Best PC Gaming Headsets (Updated 2023)

Astro Gaming’s A50 has long stood as one of the favorites in gaming headsets. This wireless edition improves on the design and adds a few useful features, and remains an excellent wireless headset that can work with your PC. Although it came out a few years ago, the Astro Gaming A50 continues to be an excellent wireless gaming headset due to how customizable it is. It feels good, sounds good, and has a very convenient charging base that’s been shrunk down from the last version.

Physically, the A50 Wireless is nearly identical to the 2016 model. It’s a solidly-built pair of headphones with prominent pipe-shaped vertical aluminum supports that connect the large, rounded rectangular earcups to the headband. The boom mic is permanently attached to the back of the left earcup and can flip up out of the way to automatically mute. All physical controls sit on the right earcup and include a volume wheel, an equalizer preset button, a Dolby surround sound button, and a power switch on the bottom of the right earcup lets you charge the headset through a wired connection if you don’t want to use the base station. Each earpad features a generous amount of memory foam covered with breathable fabric, matched by padding on the underside of the headband. While the supports on the sides of the headset are aluminum, the rest of the headset is durable matte black plastic, which results in a light and comfortable fit you can wear for long play sessions.

The base station is the biggest change between the A50 Wireless and its 2016 predecessor. It’s about two-thirds the size of the previous base station and can be mistaken for a charging cradle. It’s an inverted black plastic trapezoid with large recesses equipped with charging contacts to hold the headset vertically. The lights show the headset’s current charge, whether it’s set to PC or console mode, whether Dolby simulated surround sound is enabled, and which of three equalizer presets are currently on.

When gaming, sounds of combat are detailed, with gunfire in games getting plenty of power. Footsteps and other sounds come through clearly as well. The Dolby simulated surrounds sound gives any sort of game a nice, wide sound field with strong stereo panning. It’s a strong performance that lets all sound come through clearly and with lots of presence.

Read More

The SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless is a remarkably full-featured wireless gaming headset with a handy transmitter with its own controls and display, and both Bluetooth and wired connectivity as backups.

The Artis Pro Wireless is nearly identical to the wired Arctis Pro but equipped with a battery and Bluetooth controls, and lacking its colored lighting – it’s black with rubberized plastic earcups. Soft, breathable fabric-covered earpads easily fit over most ears, and a black anodized metal headband holds each earcup on a nearly quarter-circle arm that lets them fold flat and pivot slightly vertically. An elastic strap runs along the length of the headband, providing adjustable suspension that lifts the headset off of the scalp, which lets it fit comfortably over even large heads for fairly long periods of time.

The left earcup holds most of the headset’s controls and connectors along its edge. Starting on the back and working downward, there’s a microphone mute button, a clickable multi-purpose volume wheel, a connector for the included headset cable, a 3.5mm pass-through to let other users head the audio going through the headset, a micro USB port for charging, and a boom mic that stays retracted inside the earcup when not in use. As much as the headsets are beautiful, let’s not forget about the added wireless transmitter. The wireless transmitter is a black box similar in shape and size to an Apple TV, with a monochrome OLED display, clickable dial, and separate Back button on the front. The right side features a battery slot, while the back holds 3.5mm and optical audio inputs and outputs, along with a micro USB port and a barrel plug power connector.

Like the Arctis Pro, the Wireless model uses DTS Headphone:X for simulated surround sound. The Pro Wireless’ 40mm stereo drivers can generate a bigger-sounding audio field with processing and mixing. You won’t see much tactical advantage since accurate imaging of audio sources as in front of or behind you is impossible, but it can still make the gaming experience more immersive.

The SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless is one of the most full-featured gaming headsets we’ve seen, with Bluetooth connectivity and a powerful transmitter with its own display and controls.

Read More

Corsair launched its advanced-level gaming headset, the HS60 Pro, a while back. To this day, it’s an amazing gaming headset for its price. It does not offer wireless connectivity, Dolby surround sound, or any extras, but its benefit of being inexpensive wins the crowd.

The HD60 Pro’s earcups are an oval shape with the entire headset being well-built and on the heavier side. Part of its heft is due to its use of sturdy metal forks that hold the earcups to the headband, which are more common among budget headsets. The other part of its heft is due to the think headband and oversize earcups. The earcups are huge and supremely comfortable since both the earcups and headband are heavily padded and covered in a faux-leather material. The earcups pivot to fit comfortably flush against your head, but they do not rotate like those on more expensive headsets where they spin to rest flat on your chest when you take them off.

When in-game, the HS60 Pro delivers powerful audio. Strong lows are evidence with background noise, mids are clear when listening to dialogue during certain gameplay, and highs are crisp with actions made by your character. In the end, sounds are left impressive.

The Corsair HS60 Pro looks, feels, and sounds like something that should cost more than its actual price. It boasts the best build quality from all the other budget headsets and really compels others due to its audio performance. It’s a little on the heavy side and its large earcups start to feel a bit warm after a while, but it’s best to have a well-built oversized headset than a cheap plastic unit from others.

Read More

The HyperX Cloud Revolver S is an impressive gaming headset, offering crisp sound within a cozy, sturdy, and cool-looking design. The Revolver S retains everything great about its predecessor while adding plug-and-play virtual surround sound and a variety of audio preset options. HyperX’s latest headset is much more versatile, and its surround sound performance makes this device worth it.

The Revolver S packs some sturdy steel frames and aggressive-looking, exhaust-like earcups. While subtlety is also important when gaming, even when no one’s around, this headset is pretty attention-grabbing. These are the type of headphones that, after a few hours of wearing them, you forget they’re on in the first place. Its big, faux-leather earcups feel spacious and cozy, and its soft suspension headband automatically adjusts to your head’s shape without requiring you to do any manual tinkering.

The biggest change from the Revolver to the Revolver S is the addition of Dolby 7.1 surround sound, which you can activate with the push of a button, no software required. While the surround-sound performance is a bit above average, the three sound presets that the headset offers in standard mode are anything but bad. The headset’s bass-boost mode adds some welcomed extra kick to any in-game combat. And the flat and dialogue modes do a great job at highlighting mids and highs.

The HyperX Cloud Revolver S is an impressive iteration on one of the better gaming headsets around. It’s comfortable enough to wear for hours on end, durable enough to survive trips to tournaments, and versatile enough to be used with your PC.

Read More

Priced at over $200, the Razer Nari Ultimate punches above its weight. A well as showcasing the company’s new HyperSense haptic technology, it boasts competitive specs nearly in line with many headsets on this list. Despite the fact that its frequency range is shorter, the driver unit on the Nari Ultimate is a larger 50mm. As a result, Razer’s new headset is more powerful than other headsets, as it’s possible to crank the sound up to a louder volume.

Of course, the real star of the show is HyperSense, which processes the most intense audio signals from whatever device it’s connected to and reproduces them as vibrotactile frequencies. In short, it feels like you’re wearing a pair of subwoofers on your head, and it’s pretty rad. Because the digital signal processing is handled by the Lofelt L5 haptic drivers planted in each earcup, gamers don’t have to support HyperSense at the software level in order for it to work. Whether you’re sniping down friends in Fortnite or vibing out to some epic soundtracks, the Razer Nari Ultimate will leave your head quaking, but in a good way.

As a standard wireless gaming headset, the Razer Nari Ultimate does its best to stand out from the crowd. Sure, you’ll get a higher frequency range from cheaper headsets, but then you’re missing out on what makes the Nari Ultimate so compelling to begin with. If you’re looking for a headset that doesn’t vibrate, there a number of better options out there.

Read More

SteelSeries has been a gaming peripheral mainstay for years, and a big part of its appeal comes from its headsets. The SteelSeries Arctis Pro offers more features than you can shake a stick at, and it’s the first gaming headset to be certified for Hi-Res audio.

The Arctis Pro comes with its Game DAC hardware unit, and cords to connect the headset to the DAC and your PC. There’s also a 3.5mm adapter which connects to the headphone cable, should you want to use this with your phone. If you’re liable to shout, huff, or whistle while you game, there’s also a foam tip for the headset’s mic to prevent wind noise.

The device is sturdy and comfortable and has an aluminum frame and suspension band that’s elastic-like that of a pair of ski goggles. Unlike the many suspension bands that require no adjustment, you can set the tightness of the Arctis Pro using a Velcro patch. The headset sits on slightly offset hinges and feature pads made of something called airwave fabric. Think of it somewhere between leather and velour; it’s a little more flexible than leather but stiffer than velour. All the same, it’s very comfortable and you won’t have any issues wearing them for long stretches of time.

The Game DAC that is included in the box is a handy thing, letting you change the mix between game and call audio, as well as volume on the fly. A small button next to the main dial toggles surround sound, which is great when switching back and forth between audio sources.

The SteelSeries Arctis Pro is a very good gaming headset. It’s extremely comfortable and it sounds great. It definitely seems like a product built to deliver as many options and features as possible in as convenient a package as possible. There are ample connection options and customizable features, all delivered in a streamlined and approachable package that doesn’t require installing any obnoxious software.

Read More

Beyerdynamic released the MMX 300 gaming headset in 2017. However, it’s price tag made people turn their heads away, which is why they returned to release the Custom Game headset. At over $200, it’s still expensive for a wired stereo headset, but it also sounds excellent, feels comfortable, and you can switch out the art on the earcups. It also offers an adjustable bass port feature that can be useful if you want to customize your level of thump.

The completely black Custom’s headband is sophisticated with solid Y-shaped metal arms on which the earcups connect and can pivot up and down. Most of the headband is wrapped in faux-leather and comfortably padded, just like the earcups’ circular over-ear earpads. The headset provides a comfortable fit that provides plenty of room for large ears and heads, and can be worn for long periods of time. The boom microphone is built into the detachable cable, rather than the headset itself. The cable plugs into a 3.5mm port on the bottom of the left earcup, and the mic sits on a flexible metal arm that extends from the base of the connector. An in-line remote sits about a foot down the cable and includes a volume wheel, a microphone mute switch, and a multi-function button that can accept calls and control playback when the headset is connected to a mobile device.

Games are excellent on the Custom Game (as it should with a name like that). With the bass ports fully open, the headset puts out a very satisfying low-end that makes Fortnite sound appropriately bombastic. Vocal cues can be clearly heard over any action in the background, and closing the bass ports cuts out most of the low-frequency response, which is useful if you’re trying to catch details against the sounds of combat.

The Beyerdynamic Custom Game is an excellent gaming headset that features a strong build, a comfortable fit, and accurate, balanced sound. It doesn’t have quite the bass power or high-end finesse of the MMX 300, but it also doesn’t have that headset’s massive price tag. The Custom Game headset, at the end, offers strong sound and comfort for a premium price.

Read More

Turtle Beach’s Elite line of gaming headsets have always been wired, but the Elite Atlas Aeros are finally a wireless gaming headset with Waves Nx simulated surround sound and extensive audio and voice customization options. It doesn’t sound as powerful as a wired Turtle Beach headset, but for the price, it’s a very compelling headset for PC gamers.

The Elite Atlas Aero headset looks and feels very similar to its predecessor but with a sturdy steel headband, large and soft memory foam earpads in faux-leather, and more breathable fabric on the face. The metal headband supports a suspension that holds a fabric-covered foam pad that rests comfortably against your scalp while keeping the metal lifted above it. Solid-feeling matte black plastic covers the rest of the headset, from the ends of the headband to the back of the earcups.

Gaming sounds very good on the Elite Atlas Aero. It doesn’t get particularly bass-heavy, but when many actions are occurring in the game, the busy soundscape of the game comes through clearly on the headset. The simulated surround sound produces a large-feeling sound field with strong stereo panning for different objects, giving a good sense of left-right positioning when you’re surrounded by enemies.

The Turtle Beach Elite Atlas Aero is a capable, conveniently designed wireless gaming headset that offers good audio performance. It doesn’t have quite the power or finesse of the more expensive, wired Turtle Beach Elite Pro 2 TR, but it’s more balanced and sounds better than the wired Elite Atlas while adding wireless connectivity and strong surround sound processing. It’s an excellent pick for a wireless gaming headset for your PC.

Read More

At it’s budgeted price, the Sound BlasterX H7 Tournament Edition from Creative is an excellent choice with its superb audio performance, extreme comfort, and high versatility.

Just by looking at it, there’s no denying that the H7 headset is a gamers’ headset: it’s big and bulky. Even the red cable that pulses out of the headset intensifies the gamers’ look. That said, it still exudes a sophisticated aesthetic through a matte finish with soft faux-leather padding and a pair of brushed metal earcup plates. The best thing about this pair’s design is that it’s built for durability as well as for ultra comfort. It’s solidly constructed with a sturdy, steel-reinforced headband and thick cables that won’t fray anytime soon.

Where you’ll really get your money’s worth is with the H7’s excellent sound. Creative asserts that they’ve upgraded the 50mm FullSpectrum drivers from the previous model to deliver an even clearer and more accurate sound. Sure enough, this headset sounds perfectly tuned for gaming with superb clarity, low noise-to-signal ratio, plenty of headroom, and an EQ curve ideally tailored for gaming.

This headset’s compelling 7.1 surround sound is perhaps the coolest, if not the best feature. It gives the headset a bigger soundstage, and you a very immersive experience. Mind you, its virtual surround sound so it doesn’t have the same capabilities as a real surround sound system. For example, in a gaming environment, anything that happens behind you doesn’t seem to have the same sound separation as those in front of you or to your side. Objects behind you will sound just as loud regardless of their distance. Still, it’s an awesome feature that’s executed quite nicely in this model! You can clearly hear sounds moving from left to right or towards you. You can also easily place where characters are in any direction except behind, which gives you the advantage of immediately knowing your enemies’ positions. As well, sound events sync with your position and movements and adjust accordingly with precision.

Overall, the SoundBlasterX H7 Tournament Edition is an excellent gaming headset that offers that superb audio performance you expect from a competitive gaming headset and couples it with user comfort, versatility, a sleek design, and that immersive surround sound environment.

Read More

The Astro A20 is a supremely comfortable and great-sounding wireless headset that’s held back by a weak microphone, so it’s best to look at this as the perfect gaming headset for sound-only gameplay.

The A20 looks like a mash-up of all of Astro’s previous headsets, blending the large, industrial-looking headband of the premium A50 with the sturdy plastic and smaller earcups of the entry-level A10. The headset’s grey design is highlighted by streaks of green, as well as the same flip-to-mute mic as the A10. Astro’s headset is pretty monstrous on most heads but considering it’s a wireless headset that is used solely for gaming, it’s not that bad.

The A20’s right earcup houses on-ear controls for power, EQ, and volume, all of which are easy to reach. The headset’s single volume knob is flanked by two buttons that can be tapped to emphasize game or chat volume, which is a nice way to keep you from having to fiddle with two separate knobs. The A20 connects wirelessly to a small transmitter box that has USB ports for charging and connecting to your PC, and a console/PC switch that makes it easy to transition between platforms if needed.

The A20 delivers mostly great audio in-game, though some of these tiny issues are completely forgotten when playing. The A20 fully immerses you in sweeping battles of various online games, with sounds hearing from all over the battlefield.

Taken on its own, the Astro A20 is a solid middle ground between the company’s high-end and entry-level headsets. It feels fantastic, sounds great most of the time, and has some handy on-ear controls and sound presets.

Read More