Best Gaming Headsets

[mattsafford]

We've tested lots of gaming headsets for audio quality, comfort, and durability. Here's how to choose the best one for your budget.

Best Gaming Headsets : Read more

 

[abryant]

Archived comments are found here: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-3668647/gaming-headsets.html

 

[floppyedonkey]

probably not a good idea to publish an article about a headset model that is no longer in production and has been replaced.
Siberia 800 is no longer in production and has a new replacement model

Doing so really eats up credibility.

 

[SkyBill40]

Or, as an alternative, you could get a far superior sounding set of dedicated headphones and get a clip on or base stand mic. I suppose it all depends on what the user prefers based on the primary focus. To each their own.

 

[ElectrO_90]

What happened to - Tech Tom's Relies On: SteelSeries Arctis 5 Gaming Headset

Strange it wasn't mentioned at all..... and/or tested in the article like this one....

Proof that it was a paid advert after all.
But Tom's just won't admit it. News websites have to now say that this "fake news" is an advert...

 

[lun471k]

No mention of the Arctis 7 with its GameDAC ? it's mentioned of almost every other side.

 

[KD_Gaming]

You people need to realize when it comes to testing something like audio, 1) there is a very small selection actually tested. It's not like toms is a audio site that tests thousands. Also 2) audio is subjective, what sounds good to one person can be bad to another person, usually do to the type of cone materials used.
Personally if your going wired you might as well get a true dedicated mic and a good normal headset (non gaming) obviously prices can jump very quickly so you have to pick better audio vs not sounding like crap sometimes depending on your budget

 

[giovanni86]

Siberia ones only lasted me 3 months. After that headset wouldnt turn on. I'd get warranty with those if i ever bought them again. Great when they worked though no argue there, Music and games. Was too good to be true.

 

[sebastien.gaggini]

The Siberia 800 is a nice headset but it can be really uncomfortable to wear for a long time.

 

[ubercake]

Or, as an alternative, you could get a far superior sounding set of dedicated headphones and get a clip on or base stand mic. I suppose it all depends on what the user prefers based on the primary focus. To each their own.

This is the strategy I go with. My new motherboard has a built-in headphone amp (Asus Prime Z370-A) and the sound has never been better. I just use my webcam mic. It's been a great setup.

 

[ph.homer]

Old model and if your looking for a complete wireless experience, look at Turtle Beach 800x/Stealth 700 series.

They have a headset for every device and I find these the perfect choise, still in 2018!!!

 

[ph.homer]

Adding to that, the Siberia 800 still requires cables for XboxOne (not for PS4) and they claim you can use this headset on all devices, but there are not that many connection options on the docking bay.. So still need to switch cables because there is only one optical in..

This headset was a total disapointment to me.. (Many the lack of research from my part=))

 

[Ninjawithagun]

The SteelSeries Siberia 800 do not have DTS-X decoding capability? For $220, they are way overpriced. The Logitech G933 headset is far superior IMHO. The G933 has both Dolby 7.1 surround and DTS-X decoding as well as the ability to store the transceiver into the headset when you are on the go to and from LAN parties. Also, the battery is fully replaceable. For me, it's a no brainer. The G933 Logitech headset wins hands down.

 

[10tacle]

I think you guys need to add a factor for a headset that can be both used by a console and PC since a lot of us out there game on both platforms. Not all headsets that work on PCs work on the XB1 or PS4.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Or, as an alternative, you could get a far superior sounding set of dedicated headphones and get a clip on or base stand mic. I suppose it all depends on what the user prefers based on the primary focus. To each their own.

This is the strategy I go with. My new motherboard has a built-in headphone amp (Asus Prime Z370-A) and the sound has never been better. I just use my webcam mic. It's been a great setup.

Asus is capable of great things when it comes to audio. Still love my Xonar STX.

No Sennheiser? No ....Audeze? What kind of list is this. If the company also makes a keyboard you don't want a headset from them.

 

[Gillerer]

If you've ever used proper headphones from an actual audio company and made the comparison, you realize that all gaming and computer peripheral company headsets are overpriced and overmarketed scams.

They're uncomfortable to wear for extended periods of time, have mediocre sound and terrible mics. They also break within months in heavy use and are impossible to repair.

Get full-size (over ear) headphones from (in alphabetical order) Audio-Technica, Beyerdynamic or Sennheiser. If you wait for a sale, you can get a good pair at about or under $100. Instead of spending quite a bit more to get a headset with a mic, just add your own.

Although, before purchasing, you have to decide on whether you want closed-back or open-back headphones. Open-backs are more comfortable and have a neutral sound - very good for pinpointing the exact source of the sound in online games - but let outside noise thru. Closed-backs may squeeze more, have more pronounced bass and will isolate you from your surroundings.

(And those three brands are by no means high-end - they're good quality HiFi headphones that a normal person can afford.)

 

[Deleted member 217926]

If you've ever used proper headphones from an actual audio company and made the comparison, you realize that all gaming and computer peripheral company headsets are overpriced and overmarketed scams.

They're uncomfortable to wear for extended periods of time, have mediocre sound and terrible mics. They also break within months in heavy use and are impossible to repair.

Get full-size (over ear) headphones from (in alphabetical order) Audio-Technica, Beyerdynamic or Sennheiser. If you wait for a sale, you can get a good pair at about or under $100. Instead of spending quite a bit more to get a headset with a mic, just add your own.

Although, before purchasing, you have to decide on whether you want closed-back or open-back headphones. Open-backs are more comfortable and have a neutral sound - very good for pinpointing the exact source of the sound in online games - but let outside noise thru. Closed-backs may squeeze more, have more pronounced bass and will isolate you from your surroundings.

(And those three brands are by no means high-end - they're good quality HiFi headphones that a normal person can afford.)

Have to disagree with that last sentence. Beyerdynamic ( T5p and T1 ) and Sennheiser in particular make the highest of the highest end equipment available. The Sennheiser HE 1/ Orpheus is $55,000. lol

They also make great entry level cans and some of the best mid fi on the market in the HD 600/650/660S.

Don't forget AKG. The K702, K712 Pro and the Massdrop x AKG K7XX are all excellent at imaging and thus for gaming.

 

[Dantte]

My audiotechnica a900s still the best set of cans i have ever owned, 10 years and still going strong. These blow away the audio quality, comfort, and have lasted 10x longer than any of the crap reviwed above in this article.

If looking for a more affordable and "gamer" style headphone audiotechica makes a set based on the a700s with an attached mic (from a real audio company)...

 

[fry178]

I have yet to see any (game) headset up to 400$ beat something like sennheiser HD518/558 (modded) especially when used with "gaming" type sound card (vs music/HT). i prefer to put priority on music and movies,
but even when playing things like siege, running the 558 on a asus dsx, was a massive improvement over any gaming/stereo/5.1 (analog) cans i ever had, even when compared to the better onboard chips out there.

good friend of mine is using the soundblaster Z and the 518 and tried 5 different HS in last 2 weeks including Astro 50.
is now back to using the 518s until his GSP600 arrive ;-)

 

[ubercake]

If you've ever used proper headphones from an actual audio company and made the comparison, you realize that all gaming and computer peripheral company headsets are overpriced and overmarketed scams.

They're uncomfortable to wear for extended periods of time, have mediocre sound and terrible mics. They also break within months in heavy use and are impossible to repair.

Get full-size (over ear) headphones from (in alphabetical order) Audio-Technica, Beyerdynamic or Sennheiser. If you wait for a sale, you can get a good pair at about or under $100. Instead of spending quite a bit more to get a headset with a mic, just add your own.

Although, before purchasing, you have to decide on whether you want closed-back or open-back headphones. Open-backs are more comfortable and have a neutral sound - very good for pinpointing the exact source of the sound in online games - but let outside noise thru. Closed-backs may squeeze more, have more pronounced bass and will isolate you from your surroundings.

(And those three brands are by no means high-end - they're good quality HiFi headphones that a normal person can afford.)

Have to disagree with that last sentence. Beyerdynamic ( T5p and T1 ) and Sennheiser in particular make the highest of the highest end equipment available. The Sennheiser HE 1/ Orpheus is $55,000. lol

They also make great entry level cans and some of the best mid fi on the market in the HD 600/650/660S.

Don't forget AKG. The K702, K712 Pro and the Massdrop x AKG K7XX are all excellent at imaging and thus for gaming.

I picked up Sennheiser 598SRs from Amazon. Not quite the spend of the 600-series, but amazing audio compared to any gaming headset I've tried and I've tried quite a few. I can't even say it costs more to go that route as my Tiamat 7.1 setup (5 speakers per ear) ran close to $200 and even though they had good positional sound, the sound itself wasn't even close to what I have now.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

I still use my HD 598s for gaming even though I also have HD 600s and HD 650s. The 598s are also great for music although I don't use them for that anymore. They don't need but will benefit from an amp/DAC as well. Amazingly good soundstage and imaging especially for the price.

 

[Philballer17]

Sennheiser PC 373D.

Enough Said.

 

[ubercake]

I still use my HD 598s for gaming even though I also have HD 600s and HD 650s. The 598s are also great for music although I don't use them for that anymore. They don't need but will benefit from an amp/DAC as well. Amazingly good soundstage and imaging especially for the price.

Yeah the HD 598 SRs are right at that 50-Ohms level of "to amp or not to amp". One thing I notice when using the new motherboard with the built-in amp is a clarity in the highs and a thunk in the low mids that wasn't present without the amp. It makes such a tremendous difference in the sound. I really didn't expect it to make that much of a difference with the amp, but it does.

I use an old Logitech C270 720p webcam mic with it. It makes a great combo. I don't think people consider the webcam mic as an option to be used with a good set of headphones right away, but they should consider the combo as a real alternative to a gaming headset.