Good news, gamers — we’ve checked out the 10 best wireless gaming headsets on the market and broke them down by price, quality, and overall value to provide you the answer you’re looking for: What wireless gaming headset should I buy?
Wireless headsets have clear advantages; namely, they free you up to move around as you please. Games of WoW, FIFA, and CoD can get pretty intense and you can’t be tethered down to a metal box. Sometimes you just have to jump in joy or stomp in anger. We get it. The problem is that wired headsets still vastly outnumber wireless options. Although some wireless headsets certainly leave something to be desired when it comes to drag time and battery life, we’re here to finally provide some dependable answers.
Top Wireless Gaming Headset Chart Comparison
[ws_table id=”32″]Should You Buy a Wireless Gaming Headset?
In addition to the obvious attraction of any wireless device, there are three important factors to consider when decided whether you should buy a wireless gaming headset: Battery life/charge time, drag time, and price.
1. Battery Life/Charge Time. One of the biggest concerns people have with wireless headsets is the battery life and time it takes to charge them. No one likes having to monitor battery levels in the middle of a heated game, or worse, cut games short because your cans ran out of juice. The worse case scenario? You’ve got your enemy pinned, headshot lined up, all you have to do is pull the trigger… and your headset shuts down. Sure, you may get the shot and win, but much of the luster is lost when you can’t celebrate with your team.
Also to be considered is the time it takes to charge the headset. ‘Aint nobody got time to wait around all day for their headsets to charge. After all, once you get your shiny new wireless headset, the last thing you’ll want to do is put them down. Choosing an option that helps you avoid that situation will be important.
2. Drag Time. When trying to gauge drag, delays, or latency, it ultimately comes down to a matter of perception. Perhaps unfairly, wireless headsets have a bad rap for having too many delays and don’t deliver the audio fast enough to keep up with the action. This can definitely be true with cheaper wireless gear, but the same can be said be about any cheaper electronic. As with most things, you get what you pay for.
There are, however, many wireless gaming headsets that deliver timely and consistent audio. Drag time can range from annoying to downright unmanageable. In any scenario, slow speeds, jerkiness, and skipping are all factors to watch out for during your gaming headset search.
3. Price. Anything new or better than the norm will carry a premium in term of price, and gaming headsets are no different. Manufacturers know people will pay extra for a wireless product, so based on the simple law of supply and demand, prices are bound to rise. However, components like the receiver and rechargeable batteries aren’t cheap to produce either, thus costs also rise by necessity.
If you understand these potential drawbacks and find a headset that bucks these trends, than wireless gaming will be an amazingly free experience. Hardcore gamers who are prepared to pay a slight premium will love the incredible, zero-hassle gaming audio equipment that awaits. Keep reading below for detailed reviews the five best gaming headsets around.
Breaking Down the 5 Best Options
1. Ausdom M05
The Ausdom M05 headset delivers the most value for your money. The Bluetooth 4.0 technology provides gamers with a reliable and steady wireless connection with high quality audio transmission. Out of all our reviews, we believe this to be the best wireless gaming headset.
The built-in mic in the M05 gives the headset a compact and sleek look. No need to look like a telemarketer when you’re mowing down zombies, after all. The audio controls are easy to reach and navigate as well. We found the mic to be very sensitive with crisp audio output. No lag time existed during our tests either.
With 20 hours of in-use battery life, and a charge time of under 3 hours, the M05 also performed well in this area. When the headset is on, the sound comes in crystal-clear and powerful. The bass was especially deep. The super soft ear cushions made game play extremely enjoyable as well. You could have these cans on for the full 20 hours of battery life straight and not feel uncomfortable. The ear cups easily rotate as well making storage a breeze.
Overall, the sleek design, sensitive built-in mic, great sound quality, and comfortable ear cups make the Ausdom M05s a great wireless gaming headset. Factor in the cheaper than most competitor’s price and this becomes the best of the bunch.
2. Wireless Stereo Headset – Playstation 3
The chunky design of the Sony stereo headset gives off a nice first impression. There’s no other way to say it other than they look cool. Although the headset is officially designed for the PS3, it works just as well on PCs and Macs.
Also adding to the cool feature is the button-less volume control. If the action gets a little too intense in your ears, a simple slide down the back of the headset with your finger is all it takes to control the volume.
The extendable microphone is small enough to look good with the overall design, but powerful enough to provide crystal clear chatter. The audio is sufficient for gaming, but wouldn’t be quite as good if listening to bass-heavy music. The low end can sound a bit thin at times.
The unique features of the Sony PS3 headset make this a great choice, and maybe even the top choice for those with a PS3.
3. SteelSeries H
A lot of online reviews have the SteelSeries H as their top wireless gaming headset. While we agree that it’s a great set, there wasn’t anything in particular about the headphones that made them stand out above the rest to justify the higher price. Because of that, we bumped it down to third on our list.
This headset is no joke though. Everything you want in a headset is here — comfort, surround sound, and superior audio fidelity. If there’s anything would make the SteelSeries H separate itself from the rest, it would be the two swappable lithium ion batteries that the headset ships with. Certainly, this helps a ton with keeping the game play rolling, but when your competitors offer 20 hours of battery life, two batteries become less important. Still, a very cool feature.
Compatible with all systems, the SteelSeries H has a retractable exterior microphone that has no lag time. While many wireless headsets wait to change frequency channels until they detect interference, H Wireless is constantly searching for the best option.
Although you’ll have to drop a pretty penny to get them, the SteelSeries H delivers with excellent audio, no delay voice transmission, and a really sleek design.
4. Turtle Beach i60
The Turtle Beach i60 is another great option for gamers. The white finish offers something different from the standard gray/charcoal/black of all the other headsets on this list, so if that’s your preference, the i60s may be for you.
The sound quality is great with these ‘phones. Everything was well balanced and the bass didn’t drown out the other components like footstep direction and teammate chatter. The microphone picks up sound well and offered no noticeable drag or delays.
The biggest knock on these headphones is the 10 hours of battery life. Most people won’t be playing for 10 hours straight, but a charge time of half your competitors will naturally knock you down a few pegs.
Overall, a really good set of headphones, but there are better options for a cheaper price.
5. Photive BTH3
The Photive BTH3 headset is another great option, but falls short of the top tier. For the price it’s being sold at, however, it’s hard to argue against it. The 12 hours of battery life is good, but not great. Sound leakage, albeit minimal, is present with these headphones as well.
Still, in spite of those factors, this is a really solid and attractive looking headset. It feels great around your ears and the built-in microphone performs very well. The controls are smooth and easy to reach.
The sound output is clear and balanced. One of the best things about these cans is the incredible range. You walk move over 40 feet away from your console and still be connected. If you’re looking for an inexpensive gaming headset, this could be what you’re looking for.