Buy Gaming Headset
There are a few things to consider when choosing a gaming headset. A good price and sound quality are foremost, but comfort is up there, too. Also, noise-cancelling mics are crucial for coms, so most of the headsets we've listed here include this feature. You want decent voice quality and a microphone that won't pick up every single keypress on your mechanical keyboard.
buy gaming headset
Each headset that we test we use daily for at least a week. We record a sample of our voice in Audacity and compare it to previous recordings from other models, then head to Discord to get some feedback from our friends on how we're sounding. You can hear a lot of the microphones and headsets we test on our Soundcloud (I promise it's not PC Gamer's homemade rap).
This really comes to down to preference, but if you're going the wireless route what you want to look for is for decent battery life (20 hours or higher). The last thing you want to have a headset that's constantly needing to be plugged in because the battery life is bad. It kind of defeats the purpose of being wireless. For wired headsets you want to make sure you the cable is long enough to reach your PC without feeling like it's tugging on your head.
The best gaming headset can make a big difference to your gaming experience, though audio is one of the most overlooked parts of PC gaming. If you want to be completely absorbed in a game world, then the soundscape has almost as much to do with it as the visuals.
When it comes down to it, the best gaming headset is the Razer Blackshark V2 (opens in new tab) thanks to it's incredible audio, comfort, and styling all for under $100. Similarly, the HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless (opens in new tab) is always on our radar for much the same reasons, plus its fantastic wireless capability. The more premium options sound pretty incredible, though, if you have money to burn.
Great audio can be a genuine help in competitive games. Whether you're trying to place an enemy's footsteps as they run past, or want to listen to some tunes while you work, it's down to your headset's drivers to make it all sound excellent. Quality drivers ensure you get the best audio, and we're against gaming headphones that overdo low frequencies, as it provides terrible bass in most cases. The best gaming headsets offer more balanced drivers that require minimal tweaking on your end, and you won't need to spend hundreds of dollars.
At the end of the day, some just aren't up to scratch. That's why we rigorously test as many gaming headsets as we can squeeze our ears into. The headsets on this list are chosen from the dozens the PC Gamer hardware team and myself have tested. The best headsets offer the best sound for gamers at each end of the budget spectrum, and our guide to the best wireless gaming headsets (opens in new tab) will deliver some great untethered options if you're looking to go no-strings-attached.
Dethroning the HyperX Cloud Alpha (opens in new tab) from the top spot was no easy feat. Razer's BlackShark V2 gaming headset manages to do just that by offering killer audio quality, great price, and easy-to-use software. From the moment Razer first started talking about the BlackShark V2, it was clear this was main focus of the headset, and the design of the drivers themselves is effectively doing what the impressive Cloud Alphas do.
The 50mm TriForce Titanium drivers are designed with discrete ports to separate bass, mid, tremble tones from interfering with each other. The result is a richer sound than a standard set, and keeps it on par with HyperX's 50mm dual-chamber neodymium driver headset. They're like a tribute to HyperX's own design, and no worse for it.
For me, the sound is one of the stand-out features of the BlackShark V2, and is far and above what you will get with most other sets in this price point. I'm also a big fan of the restrained design of the headset, and I've found them to comfortable enough to wear for marathon gaming sessions.
I'm a teeny bit of an audio snob; sporting an obsession with Tidal's Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) offerings, and I don't quite have the words to express the slap-bass joy of Rage Against the Machine's Take the Power Back when played loud on really good audio equipment. My usual headphones are the Audeze LCD-3, a particularly lovely open-back pair of cans rocking planar magnetic drivers. They're great, for music and gaming, but those advanced drivers make them expensive.
The HyperX Cloud Alpha is perhaps the most praised thing to exist on this site. We all love it on the team and now HyperX has cut the cord on its best pair of cans. The biggest drawcard for this headset is the new huge battery. You're looking at up to 300 hours of battery life in wireless mode while still keeping the headset relatively light and comfortable. It's a pretty massive feat and I feel HyperX has pulled it off.
Out of the box, this unit was reporting having about 80% charge, so I decided to leave it there to see how well that held. I spent a workday listening to music and checked the battery again: I swear it still said 80%. I have been using this thing for gaming and music listening pretty consistently for the past week and we aren't even at 50% battery yet.
That impressive battery life is, of course, a best-case scenario. A lot of that has to do with the volume you're running the headset at, and volume is probably my only real complaint. It's absolutely loud enough but I can listen to it at full volume and still be fairly comfortable.
But the sound quality truly is incredible. Music sounds amazing. It's always fun to listen to some of my favorite sound-heavy songs on a good pair of cans and try to pick the different instruments or bites used. These do an excellent job and are definitely one of the better gaming headsets I've used to listen to music on.
The Cloud line is always touted for comfort and despite the hefty battery this still definitely fits the bill. I'm someone who struggles with too much weight or tightness on my head, and I have a real sensitivity to uncomfortable headsets. The top band is thick and has soft padding underneath. This coupled with the equally soft ear cups makes for a very cozy experience, and does an excellent job of blocking out noise.
Though all things considered, I struggle to imagine a customer who wouldn't be happy with these as a wireless gaming headset. They're pricey, but within reason for their specs, and they certainly deliver on everything you could want for gaming, and listening to music, on your PC.
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The HS55 headset is much comfier than Corsair's previous budget models. The plush earcups on the HS55 make for a stark comparison to the HS50's stiff and unbudging foam. The HS55 is also lighter, at 284g, which has a big impact on comfort over long periods. I wore this pair for the better part of a week, 8 hours a day, and I didn't feel the urge to throw them off at any point. They can be a little sweaty on hot days due to the leatherette material they're covered in, but that's a pretty common drawback among gaming headsets in this price range.
Don't judge me, but I've lost my fair share of headset microphones in my career, but I'm not a huge fan of leaving the mic in front of my face all day when it's not in use. A flip-up mic is a much better option, so glad to see one make the cut with the HS55.
The microphone sounds great, anyways, and that's what really counts here. I'm really impressed with just how clear the HS55's microphone is: the subtle tones and nuance of my voice's luscious timbre (in my opinion) come through accurately in testing, which you can listen to below. There's a surprising level of clarity in this mic, even in the lower ranges, and it's a really great solution for a budget headset.
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.
You're getting a comfier and lighter headset in the HS55 over the HS50, and ultimately I feel it's worth the slight price bump for those improvements. The HS55 feels a little cheaper than the HS50, however, with more of a plasticky feel to it. Thankfully it still feels robust and is clearly well put together nonetheless.
But Corsair's own is far from this headset's only competition. You've Razer's Kraken (opens in new tab) and BlackShark V2 X (opens in new tab) cans, which both make for a good contest, and HyperX can be found selling a few models for roughly the same price, including the Cloud II (opens in new tab) when on offer. That's stiff competition, though the Corsair delivers enough to warrant consideration by any gamer looking to pick up some new cans.
SteelSeries' Arctis Nova Pro wireless gaming headset comes in with an entirely new design, a far cry from previous Arctis models. That's not just in terms of audio and quality of life features, but also style and overall craftsmanship. The Nova nomenclature comes from the Latin novus, meaning new. Appropriate for a gaming headset that manages to branch out into somewhat uncharted territory, though you'll be paying a premium for the privilege of gaming at the cutting edge. Think in the region of $350 (330).
The Arctis Nova Pro's made even more portable with a pair of hot-swappable, lithium-ion batteries. These charge up in under an hour slotted into the side of the ESS Sabre Quad-DAC, or through USB Type-C charging cable connected to the headset. I've not had to plug in once in the month I've had it; I just swap the battery over when one's about to die, which takes a good two and a half days of full use. 041b061a72