The best gaming headsets give you detailed spatial audio with high-quality sound effects, allow you to hear your teammates’ voices more clearly and help immerse you in your game. Because there are so many options on the market, I put a dozen different headsets through hours of gaming to see which ones are worth the investment. After hours of gameplay and streaming, I picked the Steelseries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless as the best overall winner. However, it’s not the only favorite.
The best gaming headset you can get right now is the Steelseries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless.
While audio quality is most important, there are tons of other considerations when buying a gaming headset, including comfort, software features and battery life. I took all of these factors into consideration during my testing and gauged each headset’s performance. These are the best gaming headsets I found after extensive testing. And for more upgrades to your gaming setup, check out our guides on the best gaming keyboards and the best Xbox controllers.
Best for:
- Excellent comfort
- Great audio quality
- Compatibility across gaming systems
Skip if:
- You want top-tier noise cancellation
When I first set up the Steelseries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless, what stood out to me was its outstanding versatility across gaming systems and connection types. This model backs up its versatility with terrific, well-balanced sound and a comfortable design. It excels across all these areas, which is why I chose it as the best gaming headset overall.
The Steelseries Arctis Nova Pro wireless headset offers all of the features and functionality a ... [+]
From the outside, the Steelseries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless stands out for its stylish and functional design, even though it lacks the bright colors or RGB highlights of some of its competitors. It has a retractable microphone that perfectly blends in with the headset’s left ear cup, allowing you to hide it when you’re not using it, and pull it out to use as needed. The left ear cup has an easy-to-reach volume wheel and a power button—all of which were very easy to distinguish by touch. The right ear cup has a Bluetooth button.
I found this headset extremely comfortable to wear through hours of gameplay. It’s lightweight with an elastic headband that fits well on any head size or shape. It also has plush over-ear ear cups and a soft-touch faux-leather covering. I noticed the ear cups felt slightly warm after long gaming sessions, but not enough so to cause discomfort. Plus, it’s very common for headsets to feel a little warm after hours of gaming.
If you're not feeling the black color, Steelseries just launched the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless ... [+]
The Steelseries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless headset outputs stellar audio, too. During my gaming sessions, the headset produced excellent frequency response, with enough bass for most situations and good clarity and detail in the high end to provide an exciting, immersive gaming experience. It’s not the single best-sounding gaming headset I tested, though: The Master & Dynamic MG20 delivers a little extra sparkle in the high frequencies, but the Steelseries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless gets very close.
The biggest problem I had with the audio quality had to do with the noise cancellation. It succeeded at cutting out some outside noise and hum, but it doesn’t match the noise cancellation on noise canceling headphones like the Apple AirPods Max and Bose QuietComfort Ultra. This is common—especially since gaming headset manufacturers more often build products that will stay in your home, rather than be used out and about.
The ear cups feel comfortable to wear for long periods of time.
The Arctis Nova Pro Wireless is the only headset I tested with a hot-swappable battery (included in the box), an uncommon feature in headsets today and useful considering the headset’s battery life over 2.4 GHz wireless is a little below average. All this to say, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless is the clear pick for the best gaming headset overall—see my full review for more details. If you aren’t feeling the black color, the company just launched the headset in white, too.
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Best for:
- A highly comfortable—and more affordable—fit
- Super versatile connectivity
Skip if:
- You want noise cancellation
- You’re looking for a massive battery life
It’s kind of the Steelseries show here, but for good reason. A step down from the Steelseries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless is the Steelseries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless—and its variants, the Arctis Nova 7P Wireless and Arctis Nova 7X Wireless.
To clarify the variations, the Arctis Nova 7P Wireless is built for PlayStation, but it’ll also work on the PC and Nintendo Switch wirelessly, and with the Xbox through a normal wired connection. The Arctis Nova 7X Wireless has the Xbox security chip, and you’ll be able to use it wirelessly on any platform, but on PlayStation you won’t be able to control game/chat mix straight from the headset. The Nova 7 works with everything except Xbox. It has the Chatmix dial, and doesn’t have the PlayStation 5 sidetone dial, which is specific to the 7P, but the Sidetone can be controlled in the PlayStation 5 software. It’s a little confusing, admittedly, but the setup is designed so you can get the most out of your gaming.
The white SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless comes with a retractable mic.
Regardless of the model you go for, you’ll get an excellent gaming headset experience overall. Steelseries has really nailed the comfort of its gaming headsets, and like the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless, the Arctis Nova 7 Wireless is lightweight, with plush padding in the ear cup, and the ski-goggle headband that Steelseries headsets have become synonymous with. I was able to wear the Arctis Nova 7 Wireless for hours without them feeling uncomfortable.
The headset is sleek and stylish. It’s built mostly from plastic, but it’s a strong-feeling matte plastic, and the ear cups are slimmer than many alternative headsets. The headset has magnetic plates that can be switched out for a little extra customizability with a booster pack—though I suspect most will simply use those that come pre-installed on the headset.
The ear pads of a white Steelseries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless are comfortable.
It’s feature-packed, too. The headset wirelessly connects to the platforms that the particular model supports, plus it has Bluetooth for use with a mobile device or other devices you want to use it with. You can even use 2.4GHz and Bluetooth simultaneously, if you want, which is a neat way to listen to music while you’re gaming, for example. As a last resort, it can be used through a wired connection. It doesn’t have noise cancellation like the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless, but very few gaming headsets in general do. If you don’t mind the lack of ANC you could easily use the headset as a general-purpose pair of headphones that you also use to game with.
The battery life is rated by Steelseries as lasting up to 38 hours, which is only fine in a world with headsets that last up to 300 hours. Battery life in general seems to be Steelseries’ Achilles heel. Sure, asking for 300 hours like the HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless might be a little demanding, but plenty of Steelseries’ competitors reach 50 hours or more. The Turtle Beach Atlas Air, for example, was in contention for this category, and it hits 50 hours.
Controls are intuitive on the white Steelseries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless.
The audio quality on offer by the headset is very good, with well-tuned mids and crisp detail in the high-end. The bass response is good too, though it’s not as tight and punchy as I might have liked. That said, the headset supports the often-improving Steelseries Sonar software, which you can use to set EQs and profiles for specific games. I’m a huge fan of how advanced the EQ can get in Sonar—allowing users to make even tiny changes to customize their audio. Plus, the EQ comes with gaming presets for top games, including Diablo IV, Apex Legends and many, many more. This might be a little too much for some, but given my music production background, I loved it.
The issues with this headset are more wants than needs. I want a longer battery life, but I’m good at charging stuff, so 38 hours is perfectly fine. I want ANC, but don’t need, or even expect, it on a gaming headset. But at $200, the Nova 7 Wireless is a great choice for a midrange headset without spending a fortune.
Best for:
- Wide compatibility
- Customizability with a great mobile app
- A great battery life
Skip if:
- You want wired connectivity
- You want simultaneous 2.4GHz and Bluetooth
Steelseries is bringing its best design elements and feature-packed approach to gaming headsets to lower price brackets. The Steelseries Arctis Nova 5 Wireless (and Nova 5P and 5X Wireless) is the newest headset on this list—but it quickly proves itself as the best gaming headset you can get under $150.
Compatibility is the same as other headsets. While the Nova 7 Wireless has the special dial to control Sidetone/Chatmix, the Nova 5 doesn’t have that dial. The PlayStation 5 model won’t work with Xbox, but the Xbox model will work on PlayStation, only missing on-headset chat/game mix. Again, it’s confusing, so you’ll want to read the fine print to make sure you get the headset that works for all your consoles and gaming PCs.
The Steelseries Arctis Nova 5X Wireless looks sleek and stylish.
The headline feature of the Arctis Nova 5 Wireless is compatibility with a new mobile app, which works quite well. The app is built specifically for this headset, and allows you to customize microphone volume, and set EQ from a massive selection of presets that Steelseries worked with game studios on. You can also create a custom preset. And, you can tweak these settings even when the headset is connected to your console and you’re gaming, letting you tweak your preferences on the fly.
While you can connect through 2.4GHz and Bluetooth, unfortunately there’s no option for wired connectivity here, making the headset less versatile in connectivity than Steelseries’ more expensive options. I was a little sad to see no 3.5mm port—it would have made a solid headset even more versatile. However, having both 2.4GHz and Bluetooth is still very helpful, and still not super common in this price range.
The App that controls the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 Wireless gaming headset is handy.
The headset looks very similar to other Arctis Nova headsets, which is to say, it’s a nice-looking headset. The build-quality is pretty good, but it’s not on the same level as the Arctis Nova 7 Wireless. That said, it is about on-par with most other headsets in this price range, or better.
It’s comfortable too. There’s still plenty of padding in the ear cups, and there’s still the much-loved ski-goggle headband. It’s highly adjustable, and I was able to wear the headset for hours without more than a little warmth.
The headband features a fun design.
The audio quality is quite good, with solid bass, well-tuned mids and good clarity in the high-end. The bass doesn’t extend quite as deep as higher-end options, and the highs aren’t as sparkly as the Arctis Nova 7 Wireless. However, the Arctis Nova 5 Wireless beats the majority of headsets it competes with. The ability to tweak EQ so much is helpful too, and the headset supports the SteelSeries Sonar software on PC, too.
The battery life on the headset is quite good, sitting in at 60 hours on a single charge. That’s more than most other headsets, including most of SteelSeries’ own headsets.
Despite the lack of wired connectivity, and the fact that the headset is a little less impressive than SteelSeries’ more expensive options, the Arctis Nova 5 Wireless is an excellent headset that beats everything else under $150.
Best for:
- Simple plug-and-play use
- Very comfortable wear
- Excellent audio quality
Skip if:
- You want a wireless headset
If you’re looking for an excellent gaming headset that is more affordable than most, the Razer BlackShark V2 is my pick for the best budget gaming headset, which I define as the best headset under $100. The BlackShark V2 doesn’t offer the same range of wireless-connectivity features as the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless, but it looks good and sounds great. It also has a complication-free wired connection that works well with any gaming console that has a headphone jack.
The Razer BlackShark V2 is sleek, stylist and lightweight.
The Razer BlackShark V2 gaming headset is sleek and stylish, with green highlights for a gamer-design touch. I found the volume knob on the left ear cup easy to reach, so I could make adjustments quickly while gaming. The same ear cup has a handy microphone mute button.
The buttons and dials on the Razer BlackShark V2 are easily accessible.
The headset is lightweight, so it doesn’t put as much pressure on the top of your head. When you factor in the headset’s plush padding and soft-touch faux-leather coverings, you have a winner. The Razer BlackShark V2 is one of the most comfortable headphones I’ve tested, and remained so even after hours of gaming. The only issue was that the headset got slightly warm, due to the good seal created by the ear cups.
Complementing this headset’s comfort is its excellent sound. Over the course of my testing, it produced powerful bass, with well-tuned mids that helped ensure a more realistic sound quality. The best thing about the audio quality is the detail and clarity in the high-end—which makes for an exciting, precise sound. This also helped make the headset great for listening to music, too.
A close-up view of the Razer BlackShark V2's microphone.
The few downsides to this headset are mostly that the detachable microphone is merely adequate, but not terrible. You also won’t get more on-headset controls, like the ability to tweak chat mixes like you get on the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless. For most gamers, these downsides will be relatively easy to look past.
Those issues aside, the Razer BlackShark V2 is an excellent headset that’s worth looking into for anyone who wants a widely compatible, high-quality gaming headset on a budget. You can read more in the full Razer BlackShark V2 review.
Best for:
- Top-tier audio quality
- Versatile connectivity
- Easy controls
Skip if:
- You’re on a budget
- You want easy adjustability
If you consider audio quality to be your top priority in buying a gaming headset, then the Audeze Maxwell is the gaming headset to buy. The headset has earned its title as the best gaming headset for audiophiles, thanks to the fact that it sounds better than any other gaming headset currently available. Additionally, it offers great connectivity features, and while it’s not quite as comfortable or as feature-rich as the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless, it still offers the majority of features that gamers want from a versatile headset.
The Audeze Maxwell gaming features a design of plastic and metal. Note the leather headband.
This headset supports a range of connectivity options, and Audeze sells Xbox and PlayStation variants. Both will work the same when gaming on a PC, Switch or mobile device. If you game on either a PlayStation or an Xbox, you’ll want to buy the variant that works best with your console. If you game on both PlayStation and Xbox, you may have to use the headset with a wired connection on one of them.
I tested the PlayStation variant, and was unable to get it to work with the Xbox, likely due to Microsoft’s requirements around security. It’s possible the Xbox variant will work a little better with the PlayStation, however I couldn’t test that. Again, the PlayStation model worked just fine when plugged in to the Xbox controller through a 3.5mm connection.
Audeze Maxwell gaming headset controls.
Of course, easily the best thing about this headset is the fact that it sounds excellent—and better than any other headset I tested. The headset produced deep and powerful bass, likely thanks to the huge 90mm drivers in the ear cups. The high frequencies were detailed and crisp too, and seemed to extend beyond the already-excellent high-end response on offer by the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless. That’s likely due to the fact that the headset uses Planar Magnetic drivers, which Audeze has used in the past on some of its best-sounding headphones.
The headset connects to the Audeze HQ software, which is available for both PC and Mac and is actually useful. The software allows you to upgrade the firmware of the headset, plus control EQ, toggle spatial audio on and off and more. Not everyone will want or need to download the software—the headset is very capable out of the box. But if you like tweaking settings, it’s worth taking a look at.
Audeze Maxwell headband adjustments.
It’s not the most comfortable headset I tested, and it also feels heavier compared to others. It has a leather headband that, at first glance, looks screwed into the headset. Still, that isn’t to say that wearing the headset is uncomfortable. I was still able to wear it for hours at a time with ease, and while it may get a little warm, most wearers won’t have an issue with the headset’s fit. The comfort issues aside, the Audeze Maxwell is the best-sounding gaming headset out there right now.
Other Gaming Headsets I Tested
I tested other gaming headsets that didn’t quite match my top picks in terms of quality. Here’s a look at the ones that didn’t make the cut, but are still be worthy of your consideration.
Astro A10 Gaming Headset Gen 2 ($60 on Amazon): The Astro A10 is one of the least expensive headsets I tested, but unfortunately the construction and design felt a little low-end. Its gaming audio performance was good overall, but sometimes I found it slightly heavy on the low mids, which made for unrealistic audio reproduction.
Logitech G Pro X Wireless ($230 on Best Buy): The Logitech G Pro X Wireless offers a classic design, with coiled cables and a premium look and feel. As the hours passed, this headset felt a little heavy and uncomfortable on my head, and the microphone disappoints.
Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 Max ($179.84 on Amazon): The Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 Max is a solid headset, with a heavily plastic build and a relatively tight clamp that made it less comfortable for extended wear. Overall, this headset was good, but not enough to beat the other top picks. Specifically, the Razer BlackShark V2 was more comfortable and offered an even better frequency response.
Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 MAX wireless gaming headset supports multiple platforms and has a ... [+]
Master & Dynamic MG20 ($296.65 on Amazon): The Master & Dynamic MG20 was one of the best-sounding gaming headsets I tested. However, it got slightly uncomfortable after a few hours of playing, and it didn’t do enough to warrant the higher price—even with its impressive microphone and its built-in surround sound (which didn’t add that much).
Beyerdynamic MMX 150 ($100 on Amazon): The Beyerdynamic MMX 150 is another great-sounding gaming headset from a classic audio company. But the headset is a little light on features given its price, and can only be connected through a wired connection. Additionally, while it sounds good, it doesn’t sound quite as high-end as the Razer BlackShark V2, which has a similar feature-set.
HyperX Cloud Alpha ($64.38 on Amazon): The HyperX Cloud Alpha offers a solid construction and a mostly comfortable fit, but with a little less detail and clarity, it doesn’t sound as great as the Razer BlackShark V2. The microphone is a little better than the BlackShark V2, but that wasn’t enough to make it the best budget headset.
HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless ($150.77 on Amazon): The HyperX Cloud Alpha is easily one of the best value gaming headsets, with a solid audio quality. It also has that incredible 300-hour battery life, making it perfect for those who forget to charge. However, it’s not as feature-rich as the Arctis Nova 5 Wireless or Nova 7 Wireless, and doesn’t sound quite as impressive as the Nova 7 Wireless, which it competed with for best midrange headset.
Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Portal ($449 on Amazon): The Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Portal is one of the best-sounding gaming headsets available, and it made a serious case for itself as the best gaming headset for audiophiles. However, the Beoplay Portal still didn’t sound quite as great as the Audeze Maxwell, and the Maxwell is quite a bit cheaper.
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1X ($49 on Amazon): The Arctis Nova 1X is one of the best gaming headsets under $50, but without a category in that price segment right now, it was left competing with headsets twice its price. It was unable to compare with the audio quality on a headset like the Razer BlackShark V2.
Turtle Beach Stealth 600 (Gen 3) ($99 on Amazon): The Turtle Beach Stealth 600 (Gen 3) represents a big redesign for the Stealth series, and a move in the right direction. Ultimately, while the headset has some more features than the wired Razer BlackShark V2, its audio quality doesn’t compare. It’s a better headset for those who want wireless connectivity and don’t mind losing some of the high-end detail, though.
Turtle Beach Atlas Air ($180 on Amazon): The Turtle Beach Atlas Air is open-back, meaning it won’t really block audio around you, and it has a relatively bulky design. I also found the build felt a little cheap compared to the Arctis Nova 7, which it competed with for best midrange gaming headset. It also didn’t offer the same number of features. Also, it doesn’t support Xbox.
Turtle Beach Stealth 500 ($80 on Amazon): The Stealth 500 is a solid headset for the price, but with fewer features and a lower-quality audio quality than the Stealth 600. It competed for the best budget gaming headsets category that ultimately went to Razer, and because of the lower-quality audio, it had little chance of winning. I did like the new design of the headset, though, as it felt comfortable to wear.
My Expertise
I’ve been an avid gamer since I was a kid. My first console was a Sony PlayStation 2 that I got at around the age of 10, and since then I’ve owned various consoles and gaming devices. Currently, I game the most on a Sony PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch, but also own and regularly use a Microsoft Xbox Series S.
Just as important is my audio experience. I have a bachelor’s degree in music technology, which is a fancy term for a degree in music production. In my career as a tech reporter, I’ve combined my gaming side with my audio background. I’ve reviewed hundreds of different pairs of headphones and dozens of gaming headsets. For this piece, I also interviewed three experts about gaming headsets, including professional gamers.
Other than myself, the Forbes Vetted team includes seasoned tech editor Rebecca Isaacs, who has reviewed a plethora of audio and gaming products throughout her career.
How I Tested The Best Gaming Headsets
I narrowed the field of gaming headsets by focusing on models from well-established manufacturers, including Steelseries, HyperX and Logitech. I also looked for gaming headsets from high-end audio companies, like Bang & Olufsen, Beyerdynamic, Audeze and Master & Dynamic. I reviewed each model and took into account its features, its compatibility among gaming systems, its price and more. I also considered whether a manufacturer offered a version of the headset for both Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation, since due to Microsoft’s security requirements, not all wireless headsets work with both.
Once I narrowed down top contenders, I put them to the test, spending hours with each headset across different gaming genres. I evaluated the comfort level wearing each headset for hours of gameplay, and when applicable, I installed and checked any PC software for its customizability and ease of use. I also gauged the audio quality across gaming, music and TV and confirmed how well each headset holds a wireless connection (where applicable).
My testing is based on my primary test game, Call of Duty: Warzone. I chose this game because it’s a good cross-platform game with solid sound design that includes all kinds of different audio effects and cinematic music (albeit only in the loading screens). I also played Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, God of War Ragnarök, Starfield and more. For music, I listened to multiple genres, with my test tracks including songs like “Can’t Stop” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers (a track I’ve listened to hundreds of times since childhood). For TV, I watched The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
To test comfort, I spent a minimum of three hours wearing each headset, judging its comfort level after the first hour and again at the end. And of course, since capturing your voice is essential for gameplay, I recorded multiple samples from each microphone, listening to them side by side to see how they compared to each other.
Which Headset Is Best For Gaming?
Based on my testing, the Steelseries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless is the best gaming headset, thanks to its wide compatibility, excellent audio quality, top-tier comfort level and more. Your needs, however, might mean a different headset is best for you. For example, I found the Razer BlackShark V2 to be the best value headset for those who don’t want to spend the cash on the SteelSeries model.
The likes of HyperX and Astro also make quality options. The HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless, for example, offers a 300-hour battery life, which some gamers may prioritize.
How Much Should I Pay For A Good Headset?
That really depends on you and your budget. Like with anything, the more you spend, the better the headset you can usually get. If you’re looking for a wireless headset with all the best features and extra bells and whistles, then the $350 Steelseries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless is worth its high price. But you can still get a great headset for less. The Razer BlackShark V2 saves money by being wired and offering fewer features, but it still prioritizes great-sounding audio.
Is A Wired Or Wireless Headset Better For Gaming?
It depends on your needs. Wired headsets offer lower latency and never have to be recharged, but you’ll have to deal with that pesky wire. And, if you game on the Nintendo Switch you’ll have to deal with using a third-party controller if you want to use a wired gaming headset. Wireless gaming headsets introduce some latency (though usually not enough to be noticeable), and they require you charge them regularly—but you won’t have to worry about wires. Some offer very long battery life, like the HyperX Cloud Alpha wireless, whereas our top pick, the Steelseries Arctis Nova Pro wireless, features a unique swappable battery for uninterrupted gameplay.
