Gaming headsets are a waste of time, just buy this instead

I’m a firm believer that you don’t need to spend your hard-earned cash on a gaming headset. Don’t get me wrong—it’s convenient to just plop on a headset, drop the mic, and start gaming. That said, there are a few major problems that many gaming headsets have, and I’ve found a better solution that requires spending less money, and getting better results while gaming and streaming.

Sound quality should be more than just footsteps

I’ve found that most gaming headsets, especially in the low to mid-range, don’t sound great. In competitive shooters, you might only be able to tell that an enemy is somewhere to the left or right, but not with the pinpoint accuracy you’d get from a quality pair of studio headphones. Some headphones try to compensate with the gimmick of spatial audio, but from my experience, this mostly makes the headset sound hollow. Most of the teams you see in professional esports competitions wearing gaming headsets are sponsored by gaming headset manufacturers. That’s fine, but companies like Logitech, Razer, and HyperX could make much better headphones that aren’t just tuned for a single game like Counter-Strike—only to sound painfully harsh in something like Marvel Rivals.

There’s more to game audio than “I can hear footsteps from behind”. Games have a large variety of sounds, featuring booming explosions in action titles, heartfelt dialogue in story-driven games, and immersive background music to amp up the experience of action games. Horror games use unsettling diegetic sounds—like the creepy skittering of something lurking nearby—to make you feel present in the environment. Most gaming headsets are optimized for competitive shooters, with software equalizer (EQ) presets for different game genres. The problem? These presets usually sound terrible. They often feel like they were made by someone who played a game for five minutes and just cranked up the treble. While some research goes into tuning gaming headsets, the results often prioritize game-specific sound over general audio quality.

Sacrifices are made to reduce wireless latency

Gaming headsets aim for lower latency to bring reaction times as close to instant as possible. Amazing for competitive play. Have you ever noticed how dialogue in movies or shows can feel slightly off with regular Bluetooth headphones? This is because most Bluetooth codecs only go as low as 20ms, in comparison to most good wireless gaming headsets that are 20ms at worst. While lower latency is nice, there are some sacrifices made.

To achieve that lower latency, most wireless gaming headsets rely on proprietary USB dongles and proprietary wireless connections, instead of a standard like Bluetooth. This means that many don’t even support Bluetooth, making them useless for on-the-go listening. If you want a headset that works both in and out of gaming sessions, you have to dig through the spec sheet to check for Bluetooth support. Some headsets offer both Bluetooth and removable microphones, so you don’t look like a doofus outside. Do people still use the word doofus?

The better alternative to gaming headsets

For the best gaming experience, a wired option almost always delivers better sound and lower latency. No complications—just plug in and play. Wired headphones also generally sound better than wireless gaming headsets at the same price point.
The same goes for microphones. These days, instead of a $200 Headset you can get a solid pair of $100 earbuds or headphones and pair them with a $100 microphone. Not only will you sound better to your teammates in-game, but you’ll also have clearer audio in Discord calls and online meetings. If you already own a good set of Bluetooth headphones, check if they support a wired connection—you might be able to use them for gaming with lower latency.

Of course, if you lack the desk space for a dedicated mic, or want fancy gimmicks like LED lights and spatial audio, a gaming headset might still be the better option. If you’re looking for headsets that sound great beyond just gaming, check out our list of the best gaming headsets.