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Most people when trying to maximize their gaming experience focus on the quality of the game and their computer’s processing power. But an often-overlooked variable that can greatly affect the experience is a decent gaming headset. It’s especially important if you plan on getting the best out of multiplayer games, where you’re just as likely to use your headset to chat with friends as you are to use it as a strategic tool to help you win. Reflex Active Smartwatch
As you’d expect, there’s no shortage of gaming headsets out there. No one wants to wade through the myriad options only to settle on one that ends up leaving you disappointed. That’s why I’ve done all the heavy lifting for you, testing a ton of different headsets to find the best.
Why should you trust me? Because I’m a hardcore gamer and tech user like you, which means I’m always on the hunt for better gear to improve my own experience. More than that, I’ve spent many years weighing the pros and cons of the latest new-release gaming headsets, so you could say I know more than a thing or two about them.
To see the criteria I use to test each product and some helpful buying advice be sure to read on below the picks.
Updated 12/7/2023: To include the Corsair HS80 Max. This premium headset produces warm, natural-sounding mid-tones which are just perfect for capturing the soundscape in most games, and its cool mesh fabric earcups and lightweight plastic design make for a very comfy wear. I also recently reviewed the JLab Nightfall, a budget headset that costs just $39,99. This headset has impressive audio, but I experienced some teething issues with the set’s microphone in my preproduction model.
You have to nit pick very hard to find any flaws with this premium headset that offers the versatility of 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless connectivity, as well as a wired connection. In wireless mode, it delivers crisp sound in 44.1kHz/16-bit standard resolution at up to 40 feet from your computer. But if you want to enjoy a richer sound you can also plug into a GameDAC controller that lets you access a higher 96KHz/24-Bit Hi-Res audio. The GameDAC also lets you switch between your PC and Xbox One or Xbox X/S at the press of a button—which saves you the hassle of buying separate headsets for your consoles.
Active Noise Cancellation and 360 Degree Spatial Audio technologies also boost the headset’s audio experience, the standout of the two being the latter, which uses 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound tracks to accurately reflect the direction of sounds. The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless also has the finest software support I’ve seen for a gaming headset, allowing you to choose from among 23 pre-made EQ presets designed for games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Fortnite, Dota 2, Forza Horizon V, and Call of Duty: Warzone, to name just a few.
Audiophile-grade headsets are usually the domain of high-end music studios and not gaming dens. But Audeze’s Maxwell Wireless is an exception, being a studio-grade headset especially made for gamers. Its secret sauce is its 90mm planar magnetic drivers which produce a more natural, full-bodied audio signature than headsets with 40 to 50 mm neodymium drivers.
To fit such large drivers, the Maxwell Wireless is extremely big and heavy — it weighs a little more than a pound (490 grams). Although, you wouldn’t know by wearing it — the comfort onboard is very luxe; soft memory foam sits under plush leatherette for a premium feel and there’s an inner adjustable suspension band that balances out the headset’s weight across the top of your head.
The Maxwell Wireless works with just about any device — Windows PC, Mac, Xbox 360, Xbox X/S, Nintendo Switch, Android and iOS devices, and PlayStation 5. It supports Dolby Atmos for surround sound in games. For connectivity, you get a USB cable and an adapter for making a wired connection, a 2.4GHz USB-C dongle for low-latency Wi-Fi, and a 3.5mm cable for making an old-school analog connection. Although simultaneous Bluetooth isn’t available using the Wi-Fi dongle, you can still hook up simultaneous audio using the headset’s Bluetooth and a wired connection.
The Roccat Syn Max Air headset sports a knockout futuristic aesthetic thanks to it cuboid shaped earcups that also have mesmerizing programmable RGB zones. The cups also feature ProSpec earpads, meaning if you wear glasses the frames will easily fit through the sides of the cups for a comfortable fit.
Looks aside, this headset boasts a list of gamer-centric features that make it enjoyable to use. Connectivity comes in the form of 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a wired connection, and the Bluetooth can be used simultaneously with the Wi-Fi so that you can enjoy an extra audio source while gaming. In my review I thought its 50mm Nanoclear drivers produced a nice balanced sound that was a marked improvement over its predecessor the Syn Pro Air. It also comes with a convenient dock for charging between uses.
Cloud Alpha is a chip off the old block in HyperX’s Cloud series, combining comfort with impressive audio quality. The impressive sound comes courtesy of a dual driver chamber design that separates out bass notes from mids and highs—ultimately producing clearer, smoother output.
The Cloud Alpha’s earcups are the secret sauce behind its comfortable feel. These generously padded cups sit tightly on your head but without squeezing your temples, so they’re perfect for long gaming stints where you can forget you’re wearing them. In our PCWorld review our reviewer was impressed by the fact that you can fully remove the HyperX Cloud Alpha’s cables in the event they break, rather than having to buy a whole new gaming headset.
If your budget only stretches to $60, the Astro A10 is your best bet for sound quality, delivering clean mids and a rich bass that’s almost as good as more expensive Astro headsets. It sports a flip-to-mute microphone, a luxury among gaming headsets and usually reserved for higher-end models.
All pros considered, the Astro A10 is still an entry-level headset and has a few cons; except for the material covering the cups, it’s entirely made from plastic and the rather boxy earcups won’t be to everyone’s taste. Still, if you’re not picky, these things shouldn’t bother you too much.
The Razer Barracuda Pro delivers excellent-quality sound, producing deep commanding bass tones, and clear mids and highs in both games and movies. On top of that, it features THX Spatial Audio technology, which elevates your audio to a rich and satisfying surround sound experience. Unlike some spatial audio support for headsets, Razer’s Synapse app gives you quite a lot of control, allowing you to personalize the directionality of the sound with easy-to-navigate dot diagrams. You can also tailor-make and assign presets for your specific games or media.
The Razer Barracuda Pro also features decent connectivity options including 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.2 wireless, as well as a USB-A-to-USB-C (wired) adapter for plugging it in. It’s compatible with Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and Android devices, so you won’t have to buy separate headsets for each of your devices.
With an open ear design in the earcups, the Corsair Virtuoso Pro headset lets in more sound than most gaming headsets, which is perfect if you like to stream your games and want to monitor your own voice or hear your talent interviews in real time. The headset’s design is both elegant and comfortable too. Comfort comes courtesy of an adjustable headband, soft memory foam earpads, and a lightweight frame that weighs just 13.6 ounces (338 grams). The headset’s build quality is very decent — it’s comprised of robust plastic and metal.
In our review, we found that the Corsair Virtuoso Pro’s 50mm graphene drivers produced deep bass and clear treble tones with great detail. While that makes for a great audio experience while gaming, the lack of protective shielding in the earcups does mean that this headset isn’t that effective at blocking ambient noise, so it’s best used in quiet environments.
Corsair has made a brave move to prioritize comfort for gamers even at the expense of what most gamers might expect from a premium gaming headset’s design. How so? The HS80 Max eschews leatherette for a cooling mesh fabric on its earcups, and swaps metal for plastic in the headband, making it extremely lightweight and relatively sweat-free for long gaming sessions.
On the audio front, the HS80 Max sounds terrific — its 50mm audio drivers produce a clear, high-resolution audio signature with neutral mid-tones, which really enliven sounds like footfalls and ricochets up. It has both 2.4GHz low-latency Wi-Fi connectivity as well as Bluetooth, which you can’t listen to at the same time, but both connectivity types do have a long signal range that allows you to keep listening while taking breaks away from your rig. The non-detachable flip-to-mute mic does a great job reproducing naturally-sounding speech for team chats.
A while back Logitech acquired the microphone manufacturer Blue, which explains why we found the Logitech G Pro X’s mic to be so capable in our PCWorld testing. Although not physically that different from other mics, it benefits from Blue-branded software support in Logitech’s G Hub app, including presets that make it sound convincingly like a desk microphone.
As well as sporting an exceptional microphone, the G Pro X is one of Logitech’s best-looking headsets, its flat-black leatherette headband, metal forks, and pill-shaped earcups exude a retro aesthetic reminiscent of the golden era of 1940s broadcasting.
Not only does the Logitech Astro A30 produce a clear and natural sound, but its connectivity is also excellent. It sports dual wireless and wired connections with cross-platform compatibility, so you can easily hook it up to your PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S consoles, or even a Mac. The headset’s Bluetooth can also be used simultaneously with a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi connection, which means you can take phone calls and participate in team chats, all the while losing absolutely none of your gaming audio.
All this functionality could have been delivered in a stock standard design, but the Astro A30 is one of the best-looking pair of cans I’ve seen in a long time. I especially like its plush leatherette earcups, stylish Astro logos, and removable speaker tags that you can swap out to personalize exactly as you wish.
Although expensive, the Astro A50 is dependable, providing decent sound over a quick 2.4GHz wireless connection. The audio drivers located in the A50’s earcups deliver strongly through the mid-range so the A50’s sound is warm and punchy in games and while listening to music.
While previous Astro wireless gaming headsets have featured large chunky charging cradles, the A50’s is quite compact so it takes up much less space on your desk. The cradle also has a built-in display so that you can tell which EQ profile you have selected, or whether you have Dolby or stereo modes switched on.
At $170, the G935 is a mid-range gaming headset, costing half the price of some premium headsets. Yet its generous feature-set includes a few high-end luxuries. They include a folding boom mic, dongle storage compartment, and stylish leatherette earcups. These features somewhat make up for things like its boxy design and mediocre battery life.
It also excels in the audio department, with its 50mm drivers providing a deeper, more authoritative bass presence than you’ll get from the 40mm drivers in some mid-range wireless gaming headsets. Add to that easy-to-use controls, and you can see why the G935 is an excellent option for gamers on a budget.
HyperX’s Cloud III Wireless headset doesn’t ace any one particular category but hits the right notes for comfort, sound, and design. In our review we found the headset’s driver configuration produces a balanced sound image with precise bass and treble tones. The headset’s best quality, however, is its long battery life that can last a full 120 hours operating at 50 percent volume.
The Cloud III wireless works with PS4, PS5, and Nintendo Switch consoles as well as PC; however, if you want to use the headset’s DTS surround sound, nothing less than a Windows PC with HyperX’s Ngenuity software app loaded on it will do. This headset is best for gamers who like the benefit of wireless connectivity only, since wired connectivity is not available (it’s 2.4GHz wireless connectivity only). It comes with a 10mm detachable microphone with a pop filter that does a great job muffling unwanted noise.
The HyperX Cloud Core Wireless headset delivers the outstanding audio you would expect from a much more expensive model, but for only a fraction of the cost. At less than $100, it is hard to go wrong with this quality gaming headset—especially if you’re on a budget.
By focusing on the things that matter most to gamers without worrying about extraneous software support or expensive sound enhancement settings, HyperX has been able to provide an excellent product at an incredibly affordable price. The lack of setting controls might not appeal to audiophile tinkerers, but its ease-of-use, quick connectivity, and excellent spatial audio make it a gamer’s dream. It also sports a super compact design and cross-compatibility with consoles.
Because no two gaming headsets are the same, I put each product through a thorough testing protocol. I analyze everything from how comfortable and durable they are, to how they perform in games and the software support they get via their manufacturer’s apps. Here’s a list of the main categories I look at:
You’ll spend an awful lot of time wearing a gaming headset, so it’s vital that it feels comfortable. Here I look at design features that either add or subtract from your overall comfort experience—features like a headset’s shape and weight, how well it fits on your head, and the amount of padding in the earcups. But design also plays a big role in a headset’s functionality, so I also look at how adjustable the band is, and how accessible the controls are.
There’s no point owning a headset with comfortable leatherette earcups if it can’t muster a decent sound. That said, I do a lot of listening to get an overall impression of a headset’s audio quality. I take notes on the clarity of the sound, how well the headset produces pitch, and in the case of wireless headsets, how much signal interference there is. My listening is guided by what I know about the headset’s hardware or software. For example, if a headset has Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), I’ll investigate how well the headset can isolate sound and block out noise. I also test the microphone, listening for muffled sounds, static, robotic noises, and any echoes—all signs there could be a problem.
With audio technologies getting ever more complex, gamers have more tools at their disposal than ever via headset apps. Technologies like Hi-Res audio, Spatial Surround Sound, and Parametric EQ all spring to mind, which is why I look closely at the kind of software support on offer.
Historically, gamers have mostly chosen wired headsets over wireless ones. That’s because, until recently, wired headsets were considered much better at delivering fast and secure audio signals than wireless headsets. Nowadays, thanks to the adoption of faster 2.4GHz Wi-Fi band technology, wireless headsets can also transmit audio signals very quickly and with minimal interference.
Consequently, if you’re a casual gamer and not too fussy about the very miniscule risk of your audio dropping out, a wireless headset should be completely fine for your gaming needs, the main advantage being you’ll get tons of extra mobility while still being able to listen to your game’s audio—something you don’t get when you’re tethered by wires.
Admittedly though, if you’re a serious gamer or esports player, you may still want to avoid that small chance your wireless signal will suffer some degree of loss or interference—even if that’s less likely than ever. If the stakes are high, a wired set will provide a little more surety that you won’t miss any crucial game moments, which could make all the difference in a closely contested match.
If you can’t decide, there are headsets now like the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless that provide both wireless and wired functionality in one easy unit and can switch between these modes in less than a minute. These headsets can cost significantly more, so be willing to pay for the privilege.
Another thing to consider is which devices you might want to connect to, since wired and wireless headsets have different compatibilities. For example, most wired headsets connect to your computer via a USB-C connection, but unlike many wireless units, some also have 3.5 mm audio jacks, so they tend to be compatible with a broader number of devices—like smartphones, gaming consoles, and tablets.
Wireless devices on the other hand, connect to your device via a USB-C dongle or Bluetooth connection, which does narrow the number of devices you can use them with to either those that are Bluetooth compatible, or that come with USB-C ports.
While you can possibly do without fancy styling, you should never buy a headset that’s going to cause you discomfort. That’s because even a small amount of force or abrasion from wearing your headset can be extremely unpleasant and result in neck pain, a rash, cranial pressure or worse.
A huge consideration here is how your headset fits on your head and ears. Granted, you won’t always have the opportunity to try them on, it pays to look closely at PCWorld product reviews where our reviewers have done the wearing for you and have summarized how they feel, even after extended periods of time with them on.
You should also pay close attention to product descriptions for the features that indicate that a manufacturer has made comfort a priority. Things you’ll want to tick off your check list are:
a) The headset has a flexible band to minimize pressure and that the band is height adjustable to fit your ears. There is sufficient padding on the earcups and the material is hypoallergenic so it won’t cause skin irritation.
b) The earcups are easily rotatable—since this will ensure they move with your head as it moves. If possible, you should avoid headsets that are excessively heavy, or tightly fitting, since the added weight and clamp force will undoubtedly cause problems. When it comes to comfort, the more premium headsets tend to do better, so again it can be a matter of paying more to get more.
Although wear and tear is an inevitable result of using a gaming headset, some will stand up to the rigors of gaming better than others simply because they’re made from tougher stuff. Ideally, you’ll want a gaming headset that has a metal frame and headband for durability, since plastic ones break quite easily. Metal bands also look more premium, so it’s a win-win.
Cushioning for the headband and earcups can be made from leather, velour, pleather, or foam. Leather and pleather (fake leather) look and feel luxurious. They also tend to be the most resistant to wear, but these materials aren’t very breathable and can cause sweaty ears during long gaming sessions. Foam is the opposite in that it’ll keep your ears cool, but disintegrate quicker. Sitting between the two, velour keeps your ears relatively cool but tends to be fairly resistant to wear and tear.
That’s more of a general rule than an absolute. If you do prefer a material other than velour you can buy anti-sweat or abrasion-resistant covers for your headset’s earcups, which will help them last a little longer. If your headphones do succumb to wear and tear, some manufacturers offer the option of purchasing and swapping out damaged parts. Replacing your earcups can refresh your headset’s look and feel. But having a headset with replaceable cabling can actually save you from having to buy a whole new set if the cabling wears right through.
How well your gaming headset isolates noise makes a big difference to its sound quality. This is especially the case when you’re playing first-person shooters (FPS), where external noise can make it more difficult to locate the direction of sounds, like the footsteps of approaching enemies. In marketing materials, manufacturers will often use terms like Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and passive noise isolation, but these terms mean quite different things. Here’s a quick definition of each:
a) Passive noise isolation: How well a headset can block out external noise just by forming a physical noise-blocking barrier over your ears.
b) Active Noise Cancellation: A technology incorporated into your gaming headset that actively blocks or filters out ambient noise so the sound you hear is the clearest it can be.
If possible, you’ll want a headset that sports both passive noise isolation as well as ANC, since these noise-blocking measures both have benefits. Passive noise isolation tends to be better at blocking out higher-pitched sounds, whereas ANC is more effective at blocking out lower-pitched sounds—like background noise and the sound of traffic. How well ANC and passive noise isolation work can vary greatly among headsets, so it’s worth doing your research to find a headset that makes the cut.
Of all the technologies that come packed into gaming headsets, this one provides arguably the best tactical advantage for gamers. Headsets with surround sound utilize spatial audio technologies like Dolby Atmos to create a 360-degree soundscape. Multiple speakers deliver the sound at different positions in each earcup, telling your brain its precise location in your games.
If you play FPS games like Overwatch, Fortnite, or any of the Call of Duty or Battlefield games, this can have real-time benefits, like being able to hear players sneak up on you from behind, or pinpointing the direction of grenades rolling towards you, so that you can react accordingly. It’s the kind of technology that takes a bit of getting used to, but when you do, it can be a real game changer.
Headsets with surround sound technologies tend to be expensive, so if they’re out of your price range don’t worry too much. Most headsets also come with decent stereo, which will still do a good job relaying the general direction of sounds.
Most games use either in-game chat or external chat apps like Discord, so a decent microphone is a must-have. Mics in gaming headsets tend to come in two flavors: hyper-cardioid, that pick up the sound directly in front of them, or omnidirectional, that pick up sound from different directions.
If you plan on using your headset just for gaming, a cardioid mic should do the trick, since you can use it to chat to folks in your game and then move it away from your mouth to chat to others in the same room. If however, you plan on also using your headset for, say, work meetings as well as gaming, an omnidirectional microphone will better pick up the sound of both you and your colleagues talking. Additionally, if you plan on using your set as a pair of headphones, you’ll need to make sure your headset’s mic is detachable.
The sound clarity and ease-of-use of your microphone is also important. We suggest looking out for features like noise cancellation and sound dampening for a better-quality sound experience. For convenience, an automatic mute button is useful when you want to quickly block out any sound from your end.
US Plug Series Charger Based in Australia, Dominic Bayley is a hardcore tech enthusiast. His PCWorld focus is on PC gaming hardware: laptops, mice, headsets and keyboards.