How to pick the best gaming headset in five steps

Gaming headsets improve your gaming experience a lot. For one, a good headset will make you feel like you are in the game itself, surrounded by all the sounds. Secondly it will help you locate your opponents even better so that you are always one step ahead of them. And last but not least a gaming headset will help you to communicate with your team members and other players. This makes it a very valuable addition to your gaming gear. But how do you pick the right headset? In this article we will give you five steps to follow so you can come to a selection that will fit your needs.

Step 1: Your platform

The first step is to take into account the platform you will use your gaming headset for. Especially when you are looking for a wireless gaming headset is important to check if they can connect to your PC, Xbox, PlayStation or Nintendo. Wired headset often have a 3.5mm jack that will fit most consoles and PC. Still sometimes the sound is not compatible with your platform so always check this first.

Step 2: Wireless or wired gaming headset?

Wireless and wired gaming headsets both have their advantages and disadvantages. A wireless headset gives you more freedom and the wire won’t be in the way while gaming. On the other hand, wireless gaming headsets have a battery that often makes them more heavy than wired headsets. Also the battery can run out so you will have to pay attention to that. Lastly the wireless versions are often platform specific, so pay attention to that. Especially when you play on different platforms a wired headset might be the better option.

Step 3: Sound quality of the headset

The quality of the sound can vary a lot between different headsets. Broadly speaking there are there different type of sound qualities:

Stereo Sound: the sound comes from two audio channels, which makes it quite straightforward. It is great sound for watching a movie or listen to music, but when you are gaming you might not be able to hear specifically where your opponents are.

7.1 Virtual Surround Sound: with this type of sound the sound comes from 7 audio channels, thereby improving your ability to hear where the sound (and opponents) are coming from. This can give you an edge while gaming, but when you also want to watch movies with it or listen to music this might not be the best option.

Dimensional Sound: in terms of the spatiality of sound this is even one step better than 7.1 virtual surround sound. However this type of sound is not yet supported for all games so check this with your favorite games before you invest in a gaming headset with this new technology.

Step 4: Comfort

When you are gaming you might wear your headset for multiple hours at a time. Then comfort is also an important aspect to think about. First of all you need to choose between on-ear or over-ear ear cups. On-ear cups will give you a bit more natural sound and it will become less hot in the summer. Over-ear cups will completely block out sounds around you and give you the best in-game experience. The disadvantage is that it might get very warm in the summer while gaming.

Other things to think about in terms of comfort are the headband and the weight of the gaming headset. The headband distributes the weight on your head and you have to make sure it fits well. Some of the gaming headsets therefore have adjustable headbands. More expensive headsets are often lightweight so that you can wear them for a longer time without any problems.   

Step 5: Communication

In terms of communications possibilities, two things are important: noise cancelling and a mute function. The noise cancelling makes sure that any background noise will not reach your team. With the mute function you can turn off your microphone so that your team can not listen to you while you are talking to someone in your room for example.

These are our five steps for picking the right gaming headset. You will probably still come down to a selection from which you have to choose, but at least you will have some guidance now on what to look for!