gaming headsets which feature integrated boom microphones and RGB lighting. Steelseries has partnered with several game publishers and studios for limited editions of their products like a line of Cyberpunk 2077 themed headsets in 2020.
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