Don’t buy a gaming headset, buy headphones and a microphone

• Audiophile headphones combined with a condenser microphone outperform gaming headsets in audio quality.

• Headphones tend to be lighter and more comfortable for long listening sessions.

• Combine high-quality headphones with a condenser microphone for great sound at a lower cost.

When you’re looking for a new gaming headset, it’s tempting to just buy the model that’s currently most popular on Amazon. Before you drop your hard-earned money, let me stop you right there. Allow me to suggest an alternative that is worth your attention.

Significantly better sound quality

Although gaming headsets have made great strides in terms of sound quality in recent years, they still can’t compete with true audiophile headphones when it comes to accurate and satisfying sound reproduction. Audiophile headphones provide a balanced listening experience, while gaming headsets prioritize bass to provide a favorable feeling of immersion in the game.

Unlike audiophile headphones that always stay the same, gaming headsets tend to follow trends and marketing gimmicks. One of the most prominent was the hyper-fixation on real or virtual 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound, which promises a superior spatial audio experience. Fortunately, this has subsided in recent years as players have realized that it is pointless. Most modern games have well-designed audio engines that enable realistic spatial audio processing on any stereo headphone, making the supposed advantage of dedicated surround sound headsets minimal if not non-existent.

You can only get good sound quality with good headphones from brands aimed at audiophiles, such as Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic, HiFiMan, Audio-Technica, Philips, Focal, Audeze and so on. Some of these brands technically offer gaming headsets that offer above-average sound quality, but they typically fall short of their dedicated headphones.

While the difference in audio playback is quite large, the difference in recording quality is not even comparable. Gaming headset microphones range from completely useless to passable, while a cheap standalone condenser microphone can make it seem like you’re recording a podcast or audiobook. I recently bought the HyperX SoloCast and all my friends on Discord were surprised by the sound quality.

Instead of sound, gaming headset manufacturers often emphasize eye-catching designs that appeal to young gamers. The worst culprit is the complicated RGB lighting, which in my opinion is the most useless thing you can have on a headset. It’s not that I’m against RGBI, I love it, I just don’t see the point of having it on a device you wear.

More comfort and convenience

In general, gaming headsets are bulkier and heavier than headphones because they contain more hardware. The built-in microphone is partly to blame, but the list of additional components can also include RGB, built-in sound cards, heavy padding and, in the case of wireless headsets, large batteries that can handle both audio input and audio output for many hours . The minimalist design of a standard pair of headphones makes them lighter and more comfortable for long listening sessions, and you can also wear them outside without feeling out of place.

However, weight isn’t the only thing that makes gaming headsets a problem. I find it incredibly annoying to constantly have a microphone in front of my mouth. It’s always in the way, making eating and drinking much more difficult, and there’s the added risk of grease and crumbs from your food landing on the microphone.

Some headsets allow you to move or retract the microphone, but moving it too far from your mouth will result in significantly poorer sound quality. Additionally, without noise filtering features (like Discord’s Krisp), the microphone will pick up unwanted noises from your mouth, such as: B. Chewing and drinking.

The only situation where a gaming headset is more practical is if you have a wireless model and want to walk around the house without interrupting the conversation. This is also possible with wireless headphones, but you don’t have a microphone to speak back. Some of my friends love this feature, but personally I prefer a breather from my computer and Discord.

Better value for money

Gaming headsets are notorious among audiophiles for their inferior sound quality despite their relatively high price. For a half-decent gaming headset like the HyperX Cloud III or the SteelSeries New Arctis Nova 3, you’ll need to spend around $80 to $100, and more if you want gimmicks like RGB and haptic vibrations. However, for the same price or less, you can get significantly better sound quality by pairing a $40 to $50 high-quality pair of headphones with a $30 cardioid condenser microphone.

While gaming headsets are a godsend for non-gaming uses like listening to music, a good pair of headphones will sound great in virtually any scenario. The most noticeable difference, however, will be in the microphone.

A decent, inexpensive condenser microphone can last for years and will always outperform gaming headsets. Because it has a significantly larger membrane, it absorbs sound more effectively. It’s particularly good at capturing low frequencies, which can give your voice a podcast-quality feel. Plus, you can conveniently use it with speakers if you don’t feel like wearing headphones.

If one breaks, you don’t lose the other

I’ve gone through my fair share of broken headsets, and chances are you have too. Because headsets are complex and involve additional wiring for the microphone, there are simply more parts that can break. Retractable microphones are particularly known for their lack of durability, although there are also headsets with detachable microphones. If something breaks outside of the warranty period, you have two options: try to repair it yourself or pay a high repair price.

When it comes to headphones and microphones, only one is ever lost, so purchasing a replacement is significantly cheaper. However, it is extremely unlikely that a standalone microphone will stop working on its own. You would have to spill a drink on it or pull the cord too hard. Headphones are more likely to break; The cable is usually the first to break, so I recommend buying a pair with a detachable cable. Gaming headsets with detachable cables are rare. Wireless-only models usually have a USB or 3.5mm cable that you can use if the headset runs out of battery.

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While gaming headsets have their place, especially when gaming on a laptop, I firmly believe that most people are better off with a good pair of headphones and a standalone microphone. You get more flexibility in your options and better value for money, even if you have to pay a little more to get the combination you want.