You may not want to go with a gaming headset that's just $20, as you can wind up with weak audio, an awful mic, and an uncomfortable design. But, it's safe to say that there are some actually decent options in the $50 ballpark, and even a few wireless gaming headsets at a slight premium over that. But, if you care about sound and comfort as much as you care about visuals, there's still a lot to be gained from going with a high-end gaming headset.
You'll find many designs that incorporate a good bit of metal to lend them serious durability, but don't worry about that making them uncomfortably heavy. The best high-end headsets don't skimp on memory foam cushions, so you can get a high level of comfort even if they are heavy. Generally, you'll also find support for fancy features like surround sound, wider frequency response ranges, crystal-clear microphones, multiple connectivity options, and support for many different platforms. Whether you're on console, PC, or even gaming on a smartphone, these headsets have a lot to offer. None are quite the same, so check them all out to see which will be the best fit for you – and click here to find them in the UK.
TL;DR – These are the Best High-End Gaming Headsets:
- Audeze Penrose X
- SteelSeries Arctis Pro + GameDAC
- SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless
- Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2
- Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Portal
- Sennheiser GSP 670
- Logitech G935
- HyperX Cloud Orbit S
- JBL Quantum One
- Logitech G Pro X Lightspeed Wireless
1. Audeze Penrose X
Best High-End Gaming Headset
Audeze keeps pushing things forward with its headphones, and it's done it again with the Audeze Penrose X. These wireless gaming headphones take a lot of the lessons learned in the Audeze Mobius and brought it down to a more affordable $299 price point. While that may still seem pricey, these cans are ready for just about any audio setup.
The Audeze Penrose X supports a wireless connection using a USB dongle, but they also allow for Bluetooth pairing. And, when wireless isn't an option, you can swap over to the trusty old 3.5mm audio connection (though they still need to be powered on). The Penrose X headset is built with Xbox Series X and S support in mind but also works with PC and PlayStation consoles wirelessly. All of those connectivity opinions make these headphones a one-size-fits-all solution. And that's great news because these headphones feature planar magnetic driver technology for truly stunning audio quality.
2. SteelSeries Arctis Pro + GameDAC
Best High-End Wired Gaming Headset
The SteelSeries Arctis Pro + GameDAC is here to let you play games and enjoy a hi-fi experience at the same time. The Arctis Pro headphones are a solidly built pair of cans with a supremely comfortable headband thanks to the suspension system that spreads the headsets weight very evenly across the top of your head. The 40mm speaker drivers inside are built to deliver an extended frequency response range from 10Hz for thumpy bass to 40,000Hz at the high end.
A big part of this package is the GameDAC, which provides some handy controls for balancing game and chat audio as well as handling the digital-to-analog conversion and amplifying the audio with an ESS Sabre 9018 DAC. Whether you’re jamming out to tunes, gaming, or doing both at the same time, you’ll enjoy powerful, clear audio. You can also enjoy a surround experience with DTS Headphone:X v2.0. With SteelSeries’ ClearCast microphone, your teammates in games will also enjoy clear audio from you.
3. SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless
Best High-End Wireless Gaming Headset
The SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless is the complete package; a well-made, super comfy wireless headset with 7.1 surround sound with the ability to connect up to three devices. If you plan things right, you could have this gaming headset connected to both a PC and console at the same time. And on top of all that, this gaming headset also sports Bluetooth, allowing you to pair it with a smartphone to listen to something else while you're playing a game.
It also happens fits on your head with a super comfy "ski goggle" band and breathable cloth earpads. You can even buy replacements with different colors and patterns to customize things a bit. The microphone is also excellent and slides into the earcup when not in use. the icing on the cake is the wireless hub, which not only lets you wire up your devices out of sight, but it also charges a spare battery so you can play wirelessly almost non-stop.
All in all the Arctis Pro Wireless has practically every feature we could wish for in a gaming headset, and they all come wrapped in an understated package that's both sophisticated and all-day comfortable. When it comes to gaming headsets, it really doesn't get any better than this.
4. Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2
High-End Gaming Audio at a Discount
Turtle Beach makes audio more affordable, and that’s high-end gaming audio in the case of the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2. These great headphones come in at $150 and deliver impactful audio. What’s more, these are wireless headphones that give you some bonus flexibility in how you use them.
The Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 2 can connect directly to your Xbox or a PC using a Xbox Wireless adapter for quality, low-latency gaming audio. They can also connect over Bluetooth to many other audio sources, and they can make the Xbox Wireless connection and Bluetooth connection at the same time. You can play with your friends on Xbox while chatting with them over Discord on your phone or tuning into your favorite Spotify playlist — there’s even a volume dial for each audio source. Over that wireless connection, you’ll get 20 hours of battery life, so you’ll get plenty of play time in before you have to recharge.
5. Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Portal
Best High-End Xbox Gaming Headset
Audiophile gamers, rejoice! Your gaming setup is about to get a lot simpler with the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Portal. This high-end pair of headphones might cost a bit more than your run-of-the-mill, over-ear cans, but they can serve the role of several different pairs of headphones, and they have an extra-special role on Xbox. The Beoplay Portal headphones support a handful of connections from the old-school 3.5mm to the newer USB-C connection as well as Bluetooth 5.1 wireless for use with tons of mobile devices. And, for Xbox owners, the Beoplay Portal can connect directly with no wires in sight thanks to Xbox 2.4GHz Wireless connectivity.
Whether you're on a noisy train during a commute, on a plane, or just trying to tune out extra sound in your living room, the Beoplay Portal's active noise cancellation can help you focus on your game audio. The headphones can help you hear one outside noise better though: your voice. The microphones may cancel external noise, but you can dial up the microphone monitoring to better hear your own voice and avoid shouting at teammates. And, if you're gaming on Xbox or PC, you can enjoy a bonus in your gameplay with Dolby Atmos for Headphones.
6. Sennheiser GSP 670
Pro Gaming Audio From a Pro Audio Maker
Sennheiser has brought its legendary expertise to gaming headsets and its latest creation is the wireless GSP 670. This wireless gaming headset comes ready to deliver up to 7.1 surround sound over a low-latency connection with near-zero delay. From our time with the Sennheiser GSP 670, the headset sounded perfectly balanced without highs overpowering the mids or lows being completely lost.
It also comes with built-in Bluetooth connectivity, so you can also connect this headset to a smartphone or tablet to play music or podcasts, or watch videos as you play. It's might look a little bit on the chunky side, but this headset essentially rests on your head with four plushy cloth pads, so it'll never dig into your dome or make your head feel hot. It also features a fairly long battery life that'll last up to 20 hours, and plugging it in for just seven minutes will give you two hours of playtime back.
7. Logitech G935
Serious Wireless Surround Sound for Gaming
The Logitech G935 isn't the most expensive option on this list at just $169.99, but still offers outstanding audio quality, accurate surround sound, and a lot of advanced features.
It's an upgrade from the G933 Artemis Spectrum, with bigger drivers, better surround sound, and a more even audio mix that that lets you crank up the volume without anything getting distorted. On top of all that, they can be used with any gaming platform, and they even have RGB!
8. HyperX Cloud Orbit S
Best Audiophile Quality Gaming Headset
Remember how we chose to put the Audeze Mobius at the top of our list due to its high-end planar drivers and head tracking technology, well the HyperX Cloud Orbit S offers all of that at a slightly lower $329 price. These two headsets are so similar you might have thought HyperX made a knock off, but the two audio makers actually teamed up to develop this more gaming-focused headset for audiophiles.
The HyperX Cloud Orbit S delivers the amazingly broad and balanced sound signature of the Audeze Mobius. You also game the same head-tracking Waves NX technology, so you can turn your head to better hear sound effects by turning towards their direction. The only thing you don't get on this version of the headset is Bluetooth and a slightly worse microphone.
9. JBL Quantum One
Best High-End Noise-Canceling Gaming Headset
The JBL Quantum One (read our review) is about as serious as a gaming headset can get. It's built big enough to house 50mm dynamic drivers tuned to deliver a wide frequency response range. That sees them earn Hi-Res certification, but that's just the start. These headphones ensure the sound you want to hear is just what you get, as they use active noise cancelling to shut out other external sounds.
The JBL Quantum One headset also uses multiple surround sound modes to make the sound you experience that much more immersive. DTS Headphones X: v2.0 can create a solid 3D soundscape. What's more, JBL's QuantumSphere 360 feature will track your head movements and adjust the positional audio to match which direction you're facing. Overall, you're getting great surround sound in a solidly-built gaming headset that offers comfort, convenience, and a big splash of RGB lighting.
10. Logitech G Pro X Lightspeed Wireless
Best High-End Gaming Headset for Streaming
If you're a streamer, you're going to want a good headset so you can hear and perform well in games. But, not all great gaming headsets offer up a quality microphone. That means you're either settling for a lackluster mic to do your voiceovers and talk to your viewers or you're forced to buy an extra microphone in addition to the headset. Logitech has a solution in the Logitech G Pro X Lightspeed Wireless headset.
Make no mistake, this is a serious gaming headphone. It has Logitech's 50mm Pro-G drivers backed by DTS Headphone:X 2.0 object-based surround sound for a high level of audio detail in your games. And, it relies on Logitech's Lightspeed wireless connectivity for an excellent experience untethered from your computer. But, the mic also gets to shine thanks to incorporation of Blue Vo!ce technology. You get some advanced customization for the microphone in Logitech's software, so you can tweak how much it cuts down on background sound or tames loud noise (handy if you get a little worked up once in a while), letting you get your signature streaming voice dialed in.
Where to Get the High-End Gaming Headsets in the UK
Why You Need a High-End Headset
You probably think that $8 pair of earbuds you bought at the gas station are fine, but I'm here to tell you, you're wrong. Even midrange gaming headsets fall way behind the quality of a high-end set. It's more than just quality of build, it's quality of sound.
Most higher-end headsets are made of some kind of metal or at least a rugged plastic. That means they can stand up to a lot more abuse than a $75 pair of plastic headphones. They also tend to be much more comfortable, and for much longer, too. A high-end gaming headset is just built better, with better materials that last longer.
That higher quality obviously manifests itself in sound, as well. Again, a mid-range headset will sound good, but a high-end will sound great. It's one of those things you don't really appreciate until you try one out. Then it's hard to go back.
Once you've settled on a new high-end gaming headset, be sure to check out our guide to the best 4K gaming monitors, the best graphics cards, or for absolutely blazing frame rates, our guide to the best 240hz monitors.
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Mark Knapp is a regular contributor to IGN and an irregular Tweeter on Twitter @Techn0Mark.
