Introduction
Good audio is essential to having an excellent gaming experience. This guide aims to recommend the best value options at any given price point. Please note that all prices are quoted in USD.
What To Look For
- Build quality: This is arguably the most important aspect to consider. A well built headset will last you a long time and create less frustration down the line.
- Sound quality: Sound is subjective, as certain people prefer more bass or more treble. Generally speaking, a neutral sound signature is preferred.
- Microphone: Built-in microphones will have worse quality than dedicated microphones. Therefore, recommendations for headphones and separate microphones are provided as well.
- Connectivity: Primarily a consideration for consoles. As long as you have a 3.5mm jack, you should have no issues.
- Comfort: This is also subjective, but you cannot enjoy a headset if it is only comfortable for a couple hours.
What To Avoid
- 7.1 Surround Sound: Surround sound in headsets is considered a gimmick. As a result, it offers no tangible increase to sound quality. Therefore, you should consider turning this feature off if your headset provides it.
- Extremely budget headsets: These headsets are cheap for a reason. Consequently, they sound worse than a pair of Apple EarPods for a similar price. There are notable exceptions to this, however.
- Mainstream Gaming Brands: Most (but not all) headsets from mainstream gaming brands lack in build quality, sound, comfort, or a mixture of the three aspects.
- Wireless headsets: Wireless headsets come with a latency penalty, which makes them sub-optimal for gaming.
Our Picks:
Headset - Razer BlackShark V2 X
Buy BlackShark V2 XThe sub-$50 headset market has many questionable options available. Unfortunately, you do not have many options should you choose to want a headset instead of headphones and a separate mic. Razer's BlackShark V2 X provides good comfort, a decent microphone, and passable audio quality.
- Affordable
- Decent sound quality for the price
- Good included microphone
- Great comfort
- Worse sound quality than other options
- Mediocre build quality
- Connectivity: 3.5mm
- Wear: Over-ear
- Enclosure: Closed
- Frequency Response: 12Hz-28kHz
- Impedance: 32 ohms
- Sensitivity: 100 dBSPL/mW
Headphone/Microphone - Koss KSC75 and Zalman ZM-MIC1
Buy KSC75 Buy ZM-MIC1 Parts Express headband Yaxi PadsThe KSC75 paired with the ZM-MIC1 gives you good sound and microphone quality for a low price. To enhance comfort, the Parts Express headband and Yaxi Pads are recommended.
- Extremely affordable
- Good sound quality for the price
- Decent clip-on microphone
- Poor comfort before modification
- Thin cable, snags easily
- Connectivity: 3.5mm
- Wear: On-ear
- Enclosure: Open
- Frequency Response: 15Hz-25kHz
- Impedance: 60 ohms
- Sensitivity: 101 dBSPL/mW
Headset - Cooler Master MH751/HyperX Cloud II
Buy MH751 Buy Cloud IIThese headsets are based upon the Takstar Pro 82 and Takstar Pro 80 respectively. While Cooler Master and HyperX are more in-line with the mainstream gaming brands, they rebranded regular headphones and added a microphone.
- Excellent comfort
- Good sound quality for gaming
- Decent included microphone
- Fairly priced
- Questionable build quality on MH751 (consider a warranty)
- Useless 7.1 surround sound feature on Cloud II
- Connectivity: 3.5mm (both) or USB (Cloud II)
- Wear: Over-ear
- Enclosure: Closed
- Frequency Response (MH751): 20Hz-20kHz
- Frequency Response (Cloud II): 15Hz-25kHz
- Impedance (MH751): 26 ohms
- Impedance (Cloud II): 60 ohms
- Sensitivity (MH751): 97 dBSPL/mW
- Sensitivity (Cloud II): 98 dBSPL/mW
Headphone/Microphone - Creative Aurvana Live! SE and Fifine K669B
Buy CAL! SE Buy K669BShould you prefer traditional headphones and a dedicated mic instead, the CAL! SE and K669B are a viable alternative to the above headsets. The microphone is a significant step above headset microphones and even makes for a viable starter streaming microphone.
- Excellent bass response
- Good overall sound quality
- Significant upgrade in microphone quality compared to headset microphones
- Not very comfortable
- Mediocre build quality
- Need desk space for microphone
- Connectivity: 3.5mm (headphones) and USB (microphone)
- Wear: Over-ear
- Enclosure: Closed
- Frequency Response: 10Hz-30kHz
- Impedance: 32 ohms
- Sensitivity: 103 dBSPL/mW
Headset - Sennheiser Game One/PC37X
Buy Game One Buy PC37XSennheiser has also taken the strategy of rebranding their HD598s and adding a microphone to create this headset. Both the Game One and PC37X are the same headset with a different casing, should one not be available for you.
- Decent comfort
- Neutral, bass-rolled sound signature
- Good microphone for a headset
- Open back
- Bass-rolled sound might not be for some people
- Pads wear out somewhat frequently
- Connectivity: 3.5mm
- Wear: Over-ear
- Enclosure: Open
- Frequency Response: 15Hz-28kHz
- Impedance: 50 ohms
- Sensitivity: 116 dBSPL/mW
- Well-balanced, neutral tuning
- Good comfort
- Nice build quality
- Significant upgrade in microphone quality compared to headset microphones
- Some people may prefer open back instead of closed back
- Need desk space for microphone
- Connectivity: 3.5mm (headphones) and USB (microphone)
- Wear: Over-ear
- Enclosure: Closed
- Frequency Response: 15Hz-28kHz
- Impedance: 32 ohms
- Sensitivity: 114 dBSPL/mW
Headset - Sennheiser PC38X
Buy PC38XSennheiser has once again rebranded their products for Drop, this time in the form of the GSP 500 and 600. Do not confuse the PC38X with the PC37X, as these are different headsets. The PC38X is easier to drive than the PC37X, which benefits portable devices more.
- Good comfort
- Neutral, bass-rolled sound signature
- Great microphone for a headset
- Open back
- Bass-rolled sound might not be for some people
- Pads wear out somewhat frequently
- Connectivity: 3.5mm
- Wear: Over-ear
- Enclosure: Open
- Frequency Response: 10Hz-30kHz
- Impedance: 28 ohms
- Sensitivity: 109 dBSPL/mW
Headphone/Microphone - AKG K612 Pro and Fifine K669B
Buy K612 Pro Buy K669BConversely, the K612 Pro paired with a K669B is an alternative to the PC38X. The K612 Pro is arguably the best open back headphone under $250. When paired with a microphone, it makes for an excellent combination for gaming.
- Great neutral tuning
- Decent comfort
- Adequate build quality
- Significant upgrade in microphone quality compared to headset microphones
- Some people may prefer more emphasis on bass or treble
- Need desk space for microphone
- Connectivity: 3.5mm (headphones) and USB (microphone)
- Wear: Over-ear
- Enclosure: Open
- Frequency Response: 12Hz-39kHz
- Impedance: 120 ohms
- Sensitivity: 101 dBSPL/mW
Headset - Audeze Penrose
Buy PenroseGenerally, you are better served with headphones and a separate microphone at this budget. However, the Audeze Penrose is a good entry-level planar headphone for the money. Compared to dynamic, planar headphones have tighter frequency responses (better bass and treble) and have lower distortion.
- Decent comfort
- Accurate bass response
- Sturdy build quality
- Good built-in microphone
- Expensive for a gaming headset
- Wireless ~14ms of latency using the included 2.4GHz dongle
- Worse sound quality when going through 3.5mm
- Need a different model for use on Xbox
- Connectivity: 3.5mm, USB (2.4GHz wireless), Bluetooth
- Wear: Over-ear
- Enclosure: Closed
- Frequency Response: 10Hz-50kHz
- Impedance: N/A
- Sensitivity: 120 dBSPL/mW
Headphone/Microphone - Sennheiser HD 600 and Fifine K669B
Buy HD 600 Buy K669BWhen paired with the K669B, Sennheiser's HD 600 headphones make a good recommendation for a $350 gaming audio setup. With great imaging and a netural, bass-rolled sound signature, these are a reasonable purchase for gaming audio without going into overkill territory.
- Good comfort
- Excellent build quality
- Neutral, bass-rolled sound signature
- Significant upgrade in microphone quality compared to headset microphones
- Expensive for a gaming audio setup
- Bass-rolled sound might not be for some people
- Pads wear out somewhat frequently
- Need desk space for microphone
- Connectivity: 3.5mm (headphones) and USB (microphone)
- Wear: Over-ear
- Enclosure: Open
- Frequency Response: 12Hz-39kHz
- Impedance: 300 ohms
- Sensitivity: 97 dBSPL/mW
