The Best Gaming Headsets—We Tested Over Hundreds of Hours (2024)

Thoughtful dependable design is simply a touchstone of modern gaming, and 1 of the champion ways to amended your acquisition is with a amended brace of headphones. Plenty of headsets are designed conscionable for this task, with mics for squad chat, wired and wireless options, and comfy designs for hours of play. We've rounded up the champion gaming headsets, whether you're relaxing with a cozy game, crafting your mode done space, oregon clicking heads successful multiplayer games.

For the remainder of your gaming accessory needs, beryllium definite to cheque retired our different guides, similar the Best Gaming Keyboard, Best Gaming Mouse, and Best Game Controllers. We besides person console-specific picks for the Best PS5 Accessories and Best Nintendo Switch Accessories.

Updated June 2024: Added the SteelSeries Nova 5X Wireless, Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 3, and Turtle Beach Atlas Air.

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How I Test Gaming Headsets

Testing gaming headsets is similar gitting gud: There's nary mode to bash it too playing the game. A lot. For each gaming headset I test, I walk astatine slightest 1 week (usually more) utilizing it arsenic my sole headset for each gaming league connected each console it's compatible with. I bounce betwixt the PS5, Xbox Series S, Switch, and Steam Deck, arsenic good arsenic my accustomed desktop PC, which I usage some for enactment and gaming.

For measurable criteria similar artillery beingness and charging time, I usage the pursuing tests:

• Battery life: On wireless headsets, I'll complaint each instrumentality to 100 percent, past usage each headset regular for some enactment and gaming, noting artillery level implicit the magnitude of clip used. This casual trial is designed to beryllium reflective of real-world usage. For much outlandish artillery claims, I volition besides behaviour a much rigorous test, playing a loop of movies successful VLC, with measurement acceptable to 50 percent, measuring artillery drain implicit time.
• Charging time: Similarly, wherever applicable, I'll enactment however agelong it takes to complaint each headset and however rapidly it charges. I'll marque notes connected however overmuch complaint a instrumentality gets from 15 minutes of charging, arsenic good arsenic however agelong it takes to complaint from a debased artillery to 100 percent.
• Microphone quality: Gaming headsets with mics are designed with squad chat successful mind, truthful axenic audio prime isn't a interest rather arsenic overmuch arsenic whether your teammates tin perceive you. For each gaming headset, I volition usage it portion playing competitory games (most commonly Overwatch 2) with a regular radical and canvass my teammates connected however my comms are perceived, and whether my call-outs travel done clear.

Since a batch of factors progressive successful investigating headphones tin beryllium subjective, I besides see much nebulous factors, similar however a gaming headset feels to deterioration for agelong periods of time, audio prime during antithetic types of games, the layout of on-device controls, and what benignant of tools are disposable for customizing the audio experience. No magnitude of measuring a headset's frequence effect tin archer you whether a peculiar headset “sounds good,” truthful I trust connected my years of acquisition successful video editing and podcasting to connection my champion recommendations for each need.