The subsequent nice peripherals warfare is being waged over your ears. After each firm on the planet put out a gaming mouse after which a mechanical keyboard, they turned their consideration to headsets. So many headsets.
We know you don’t need to scroll via each single headset evaluation when all you need is an easy reply: “What’s the best gaming headset I can buy with my hard-earned dollars?” This web page holds the solutions you search, it doesn’t matter what your funds is.
We’ll hold updating our suggestions as we take a look at new merchandise and discover stronger contenders.
Updated 6/6/20 to incorporate our evaluation of Razer’s Kraken X budget headset, a stable no-frills choice at $50. See the underside of this text for hyperlinks to all of our headset evaluations.
Best all-around gaming headset
HyperX outdid itself with HyperX Cloud Alpha, or “HyperX Cloud III,” as I’ve termed it in my head.
The core design hasn’t modified a lot, that means the Alpha brings the identical mixture of sturdiness and luxury that made me fall in love with its Cloud predecessor. There are some quality-of-life upgrades although, like detachable cabling and extra accessible quantity and mute controls.
It sounds nice, too. HyperX chalks it as much as the Alpha’s dual-chamber expertise, which separates bass frequencies from the mids and highs. That may very well be the case, or it may very well be a gimmick—I’ve mentioned it at larger size in our evaluation. Either approach, the upshot is that the Cloud Alpha sounds nearly as good or higher than loads of its costlier competitors, and with barely extra bass kick this time round. (Read our full review of the HyperX Cloud Alpha.)
An in depth contender is the brand new Logitech G Pro X. At $130, it may possibly’t compete with the Cloud Alpha on worth, however it’s Logitech’s finest headset but, and options a ravishing aesthetic, wonderful sound high quality that far exceeds it worth, and a unbelievable microphone, making it a worthy alternative.(Read our full review of the Logitech G Pro X.)
Best funds gaming headset
At $60, Astro’s A10 may be very entry-level. It’s $10 greater than our earlier advice, the HyperX Cloud Cloud Stinger—nonetheless a terrific headset too—however an excellent worth.
There had been compromises to hit that worth, for certain. The A10 lifts some design inspiration from its costlier siblings, however it’s a bit boxier, with a colorless grey chassis and minimal ornament. It’s additionally 100 p.c plastic.
The A10 has it the place it counts although, which is to say it sounds nice. We’re speaking “great for a $60 headset,” after all, however nonetheless. The A10 delivers clear mids and a wealthy bass that comes near mimicking the sound of Astro’s costlier headsets and solely falters within the particulars. Details, I’d add, that the majority listeners most likely wouldn’t even discover day-to-day. (Read our full review of the Astro A10.)
Best low-end wi-fi gaming headset
Corsair’s carved out a fairly wholesome area of interest for itself on the low finish of the wi-fi market. The new Corsair Void Pro Wireless carries the identical $99 price tag as its predecessors, which even by right now’s requirements is an unbelievable discount—about $50 cheaper than any of the competitors.
The Void Pro Wireless takes getting used to, with diamond-shaped earcups and a headscarf that slants towards the entrance of the pinnacle. It’s an aggressive design, however it’s extra comfy than it seems to be—virtually too comfy, sustaining such mild strain on the pinnacle that it’s vulnerable to slipping round.
Still, I’d reasonably a headset that’s too unfastened than one which places my head in a vice grip. Oversized controls for quantity, energy, and mic mute are simple to search out in a second’s discover, and Corsair’s RGB lighting is top-notch (although you’ll achieve 4 hours of battery by disabling it).
Playback may be very brilliant, with a small-sounding and treble-heavy combine that’s tiring to take heed to long-term. Spending a while with an EQ so as to add a contact of bass and convey down the excessive finish a bit helps.
At least Corsair improved the microphone. That was once this headset’s weak level, however the Void Pro Wireless’s new mic is lastly on-par with the competitors, choosing up much less background noise and reproducing voices with extra readability.
I’m not going to say the Void Pro Wireless is a unbelievable headset—you received’t discover that in a $99 wi-fi. But it’s adequate for most individuals, which is what you need at this worth. (Read the full review of the Corsair Void Pro Wireless.)
Best mid-range wi-fi gaming headset
It’s a troublesome name changing our former mid-tier wi-fi choose, the Logitech G933, with its sibling-successor the Logitech G533. Like, actually powerful. The G933 is a wonderful headset, with crisp and well-balanced audio and some nifty design options (like having the ability to retailer the USB dongle inside an earcup).
In some methods, I’d say the G933 is a greater headset than the G533.
But I’m nonetheless changing it. Why? Well, aesthetics are an enormous purpose. If you need a sign how Logitech’s design language has shifted previously 12 months or so, look no additional than the G933 and G533. The G933 was all sharp angles and science fiction. The G533 then again is modern, skilled, restrained. With a piano-black end and comfortable curves, it seems to be like a headset made by Audio-Technica or Sennheiser—extra mainstream than “gaming” in look, which I like.
The G533’s design can also be useful. The microphone isn’t as hidden as I’d like, however that’s the only real flaw. The headset is light-weight, sturdy, and fewer vise-grip tight than its predecessor.
As for audio constancy? It’s not fairly equal to the G933, however the variations are minimal. The G533 lacks a little bit of oomph, particularly at decrease volumes, and its 7.1 help is subpar. Those are hardly causes to remain away, although—most individuals will run the headset loud sufficient to counteract the headset’s lack of presence, and digital 7.1 is (for my part) just about at all times unhealthy.
The G533 can also be PC-only, whereas the G933 will be connected by 3.5mm cable to different gadgets, in case you require console help. And in case you worth consolation over audio constancy, check out the SteelSeries Arctis 7 too—one other nice alternative.
That stated, the G533 is our official mid-tier wi-fi advice (learn our full review of the Logitech G533).
Best high-end gaming headset
Two gladiators, locked in everlasting fight. That’s been the case with Astro and SteelSeries, each of which have iterated on their $300 headsets through the years—however by no means with any clear winner. These days it’s the Astro A50 that faces off with the SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless.
The A50 is just a few years previous now, however nonetheless a superb wi-fi headset. Astro’s largest enchancment with the most recent refresh was the battery, overcoming a long-running weak spot and packing 12 to 15 hours of life. Better but, it options gyroscopes within the ears that detect whether or not you’ve set it down. It robotically shuts off 10 seconds later if that’s the case, after which seamlessly powers again on and connects to your PC while you choose it again up. Its base station additionally serves as a charger, a pleasant mixture of perform and wonder.
A number of of its weaknesses: The A50 makes use of the 5GHz band, which suggests the vary isn’t nice. Even sitting at my laptop, I often observed interference. A built-in battery additionally implies that in case you neglect to cost it, you’re caught attaching it to your PC with a MicroUSB cable whilst you play. And the audio, whereas fairly good and superior to the Arctis Pro Wireless, nonetheless is definitely outdone by $300 headphones. (Read our full review of the Astro A50.)
The Astro A50 is just a few years previous, however nonetheless holding its personal as a premium choice.
Though the Astro A50 sounds higher, the Steel Series Arctis Pro Wireless has been a favourite of mine for some time—largely due to its battery system. Rather than charging the battery within the headset, the Arctis Pro Wireless as an alternative lets you swap between two detachable packs. One can energy the headset for as much as 12 hours whereas the opposite fees within the facet of the bottom station. There’s actually no approach you may run out of battery in the course of gaming.
The base station can also be useful, permitting you to regulate EQ, chat combine, and different audio tweaks on the fly with a easy OLED show. No software program’s wanted. SteelSeries has closed the hole on audio constancy too, and whereas Astro nonetheless has an edge, the Arctis Pro Wireless sounds a lot better than its Siberia 800 predecessor.
The Arctis Pro Wireless lastly adopts the floating headband type SteelSeries is thought for, with a snug ski-goggle strap and beneficiant ear padding that make it a terrific match for all-day put on. The A50 is comfy too in its personal approach, however the Arctis design is perhaps one of many all-time finest headset designs. (Read the full review of the SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless.)
Overall, the A50 leads in sound high quality, whereas the Siberia 800 will get the sting in ease-of-use and luxury, plus the aforementioned charging technique. With an increasing number of wonderful headsets within the $150 vary, the massive query is whether or not to spend twice as a lot on both of those—they’re positively not twice nearly as good.
How we examined
We take a look at headsets over the course of some weeks, and typically longer. Much longer, in some instances—I’ve been utilizing a pair of Astro A50s as every day drivers for years now, and stand by their high quality and sturdiness. Our rankings are based mostly on the next standards:
Design/consolation: Obviously you need a headset that matches properly with out snapping in half the primary time you place it on. Headsets are examined with our vigorous and ultra-scientific “I bent it a lot and saw if it seemed durable” technique, in addition to in opposition to the internationally acknowledged “I wore this for eight hours and it didn’t give me a headache or make my ears feel like sandpaper” baseline.
Sound: There will at all times be the individuals who say, “Why buy a gaming headset when you can buy a decent pair of headphones and a standalone microphone?” And these individuals are proper, however they’re type of lacking the purpose. There’s one thing to be stated a couple of product that performs simply as properly when watching motion pictures/listening to music because it does whereas taking part in video games. After all, I assume most individuals need one pair of headphones for his or her PC, not a number of pairs for various duties.
With that in thoughts, we take a look at headsets at PCWorld in numerous video games (Battlefield 4, Rainbow Six Siege) but in addition listening to music and watching movies, to be sure to’re getting a good all-around expertise. These aren’t essentially studio-quality headphones, however that doesn’t imply it ought to sound like all-bass-all-the-time.
Price: How a lot are you prepared to spend on a gaming headset? That’s a purely subjective query, however it’s one thing we strive to bear in mind. Our finest all-around choice is a discount at $80, however if you wish to throw $300 at Astro for a pair of A50s we’re not going to cease you.
All of our headset evaluations
Want to see what else we’ve reviewed? We’ll hold updating this regularly, so make sure you come again to see new merchandise that we’ve put via their paces.