Best Gaming Headphone Buying Guide

What was your "I need better audio" gamer moment?

Sennheiser HD 800s + Sennheiser HDV 820
Good for Hunt showdown combo ?!?!?

<3

I just want wireless. I'm driving myself crazy trying to find a pair. I love my wired Cloud 2s, but I'm always tripping over the wire. I am gonna break them, I'm sure of it. I wound't mind getting a wireless version of the Cloud 2s, I'm just wondering it they are more or less identical in terms of audio quality.

Beyerdynamic DT 770 > ATH m50x

That being said if you don't need them to block sounds from the environment I would strongly recommend Beyerdynamic TYGR 300R over both (owned all of them). MUCH better imaging than both (easier to seperate different sounds) and well balanced sound overrall. DT 770 treble can be a bit harsh, same with ATG m50x and the latter also has no soundstage it feels like the sound is playing literally from inside your skull while TYGR 300 R feels more like speakers

I had never seen your video before. I bought the Sundaras but they are not useful for gaming because when open back the microphone picks up all the noise and it bothers my friends. The solution is to use a filter on the microphone but in my case I can't because I use it. an app to modify my voice and put soundboards but the sound of sundaras 10/10

This is the absolute best video I've seen on gaming headphones!!!!! Thank you so very much!!!!

Hd599 easily beats out hd560s and dolby atmos for headphones or soundblaster g6 ARE BY FAR THE BEST SURROUNDS

love the hyperbeast flex :p

dont get 450 bt, they usually dont work.

i always had the cloud II and now I'm even more confuse if I need a new stereo open back as an upgrade or not. Also i always thought the dt 990 was the better gaming headset than the dt 770 cause its open back.

I bought the AT 500's a while back and the fit is something I can never get with. Had to return them...

Glad the gamer space in general regardless has agreed on using proven 10-30 year old headphones that have stood the test of time and just provide no gimmick amazing sound quality versus whatever new gamer headphones have been doing with like RGB and whatever software bandaid solution they're trying to conjure up.

a very useful video, though it's too late for me. I have already taken audient id4 + takstar tak 45 + hyperx cloud silver. It turns out, I can save on a sound card and just take an amplifier

Dude awesome video ! Thank you

Im surprised you didn't mention anything about the Epos H6, PC38x and VZR Model One. Im currently looking into a new headset and those are in the top of most lists, especially for gaming.

I’m just needing help bought an entire game setup got the hyperX quadcast with boom arm so my voice would sound great and was wanting high quality headphones for better audio but can I hear my friends through the headphones sense it doesn’t have a mic or???

For something close to the HD600 but cheaper, massdrop actually has the hd6xx which is basically the HD650 but at 200$

I’m hooked on gaming after years of waiting! This would be super helpful for this lonely rookie like me.

LevelCap. Can I just say. I love you man. I've been watching you since I was a very young man and soon I will 30 and still I am loving your videos! Just thought I'd throw that out there!💚

ngl low key miss the airsoft vids brother🙏🏼

I wouldn't recommend the hyperX cloud II. very v-shaped and the 7.1 surround sound dongle is just a gimmick

The 7.1 drivers that come with certain headsets are "gimmicks?"
I would love for you to explain that to me.

Can we get headset that you can where while wearing a cowboy hat

I have a question I’m trying to look for a good headset, good price and quality wireless and hopefully doesn’t break

well audio technica price went offcharts since this video

Great video! I didn't know about the mod mic! I want to try gaming with my Sony XM3 headphones just need a good mic I believe.

This video is Schitt! Good info!

This was an awesome guide.

Shoutout to you for mentioning EqualizerAPO. I've been using it for 6 years to increase loudness and remove bass on my desktops.

Appreciate the video and timestamps. Definitely learned a thing or two.

Rocking a Philips Fidelio X2HR with Dolby Atmos, they sound amazing especially for story-driven games and movies. However, sometimes they can sound a bit bright but Dolby Atmos help alot to reduce that.

I've had issues with BF2042 sound being very muffled and not being able to hear from where sounds coming from. I'm using Steelseries Arctis 9 with DTS 7.1 surround, but not Sonar enabled. Setting Audio Mix to 3D headphones didn't anything for me, but setting Sound Configuration to Surround, Audio Mix to just headphones and in Windows sound settings to Windows Sonic for headphones actually helped.
Audio is a bit tricky though, since we don't hear and appreciate the same frequencies.

For closed back gaming: DT 770 80Ohm (amazing for the price, nothing comes close really, unless you’re willing to spend a lot of money) Skip the 32ohm cause it sounds meh, and 250ohm is sibilant and is less dynamic.

Open back:

Dt990 250 or 600ohm
Tygr 300r
HD600 (don’t listen to narrow soundstage nerds)
HD660/660s2
DT1990 (if you can afford it)
HD700 (mini HD800) and if you can find used, probably the best pair for gaming under 350 bucks
HD560s best bang for buck openback I’d say.
Ad700/900 is also great but a bit outdated I’d say, including the r70x.

Overall for open backs, the best ones are a used pair of HD700 for the money, you’re basically getting 97% of the HD800s. They get a lot of hate from the audiophile community, because of their frequency response, but for gaming they are fantastic. They are discontinued, so you can only get them second hand.

Pretty good advice overall although I have a few alternative wireless recommendations.

Firstly, console gamers can't use any old Bluetooth headphones or earbuds because Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft lock their machines down to only use thier proprietary wireless connections. So you can't use airpods with your PS5.

There are heaps of wireless headsets to choose from and while it's true that they rarely match a wired pair of headphones in terms of imaging and soundstage, I doubt the average gamer could tell the difference. The only outlier here is the Audeze Maxwell which sounds better than most similar priced wireless headphones.

A decent wireless headset will set you back between $200 - $300 so they aren't the cheapest option but they can be much more convenient than wired headphone, separate amp and separate mic setup. You can plug most wired headphones into your xbox or PS controller but the amount of compression this adds isn't worth it if you ask me.

My top picks for wireless headsets are:

SteelSeries Nova 7
EPOS H3PRO Hyrbrid
Audeze Maxwell

Cooler Master Mh751 or Takstar Pro 82 for under 100$ is bang for the buck.

Once I bought my Sennheiser HD58X's from my SteelSeries Arctis 7's I finally understood what great audio sounded like. Epiphany moment.

Many of these don't have a microphone.

what’s the best wired gaming headset with amazing sound quality with a decent-solid mic

Unfortunately people purchase headsets based off of their favorite streamer or online personality, and that person will swear their headset they use makes them better at the game (they’re cheating)

When i was about 12 i got myself some Shure srh 840's, never touched "gaming" headphones since!

Not got ath m50x's with an at 2020 mic.. Never looked back!

bayerdynamics dtx910

i cant tell you how fucking long ive been looking for a video that tells me what i wanna know like how you did. thanks a bunch ! my only question though, so i have a scarlet 2i2 and am also ordering an elgato desk mic to feed through the interface , will the Audio-Technica ATH-AD500x be a fine choice to pair with those two ? thanks again !

dank pods would like to know your location

I use the SennHeiser 560s and the Truthear Crinacle IEM’s for when I need isolation. Highly recommend them both!

For low budget i find akg Y30 to be muuuch better than the koss. Sadly akg doesnt make that specific model anymore but it has better sound and much better build quality. Its a shame they dont make those anymore.

The Audeze Mazwell's are the best WIreless headphones in my opinion, especially if you also like listening to music. They aren't budget friendly however