Which wireless headset for PC gaming?

Columbo

Columbo

Columbo

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Joined
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So to appease the wife I've been given a side quest to declutter my desk, remove wires and reduce the footprint of my PC in the living room.
The reward for completing this quest is no divorce, reduced damage from whinging and retaining access to my daughter. :cry:

Joking aside the last part of this is a wireless gaming headset and this is a minefield. I currently use a wired HP Omen 800 headset which has served me perfectly but now the need for no wires mean they must be retired.
One headset that did look ok was the Hyper X Cloud Alpha due to 300hr battery life but I dont like the idea of having a mic stuck out in my face when not in use, I use one only now and again when a couple of friends are on PUBG or Destiny 2 and thats about it. Outside of that the mic is generally tucked away.

So any recommendations?

Not technically about a game as such but thought I would ask in here rather than the Audio forums as it seems a better place to discuss.
 
Columbo said:
So to appease the wife I've been given a side quest to declutter my desk, remove wires and reduce the footprint of my PC in the living room.
The reward for completing this quest is no divorce, reduced damage from whinging and retaining access to my daughter. :cry:

Joking aside the last part of this is a wireless gaming headset and this is a minefield. I currently use a wired HP Omen 800 headset which has served me perfectly but now the need for no wires mean they must be retired.
One headset that did look ok was the Hyper X Cloud Alpha due to 300hr battery life but I dont like the idea of having a mic stuck out in my face when not in use, I use one only now and again when a couple of friends are on PUBG or Destiny 2 and thats about it. Outside of that the mic is generally tucked away.

So any recommendations?

Not technically about a game as such but thought I would ask in here rather than the Audio forums as it seems a better place to discuss.
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Not tried the Cloud Alpha Wireless, but had a Cloud 2 and it was very comfortable. It looks like the mic can be unplugged and removed completely on the Alpha (it could on the Cloud 2), so might actually be better than one where the mic gets rotated out of the way.

I'd avoid the Steelseries options - as nice as they are, there is a major design flaw on the earcups where the hinges break due to them being made of plastic and a lot of concentrated force in a particular area :( Seems they are failing to acknowledge this as I had a pair fail after ~16 months and they flat out refused any kind of replacement/repair.
 
I've used the Astro A50 for some years now. It's very nice, if a little heavy for intensive wear. Just don't bother trying to recharge it in the dock.
 
The wireless part aside, I've had 1 cloud and a cloud 2 and I've been happy with both. However they both have the fake leather peel pretty quick, and the cloud 2s seem to have issues with quiet microphones so you might want to check to see if that issue has crossed over. I also tried the Cloud Alpha and had to send them back as the sound kept going, but not only that, the sound imo was worse than the original clouds. This then was replaced with the cloud 2 which i still have now - it sounds the same as the cloud.

I didn't know about the steelseries issue pointed out by @Haggisman. I wonder if it's on all of them, as a friend has IIRC the arctis 7 and his are fine to this day and sounds fine on the mic. Another friend tried them and he sound ******* awful on them, so they went back!

Good luck on your quest!
 
loftie said:
The wireless part aside, I've had 1 cloud and a cloud 2 and I've been happy with both. However they both have the fake leather peel pretty quick, and the cloud 2s seem to have issues with quiet microphones so you might want to check to see if that issue has crossed over. I also tried the Cloud Alpha and had to send them back as the sound kept going, but not only that, the sound imo was worse than the original clouds. This then was replaced with the cloud 2 which i still have now - it sounds the same as the cloud.

I didn't know about the steelseries issue pointed out by @Haggisman. I wonder if it's on all of them, as a friend has IIRC the arctis 7 and his are fine to this day and sounds fine on the mic. Another friend tried them and he sound ******* awful on them, so they went back!

Good luck on your quest!
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My Cloud 2 came with 2 pairs of earcups, fake leather and velour, although I didn't have any issues with peeling on my pleather ones.

Yeah, the steelseries problem does affect all models*, lots of reports of it online - just search for steelseries earcup breaking, or take a look on eBay for the large number of listing with a broken earcup :(

*Not sure if they've changed the design with the new wireless ones, but personally I wouldnt risk them again
 
Haggisman said:
My Cloud 2 came with 2 pairs of earcups, fake leather and velour, although I didn't have any issues with peeling on my pleather ones.
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The underside of the headband. I use the velour earcups which other than having the superpower of being able to retain dust (vacuum cleaner 0, earcups 1), they're nice and comfortable to me so I've never even tried the pleather ones. Both sets sat in the box unused! I have noticed the plastic where the headband starts have a crack though, my cloud 1s were the same, though AFAIK it's never made a difference.
I only replaced the cloud 1s because the cable got caught under my K70 keys, snagged and yanked the keyboard off the desk when i stood up. Microphone didn't really work after than, headphones are still fine though!
Edit: I'll let my mate know about the steelseries too. Cheers.
 
I recently picked up a SteelSeries Nova pro wireless to replace my Arctis 9x's that i killed by leaving on the window sill in the middle of the heatwave.

While im no audiophile they are great, work with my Xbox as well with the DAC have ANC and the SteelSeries software is pretty good.
2 batteries that you can hotswap out on charging in the DAC and one in the headphones,
I suggest giving them a look, or a least putting them on your list to consider. Headphones are very subjective.
 
Haggisman said:
Not tried the Cloud Alpha Wireless, but had a Cloud 2 and it was very comfortable. It looks like the mic can be unplugged and removed completely on the Alpha (it could on the Cloud 2), so might actually be better than one where the mic gets rotated out of the way.

I'd avoid the Steelseries options - as nice as they are, there is a major design flaw on the earcups where the hinges break due to them being made of plastic and a lot of concentrated force in a particular area :( Seems they are failing to acknowledge this as I had a pair fail after ~16 months and they flat out refused any kind of replacement/repair.
Click to expand...
I have the wireless steel series arctis Pro 7 and the right hand one has been superglued in position as I the hinge broke. I have had them 3 years though and it only happened a few months back
 
razer nari ultimate - they vibrate so makes games really immersive. Excellent sound, very light and comfortable despite the size with good battery life
 
Quartz said:
I've used the Astro A50 for some years now. It's very nice, if a little heavy for intensive wear. Just don't bother trying to recharge it in the dock.
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Astro A50's here.
Had the Astro A40's for some years before and decided to give the A50's a go. Really like them and after 2 years they still last probably 13-14 hours on the battery. I do however recommend using a custom EQ profile which makes the sound so much better than default. Probably suggests why the initial reviews were not too great. And I agree with "Quartz", the dock is a bit anoying to get the headphones seated properly to charge.
In case you or Quartz are interested, here is a link to the custom profiles.. well worth checking out. https://www.thezeference.com/astro-eq (I use DYSTRILATION - https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1b1q70dtlXDzXi_NCJBJ8TrXeKK11XPiy

There are loads to try.
 
rumple9 said:
razer nari ultimate - they vibrate so makes games really immersive. Excellent sound, very light and comfortable despite the size with good battery life
Click to expand...

Are they any good and what do you mean by good battery life?
They look in design terms nearly identical to my HP Omen 800's which I find very comfortable and the mic iimplemetation is superb.
 
Cheers guys, I've tried a few over the last few days. As below:

1: Turtle Beach 700 Gen 2 Max (returned)
Too heavy, the clamping force was physically uncomfortable on my head (I have a big head!), they are over priced at £189.99, their software doesnt work well at all and the connection stability and quality on my PC was awful

2: Astro A50 (returned)
Too heavy and the clamping force was again uncomfortable. Sound was great and connection stable but being uncomfortable I couldnt stick with them.

3: Arctis 9 (returned)
Felt cheap, plasticy and just didnt fit well on my head. Connection seemed ok and had no issues but didnt feel like £200 worth to me and I didnt like the sound quality in game at all.

4: Xbox Wireless Headset (borrowed and sent back)
Borrowed my friends and used my Xbox wireless dongle to connect them. Had all kinds of interference and juddering on the audio, even getting them connected proved a bit of a challenge initially but got there eventually. Comfort seemed ok but the awful connection stability just meant that I couldnt even consider them.

5: Hyper X Cloud Stinger
Thought I'd try these as they come with a full license of DTS:X Unbound software and I've ended up sticking with them. Been solid as a rock with zero issues so far and they are comfy as hell on my head. Haven't tested the mic yet but I use it so sporadically that as long as I'm audible on the other end it will be fine. Sound quality wise they sound better than the more double the price Turtle Beach's or Arctis's.

I'm far from an audidophile and have pretty much no idea what I'm talking about only that to my head and my ears the Stingers seemed to be the best.
 
Columbo said:
Cheers guys, I've tried a few over the last few days. As below:

1: Turtle Beach 700 Gen 2 Max (returned)
Too heavy, the clamping force was physically uncomfortable on my head (I have a big head!), they are over priced at £189.99, their software doesnt work well at all and the connection stability and quality on my PC was awful

2: Astro A50 (returned)
Too heavy and the clamping force was again uncomfortable. Sound was great and connection stable but being uncomfortable I couldnt stick with them.

3: Arctis 9 (returned)
Felt cheap, plasticy and just didnt fit well on my head. Connection seemed ok and had no issues but didnt feel like £200 worth to me and I didnt like the sound quality in game at all.

4: Xbox Wireless Headset (borrowed and sent back)
Borrowed my friends and used my Xbox wireless dongle to connect them. Had all kinds of interference and juddering on the audio, even getting them connected proved a bit of a challenge initially but got there eventually. Comfort seemed ok but the awful connection stability just meant that I couldnt even consider them.

5: Hyper X Cloud Stinger
Thought I'd try these as they come with a full license of DTS:X Unbound software and I've ended up sticking with them. Been solid as a rock with zero issues so far and they are comfy as hell on my head. Haven't tested the mic yet but I use it so sporadically that as long as I'm audible on the other end it will be fine. Sound quality wise they sound better than the more double the price Turtle Beach's or Arctis's.

I'm far from an audidophile and have pretty much no idea what I'm talking about only that to my head and my ears the Stingers seemed to be the best.
Click to expand...
If the Cloud suffers from a quiet mic like the cloud 2 does, and they don't give you any software or a way to boost it in windows, like the cloud 2, then this is what I used to boost the volume (saw it on a reddit thread about the mic volume) https://sourceforge.net/projects/peace-equalizer-apo-extension/

Hopefully they've sorted it though and it works fine.
 
Bit of a bump... Wondering what the go-to Wireless headset is now.

My ~5 year old Steel Series Arctis Pro is preparing for the next stage of it's life as e-waste. Currently one speaker is being held in position by superglue and now pad is basically fallen off the ear entirely.

Birthday in December so asking Ms Junglist if she can get me a new set. Quite like the look of the Audeze Maxwell but not sure if I just fell for the first list I saw (100% what happened)

Don't want anything that'll break the bank but also nothing that'll have me looking for a replacement next year
 
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