An immersive and fulfilling gaming experience demands great sounds; be it the sound of a 105mm shelling away, or a single enemy stepping out of the mist with a revolver in hand – and for the pros out there, missing any small audio-detail might prove disastrous.
All those who are looking to get back into that awesome gaming chair and enjoy hours of rich gaming experience – we have the perfect ear-mounted partners for you! They bring all the audio qualities of the best set of speakers, comes with all the bells and whistles and adds one special feature to make themselves stand out – privacy.
Here’s our list of the best headphones for gaming which includes headsets for PS4, Wireless or Wired you can treat yourself to in 2018.
The Best Gaming Headsets for PC & PS4
Good gaming headsets aren’t one-size-fits-all; read on to see our top picks for every category.
Razer ManO’War – Under $200 *Best Wireless Headset
[kkstarratings=”3.3″]Compatible with PC, Mac, Steam Link and works with PlayStation 4
Unlike Keyboards and Mice, Headsets work extremely well using wireless technology. Just how well that is can be demonstrated by the sheer quality that Razer’s flagship product boasts. The ManO’War is the perfect headset you want, you need and you will love! The 7.1 surround sound promises an immersive gaming experience like no other.
It is a little bulky, but with the 50mm Neodymium magnet audio drivers and the 2.4GHz wireless technology, it is bound to be so. The USB adapter has a range of almost 4 meters according to our stress testing and the extension dock adds another eight meters to that range. And when the fact that it can hold up to 14 hours worth of charge in on go, you know it’s bound to be heavy – actually, taking all that into consideration, it is fairly light, providing a very stable and comfortable wearing experience.
Our stress testing involved trying to record me singing a song while sitting near a town square – and the exceptional clarity mesmerized us. The microphone is very well designed for vocal sound reproduction and you’ll never have to worry about sounding like a bee during a live stream.
To seal the deal, this Razer behemoth, in terms of performance, of course, comes with nice accessories and an optional cooling-gel ear cushion that supposedly keeps heat build up – though we didn’t get the chance of testing it.
Another option would be Razer Thresher, it is a really cool product with Razer’s signature style and perfectly suited for gaming.
SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless
Compatibility: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Mobile
I never thought I would be calling anything perfect, ever! Or better than Razer.
But we tested this great pair of headsets from SteelSeries, and felt the need to call them ‘perfect’. The Arctis Pro, as they are called, came in two varieties to us – one wireless and one wired with GameDAC. And we couldn’t keep the Wireless one off this list. It has almost every feature that Razer ManO’War boasts, but comes added with a sleek look that we absolutely loved, and sounded way better everywhere we tested it, for everything that we could conceive and any human would ever need to do.
And we found this awesome video to convince us even more… Not really, we don’t judge by video quality – but it’s certainly a good video.
ASTRO A50 – Under $200
For the people who are musicians and gamers, sound plays an immense part in their lives – and, for them, ASTRO brings the definitive experience, the best possible, in their A50. The bold looks and the tech-packed headsets perform equally well in games and other audio experiences.
Sadly, we couldn’t test one physically due to exclusive nature and costs of a pair – listed at ASTRO’s own site, it was way outside our ability to get one for purely testing purposes. So, we turned to a sound engineer who worked his magic and created a software replication, at least as close as was possible, of the sound produced by an ASTRO A50. We heard a lot of songs through the filter and tried to make it work with a couple of games – though none of the games worked as planned, we got some degree of success in a few of them.
Technical difficulties of the sound replication filter aside, the sound could be described by a multitude of extremely positive adjectives – it was immersive, very engrossing and we never felt we were more than a few feet away from the stage when we heard Linkin Park’s “In The End”. The only game that didn’t freak out with the custom sound filter was Mafia 2; and fans of the game will be able to appreciate the fact when I say the already sweet sound in the game (radio songs, radio chatter, environmentally sound and car sounds, etc.) sounded even sweeter and more life-like.
The standard specs include Dolby Digital 7.1 surround sound, flip to the mute microphone and great audio drivers; the non-standard ones are the absolutely insane 5GHz Wireless connection and compatibility with all consoles and PC. Yes, you read it right, it works with everything that you might use to play games in 2018.
Corsair Void Pro Wireless – Under $100
Corsair has quickly gone from being a PC component maker to a trusted gaming peripheral manufacturer. And the Void Pro clearly proves why so. If searched for, a pair of these could be found for less than half the price of an ASTRO A50; and the kind of features it brings in the package simply blows the price to performance ratio.
Despite being wireless, it provides fantastic audio quality and superb build quality. The design looks great and never once did it feel uncomfortable during our five-hour long stress testing in Battlefield 1. And to add to all those, it has a very good microphone and a subtle RGB lighting enabled Corsair logo.
We recommend getting the Void Pro if you already have a set of other Corsair peripherals – since the headset can then synchronize with the RGB in the other products and make your setup look really cool. Corsair’s Utility Engine is very easy to use once you get the hang of it.
At the price point, we feel like Corsair simply outdid itself in making the best mid-range headsets in 2018 – more reasons to get one if you already haven’t.
HyperX Cloud Revolver S – Under $150 *Best PS4 Headset
Compatibility: PS4, Xbox One, PC, Mobile
We didn’t test the Revolver S until one of my close friend’s suggested checking it out. And it was totally worth the time! It was pricey for its class, but its performance was unbelievably good.
The Dolby 7.1 surround sound and 50mm drivers were surprises in this pair of headsets, and the sound was very rich and enhanced our gaming sessions by quite a few degrees. Though, Kingston’s awesome device lost points for its very oddly placed and wobbly detachable microphone whose audio-quality wasn’t that great either though it was supposed to be Discord certified (no one wants to sound like a guy with a bee in his throat when they order teammates to ‘Rush B’).
What caught our attention was the comfort these nice looking cans provided. For about more than $100, they were the most comfortable, easy on the ear and least sweaty after a 5-hour long testing session in Battlefront 2. The sturdy steel frames provided a nice and durable pair of headsets that will live through your gaming years.
Logitech G PRO Headset – Under $100
Logitech’s no-nonsense, no-frills, no-extra approach towards making gaming peripherals is loved by the gamers strapped for cash, and eSports enthusiasts. What makes their products special is the fact that they do very less, but what they do, they do absolute best.
Take G PRO Headset for example – it does not have the nice RGBs, the absolute space age design or features that looks like something out of a sci-fi movie. But it produces a great sound that is specifically tuned for gaming. Hence, while it is not the ideal device to listen to long music playlists; it is probably the best low-cost pair of cans that you can get and know that you’ve eSports quality gaming gear.
But, what truly made this headset a deal breaker and made us include it in this list and not an ASUS product that we had been considering… is its noise isolation. It is closed backed, surprise surprise, and blocks out everything from outside. Literally, everything that is a sound!
So, if you know your mom’s gonna call you for dinner soon, you better not be wearing them. ????
For the Audiophiles out there
The names in this list will be familiar to most people… a bit of advice for them, don’t take anything for face value or brand names. Names you haven’t heard could turn out to be really good and a great company could make a very not-so-okay device.
Don’t worry though, we tested fifteen high-quality headsets to find the best few that balanced music and gaming as well as you balance your gaming and cosplay careers.
Sennheiser GSP 600 – Under $250
The noise cancelling mic sounded sleek in a Black Ops match, and we tried recording a song using it. My singing left much to be desired, but the recording quality was what we could probably be called crystal clear high definition audio.
Beyerdynamic MMX 300 – Under $300
Our tests actually had a draw between a really nice looking headset (whose name will remain silent) and the MMX 300. And, despite the very boring and fragile looks of MMX 300, we had to choose it simply because of its self-correcting abilities.
We are not even sure if the manufacturers actually included that as a feature, but unlike every other headset we tested, Beyerdynamic’s MMX 300 sounded different in different games, effectively adapting itself to sound the best in the games we played.
Rainbow Six sounded very clear, edge-y and the music lacked huge amounts of bass… making it ideal for the stealthy and quick reacting gameplay style. Battlefield, on the other hand, had its very nice music enhanced while the crackling fire and explosions seemed to come to life.
It wasn’t without some bad effects, though. For example, Arma 3 was barely playable- the sound was muddy and sometimes outright muffled.
That aside, the MMX 300 performed really well in our tests and we felt it would be nice to have the option of using our gaming headset for some rock music and a Skype chat. The microphone was good with voice, though lots of music caused all sorts of funny noises to be picked up as well.
Overall, a great performer that will serve anyone equally well in front of their rigs and the studio or living room couch.
The Best Gaming Headsets for Xbox One
Xbox Console owners shouldn’t feel left out, as we have some amazing PS4 gaming headsets for you as well.
Turtle Beach Stealth 700 – Under $150 *Best Xbox One Headset
Compatibility: Xbox One, Mobile
The feature that stands out in this impressive looking headset is the design. It is tried and tested, but with a nice new-ish touch to it. Couple that with its premium sound, well-built frame and connectivity options with exclusive support for Xbox and you get the perfect pair of headsets for when you’re racing across the streets in CREW 2.
It even plugs directly to the controller! And, while we couldn’t get one for testing… we had fairly long chats with users who had a lot to say about these headsets, most of it was good.
We looked at the specs and clearly saw why it was so loved – any headset with a rechargeable battery that lasts 10 hours in one go is sure to be a winning formula, with green highlights for extra effects.
Sony PlayStation Wireless Platinum – Under $150
If you want a list of specs or more details, check out this link – Platinum Wireless. Or, better still… just go and get a pair for yourself; because, you won’t find a better pair of cans anywhere. We would know, we gamed in 24 different headsets before giving up.
Why should you Buy a Gaming Headset?
Audio redefined? Or, just a waste of money?
The sound is important… If you think it isn’t, try playing anything other than minesweeper without any audio output. Just like a bad screen kills half the fun, bad, muddy and noisy sound kills all the immersion and fun. Getting a good headset is totally worth the money, and as long as you can justify the features they have and your requirements, you’re good.
Headsets don’t necessarily have to be specialized for gaming. Our experience suggests that even a normal pair of headsets could prove to be a very capable gaming gear. Like my own boAt Rockerz does. It is my personal favourite when I’m enjoying the umpteenth playthrough of Call of Duty Modern Warfare.
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