I Tested More Than a Dozen Gaming Headphones; These Are the Best

Start gaming without a bulky headset, and get a pair of headphones that are just as good.

After spending weeks testing 13 of the best gaming headphones, the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds stand out for their comfortable fit, balanced sound, and huge library of built-in equalizers that tailor your sound to specific games.

But players who need an open-ear design or strong noise cancellation for their commute should choose a different set of gaming headphones. Here is why.

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I am a journalist and reviewer with over 12 years of experience writing about games and technology. I reviewed my first audio product seven years ago, and for the past year I've been IGN's lead headphone reviewer, primarily testing gaming headphones that pack a wireless USB dongle to connect to your computer or console, rather than relying on higher-latency Bluetooth.

Great gaming headphones should tick a lot of boxes: be comfortable to wear for long periods of time, hold enough power for long gaming sessions, and deliver sound without noticeable lag. They should sound clean, balanced, and rich when played in any style, and should clearly differentiate between sonic elements. Ideally, they'll tell you the direction of in-game sounds, like enemy footsteps. They should have a decent microphone in most cases. And they need to connect quickly and reliably between multiple gaming devices.

Some other features I find useful but not essential for gaming, including powerful noise cancellation and transparency mode.

Using this benchmark, I've compiled a long list of gaming headphones to potentially test and recommend here. I wanted to include every pair of headphones I thought had even an outside image of being the best, so I cast the net wide. In addition to adding earbuds I've tested and enjoyed in the past, I read hundreds of reviews from critics—on sites like IGN, Sound Guys, RTings, and Eurogamer—and users, mostly in the gaming and audio sections.

I prioritized dedicated "gaming" headphones. These buds usually include a USB-C dongle that you can plug into your PC, PS5, Switch, or Steam Deck and reduce your connection latency. Bluetooth is fine for some casual gaming, especially with modern high-end headphones, but if you pay close attention you can notice a lag between the action and your audio - not ideal. However, a few non-gaming headphones made it onto my long list due to their frequent recommendations elsewhere.

I made sure to choose headphones that worked with PC and various consoles, including some for Xbox (only certain headphones work with Microsoft's console due to Xbox's proprietary wireless technology). I also wanted to cover a variety of price ranges, so I made sure to include several budget options priced at $50 or less.

After all that, my long list was down to 25 headphones. The next step was to narrow it down to a shortlist of about 12 people for practical testing.

I reviewed each headphone on my long list in detail and looked for more reviews from critics and users. I fixed anything that seemed like quality control issues or annoying bugs. I also removed items that weren't widely available or seemed to be discontinued (for example, Logitech's G333 headphones are often recommended, but not available in official stores).

I've decided to ditch the headphones that don't have a dedicated low-latency mode. This is a gaming headphone buying guide, so I wanted to recommend buds that will work everywhere, not just for casual gaming. That means headphones like my beloved Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 - which can be low-latency, but only with an extra dongle purchased separately - are gone, as well as Technics' brilliant-sounding EAH-AZ100 headphones, whose low-latency mode only works on phones.

I also started checking my subcategories at this point. I decided I wanted an inexpensive choice, an open-ear choice, and a choice for headphones that would work for everyday use alongside gaming. Thinking about my long list helped me narrow it down: for example, I could eliminate the HyperX Cloud Mix Buds 2: having reviewed them, I knew they had no chance of winning in any of my categories.

After finalizing my short list, I contacted the manufacturers' products and started testing.

It's worth noting that there were a few headphones on my shortlist that I couldn't get my hands on in time for this round of testing, namely the Logitech G Fits, the Sony WF-1000XM6, and the Truthear Hexa. I will try to test them soon and will update this guide when I do.

I tested each pair of headphones, though I often switched between buds to compare them. Not all headphones made it to the end of my testing: if it was clear after a few hours that I wouldn't recommend them, I moved on.

I started by simply opening the case, assessing its quality, and then feeling the buds in my hand. I squeezed and twisted them - I wanted to know how sturdy they were, how cheap or premium they were. I then quietly slipped the buds into my ears, felt the fit, and decided if I needed to adjust the size of the earrings (most come in different sizes).

Since I was testing the buds for the game, I spent most of my time there. I put the Buds in their lowest latency mode, either through the dongle or a dedicated Bluetooth gaming mode, and jumped right into a few games on my PC. My plans were Marathon and GTA 5. These, I felt, tested the full range of audio capabilities.

Marathon's complex sound design—gunshots, footsteps, abilities, item noise, and background noise all at once—tested the headphones' detail and clarity. I was looking for distinction between any noise, plus a sense of distance and direction, which are vital in a multiplayer shooter like this. It was also easy to detect the lag between the gunshots and their sound (although I later did an independent lag test outside of the game).

Meanwhile, GTA 5 tested the auditory punch of the buds and how well they created an atmosphere. I moved between roaming the city, driving radio stations, talking, and fighting with guns.

At this point I've worn the buds for a few hours, so I can say how comfortable they are and also how long their battery life compares to what the manufacturers promise (I consider five hours good for headphones and 10 hours elite).

Then I did a simple delay test and one for noise removal.

For latency, I used an online tool called Sound Tester. The tool does a "controlled" test of your reaction time, asking you to click when a light flashes - then close your eyes and click whenever you hear a beep. I'm not sure the figures are quite accurate in milliseconds, but I got a ball figure for latency and, more importantly, I can compare latency between buds. I ran the test five times for each set of headphones and took the average.

For noise cancellation, I maxed out the settings and wore the buds around the house, seeing how well they cut out talking, the sound of the refrigerator, the TV, and background music. For a slightly more objective test, I played some white noise through the buds at a set level and some pink noise through a speaker each time. Each time I stood the same distance from the speaker and turned up the pink noise until it was clearly detectable. The higher the volume, the better the noise cancellation.

Away from the PC, I tried the buds on Nintendo Switch 2, PS5 (via USB dongle), and Steam Deck: For games I chose The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on Switch, Astro Bot on PS5, and Balatro's plinky-plonk sounds on Steam Deck. I was testing the sound quality in each case, as well as the connection. Was it easy to connect them to the console? Was the connection stable and reliable during my game? Were there any noticeable differences between each console?

After this point, the bulk of my testing was done, but for those buds still competing for top pick, I used them in more mundane scenarios. Walking in the park, riding the bus, the gym. I also listened to podcasts and music, making sure I heard at least the same two songs with each bud: Basie Dave's rap "100M's" and the complex, orchestral Britpop "Bittersweet Symphony" by The Verve. I also used them in many other games on my various consoles, including EA FC 26, Dishonored 2, Slay the Spire 2, and Super Mario Odyssey.

During my testing, I used the dedicated app for each bud, where available, and evaluated its depth and ease of use. I also kept tapping the buds to test their touch controls.

I have extensively tested some of the short listed headphones for the available reviews. In those cases I tested them again to see if my original verdict held.

The incredibly versatile GameBuds are vibrant no matter what you're playing, with a selection of hundreds of game-specific equalizers. Switching between Bluetooth and the wireless dongle worked with low latency every time.

Built-in audio profiles for over 1000 games

They look rich and vivid in any style. The SteelSeries Arctis Gamebuds are a balanced and lively pair of headphones that sound consistently good. The sound of gunshots and echoes, the sound of rain, the sound of music. No one element dominates it, and I always felt like I could pick out individual details of a game's soundscape. Outside of games, they're not as rich as the best in-ear headphones, but I enjoyed the clarity of the audio for podcasts and listening to music: while they're not particularly loud, I still felt a punch.

You can easily customize them to match the game you are playing. The GameBuds app is fairly sparse, but its library of equalizers - EQs - is massive. EQs boost or cut parts of the audio frequency range to create different sound profiles, and GameBuds has pre-built EQs for hundreds of individual games. I loved launching a game, opening the app, and tapping a few buttons to get the sound to match what I wanted to play. EQs significantly changed the sound and made it sound better in almost every case. I also had fun picking EQs from different games until I found one that suited my ears.

It is clear where the sounds are coming from. This helps create atmosphere in games like Breath of the Wild when a fire erupts behind you, but it's arguably more important in multiplayer shooters. Guessing an enemy's direction and the distance from their footsteps, gunshots, and gadgets gave it a huge advantage - the GameBuds weren't quite as good at this as the on-ear headphones, but I was still confident that I knew exactly what was going on around me. For example, I can pinpoint the exact location of a boisterous clay in a marathon.

They can last up to 10 hours on a single charge. Here's the official figure: In practice, I got between 8 and 9 hours, but I was also draining the battery by toggling between noise reduction and transparency modes, constantly adjusting EQs and switching devices. I was confident these buds would last through even my longest gaming sessions, and with three full charges in the case, you could probably go a week between plugging them in.

They connect quickly and move between devices. I had no problem switching between PC and console whether I was using a USB dongle or Bluetooth. They always connected quickly and never dropped the signal. Notably, they can connect to your console via USB dongle and to your phone via Bluetooth at the same time. Not every bud can handle this, and that means I can fiddle with my phone app's EQs while playing.

They will work on any console including Xbox. If you want to play on Microsoft's console, you'll need to buy an Xbox-specific version of the headset, but it also works on PS5, PC, Switch, and Steam Deck (along with a little switch on the dongle to toggle between Xbox and everything else).

Their physical buttons are more reliable than touch controls. It's personal preference, but I find physical buttons much more reliable than tapping, hoping your input registers. The GameBuds button is fast and reliable.

They are comfortable to wear all day. Everyone's ears are different, but it suits me well. They never irritated my ears and I didn't feel any discomfort when I wore them for walks or runs. Most other critics agree.

Their ANC and microphone is good enough. The ANC was below average among the buds I tested, and the microphone is just passable. I still think they are good for most people: they reduce ambient noise so you can focus on the game and your teammates can still hear your call.

As you'd expect from Sony, the Inzone Buds look fantastic. Explosions boom and reverberate, sounds sound rich and detailed, and in-game footprints clearly jumble and indicate the direction of enemies. They also last more than 11 hours on a single charge.