Kind of depressing specs. Looks nice, kinda sleek and I like the touchscreen stuff but feature wise I can get most of that stuff with a better spec (Edit: and cheaper) Creative GC7 which does all the same things but can allow a wider range of headphones. The G6 would be better yet if you don't mind having to deal with everything within the software.
RamboneI’d like to try a GC7 some day, though I’m not sure I’m ready for the streamer controls (as I mainly keep my games on console). I have the older G5 and E5, and I used to have the Soundblaster X7 (wrote the first review on the internet about it!), but the G5 and E5 have been outperformed by better sounding, smaller devices (like, my Bluewave GET and an iFi Go I tried recently at a headphone meet sounds better than the G5 and those are tiny, though to be fair they don’t offer the software suite to customize the sound). The G6 apparently had a superior amplifier than the G5, I wonder (hope?) a similar upgrade happened between the GSX 1000 generations too.
EvshrugThe GC7 is actually a pretty handy device. The left knob controls overall volume. The Right knob allows you to adjust the chat volume, so if you get a loud squeaker on voice chat you can turn him down like you would be able to on Playstation 5's chat mixer. Center knob and buttons around it allow you to make finer adjustments to bass, treble, surround and mic volume which is super handy and convenient, especially while in game. Over all I really like the GC7, the only thing I don't really like is the SXFI holographic effect but luckily you don't need it and the scout mode for FPS competitive gaming is unmolested and present. The G6 is a little more versatile as it can handle headphones all the way up to 600ohms. The G6 can amp like a boss, the only thing that I can seem to make it sweat a little with is the Hifiman HE-6se v2 which is notoriously hungry.
Creative recently added Chat Mixer support to the G6 front dial which is cool. As an owner of the G5, both are an upgrade no doubt. These devices are pretty much a no brainer if you do a lot of gaming, although there is nothing wrong with using a traditional dac and amp but I like the mic support and gaming related features so i'll swap to GC7 or G6 when gaming and dealing with chat.
I'm not surprised why you moved on from the G5 or even the E5 which was a cool device, the iFi Go Blue is no slouch. At anyrate, as far as the GSX1000 2nd Edition is concerned, Sennheiser gaming external sound cards tend to be way too much money for what they offer. In the case of the 2nd edition, I'm not really seeing the value here on what you get for the money when I have Creative devices like the GC7 or G6 that are priced significantly less and in my eyes better gaming focused products and would also cater to an audio enthusiast. Ultimately I would have to audition the GSX 1000 2nd Edition but at the moment I'm not impressed with what I'm seeing for $200.