A lot of the time, the most effective “gaming headset” isn’t a headset in any respect. Whereas many individuals have a look at gaming headsets as their very own area of interest, they’re in the end simply headphones with a increase mic, some fancy branding and (often) an inflated price ticket hooked up. Whereas the final high quality of these headsets has improved over time, a great pair of conventional wired headphones — which, sure, nonetheless exist — nonetheless are likely to ship richer, extra detailed sound. If you could chat with pals, you possibly can at all times hook them as much as a devoted microphone and obtain superior audio high quality there as effectively.
That mentioned, it’s an more and more wi-fi world, and we all know that many individuals simply need the comfort of a headset with a mic in-built. So, after researching the market and testing dozens of contenders over the previous few years, we’ve rounded up the most effective gaming headsets and headphones for gaming that we’ve tried. Each ought to make your recreation time a bit of extra fulfilling, whether or not you play on a PlayStation 5, Xbox, PC or Nintendo Swap.
Desk of contents
Finest gaming headphones for 2025
Finest gaming headsets for 2025
Different gaming headsets we have examined
Notice: It is a collection of noteworthy gaming headsets and headphones we’ve put by their paces, not a complete listing of all the pieces we’ve ever tried.
PlayStation Pulse Elite (and Pulse Discover)
The PlayStation Pulse Elite is an inexpensive various to the Turtle Seaside Atlas Air for PS5 homeowners, because it lets you change quantity, swap between totally different EQ presets, modify the game-to-chat combine and mute the mic proper from the console’s native UI. It’s much like the best way AirPods combine with iPhones. This pair additionally permits you to hook up with a second machine over Bluetooth on the identical time, and the planar magnetic drivers — a rarity for $150 headphones — do a good job of reproducing smaller particulars. The sound profile as an entire is narrower and extra uneven within the bass and treble than the Atlas Air, nevertheless, whereas the all-plastic design is comfy however flimsy-feeling. It additionally doesn’t do a lot to dam exterior noise, regardless of being closed-back, and the management buttons are awkward to succeed in.
We additionally examined Sony’s in-ear model of those headphones, the PlayStation Pulse Explore, however discovered it too uncomfortable to put on over prolonged periods. That one is restricted to roughly 5 hours of battery life, too.
Astro A50 (Gen 5)
The Astro A50 (Gen 5) is successfully the identical headset because the A50X, simply with none HDMI ports on its base station. It prices $80 much less, so it’s a worthy various to the Audeze Maxwell for those who primarily play on one platform and desire a superior microphone. However the means to mechanically change between consoles is the factor that makes the A50X value shopping for within the first place, in order that comfort remains to be value paying for for those who recreation on a number of gadgets.
Corsair Virtuoso Professional
The Corsair Virtuoso Pro is one other one of many few devoted gaming headsets with an open-back design. It has a comparatively darkish sound with principally underemphasized treble and elevated upper-bass, although the highs are clearer right here than they’re on the Astro A40, and it nonetheless delivers a wider soundstage than most gaming headsets. We most well-liked this signature over Astro’s pair with some video games, although in others it felt much less balanced. The Virtuoso Professional’s mic is decidedly much less muffled than the A40’s however nonetheless sounds pretty skinny, so it’s merely respectable in comparison with the broader headset market. Its headband adjustment mechanism feels low cost, too, and you’ll’t detach the mic with out swapping cables out fully. Its spherical, breathable ear cups and manageable weight do make it straightforward to put on, although, and it comes with a sturdy journey case for defense. In the end, it’s a good purchase, however it’s onerous to justify over the extra featured and easier-sounding Atlas Air.
HyperX Cloud Alpha Wi-fi
The HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless can final effectively over 300 hours at reasonable volumes, which is remarkable and by far the most effective of any wi-fi mannequin we’ve examined. It’s mild and never too cosy on the top, and its highly effective bass lends an actual sense of pleasure to in-game motion. But it surely blunts extra element than the Atlas Air, Maxwell and A50 X, and its mic isn’t nearly as good. A number of users have additionally reported latency issues when utilizing the headset with HyperX’s Ngenuity software program, and there’s no Xbox, Bluetooth or wired audio help. Nonetheless, if battery life is paramount, you might be able to look previous all of that.
Logitech G Professional X 2 Lightspeed
If the Audeze Maxwell is out of inventory, the Logitech G Pro X 2 Lightspeed is one other high quality wi-fi headset value contemplating. It sounds higher than the HyperX Cloud Alpha Wi-fi, with satisfying however extra managed bass and extra correct mids, and it’s lighter on the top than the Maxwell. Logitech charges its battery life at 50 hours, however we discovered it to final for much longer at reasonable volumes. Nevertheless, much like the Astro A50 X, a dip within the treble makes it sound darker and extra veiled than the Maxwell, and it doesn’t have any HDMI-switching tips to fall again on. Its mic additionally sounds much less pure than these of the Maxwell, A50 X and Cloud Alpha Wi-fi. Plus, whereas it could actually join over a USB dongle, Bluetooth or a 3.5mm cable, it could actually’t pair to 2 gadgets directly like Audeze’s and Astro’s pairs. Our largest difficulty is the worth: Worth-wise, it’s in one thing of a no man’s land at its MSRP of $250. It’s a tremendous alternative if it dips under $200, although.
Razer BlackShark V2 Professional
The wi-fi Razer BlackShark V2 Pro is tremendously comfy and has a great mic, however its boomy sound is much less refined and detailed than the Audeze Maxwell. As a closed-back headset, it additionally lacks the width of the Atlas Air. There’s no help for wired audio both.
Logitech G535 Lightspeed
The Logitech G535 is an impressively mild (0.52 kilos) and comfortable wi-fi headset that’s usually accessible for $100 or much less. It has a comparatively impartial sound signature: not flat, however not beholden to huge, thumping bass. It might make particulars within the mids sound skinny, and if something it may use a bit of extra sub-bass, however it’s an agreeable pay attention total. Nevertheless, its mic is not particularly full, and its 35-or-so-hour battery life is a big drop from our high suggestions. It doesn’t work with Xbox’s wi-fi protocol or Bluetooth both, and it forces you to crank the quantity to succeed in a listenable degree. However for those who don’t wish to spend a ton on a wi-fi headset, it’s a tremendous worth.
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7X
Xbox homeowners who desire a extra reasonably priced wi-fi headset than the Audeze Maxwell may do worse than the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7X. It’s one other bass-forward pair, and its mic is similar to that of the Cloud Alpha Wi-fi. It provides a number of connectivity choices, together with Bluetooth and a 3.5mm cable. Whereas it is marketed for Xbox, it could actually additionally hook up with PCs and PS5s. Its 30-ish-hour battery life is effectively wanting the Maxwell and Cloud Alpha Wi-fi, nevertheless, and its uneven treble may cause issues like in-game dialogue to sound masked in sure titles.
SteelSeries sells a less expensive Arctis Nova 5X mannequin with longer battery life, although we have not been capable of take a look at that one but, and it does not help wired connections.
HyperX Cloud Alpha
The wired HyperX Cloud Alpha usually goes for $80 or much less, and at that worth it’s a good center floor between the Cloud Stinger 2 and Astro A40 for those who actually desire a closed-back gaming headset. It’s previous, however its plush earpads and headband are cozy, and its removable mic, whereas not very good, remains to be higher than the one on the A40. Its treble is underemphasized, nevertheless, and once more it sounds extra “in your head” than Astro’s pair.
SteelSeries Arctis Nova Professional
The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro is a snug wired-only headset with a noticeably clearer mic than the Astro A40. It additionally comes with a helpful DAC that makes it straightforward to regulate the headset’s EQ and game-to-chat combine on the fly. Nevertheless, its closed-back design can’t present the identical enveloping sense of width, and its default sound can sound piercing within the treble. It’s additionally pricier, usually hovering within the $200 to $220 vary.
SteelSeries Arctis Nova Professional Wi-fi
The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless is basically much like its wired counterpart however provides a satisfactory degree of lively noise cancellation. Having the ability to hot-swap battery packs and hook up with a number of gadgets directly can also be good. It’s not as handy for multi-console play because the Astro A50 X, although, and it is often not less expensive than the Audeze Maxwell, which sounds higher, has a superior mic and lasts longer on a cost.
Beyerdynamic MMX 300 Professional
There’s nothing significantly unhealthy in regards to the Beyerdynamic MMX 300 Pro: It makes use of the identical drivers because the DT 900 Professional X, its velour earpads are cozy and its mic works effectively. It’s simply onerous to advocate spending $300 on a wired-only headset when the Audeze Maxwell provides wi-fi performance and equally glorious sound — with barely much less spiky treble and extra even bass — for a similar worth. The MMX 300 Professional’s mic isn’t removable both, and the closed-back design retains it from sounding as extensive because the DT 900 Professional X.
HyperX Cloud III Wi-fi
The HyperX Cloud III Wireless is cozy and may last as long as 120 hours per cost, however it sounds much less dynamic than the older Cloud Alpha Wi-fi, with weaker bass response. Like that pair, it additionally lacks a 3.5mm jack, Bluetooth audio help and Xbox compatibility. The Cloud Alpha Wi-fi nonetheless will get almost thrice the battery life, too, so it stays a greater purchase if you would like a wi-fi headset for PS5 or PC gaming within the $150 vary.
Sennheiser HD 490 Professional
The Sennheiser HD 490 Pro are studio-focused open-back headphones that additionally work effectively for gaming. They arrive with two units of ear pads, one which barely elevates the bass and one other that bumps the midrange, although they ship spectacular width and element both method with out pushing too onerous in a single path. They’re additionally a pleasure to put on over lengthy durations, each lighter than the DT 900 Professional X and fewer stiff than the HD 560S. That mentioned, they’re often priced near $400, and their sound profile is extra of a pleasant various to our high picks than one thing clearly extra pure or resolving. Most individuals don’t have to pay the premium.
Finest gaming headsets and headphones: What to search for
Evaluating headphones is a very subjective train, so calling one pair absolutely the “finest” is one thing of a idiot’s errand. At a sure level, whether or not you are an audiophile or not, all the pieces turns into a matter of style. For many, a headphone with a large soundscape and powerful imaging efficiency — i.e., the flexibility to place sounds appropriately, so you possibly can extra exactly inform the place footsteps and different gameplay results are coming from — will present probably the most immersive gaming expertise, the sort that makes you’re feeling like your head is inside a given scene.
For that, you desire a high-quality pair of open-back headphones. That’s to say, an over-ear pair whose ear cups don’t utterly seal off the ear from air and out of doors noise. These are inherently horrible at isolating you from exterior sound and stopping others from listening to what you’re taking part in, so for those who usually play video games in a loud atmosphere, their advantages shall be blunted. However in a quiet room, the most effective open-back pairs sound considerably wider and extra exact than extra widespread closed-back fashions.
Extra up for debate is how a great gaming headphone ought to sound. If you’d like one thing that’ll show you how to in aggressive multiplayer video games, you might choose a headphone with a flatter sound signature, which’ll preserve a recreation’s combine from being overly boosted in a single path and is much less prone to masks the smaller particulars of what’s occurring round you. A barely brighter sound, one which pushes the higher frequencies a tad, can also work. Open-back headphones nearly by no means have big sub-bass, so that you not often have to fret about low-end sounds muddying up the remainder of the signature. On this mild, the truth that an awesome quantity of gaming headsets are closed-back and bass-heavy appears counterintuitive.
Numerous folks love bass, although. And for those who do not actually care about aggressive play, some further low-end can add a contact of pleasure to motion scenes or rousing soundtracks. You continue to don’t desire a pair that reinforces the low-end too onerous — as many gaming headsets do — however the level is that what makes a pair “immersive” to at least one particular person could sound uninteresting to a different.
Current updates
April 2025: We’ve up to date this information to make sure our suggestions are nonetheless correct and eliminated our testing notes for the Beyerdynamic MMX 200, which is now not accessible. Trying ahead, we now have our eyes on a number of different headsets and headphones for our subsequent replace, together with the Sennheiser HD 550, Beyerdynamic MMX 330 Pro, ASUS ROG Delta II, Alienware Pro Wireless Gaming Headset, SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5X and Turtle Beach Stealth 600 (Gen 3).
January 2025: We’ve seemed over this information to make sure our picks are nonetheless correct and added notes on a couple of extra headsets we’ve just lately examined, together with the PlayStation Pulse Elite, Astro A50 (Gen 5) and Beyerdynamic MMX 300 Professional.
November 2024: We have up to date this information with a brand new suggestion for the most effective devoted gaming headset, the Turtle Seaside Atlas Air, and reorganized our picks accordingly. We have additionally added notes on different gaming-friendly headphones we have examined, together with the Sennheiser HD 490 Professional and Razer BlackShark V2 Professional, and eliminated a few write-ups on headsets which can be now not accessible.
This text initially appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/best-gaming-headset-130006477.html?src=rss
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