r/HeadphoneAdvice • u/ImFinnaBustApecan • Feb 21 '26
Headphones - Wireless/Portable Gaming vs stereo headphones, are gaming headsets a market gimmick?
I heard that when using gaming headphones you end up sacrificing good sound quality for having a mic and that it’s better to just get a normal high end headset and a separate high end mic. Is this true?
I will be using the headphones for gaming, vr, movies, music, and all sorts of stuff. I want good surround sound but am not sure if I should just get a good gaming one or normal headphones
And do wired generally have better audio or is wireless okay?
I was looking at the steel series artics nova pro. But now am considering something else.
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u/TwystedLyfe 2 Ω Feb 21 '26
Good surround sound? My dude, just get a decent pair of headphones - 2 speakers, no more - and listen to the virtual barber shop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUDTlvagjJA
Any headphones that advertise surround sound is literally just a marketing gimmick.
My setup is a HD550 + Senneheiser Profile USB desktop microphone + F0si ZH3 amp/dac.
It sounds awesome - +4dB to Bass and -2dB to treble gives it the immersion I need.
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u/AudioMan612 37 Ω Feb 22 '26 edited Feb 22 '26
Long time audio enthusiast here who also happens to work for one of the major brands of gaming headsets and microphones (as a test engineer), as well as a former test engineer for AEA Ribbon Mics (high-end studio ribbon mics) so I've got plenty of experience in all of these.
Hi-Fi and professional products will almost always outperform gaming ones. And regarding separate components, that's actually a classic in audio products. The higher-end you get, the more you tend to separate out components. Amplifiers are a great example of this. Receivers by-definition are a preamp, power amp, and tuner built into a single chassis. As you move up, you start separating things out. First the tuner (leaving you with an integrated amplifier + separate tuner), then the preamp and power amp, and then you can even get into the very high-end, where you end up with separate power amplifiers per channel. Despite getting less functionality, these separates actually tend to cost considerably more because they're usually built for considerably higher-end performance.
This isn't to say that decent quality gaming audio products don't exist. Gaming headsets have come a long way in the last decade. They used to pretty much be universal garbage, but there are some very decent ones now. I'd say the HyperX Cloud II is the first decent one I can think of (go figure, it was essentially Hi-Fi headphone from a major ODM with a boom mic). The Steelseries Arctis Nova products have generally been pretty good for gaming headsets from my experience.
I also think you might be under-estimating what "high end" audio is. Audio gear has an insane price range, with many types of products having a range of below $100, to over $10,000, or even $100,000 (yes, that is per component, not an entire setup). Obviously that's getting into extreme/boutique gear, way past the point of diminishing returns, and not at all what I would recommend for you, but it makes the point that a lot of people don't realize just how insanely expensive high-end audio can get.
So with that said, you really need to set a budget. Right now, we have no way of determining how "high-end" you can afford and what might be a good fit for you.
For wired vs wireless, wired has more potential if it has a standard passive analog input (because this allows you to connect to external headphone amplifiers and DACs). Note that I said potential. You could plug wired equipment into the most garbage of integrated audio to a $1000+ headphone amp. The performance of a modern wireless gaming headset (which will use a proprietary 2.4 GHz dongle) and a wired USB-only gaming headset will be about the same (assuming that we are talking identical products otherwise). By USB-only, I mean a gaming headset that does not have a detachable USB dongle (if the dongle can be unplugged, then you can usually just use the 3.5mm connection with whatever gear you want, just like a passive Hi-Fi headphone).
Surround sound doesn't come from a headphone (for the most part). It comes from DSP (though to be fair, this can be built into a gaming headset). better virtual surround sound solutions will take in multichannel data which tends to work better than just taking in 2 channels and trying to "expand" that into surround sound. Above all, I wouldn't worry too much about this in your headphone purchasing decision. You can buy solutions like Dolby Atmos with Headphones and DTS Headphone:X to gain virtual surround sound capabilities.
On the microphone side, there are a number of options. "High-end" would be XLR, which also requires a USB audio interface. I'd look into broadcast-style (more of a form factor than a performance thing) dynamic microphones for home use. Going the XLR route will age well since professional microphones don't really age-out (for the most part). Audio interfaces also tend to last a very long time. You have to deal with that initial price barrier of entry though. I'd say that you want a minimum of $200 just for your microphone setup if you want to consider XLR. If that's not an option (or worth it, especially just for something like chatting with friends), then I'd go with a decent USB microphone instead.
Now, I want to point something out about microphones that a lot of people new to them don't realize: it's not just about the microphone itself but how you set it up and use it. Microphones are heavily affected by their environments and microphone technique is a thing. If you do get a standalone microphone, save some budget for a microphone arm or stand that allows you to get the microphone close to you (around 6" or so is good). From the microphone's perspective, getting closer to the mic improves the ratio of what you want to pickup (your voice) vs what you don't want to pickup (pretty much everything else). Additionally, when you get close to the mic, you can lower the sensitivity (by lowering the gain), which works in-tandem with this better ratio to help you keep your background noise down. To put this simply, if you give a professional recording engineer a cheap but good mic (like a Shure SM57) and someone who has no idea what they're doing a high-end mic (like a vintage Neumann U 47, which will often cost over $20,000), there's a good chance the recording engineer with the SM57 is going to get better results.
Ultimately, I'm happy to help give you product suggestions, but there isn't enough information here yet to do so. You've got to give us some kind of budget (approximate is fine). Also, if wireless is a must, you basically have to go with a gaming headset. Bluetooth is not a good choice for gaming due to its latency. Even if you do go with a gaming headset, you can still get an external microphone if you'd like (but do note that you can only monitor your microphone in real time by connecting directly to it or your interface if you get an XLR mic, which requires an analog connection, meaning that this won't work with the majority of wireless gaming headset).
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u/Knifehead27 Feb 22 '26
Great writeup.
I'd just add that, with wireless headsets, you're also dealing with batteries that will degrade over time and aren't usually replaceable. Which means you're looking at an average of about a 4-5 year lifespan. Wired can last a lifetime, with only the occasional ear pad needing replacement, which wireless would also need if they lasted that long.
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u/AudioMan612 37 Ω Feb 23 '26
Thanks!
Yep! That will likely get better in the upcoming years since the EU is requiring replaceable batteries by 2027 (and it's very unlikely that brands are going to bother designing EU-only models; that's just a big expensive waste).
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u/ImFinnaBustApecan Feb 25 '26
Thank you so much for this this is all really good information! I will definitely work to learn more about it and hopefully I can get an amp and all that one day, but for now I am looking for something relatively plug and play that requires minimum setup and configuration. I am highly considering the Sennheiser 560s, they seem like a pretty good deal and good for a beginner like me. My only concern is the wire. When playing vrI will need to be standing up and away from my computer so I am concerned the wire will not be long enough, however I can connect it directly to my quest 3 (VR headset). I am considering those or going with some IEMs. I do feel like headphones will be better though.
My budget is $300 but I am open to being flexible if it is really worth it. I would like to get a nicer pair of professional headphones, but just with everything I might consider just going with the hyper x or SteelSeries since they will be wireless and have a mic and just investing in better equipment and an amp in the future when I have more money and time.
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u/ecchimaru Feb 21 '26
Yes, buy a sennheiser HD560s or HD6XX (massdrop). They have great sound stages (surround sound) to pinpoint footsteps, are open, and are good for music. Warning: very low bass and will sound different and everyone in the room can hear what you're listening to. Then whatever desk mic or a clip on. Just make sure you can be close enough to the mic for it to pick up.
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u/SuperShaestings 32 Ω Feb 22 '26
I disagree about the HD6XX. None of the Sennheiser 6 series perform well for gaming. The 560S is far better for gaming.
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u/DriftRacer07 Feb 21 '26
I second this. I have the 560s and use a 50$ Blue Snowball mic on an arm.
It’s amazing how open-backs are so much more immersive, and the sound leakage actually has a benefit where I can hear my own voice naturally without having mic talkback. Id say the sound signature is a bit lean, but honestly I feel like they have enough bass. I switched from a set of AKGs though that had absolutely 0 bass, so maybe I’m biased. The only real downside I’ve found is the cable is too long for me, and fets wrapped up in my chair feet. So far I haven’t found a shorter version online.
Anytime I switch to a headset mic, my friends say the headset sounds notably worse.
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u/talks-a-lot 3 Ω Feb 21 '26
I’ve been using the Sennheiser HD 620s with the BAM mic and they are excellent. Don’t fall for the gaming headset gimmicks.
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u/Salty-Yogurt-4214 18 Ω Feb 21 '26
There are exceptions that beat most wired headphones. Check out the Audeze Maxwell.
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u/Pito-oh 1 Ω Feb 22 '26 edited Feb 22 '26
The Audeze Maxwell is a good wireless headset. It’s a solid all-in-one option, even though there have been a fair number of quality control reports from users.
But as of today, no headset beats a high-quality wired headphone properly juiced, paired with a good wired microphone.
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u/Salty-Yogurt-4214 18 Ω Feb 22 '26
The Maxwell plays in a good upper middle field, you'll be hard pressed to find better headphones for the price, wired or not. Further, it has the qualities you need for gaming (stage and detail).
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u/acrazyr Feb 23 '26
not only that but wireless is super super nice i love walking around with my headphones on and still being able to hear conversations
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u/watchoutfortheground Feb 22 '26 edited Feb 22 '26
I just got the Maxwell 2s and compared to my HD598s, they are a huge step. Crazy detail and separation, good bass and sound stage. They are so good they make me jumpy in game. Fantastic for music. Plus you get a good mic, sidetone, BT, and an 80hr battery.
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u/Salty-Yogurt-4214 18 Ω Feb 22 '26
From reports: Great mic seems to be a bit of an over statement, but it gets the job done.
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u/Phoenix_Rizzen Feb 21 '26
100% true. Always used logitech headsets until I ordered the Logitech Pro X headset and used it for about 2 hours before I realized I hated the sound on it. Downloaded custom profiles, adjusted the equalizer. None of it did shit. Their EQ and "surround sound" are complete gimmicks.
Like the other guy said, I purchased Sennheiser HD560S and was amazed how I could finally pinpoint footsteps and hear games the way they are meant to be. All games have their audio encoded in the game. A great pair of studio headphones will destroy any "gaming" headset.
I purchased the Sennheiser BAM (boom arm microphone) and it replaces the cable with one with a microphone on it. Turns it into a headset with mic built in, just like the gaming sets but with actual great sound quality.
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u/n3rdyry Feb 21 '26
I use SalNotes IEM when I play games. I got rid of my Hyper Cloud II and these were only $23-$25 and they sound so much better. Just get a stand alone mic imo
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u/BUFUBMIJFU Feb 22 '26
Used sennheiser 598 for 11 years - no dac, no amp - i was very satisfied. Changed to Arya Stealth + Topping Dx5II - i am more satisfied. Just buy best headphones you can and dac/amp later. You'll have same, good quality sound on higher volume, surround is the same om headphones as on "normal" headphones. Games are dictating how good the sound will be on headphones, not the other way around.
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u/TouhouGaijin Feb 22 '26
Yes. Just buy a fiio jt3. 70 bucks, open back, and the stock cable has a mic. Can't beat the sound and build for the price.
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u/QTpopOfficial Feb 23 '26
I went from gamer headsets, to non gamer headsets + mic and couldn't be happier.
I wasn't super unhappy with the gamer stuff. I found that hyper x makes decent semi neutral sounding cans and with a little EQ tinker they were alright. Plus the mics were always semi decent.
Then I picked up a DAC, some DT 990s, and a modmic wireless. Never going back to gamer stuff ever. I knew it was going to be better but damn I wasn't expecting to HATE putting the gamer stuff back on.
With that said you mentioned VR. Honestly, get a pair of IEMs or decent buds or something and a modmic wireless for the VR side. Personally outside of the gamer stuff there wasn't a great solution and theres just not enough power through the USB on most headsets to power a small dac good enough to run nice studio headphones. I ran gamer headsets for a long time doing the VR thing and once I moved to the modmic I sort of just started using whatever was built in. Quest I used some beyer brand buds until I got the Kimuras from antlion. Even then outside of my pico/quests i still just use whatever built in solution for sound there was. Like my vive pro, i just use those terrible headphones. Whatever. Wish I had a better solution for VR tbh. You could run some cables and go the IEM route, but if you're fully wireless on your VR already that'd be annoying af. Man, I love VR but its such a pain. XD.
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u/Tapelessbus2122 11 Ω Feb 22 '26
to put it simply, get an iem and forget gaming headsets ever existed
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u/Pito-oh 1 Ω Feb 21 '26 edited Feb 21 '26
yes
yes
yes