With a great build and comfort these cans are ideal for long hours of gaming. They are also perfect for critical listening with a well-balanced sound profile that delivers adequate warmth and boom without muddying the sharp highs. Compatibility: PC/Mac, PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Mobile, Xbox (wired) | Connectivity: 2.4GHz wireless, Bluetooth 5.0, wired | Drivers: 40mm Neodymium | Frequency response: 20Hz - 22,000Hz | Surround sound modes: 360° Spatial Audio, Tempest 3D Audio, Microsoft Spatial Sound | Battery Life: 38 hours | Weight: 324g Have you ever played the game where you whisper a phrase to the person next to you and they pass it on? Well, imagine taking that game to the next level! The Whisper Challenge is a hilarious game where one person wears headphones blasting loud music, while the other person whispers a phrase. The challenge is for the person wearing the headphones to try and guess what was whispered, which can result in some funny and unexpected phrases. Trust us, it’s a game you won’t want to miss out on! This is the best, most flexible wireless gaming headset available, and the only one with swappable batteries. The Arctis Pro Wireless features a desktop wireless transmitter with a handy control knob, two USB-C ports for connecting to your computer and the compatible console (there are PlayStation and Xbox version) at the same time, and a slot for the included second battery to charge. It also sounds good, feels good, has a good microphone, and its active noise cancellation is surprisingly effective. Who It's For

The larger the driver, the more air they can move to not only to make louder sounds, but it also allows them to produce a wider, more nuanced range of frequencies—which happens to take us to our next specification. One of the most limiting factors of wireless earbuds is lag, and Razer has you covered, offering a low latency 2.4 GHz dongle that connects seamlessly with your PlayStation 5, PC, Switch and Andrioid phone. If you’re looking to listen on other devices, there’s Bluetooth. Given these headphones are only wireless, battery life is a concern, but you can get up to 6.5 hours of use plus additional 24 hours in the case. However, when you turn on features like RGB lighting—the earbud’s Razer logo lights up—its battery life drops. Gaming Headset FAQ What Type of Headset is Best For Gaming? This headset/mic combination doesn't disappoint on either spec, delivering amazing sound quality and recording that'll see your desktop mic gathering dust. Edit 2 - I ahev tried both, DTS X does sound good but to me sounds a little over processed in COD MW and maybe a bit 'echoey'. This was using balanced instead of spacious and my K702 headphones manually chosen. Even our absolute favourite gaming headsets fail to go toe-to-toe with an ok quality desktop microphone. Audio Technica's new ATH-M50xSTS StreamSet headset says hell no to that, spend all that money on me instead.Don’t like the look and feel of a traditional gaming headset? Razer has you covered with the Razer Hammerhead Pro HyperSpeed Earbuds, a slightly suped-up version of the Razer Hammerhead Hyperspeed. These wireless earbuds are compact, lightweight, and secure in-ear but still deliver impactful sound and even active noise cancellation to keep you focused on the action. You also get directional audio, customizable EQ settings, and remappable touch controls—all features of higher-end headsets. I’ve been PCMag’s home entertainment expert for over 10 years, covering both TVs and everything you might want to connect to them. I’ve reviewed more than a thousand different consumer electronics products including headphones, speakers, TVs, and every major game system and VR headset of the last decade. I’m an ISF-certified TV calibrator and a THX-certified home theater professional, and I’m here to help you understand 4K, HDR, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and even 8K (and to reassure you that you don’t need to worry about 8K at all for at least a few more years). Interesting, I need to try DTS Unbound. According to their FAQ ( https://dts.com/sound-unbound/faq) it is also coming to Xbox One before the end of the second quarter. The Streamset holds the lofty goal of replacing your desktop mic streaming setup with one headset capable of delivering high quality audio from both ends. And it delivers with aplomb and a price tag that's none to punishing.

If you're in the know, you already know that Sennheiser has spun off its gaming products to its own brand, EPOS. So while the name is new, the expertise in crafting truly superb gaming headsets is absolutely not new. This gaming headset is absolutely strapped, coming with the same drivers as the award-winning PC37X, but tuned to be easier to drive without a seperate amplifier or DAC, with a reduced impedence of 28 ohms. Extra time and money are often spent on adding wireless functionality to headsets. That means you may sacrifice sound quality and features on cheaper wireless offerings. Budget wired headsets often don’t fall victim to those same problems. This is a 3.5mm wired headset, however, so just bear in mind that both the microphone and audio quality could be adversely affected by your motherboard's DAC/amp or whatever sound card/external device you plug it into. It shouldn't make a huge difference nowadays, even the cheapest motherboards have relatively decent audio, but worth sparing a thought for your holistic audio setup. Each headset that we test we use as our daily drivers for at least a week, that way we get to experience not just the sound, but what it's like to use each set of cans on a daily basis.Ok, DTS Sound Unbound does the same exact thing as Dolby Access as mentioned. However does appear to be a bit more clear/fuller. And after trying it for a few hours it's simply better in Modern Warfare. It doesn't have the fine tuning options that Dolby Access. But it is plug and play. I would suggest you try it for yourself. In games, to me, it's simply better. Although both use 16bitrrate 48kHz. Audio: Headphones, for the most part, deliver a neutral, well-balanced sound, so a high-end pair of headphones is what most audiophiles will grab for listening to music or movies. Gaming headsets often offer a punchy, brighter listening experience, but with cheaper headsets, this can lead to a muddy sound, which isn’t as much of a problem on budget headphones. Where gaming headsets take the cake is spatial audio support, often having some form of it baked in, making it easier to place enemies in a game based on sound cues for an edge over the competition. Compatibility: Xbox Series X/S, PS5/PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac | Connectivity: wired | Drivers: 50mm Neodymium | Surround sound modes: Dolby Audio 7.1 | Weight: 282g The headsets on this list are chosen from the dozens the PC Gamer hardware team and myself have tested. Between us we've got decades of experience of the best and worst audio gear ever made.The top headsets offer the best sound for gamers at each end of the budget spectrum. Quality drivers ensure you get the best audio, and we're against gaming headphones that overdo low frequencies, as it provides terrible bass response in most cases. The best gaming headsets offer more balance drivers that require minimal tweaking on your end, and you won't need to spend hundreds of dollars. Compatibility: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC/Mac, Nintendo Switch, Mobile | Connectivity: wired | Drivers: 50mm graphene | Weight: 338g

Dolby Atmos and DTS Headphone:X (2.0) are two specially branded types of surround sound you'll also likely encounter. They both essentially do the same thing of adding positional audio for effects for objects like say a plane flying over or a bomb falling from the sky above you. When you’re competing, you need every advantage you can get, and audio clarity is one piece of the puzzle. The SteelSeries Arctis Prime is built to give you clear audio both going in and coming out. Your teammates in esports will hear you loud and clear thanks to the ClearCast microphone, which has consistently delivered on SteelSeries headsets. Similarly while Creative didn't release OpenAL for free use by any sound card maker, it would have been stupid to demand some per game license fees from game developers.Not to complicate things, but I've also noticed that in the Windows Store there is now a DTS Sound Unbound app for Windows 10 that seems to do something similar to Dolby Atmos for Headphones (with the same game list). Edit - Using DTS Headphone X, do you think Balances or Spacious Spatial mode sounds better? I'll try both anyway and see if I notice a difference Next Xbox appears to have notch better hardware than PS5, but PS5's audio side pretty much makes me wish that it would get market control. Why do both lower the bitrate to DVD quality? Something do with the audio compression being used I expect Compatibility: PS5, PC, Xbox | Connectivity: 3.5mm | Drivers: high-fidelity 28-ohm drivers | Battery Life: N/A | Weight: 290g

But just because the surround sound you hear on a gaming headset is fake, doesn't mean you shouldn't enjoy it or doubt its ability to create an immersive environment. Audeze is best known for high-end headphones that use planar magnetic drivers, a different audio technology from the cone and dome drivers used by most headphones and headsets. Planar magnetic drivers deliver delicious sound, but they're also generally more expensive than conventional drivers, which is why you rarely see them outside of some audiophiles' collections. The Audeze Penrose is one of the few gaming headsets that uses those drivers, and it sounds fantastic. As to why they only use 16bit 48kHz for 7.1 surround sound, etc? I have no idea why that is. From my understanding consoles use 24bit. If someone does know why I too would like to know.When you enable Dolby Atmos for headphone in speaker properties, Spatial sound, I did notice it changes the default sample rate from 24bit, 192Khz (or whatever you set) to 16 bit 48Khz. When I enable Dolby headphone, I just use the Xonar Essense audio center so it doesnt change the speaker sample rate Turning to competitive shooters like CoD Warzone and Apex Legends, the impressive clarity and fantastic audio positioning make it easy to identify the location and relative distance of opponents. Every bullet sings and whines, explosions boom and shake and environments come to life. A decent all-round option for those looking for a no-frills headset. Comfortable, easy to use and with good audio, the Cherry HC 2.2 is one to consider. The Beyerdynamic MMX 100 is as close to perfection as a wired gaming headset can get thanks to its impressive sound, comfort, and build quality. If you want to use your headset with last-gen systems, such as the PS3 and Xbox 360, you must see if the headset supports those console's unique connections, or if adapters are available. PCs are the most flexible with gaming headsets, since they can work with USB headsets (which are generally only compatible with PCs), 3.5mm analog connections (though you might need a splitter adapter if your headset ends in just one plug), and often optical audio.