The Best Gaming Headsets of 2023

Update, 07/07/2023: We’ve reviewed our suggestions and are assured these are nonetheless the very best gaming headsets you should purchase.

What to Look For in a Gaming Headset in 2023

When your objective is to pack a microphone right into a set of headphones and make each sound nice, the choices change into slim. A gaming headset has lots to deal with in a single bundle, and if any single half of a headset isn’t as much as snuff, it turns into onerous to advocate.

Gaming headsets want wonderful sound high quality and the flexibility to present you correct response and spatial readability for appears like footsteps in a aggressive shooter. Audio is important to the best way we play video games, so there’s no place for headsets which have a slim soundstage. Other bells and whistles, corresponding to RGB lighting or the way it seems to be, are secondary to this.

On prime of that, you want a microphone that isn’t fuzzy or quiet. Microphones in headsets could be extraordinarily hit and miss as a result of typically it’s a lot simpler for producers to incorporate a weak one to maintain the worth low. The finest gaming headsets have crisp microphones and are simply delicate sufficient to choose up your voice however not all the pieces else within the background.

As such, it may be troublesome to discover a candy spot relating to the worth of gaming headsets. Lots of headsets are both overpriced or deceivingly low cost for a way good they’re. It takes a cautious eye to find out whether or not or not a headset is strong, particularly since there are such a lot of completely different choices on the market.

But that’s what we’re right here for! Below are the very best gaming headsets on the market.

For most individuals, the HyperX Cloud Alpha S is the gaming headset to get. It’s the type of headset to choose up in case you want one thing to work on all the pieces you have got, as it really works with PC, PS5, and Xbox Series consoles. It’s the bread and butter for what you want in a headset.

The Cloud Alpha S headset is strong all through, providing nice sound for primary listening actions and an correct microphone. They’re additionally comfy, which is a large plus since gaming headsets are sometimes worn for hours at a time.

You won’t suppose it, however the best way headsets sound can add to person consolation as nicely. This HyperX headset lacks a bit within the bass division (contemplating they’ve distinctive bass sliders on the cups), however is in any other case strong and even. An even sound is important to scale back pressure in your ears whereas listening to very dynamic audio for lengthy intervals of time. This is also a boon for holding sound cues like footsteps clear within the combine, elevating your gaming expertise.

Because it connects by way of USB, the HyperX Cloud Alpha S lacks an in-line mute management for console gamers. If it’s worthwhile to mute your microphone steadily, that might be a deal-breaker for you. The headset additionally features a mixer which you can mess with, however the outcomes are usually not spectacular.

That mentioned, these small gripes don’t have an effect on how good the Cloud Alpha S truly is. It’s a powerful choose in case you want a gaming headset that connects to all the pieces and sounds nice with none fuss.

The HyperX Cloud Stinger headset is cheap for varied causes, however the worth shouldn’t scare you away from it. For the worth level, it’s unbelievable. The design of the headset is comfy, and its microphone is surprisingly good. It’s not the type of headset you’ll wish to use for any purpose aside from gaming, however whenever you’re purchasing for a gaming headset, that’s not likely a lot of a problem.

For a fraction of the price of competitor headsets, you get a wired headset that’s strong and performs nicely in its personal proper. The Cloud Stinger just isn’t a wi-fi headset, nor does it have excellent audio, however it can deal with virtually something you throw at it—together with platforms you play video games on.

The purpose it’s the very best price range gaming headset is just because of its functionality and its consolation. Comfort is important to gaming headsets, because you’ll usually be carrying them for hours on finish, and that’s one thing you often sacrifice as the worth drops. However, the HyperX Cloud Stingers are true to the identify and float over your ears for hours at a time. For gaming, that’s precisely what you need.

It could be fairly onerous to justify a price ticket of 300 and fifty bucks for a gaming headset, however the MetalSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless headset makes a number of good arguments for forking out.

Let’s begin with the audio. The Nova Pro headset affords 360-degree spatial audio and is appropriate with Microsoft Spatial Sound for Xbox and Tempest 3D Audio for PS5. Spatial audio is ideal for gaming as a result of it permits differing types of sound to exist in their very own house within the soundscape. This ends in a extra life like and immersive audio expertise.

This is additional enhanced by a Parametric Equalizer, which provides you granular management over sounds via the Sonar Audio Software Suite. You may, for instance, enhance the amount of footsteps whereas decreasing the amount of explosions and gunfire. Combined with ANC, this provides you spectacular management over the sounds reaching your ears.

Another essential issue to search for in a wi-fi headset is battery life. MetalSeries’s resolution to the issue of working out of cost mid-game is a hot-swappable battery system. You get two batteries, every offering 18-22 hours of use. You can cost one within the base station whereas utilizing the opposite, so that you don’t have to fret about working out of juice within the center of a gaming session.

The base station, which additionally has two USB ports, has an in depth LED panel that shows data on quantity degree, frequency, and, of course, battery degree. The magnificence of these two USB ports is that they allow you to join two gadgets and change between them on the contact of a button. And because the headset works with Xbox, PlayStation, PC, Mac, Switch, and cellular gadgets, twin system assist can are available very helpful.

Wireless headsets are virtually at all times heavier than their wired counterparts, however the mixture of steel and light-yet-strong plastic within the Nova Pro retains the load at a snug degree. The adjustable floating headband and smooth leather-effect ear pads additional assist to make these headphones nice for prolonged use.

If you’ve dabbled in gaming peripherals, you’ve absolutely heard of Razer. Razer makes some of the very best gaming equipment on the market, and its headsets aren’t any completely different. The Razer BlackShark V2 is ideal for PC avid gamers, with sturdy audio, a removable microphone, and strong noise isolation.

Unfortunately, the Razer BlackShark V2 makes use of a USB sound card, so it isn’t appropriate with any consoles. But for PC gaming, this headset is unmatched. The sound card creates beautiful audio whereas additionally chopping out extraneous noise. This is right for when it’s worthwhile to put all of your focus into the sport. You may even maintain the BlackShark V2s on for lengthy intervals as a result of the padding on the cups is sturdy and smooth.

The Razer BlackShark V2 headset additionally excels at producing impartial audio which is right for gaming. When you mix that with noise isolation, you get a headset that’s constructed for the last word gaming audio expertise.

The knocks to this headset embrace some sound leakage that may occur based mostly on their design. So in case you play with excessive quantity, different folks may hear it. There’s additionally the draw back that the bodily controls on the headset are restricted to muting the microphone and controlling the amount. There’s no option to break up completely different audio sources or have full-on EQ management.

But all issues thought of, these are options that you just don’t must take full benefit of what the Razer BlackShark V2 affords.

Best Gaming Headset for PS5: Sony Pulse 3D

Sony’s Pulse 3D headset affords unbelievable worth for cash. It’s a big over-ear headset with built-in noise-canceling microphones, lengthy battery life, and incredible 3D audio. Of course, Sony has made it in order that any headset linked to a DualSense controller advantages from their 3D audio processing, however the Pulse 3D is particularly designed and tuned for it, so the expertise actually shines right here.

The Pulse 3D doesn’t have a mic increase that stands out from the headset and chat high quality doesn’t appear to endure for it. The total design of the headset, particularly the white and black mannequin, can also be appropriate trendy, and enticing. It’s extra in direction of the Apple finish of the design spectrum than the stereotypical “gamer” peripheral design. Whether that’s a professional or a con depends upon your tastes.

Overall sound high quality is sort of good—actually higher than most built-in TV audio system and higher than any $100 headset we’ve heard for gaming audio. Of course, you possibly can connect a dearer set of cans to your DualSense and blow the Pulse 3D away, however that’s hardly a good combat.

While it’s simple to advocate the Pulse 3D for PS5 house owners, some issues aren’t so good. While it seems to be good, the precise construct high quality is a little bit on the flimsy aspect, although that has the profit of making for a lighter headset.

The greatest adverse in our opinion is the necessity for a USB dongle, that you must plug into the PS5 to make use of the headset. Why Sony couldn’t merely make the headset use the identical protocol the DualSense does to transmit and obtain audio, we don’t know, but it surely’s a jarringly inelegant facet of an in any other case seamless expertise.

The official Xbox Wireless Headset is an understated product that you just gained’t routinely inform aside from non-gaming headsets. With only a slight inexperienced accent and a black-on-black Xbox brand on the earcup, it doesn’t have the gamer aesthetic many equipment have.

The headset seems to be premium to the attention and is considerably dearer than Sony’s equal for the PS5, which makes it a little bit disappointing that it nonetheless depends on a mic increase reasonably than built-in mics. Nonetheless, you do get voice isolation expertise and a incredible 15-hour battery life score.

The headset can also be comfy and nice for prolonged multiplayer classes. We’re additionally completely satisfied to see that there is no such thing as a base station or dongle wanted to pair this headset with an Xbox Series console, one thing we want Sony would copy on the PS5 aspect of the fence.

Sadly, when you do get entry to a quantity of 3D audio applied sciences, the general sound high quality is middling based mostly on person suggestions. That’s not an enormous deal for a gaming headset that in any other case matches into the Xbox ecosystem completely, and also you’d have to spend so much more cash to get worthwhile audio high quality enhancements. We’re nonetheless completely satisfied to advocate this as the very best total alternative for Xbox avid gamers.

Frequently Asked Questions