Best Gaming Headsets

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While not the same experience as Dolby Atmos from a high-performance soundbar, gaming headsets offer a lot of other advantages. For one, they offer private listening when playing your game. Whether you are PC gaming or gaming on any of the next-gen consoles, there are a few things a good gaming-grade headset must include. A broadcast-quality noise-cancelling microphone that picks up your voice, clearly, is essential. A great headset will also be designed to fit comfortably with high-performance lightweight materials and a soft headband that distributes the weight evenly, so you can game longer.

Active noise-cancelling technology is a newer feature we’re seeing on some of the more high-end headsets. This technology eliminates unwanted background noise so you can stay fully-immersed in your game without distractions.

One of the most important features serious gamers want to see in their next gaming headset is truly wireless compatibility with our console of choice, so we can control the headset wirelessly from the Xbox or PS5 controllers. Fortunately, all of the wireless gaming headsets on this list offer compatibility with the next-gen consoles.

Of course, this list of best gaming headphones wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t select only the most audiophile gaming headsets. All of these audiophile gaming headsets present accurate immersive sound specially optimized for high-performance gaming, so you’ll never miss a detail. Priced from highest to lowest, these are the gaming headsets we like the best.

JBL Quantum 800 Wireless Over-Ear Gaming Headset

If you are looking for the best gaming headset with active noise-cancellation technology, the JBL Quantum 800 gaming headset is the best headset for gaming on either Xbox Series X or PS5.

  • Audio precision, designed for gamers
  • Hi-Res certified JBL QuantumSOUND Signature
  • Dual wireless-equipped for lossless audio freedom

The JBL Quantum 800 has a long 14-hour battery life and it’s compatible with all next-gen gaming platforms via the lossless 2.4Ghz wireless dongle that’s included. The dongle also supports dual-wireless capability over Bluetooth 5.0 so you can pair this with your phone at the same time.

With active noise-canceling turned on, this gaming headset helps us eliminate distractions in the environment. This helps us focus on the cinematic sound effects in the game and the immersive musical details in soundtracks. The active noise cancelling works especially well with the adjustable boom microphone. The ANC is specially tuned for video games to cancel out the frequencies that would cause echos or feedback with the mic — and to our ears, it helps voice communications stand out more clearly and distinctly compared to other gaming headsets.

As an added bonus, if you game on PC, there’s a spatial audio positioning feature that enhances the cinematic soundstage of your PC games with realistic DTS surround sound quality, but this only works on PC. This really makes the PC gaming experience sound more realistic and immersive, and the improvements are noticeable — our only wish is that this also works with next-gen gaming consoles, but if you game on PC, you will definitely appreciate having this as an added bonus.
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JBL Quantum 600 Wireless Over-Ear Gaming Headset

Designed for immersion and performance, the JBL Quantum 600 2.4GHz wireless gaming headset gives you a clear edge over the competition with accurate and immersive sound.

  • Lossless 2.4GHz wireless headset
  • Live the game with JBL QuantumSURROUND™ and DTS
  • Voice focus flip-up boom mic

If you don’t care about active noise cancelling features when gaming, JBL Quantum 600 offers similar performance as the JBL Quantum 800. For $50 less than the JBL Quantum 800, you get the same high-quality adjustable boom microphone and similar cinematic performance for high-quality audio with video games. You also get the same 14-hour battery life and compatibility with all next-gen gaming platforms via the lossless 2.4Ghz wireless dongle that’s included. However, this model omits the dual-wireless capability over Bluetooth 5.0, so you do not get the ability to simultaneously connect with your phone or other Bluetooth devices.

In terms of audio quality, the JBL Quantum 600 offers similar fidelity but not quite the same level-of-performance as its bigger brother. This gaming headset can present audio with an impressive frequency range from 20Hz to 20kHz. When you compare this to the JBL Quantum 800’s frequency response (20Hz to 40kHz ), the performance is not quite as impressive. However, the Quantum 600 sounds better than any gaming headset at this price-point.

If you care about having the best audio quality possible, then step things up to the JBL Quantum 800 for only $50 more, or go all out with the best gaming headset available — Audeze Penrose. At only $150 more, Penrose offers the largest competitive edge available. Soundtracks and sound effects are just incredibly detailed and immersive.

For less than $300 for an audiophile gaming headset that’s compatible with the latest next-gen consoles and offers this much tech and performance — who wouldn’t choose the Audeze Penrose?
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Best Gaming Headset for PC

If PC gaming is your thing, then a great audiophile headphone for gaming will add a wider sense of presentation and clear dynamics that will help you gain a competitive edge. For gaming on PC, these audiophile gaming headsets are our staff picks.

JBL Quantum ONE Headphones - Black

$149.95

Overall Recommendation

The product life-cycle for a single console generation typically lasts about seven years. If you’re already making the investment in one of these next-gen consoles, you might as well do it right. You’ll be with that system for a very long time.

Whether you’re on team Sony, Microsoft, or if you game on PC, a high-performance gaming headset will help you squeeze every last drop of performance from these very powerful gaming systems. Immersive 3D audio is a great way to dive into the game, and give yourself a slight competitive advantage without disturbing anyone around you.

Choose any of the high-performance gaming headsets on this list, and you will experience the best immersion for gaming, available.