Best Wireless Gaming Headsets 2024: Bluetooth, Budget, and More (2024)

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Overview

Best Wireless Gaming Headset

The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless is everything you want and need in a gaming headset — and while it's clearly designed around PC gaming, it's got plenty of features that make it a great headset for just about everything else. It sports SteelSeries' custom-designed hi-fi capable 40mm drivers, which have a wireless frequency response of 10 - 22,000 Hz and a wired frequency response of 10 - 40,000 Hz, and has a lightweight, highly-adjustable frame that's comfortable for hours on end.

The Arctis Nova Pro comes with a wireless base station, which can connect to two audio sources (e.g., PC and a console) via dual USB-C ports. You can use the base station to switch between systems or tweak audio settings — it's basically a fancy, dual-system 2.4GHz wireless dongle. It also acts as a charging station for the headset's batteries — the headset comes with two batteries, each of which offers 18 - 22 hours of battery life. The batteries are live-swappable, giving you essentially unlimited battery life so long as you're near the base station.

The Arctis Nova Pro is designed for gaming, but it can easily double as a lifestyle headset thanks to its fully-retractable bidirectional microphone, active noise cancellation, and simultaneous 2.4GHz wireless/Bluetooth connectivity. Priced at $349.99, this headset isn't cheap — but it delivers. But if you're looking for a more budget-friendly option, SteelSeries has carried the Arctis Nova Pro's design (including the retractable mic) over to its Arctis Nova line, which includes the wireless

($179.99) and the wired

($59.99).

A Tom's Hardware Favorite

Three Tom's Hardware editors use either Corsair's Virtuoso RGB Wireless XT or its 2.4GHz-only Virtuoso RGB Wireless SE as their daily drivers. The Virtuoso RGB Wireless XT has specs similar to the Arctis Nova Pro, including simultaneous 2.4GHz wireless/Bluetooth connectivity, hi-fi capable 50mm drivers, and a comfortable, premium build. The Virtuoso RGB Wireless XT retails for $270, but you can pretty consistently find it for around $200.

The Virtuoso RGB Wireless XT has 50mm dynamic drivers with a frequency response of 20 - 40,000 Hz — much wider than the average gaming headset, which usually sticks to the "human hearing" standard of 20 - 20,000 Hz. It has round over-ear earcups with a light aluminum finish, and a padded, leatherette-covered headband that matches the earpads. It comes with a removable omnidirectional microphone, which isn't quite as convenient as SteelSeries' retractable mic, but still works well enough for those who want to use the headset as a pair of headphones without a visible microphone permanently attached.

The Virtuoso RGB Wireless XT's battery lasts just 15 hours (when connected to two devices), which means you'll probably need to recharge daily. This shouldn't be too much of an inconvenience if you're only using the headset at your PC, but there are better options to take on the road. If you don't need the added Bluetooth connectivity,

has the same features (minus Bluetooth).

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Most Comfortable Wireless Gaming Headset

The HyperX Cloud III Wireless might just be the most comfortable wireless headset we've ever worn — and it's exactly as comfortable as its wired counterpart (the

). The Cloud III Wireless is an over-ear headset with a padded, leatherette-covered headband and soft, leatherette-covered earpads. It weighs 11.64oz (330g), which is close to what the Arctis Nova Pro weighs.

The Cloud III Wireless has the same 53mm dynamic drivers as the Cloud II Wireless, but they've been redesigned and angled for a better audio experience. The drivers have a frequency response of 10 - 21,000 Hz, which is a little wider than the average gaming headset but not as wide as the Arctis Nova Pro or the Virtuoso RGB Wireless XT. It comes with a detachable 10mm boom microphone, which has an internal pop filter and a red mute indicator light.

The headset gets an impressive 120 hours of battery life, which is more than just about any wireless gaming headset you'll find (except for the

, which gets a whopping 300+ hours). The downside is that this headset only offers one connectivity option, which is 2.4GHz wireless — no analog/wired connection, no Bluetooth, nothing. In other words, it's a great headset so long as you only plan on using it with one device.

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Best Wireless Gaming Headset for Audiophiles

The Audeze Maxwell is a large, over-ear headset with a steel and aluminum frame and Audeze's newly-designed 90mm planar magnetic drivers. It's larger and heftier than most gaming headsets, weighing in at a whopping 17.28 ounces (490g) — it's still surprisingly comfortable, however.

The Maxwell's 90mm planar magnetic drivers have a wide frequency response range of 10 - 50,000 Hz, and the headset has an impressively wide and detailed soundstage. The Maxwell is tuned by default for gaming, but music also sounds fantastic once you've adjusted the EQ slightly. The headset comes with a detachable boom mic, but it also has built-in mics in the earcups — they're not great, but they're convenient if you need to take a call and you don't have the detachable mic with you.

The Maxwell offers both 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth connectivity, but does not mix audio from both sources and — much to our annoyance — switches between sources automatically (prioritizing Bluetooth). This was our main source of frustration with this headset — otherwise, it's fantastic, with 80+ hours of battery life, solid connectivity, and audiophile sound quality.

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Best Wireless Gaming Headset Mic

While we always recommend a standalone gaming microphone for sounding your best, Razer's newest BlackShark V2 Pro (2023) headset has the best-sounding mic we've heard on a gaming headset.

The BlackShark V2 Pro (2023) is the 2023 update to the

, and it has roughly the same design and drivers — 50mm dynamic drivers with a frequency response range of 12 - 28,000 Hz as the original. Audio sounds good with Razer's EQ adjusted, if a little mid-range heavy. The headset's stainless steel sliders have been reinforced and its battery has been upgraded to offer an impressive 70+ hours.

The BlackShark V2 Pro (2023) has a new detachable boom mic: a 9.9mm condenser mic with a sampling rate of 32 kHz and an internal pop filter (plus an optional external pop filter). The mic made our voice sound full and broadcast-y, even without Razer's software-based EQ settings turned on. And, to quote a Tom's Hardware editor during one of our meetings, we sounded "better than we do in real life."

The BlackShark V2 Pro (2023) has both 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth connectivity — it can connect to both simultaneously, but does not mix audio from both sources so you'll need to switch between the two.

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Best Lifestyle Wireless Gaming Headset

The Razer Barracuda Pro Wireless looks more like a lifestyle headset from Sony or Bose than it does a gaming peripheral from Razer. Featuring a surprisingly understated (for Razer) all-black design, built-in beamforming mics, and a sturdy travel case, the Barracuda Pro Wireless is a good option for anyone who wants a headset that can pull double-duty.

The Barracuda Pro Wireless is comfortable and lightweight, with a minimal all-plastic design. It has Razer's custom 50mm dynamic drivers, which have a frequency response range of 20 - 20,000 Hz, and a pair of integrated beamforming noise-canceling mics in the earcups. They're not the best mics we've ever seen in a headset, but they do a good enough job of picking up your voice and keeping background noise low — they should be fine for most gamers.

On the lifestyle side, the Barracuda Pro Wireless has three levels of active noise cancellation and up to 40 hours of battery life. It offers both 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth connectivity, but does not mix audio from multiple sources (like the Arctis Nova Pro and Virtuoso RGB Wireless XT do) — instead, you'll need to switch between sources using a dedicated "SmartSwitch" button on the right earcup.

The main drawback to the Barracuda Pro Wireless is its somewhat less-than-premium build — the plastic looks a little cheap and attracts fingerprints. But it's fairly lightweight, at 11.99 ounces (340g), and comes with a nice rigid travel case.

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Sarah Jacobsson Purewal is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware covering peripherals, software, and custom builds. You can find more of her work in PCWorld, Macworld, TechHive, CNET, Gizmodo, Tom's Guide, PC Gamer, Men's Health, Men's Fitness, SHAPE, Cosmopolitan, and just about everywhere else.