We've all been there before. You're staring at your screen scrolling through Amazon, Best Buy, Gamestop, or some other websites looking for a gaming headset. There are literally hundreds of options across a wide range of prices. Then you've got wired vs. wireless, open back vs. closed back, stereo vs. surround sound. What in the world is Dolby Atmos? It can be overwhelming for anyone who is not really sure what they want to get out of a game's audio.
Making the right decision is so important because a good headset can and will bring your game audio to life. You'll hear every footstep and other directional queues in a game like Warzone. The rustling of the leaves as the wind blows through the woods of Velen in the The Witcher 3. The absolute beauty in every note of "Far Horizons " while traversing the lands of Skyrim for the hundredth time. Surely buying a cheap pair of cans will do the trick right?
The first thing I want to settle once and for all is that there is no direct correlation between price and sound quality! Yes, you would think a cheap headset probably would not sound as good as a higher priced premium one, but what if I told you that the best sounding headset I have ever used only cost $75? The Philips SHP9500 headset to this day is among the best sounding headset I have ever used. Thing is though, it's technically not a gaming headset but instead an audiophile option. Either way my point still stands, this cheaper option severely outperformed some of the most expensive headsets I have used. Unfortunately the sad truth is that most gaming headsets are full of features that you do not truly need and these tend to hike the price up. 7.1 surround sound, noise cancelling microphones, RGB lighting, all features that really do little (in my experience) to enhance a game's audio.
I am going to assume everyone wants a headset that is comfortable, built to last, and sounds good. If the above is true then you need to ask yourself a few questions when shopping for your next "gaming" headset:
Do I want an open back or closed back headset?
Do I want it to be usb or analog?
Do I want it to be wired or wireless?
The SHP9500 I mentioned above is an open back gaming headset. You've made it this far so I won't bore you with the details on what makes a headset open back but what you do need to know is that this style of headset does not isolate sound. Anyone near you can and will hear your audio and you will hear them too. The benefit here though is that this style of headsets tend to have the best soundstage meaning you can hear more! More is good. Those of you who play FPS's competitively want to go for open back. Trust me. You will hear every footstep, where every shot is coming from, and I swear you'll even hear the opposition's inner most desires. On the other hand we have closed back headsets, think HyperX Cloud Core or Razer's Kraken. This style of headset does a better job of isolating the audio to the listener. They also tend to pack more bass which is not necessarily a great thing. The overly present bass tends to drown out the other sounds that you would otherwise hear on an open back set. Is that trade off in having more bass worth the cost of not hearing everything a game has to offer? If you played 2018's God of War with a good set you know that crackling sound of frost effect from the Leviathan Axe was just *chef's kiss* good!
Next up you asked yourself whether to go for usb or analog? This is a simple one. Go analog. Avoid USB at all costs especially if you game on a pc. USB headsets use their own internal, or sometimes external components to process the sound whereas a 3.5mm analog cable will use that fancy soundcard your RGB'd out motherboard has on board. That on board soundcard will do a better job of processing sound versus the usb headset's own processing. This same train of thought applies to the wired vs. wireless question, wired wins. I feel like at this point you and I have an established relationship based on trust here so just trust me ok?
At the end of it all, for those of us who really want the most out of a game's audio an informed purchase is the right one. I personally prefer open back headsets as opposed to closed back. They offer me the ability to hear anything and everything in both competitive play and single player immersive play. But maybe for you some punchy bass is in order and there is nothing wrong with that so long as you are well informed and understand what you want and what you need to attain that. I hope this information serves you well and if you're curious about a particular headset be sure to check out my YouTube channel for a variety of headset reviews. Until next time be good to yourselves and be good to one another.