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Best wireless gaming headset 2023 (PC, PS5, Xbox, budget)

The best wireless gaming headset picks for all platforms

Updated: Oct 6, 2023 1:31 pm
Best wireless gaming headset 2023 (PC, PS5, Xbox, budget)

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It can be quite a challenge to find the best wireless gaming headset, especially in today’s market, where consumers have an endless list of quality products to choose from. Despite this quality, there are a lot of companies producing substandard, cookie-cutter gaming headsets at over-inflated prices that are basically indistinguishable from actual scams. That’s why we’re here, to cut through the garbage and give you solid recommendations that we know perform well from first-hand experience where possible.

Today’s best peripheral deals

Sound quality and reliability are key to any gaming headsets success and with wireless technology being as solid as it is, there has never been a better time to cut the cord. This has further been improved in recent years as certain companies have managed to improve the 2.4GHz wireless connection standard, for example, Razer’s Hyperspeed Wireless technology and Corsiar’s Slipstream protocol.

Best wireless gaming headset 2023: products at a glance

SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless Gaming Headset

steelseries arctis pro wireless

Type

Over-ear

Frequency range

10-40,000 Hz

Wireless?

Yes

Battery life

10 hours per battery

Noise-cancelling

No

Enclosure

Closed-back

Excellent

ASTRO Gaming A50 Wireless Gaming Headset

astro a50 gen4

Type

Over-ear

Frequency Range

20-20,000 Hz

Wireless?

Yes

Battery Life

15 hours

Enclosure

Closed-back

Razer Kaira Pro Haptic headset

kaira pro 1

Frequency response

20 Hz – 20 kHz

Driver diameter

50mm

Connectivity

USB Type-C, Bluetooth

Weight

0.80 lbs / 365 g

Battery life

Up to 20 hours (with lighting/haptics, Up to 50 hours (without lighting/haptics)

Compatibility

PS5/PS4, PC, Devices with Bluetooth audio capacity

ASUS ROG Delta S Wireless gaming headset

rog delta s wireless 2

Connectivity

USB Type-C, 2.4GHz wireless, Bluetooth 5.0

Driver diameter

50mm

Frequency response

20Hz-20kHz

Mic

Omnidirectional beamforming

Weight

131g/11.04oz

Compatibility

PC, Mac, PS4/5, Nintendo Switch, Mobile

Highly Recommended

Corsair HS70 Pro Wireless gaming headset

corsair hs70

Headphone frequency response

20 – 20,000 Hz

Mic frequency response

100Hz – 10kHz

Wireless

Yes

Battery life

Up to 16 hours

Pick-up pattern

Uni-directional

Weight

590g

We understand how important it is for competitive gamers to have crystal clear, accurate sound in-game. You can have the best gaming PC with the best specs, but if you can’t hear the gameplay, can’t discern enemy locations, you’ll still be at a considerable disadvantage.

Let’s take a brief look at some of the headsets that will feature in this best of guide.

Best wireless gaming headset: SteelSeries Arctis Pro

The best of the best

SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless Gaming Headset

steelseries arctis pro wireless

Type

Over-ear

Frequency range

10-40,000 Hz

Wireless?

Yes

Battery life

10 hours per battery

Noise-cancelling

No

Enclosure

Closed-back

Pros
  • Great audio quality
  • Very comfortable
  • DTS Headphone: X v2.0
  • Includes 2 x swappable batteries
  • Adjust settings from the included transmitter
Cons
  • Not the longest battery life
  • Expensive

Just like our best gaming headsets page, it was a real struggle to choose between the Arctis pro headset and the Astro A50 for the high-end selection. We had to stay true to our word, though, and make the Arctis Pro the best high-end wireless headset available. They seem to offer that little bit more when it comes to reliability and brand confidence.

Anyway, that aside, the Arctis Pros come to the table equipped with excellent sound quality, superb microphone clarity, and cool aesthetics. Everything you desire from a top wireless headset.

Steelseries have designed the Pros with gamers in mind and have equipped the headset with batteries that last well in advance of 20+ hours. The frequency of the headphones ranges from 10Hz – 40,000Hz, branding the headphones as capable of hi-res audio. This means relatively little as most headsets are capable of covering that frequency range, but, take from us, they sound damned good.

A cool feature of these headphones is the GameDAC that comes with them. This is the go-between from the headphones to the PC. You can physically change all the audio and mic settings via the GameDAC, making on-the-fly changes much more accessible.

Additionally, they feature a functionally infinite battery life as the GameDace charges one battery, while the other powers the headset. Because the battery charges quicker than the headset can deplete it, this means you can forget a 5/8/10/24-hour battery life, because this system means infinity, maybe not technically, but realistically.

The Arctis Pros might be the most all-around headset we have on the list, but be aware, they do come at a price. If you’re willing to break the budget a little, though, you will not be disappointed.

We reviewed the wired version of this headset, you can read that in full here.

Best Xbox Series X/S wireless gaming headset: ASTRO Gaming A50

Best Xbox Series X/S wireless headset

ASTRO Gaming A50 Wireless Gaming Headset

astro a50 gen4

Type

Over-ear

Frequency Range

20-20,000 Hz

Wireless?

Yes

Battery Life

15 hours

Enclosure

Closed-back

Pros
  • Great audio balance
  • Durable design
  • Superb surround sound
  • Very comfortable
Cons
  • Not true 7.1
  • Design screams “gamer”

The Astro A50 wireless gaming headset is one of the best on the market. It may come with a hefty price tag but this is packed with features and is one of the best performing gaming headsets currently available.

This only missed out to the popular Arctis Pro Wireless due to its lack of versatility, the audio and microphone are amazing. The designs a bit bulky and screams  “gamer” but the comfort is unrivaled in the market, with these featuring a near-perfect clamping force, and some of the softest are cushions out there.

While being a top choice for gaming, they perform with generic use too. In-game sound is crystal clear and fully immersive, with gun crackle and explosions sounding very realistic. The bass was impressive and didn’t overshadow the detail as some cheaper headphones do.

These are constructed with care and feature premium materials, making these a very robust gaming headset.

The design may be an acquired taste but I think these look superb and once you’ve tried these for gaming, you won’t want to go back.

You can check out our full review of the Astro A50 Wireless Gaming Headset review right here.

Best PS4/PS5 wireless gaming headset: Razer Kaira Pro Haptic

Best PS4/5 gaming headset

Razer Kaira Pro Haptic headset

kaira pro 1

Frequency response

20 Hz – 20 kHz

Driver diameter

50mm

Connectivity

USB Type-C, Bluetooth

Weight

0.80 lbs / 365 g

Battery life

Up to 20 hours (with lighting/haptics, Up to 50 hours (without lighting/haptics)

Compatibility

PS5/PS4, PC, Devices with Bluetooth audio capacity

Pros
  • Superb haptic feedback
  • Gorgeous visual design
  • Great mic
Cons
  • Chances are the color scheme wont match your TV setup

The Razer Kaira Pros are by far the best headset for PlayStation gamers. They feature great audio quality, novel haptic feedback, and a PS-inspired color scheme that we love.

They also excel when it comes to build quality, with a sold headband that exhibits very little flex and dual-material earcups that provide both comfort and breathability. It’s also got a steel-reinforced adjustment mechanism. This all results in one of the most sturdy headsets we’ve come across here at WePC and we highly recommend them, despite the sky-high price of $200.

The connection options are also broad, with your choice of USB Type-C (with an included adapter if you don’t have a USB C port on your PC), Bluetooth, and wired. This makes it very cross-compatible. just a quick double-tap of a button on the side and it seamlessly switches between Bluetooth and Razer HypeSpeed wireless. IF the Razer Kaira Pro is outside of your budget, you should consider the SteelSeries Arctis 7P. It’s got very similar features, aside from the haptic feedback, and it costs 25% less than the Kaira Pro.

We actually covered the Kaira Pro in full recently, if you want additional information.

Best comfortable wireless gaming headset: ASUS ROG Delta S

Best PC/PS5 wireless headset

ASUS ROG Delta S Wireless gaming headset

rog delta s wireless 2

Connectivity

USB Type-C, 2.4GHz wireless, Bluetooth 5.0

Driver diameter

50mm

Frequency response

20Hz-20kHz

Mic

Omnidirectional beamforming

Weight

131g/11.04oz

Compatibility

PC, Mac, PS4/5, Nintendo Switch, Mobile

Pros
  • Lightweight
  • Convenient dual-mode connection
  • Very comfortable
  • Alternate set of ear cushions included
  • Great sound quality and EQ presets
Cons
  • Mic is prone to background noise
  • Expensive

One of the more recent additions to this page, the Asus ROG Delta S Wireless impressed us with possibly the most comfortable fit we’ve come across, dual-mode connectivity, and a convenient fast-charging capability.

Some of you might lament the lack of RGB lighting when compared to the rest of ROG’s peripherals, but instead, we gain an uncharacteristically understated design and some clever features that surprised us. The coolest one is that the dongle is stored within the headset itself when not in use, it magnetically clips into the right-hand-side earcup and can be retrieved by simply prying it out with a fingernail. This results in a wireless headset with unparalleled portability as the dongle is no longer at risk of loss or damage.

Another reason we quickly became so fond of the Delta S Wireless is the alternate set of ear cushions included in the box. Big companies are normally too stingy to consider generosity but Asus ROG appears to be an exception to that rule. Of course, you get the standard faux-leather earcups as per usual with essentially every gaming headset ever, but they also include a set of fabric ear cushions.

This means you’re free to swap the material od the ear cups at any time for different sound signatures, temperature considerations, or just to mix things up. We like the faux leather set for heightened immersion, and the fabric set for a more relaxed, comfort-focused experience.

If you’re curious about this new headset, read our full Asus ROG Delta S Wireless gaming headset review for more specs, details, and pretty photos.

Best value wireless gaming headset: Corsair HS70 Pro

Best budget wireless headset

Corsair HS70 Pro Wireless gaming headset

corsair hs70

Headphone frequency response

20 – 20,000 Hz

Mic frequency response

100Hz – 10kHz

Wireless

Yes

Battery life

Up to 16 hours

Pick-up pattern

Uni-directional

Weight

590g

Pros
  • Excellent Value for money
  • Great audio output with good spatial awareness
  • Comfortable fit
Cons
  • Build materials probably won’t stand the test of time
  • Microphone pretty average

This might be one of Corsair’s finest achievements to date, a high-quality wireless gaming headset at a lower-end price tag. When we think of Corsair, we usually think of RAM or cases. However, for over five years now, Corsair has been toying with side projects such as mice and headsets. The HS70 is one of those projects and a fine one at that.

The HS70’s get the budget wireless headset nod and for good reason. They are by far the cheapest in this list and offer the best value for money respectively. Sound quality is superb, as is the spatial awareness of this headset.  Furthermore, the build quality on this headset is excellent, with it feeling like it’s built to last.

The microphone isn’t amazing, but for under $100 we will let Corsair off on that one. If you’re looking for a great budget headset under $100 that does the job then look no further, the HS70 is the best budget wireless headset on the market.

Check out our full review of the Corsair HS70 wireless gaming headset here.


How we choose the best wireless gaming headset

Buying a new wireless gaming headset can be a little daunting, they cost more than their wired counterparts and have been deemed unreliable in the past. All this before having to sift through the minefield of options!

Making sure you get the right wireless headset for your needs is crucial, the last thing you want to do is waste your cash on a product that doesn’t fit the bill. This process can often require a lot of research and time but this is where WePC comes in. We will sift through online comparisons, competitor and user reviews to narrow down our search.

Once we have our selections we bring them all into one place to make your life easier.

How we test

Testing the products we recommend is one of the most important aspects of our best-of-guides, and something the team and I take extremely seriously. We don’t just want to recommend the most popular products; we want to recommend the BEST products, regardless of reputation or brand.

How we do this by either purchasing the product in question, or by receiving a review unit from the company itself. Once we’ve acquired a shortlist of recommendations, we start by doing our independent in-house tests to make sure they live up to our standards. We use the headsets in real-life scenarios, whether its gaming or music. We then whittle down our shortlist into a final five, which becomes our best in class.

Numerous team members will test each headset to provide a consensus instead of just one person’s opinion. This will hopefully give a more rounded and accurate representation of what each headset offers.

The headsets get tested in gaming scenarios, music audio playback, microphone clarity, comfort, price, and any other additional criteria that take our fancy.

What to consider when buying a wireless gaming headset

It isn’t a simple process to create a quality wireless headset; many have tried and failed to do so. For us, a quality wireless headset comes down to some fundamental, wireless-specific, factors.

Battery life

This is pretty self-explanatory, you don’t want a wireless headset that runs out of charge after 2 hours. The average battery life for a modern headset is anywhere between 15 and 30 hours. Anything more, you’re laughing. The lowest amount of charge on this list comes from the Arctis Pro Wireless headset, which features 10 hours of battery life. Don’t worry though, the top pick also features a hot-swappable battery, giving you a total of 20 hours!

The last thing any gamer wants during crucial moments is their headset dying. If you are used to wireless you won’t need reminding but those looking to cut the cord, just try your best to remember and stick your peripherals on charge.

Audio quality

Sound quality is the number one aspect of any headset or audio device. What we look for when it comes to audio quality is a nice, balanced sound profile. This means powerful bass, and great mids and highs. Gaming headsets tend to overblow the bass to make the soundstage sound richer, so this is something to look out for. However, it can be mitigated to an extent via software. For a bit of context, we’ve visualized the Frequency response for the Astro A50s for you below.

astro a50 frequency response

Additionally, the best gaming headsets tend to feature some form of spatial audio. This can be accomplished via a range of means, sometimes proprietary, sometimes natively supported. Let’s have a look at the usual suspects.

Dolby Atmos

Dolby Atmos is a novel technology that automatically and dynamically adapts the content and works with the headset in question to create a virtual 3D soundscape, this helps increase immersion, and sometimes, gaming performance.

Dolby DTS

This is the cousin to Dolby Atmos. Dolby DTS is an audio compression format that allows for very realistic surround sound. For the last few years, it’s been turning up in headphones and headsets all over the price spectrum. Given that Spielberg chose it for the audio of Jurassic Park, if you see a headset with the ‘Dolby DTS Headphone’ sticker, you can be sure the audio will be great.

Virtual Surround sound

This is the most common spatial audio tech you’ll run into, and it’s not provided by any company specifically but is created per product by the manufacturer in question. In short, software modulates the dynamic drivers in each earcup in real-time and virtually recreates a 5.1 or 7.1 speaker setup. This means a simulated 7 speaker plus subwoofer. Of course, it’s not going to be anywhere near the real thing, but it’s good enough to accurately discern the location of incoming fire or enemy footsteps. This makes virtual surround sound, and spatial audio in general, invaluable to game audio. making for better competitive performance in some cases.

THX spatial audio

This is most common in gaming headsets from Razer. It works much the same as the other technologies. Honestly, there isn’t much in it when comparing spatial audio technologies, all of the above will provide you with a cromulent experience.

Build quality

As with other categories of gaming products, there is a lot of cheap garbage out there that you should do well to avoid. Build quality issues are all over the place. To that end, we’ve only included rock-solid gaming headsets in this list. We pay attention to the headband, the boom mic, and the materials used. If these aren’t up to snuff, then the headset won’t last and it will be a poor investment.

Headset flex test

Connectivity

Most of the headsets on this least connect via a USB dongle, typically occupying the 2.4GHz frequency range. This results in very low latency and reasonable levels of power consumption. The more modern headsets connect via a USB-C dongle, which further lower latency. Additionally, some feature dual-mode connectivity, with Bluetooth as another option. This is ideal if you need to switch between PC and a portable device, like an android tablet. Given the rising popularity of mobile gaming, this is becoming a more and more widespread feature.

headset connection options

It is worth noting here that Microsoft continues to keep their audio connection for Xbox proprietary, so if you’re looking for an Xbox wireless headset, chances are it won’t be compatible with anything else, so bear that in mind as you might end up needing to purchase multiple headsets. Luckily Sony is a bit more open source so PlayStation headsets are usually compatible with PC, Mobile, and Nintendo Switch. However, Nintendo Switch still doesn’t allow a mic via Bluetooth. So you’ll have to use the headset in question via a 3.5mm jack if you want voice chat on the Switch.

Microphone quality

This is something more catering towards the online, competitive gamers out there. If you just like to play single-player campaigns, then you don’t really need a mic. However, for the competitive esports players out there, a quality microphone could be the difference between winning and losing as it will provide a clear voice chat between yourself and your team.

boom mic 1

You’ll be used to the ever familiar and parochial boom-style of mic where it physically protrudes from one of the ear cups and bends round to be positioned in front of your mouth. However, some modern gaming headsets like the Asus ROG Delta S Wireless have opted for internal beamforming mics instead, while this technology needs a little refinement it’s certainly worth considering if you’re after a more graceful silhouette.

Charge time

Charging time basically means how long it takes your headset to charge from dead. This varies with all headsets, but the faster, the better. Most wireless headsets will take at least a couple of hours to reach a full charge, and you’ll have to do this more often if the headset you go for has RGB lighting as this really does eat away at the battery life. So prepare for this and make sure you stick your headset on charge when you are away from the PC. This way you won’t have to miss out.

It is worth noting that some of our recommendations will work just fine in wired mode and while this is a bit counter-intuitive, it’s better than no gaming audio at all!

Latency

Latency is a huge factor in headsets, especially wireless ones. Because you are connecting via a signal, the sound can be delayed if your connection isn’t fast enough. A lot of modern headsets have at least 2.4GHz connection speeds; anything below this should require further research as it might now deliver the low latency audio you need.

If you’re looking for a wireless gaming headset, keep these key criteria in mind, and you’ll not go too far wrong.

Are drivers required for a wireless gaming headset?

Most modern wireless headsets come with USB dongle that handles all of the connection issues for you. typically, upon plugging the dongle into any vacant USB-A port on your PC, you’ll be prompted to download the drivers and, usually, the corresponding peripheral software suite too.

Software

If you’ve purchased a wireless gaming headset at any point over the last 5 or so years, you’re probably familiar with the accompanying software suite they push you to use. These are rarely necessary for core functionality of the headset, but if you don’t install them, you usually won’t be able to play with the EQ settings or adjust the all-important RGB lighting. These programs have a deserved reputation for being resource-hungry and less than intuitive as they typically eat more than their fair share of RAM and often seem designed for robots instead of human people. We’ve written guides on the more popular ones that you can find below:

Compatibility

Wireless headphones, for the most part, are compatible with pretty much every electronic device you can think of. TV’s, Laptops, PCs, Consoles, Tablets, Phones, you name it, it will probably be compatible with that product.

That being said, some devices may require your headset to have Bluetooth or a base station. If this is the case, you might want to be a little cautious when planning on which headset to go for. For example, the old Xbox One controller does not have Bluetooth. This means, if your wireless headset doesn’t come with a base station, you’re going to struggle to use them.

Wired vs wireless gaming headsets

The best wireless gaming headsets are generally always going to be more expensive than their wired counterparts. This is usually down to the extra technology involved to keep the headset as lag-free as possible, much like a wired connection but you are mostly paying for convenience.

Some of the wireless headsets featured have multiple ways of connecting to devices, with some being out there being able to switch between the dongle and Bluetooth connectivity seamlessly.

A wired headset offers a consistent level of quality, with zero chance of interference, dips, or background hissing. Wireless headsets can fall victim to these things but modern wireless models are the highest quality we have ever seen and are easily viable for sports (as long as they are charged).

Despite some of the drawbacks you could face with a wireless headset, the convenience of losing that cable is fantastic and a massive selling point in my book. This is largely down to what you are happy with, if that cable keeps getting in the way or damaged, leading to audio leak, then upgrade to wireless!

If you’re after more headset recommendations, reviews, or comparisons, you’re in luck as we’ve written quite a few, check them out below.

Other headsets we’ve reviewed

Some headsets might not quite squeeze into the best of pages, but are worth considering nonetheless, read our full reviews below.

Best wireless gaming headset FAQs

Is using a wireless headset better than wired?

Wireless headsets are much more relevant than they once were, as latency issues are no longer a noticeable problem for solid gaming headsets. Wireless is the way to go if you don’t want to deal with tangled cords or trip hazards. Wired is still a valid option for a reliable connection and not having to deal with battery life, and wired equivalents are often cheaper.

Is it easy to connect a wireless headset?

Connecting a wireless headset is generally a simple process, just be sure you’re buying a headset which is compatible with the device you’ll be using it for. In case it is not natively supported, you may be able to use a wireless dongle (which often comes with the headset) to solve any connectivity issues.

Final word

Wireless gaming headsets are one of the more competitive product categories out there, with every company, big or small, trying to make the most money while retaining the fattest margins. This is unfortunate as it results in a lot of overpriced, under-featured products and we are all-too-aware of this, so the recommendations we’ve made on this page are ones that we’ll stand behind.

Additionally, we’ll keep this page updated as and when new headsets come out that deserve a spot, that being said, it’s gonna be difficult to top this chart due to the aforementioned competitiveness of this industry. So, go forth and make your purchase with confidence and get back to gaming.


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