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[Astray]

My advice, stop buying "gaming" headsets, they are all garbage and massively overpriced for what you get.

Utilise the jack on your controller and get the best headphones you can for your budget. But what will be "best" will depend on what your personal preferences are for sound (e.g. Do you prefer more bass).

They've improved massively over the last few years tbh. Steelseries and especially HyperX have some very good gaming headphones out there for fair prices.

Also there are independent measurements coming out for gaming headphones now, from RTINGS and the like, and good options are highlighted often.

The 6 Best Gaming Headsets of 2025

The best gaming headset we've tested is the Audeze Maxwell Wireless. While they're often back-ordered and can be difficult to get a hold of, they're worth checking out if you want the best.

www.rtings.com

 

[Luipadre]

Beautiful post Dig, God bless ya
Anyway , I'm on a Pro and my current setup is a GC7 + Cloud Alpha.
Tried the Nova 5, Turtle beach stealth 700 G3, Audeze Maxwell, and now the ROG Delta 2, the one thing in common they all have is that wirelessly, the max volume output is low - some more than others and that's what I don't get, why - say - does the Nova 5 and Audeze Maxwell sound louder than the TB stealth and the ROG Delta 2 ? Is it the friggin' dongles ? Is it their drivers ? Is it how they're tuned (i.e, their sound profile) ?
Fuck knows , thing is, just this week I've come to understand that this is a real problem since you could be splurging up to 200-300+ Eurodollars for a headset, a device made with a very specific thing in mind and yet, you might as well be plugging a cheap, wired one straight into the joypad's 3.5mm jack since there's no difference in volume output ffs...
Also : I'm never gonna trust the media/YouTubers again - even someone like Gadgetry tech no matter how good or balanced his reviews are since between all the technicalities, the simpler, easier things/problems get overlooked - his Delta 2 review for example is glowing, he also mentions PS5 usage with said headset and yet, he somehow doesn't mention that this is one of the lower sounding headsets out there (on PS) ? How is that possible ? I'm no audiophile and yet, I could tell you straight away which of the headsets I mentioned is the loudest one, which has better treble, bass etc etc.
Again, this shit costs north of 250 € over here and its volume output is lower than the 100€ Nova 5 and the 150€ TB stealth 700 ffs, meanwhile, while the soundstage is pretty good, the sound - no matter what - is muddy even compared to my 4 year old Cloud Alphas.
Ah yes, there's also something very fucked either with the headset or Asus software since after troubleshooting, I've noticed that the EQs DO NOT transfer to the PS5 for some reason - and this is one of the best reviewed headsets out there, how come no one mentioned that ?
PC usage is one thing, console one is another and they never put emphasis on it - just look at the usual, suggested EQs, they're always about "FPSs" cause, you know, you gotta be hearing them online enemies for 50 miles away while you're doing a 360 no-scope eh ?


See Nemi, while you might think it's OK/adequate swapping batteries every two days on a 350+ € headset, most newer models have in fact batteries that last more than a week, heck, the nova 5 lasts about that, the TB stealth 700 can take you up to 2 weeks, the Corsair HS80 max can last up to 70 hours, the Delta 2 up to 110...you get my drift, now, watch the next Nova Pro having bigger batteries exactly because of this

Did you turn off the volume limiter? The Nova 5 goes pretty loud without it. Also the nova 5 with the EQ i gave you sounds super clear and not muddy at all. My sennheiser HD599 sounds so muddy by comparison i cant go back to that. Nova 5 just sounds so clean with great bass and details

 

[DenchDeckard]

Beautiful post Dig, God bless ya
Anyway , I'm on a Pro and my current setup is a GC7 + Cloud Alpha.
Tried the Nova 5, Turtle beach stealth 700 G3, Audeze Maxwell, and now the ROG Delta 2, the one thing in common they all have is that wirelessly, the max volume output is low - some more than others and that's what I don't get, why - say - does the Nova 5 and Audeze Maxwell sound louder than the TB stealth and the ROG Delta 2 ? Is it the friggin' dongles ? Is it their drivers ? Is it how they're tuned (i.e, their sound profile) ?
Fuck knows , thing is, just this week I've come to understand that this is a real problem since you could be splurging up to 200-300+ Eurodollars for a headset, a device made with a very specific thing in mind and yet, you might as well be plugging a cheap, wired one straight into the joypad's 3.5mm jack since there's no difference in volume output ffs...
Also : I'm never gonna trust the media/YouTubers again - even someone like Gadgetry tech no matter how good or balanced his reviews are since between all the technicalities, the simpler, easier things/problems get overlooked - his Delta 2 review for example is glowing, he also mentions PS5 usage with said headset and yet, he somehow doesn't mention that this is one of the lower sounding headsets out there (on PS) ? How is that possible ? I'm no audiophile and yet, I could tell you straight away which of the headsets I mentioned is the loudest one, which has better treble, bass etc etc.
Again, this shit costs north of 250 € over here and its volume output is lower than the 100€ Nova 5 and the 150€ TB stealth 700 ffs, meanwhile, while the soundstage is pretty good, the sound - no matter what - is muddy even compared to my 4 year old Cloud Alphas.
Ah yes, there's also something very fucked either with the headset or Asus software since after troubleshooting, I've noticed that the EQs DO NOT transfer to the PS5 for some reason - and this is one of the best reviewed headsets out there, how come no one mentioned that ?
PC usage is one thing, console one is another and they never put emphasis on it - just look at the usual, suggested EQs, they're always about "FPSs" cause, you know, you gotta be hearing them online enemies for 50 miles away while you're doing a 360 no-scope eh ?


See Nemi, while you might think it's OK/adequate swapping batteries every two days on a 350+ € headset, most newer models have in fact batteries that last more than a week, heck, the nova 5 lasts about that, the TB stealth 700 can take you up to 2 weeks, the Corsair HS80 max can last up to 70 hours, the Delta 2 up to 110...you get my drift, now, watch the next Nova Pro having bigger batteries exactly because of this

I have told you, you're an amazing poster havent I?

Thx for this post. Great honest insight

 

[Giallo Corsa]

Did you turn off the volume limiter? The Nova 5 goes pretty loud without it. Also the nova 5 with the EQ i gave you sounds super clear and not muddy at all. My sennheiser HD599 sounds so muddy by comparison i cant go back to that. Nova 5 just sounds so clean with great bass and details

Yes, Lui, I had the volume limiter to off and yes, the Nova 5 do get pretty loud compared to the rest of the headsets I've tried /mentioned, it's just that USB audio on the PS5 has limitations apparently...

I have told you, you're an amazing poster havent I?

Thx for this post. Great honest insight

Mate, I'm a complete noob when it comes to audio but these are simple things I'm mentioning, anyone would be able to notice said differences, this is why I get pissed that such things don't get mentioned/picked up in "professional" reviews, again, even Gadgetry tech which seems like a nice guy and does in fact nice reviews, he's just gonna mention in passing some details when it comes to console specific usage since most of his tests are - in fact - done on PC but...guess what, these headsets are also supposed to sell to the console crowd...
Again, he waxes lyrical about the ROG Delta 2 and yet, where's the specific mention that these sound LOW AS FUXK on consoles (PS5) ? Where's the specific mention that no matter how you EQ them via Armoury crate on PC, the settings DO NOT save to the Headset for console use ? There's something very wrong with them since the saved EQ settings DO work on PC but, as soon as you connect the dongle back to the PS5, sound gets muddy and with ZERO details like the saved EQ didn't in fact save...Contrary to what he states in his review.
Why about the fact that in the year of our Lord 2025 these can't be customized/EQ'd via android/iOS app ?
I get it, it's a time saving thing and he (and others ) can't get into the very specifics but, what about us customers ? Aren't these people supposed to help us make an informed decision ? Meanwhile, if I didn't get the headset from Amazon with its amazing return policy, I'd be literally stuck with one of the shittiest 250+€ headsets (for PS5 use), I'd be like literally throwing money down the drain, 'cause in the end, let's face it, these dudes only care for the clicks since their content is made mostly for entertainment purposes...

 

[hououinkyouma00]

I posted previously about not using actual headsets anymore due to the new wireless gaming earbuds but if you are going to get a headset I can’t suggest Steelseries enough. The Arctis line is great and if you go with the X models they work on every platform where if you get the regular or P models they won’t work on Xbox.

Also get a pair of Wicked Cushions. The cooling gel pads were game changing for me.

My advice, stop buying "gaming" headsets, they are all garbage and massively overpriced for what you get.

Utilise the jack on your controller and get the best headphones you can for your budget. But what will be "best" will depend on what your personal preferences are for sound (e.g. Do you prefer more bass).

The only problem with this is a mic for a lot of people plus a lot of people don’t want a wire even if it’s just to their controller. I know you can get the mics that plug into some headphones but people just want a plug and play solution and aren’t audiophiles anyway.

Headsets have gotten a lot better in the past few years and yes they aren’t up to the same standard as studio headphones but they aren’t the same shitty Turtle Beach/Tritton sets we had back on 360.

 

[Ceadeus]

It's an old thread but I love my Astro A30 in white. I've had many brand before and what I like about the A30 is how lightweight they feel but not cheap to the touch or on your head. The esthetic is unlike any other headset too.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

 

[Duellist]

I posted previously about not using actual headsets anymore due to the new wireless gaming earbuds but if you are going to get a headset I can’t suggest Steelseries enough. The Arctis line is great and if you go with the X models they work on every platform where if you get the regular or P models they won’t work on Xbox.

Also get a pair of Wicked Cushions. The cooling gel pads were game changing for me.


The only problem with this is a mic for a lot of people plus a lot of people don’t want a wire even if it’s just to their controller. I know you can get the mics that plug into some headphones but people just want a plug and play solution and aren’t audiophiles anyway.

Headsets have gotten a lot better in the past few years and yes they aren’t up to the same standard as studio headphones but they aren’t the same shitty Turtle Beach/Tritton sets we had back on 360.

I’m running the sennhieser 598SR’s and they have a built in mic that sounds better than any other gaming mic I’ve used. At least to the people I talk to online lol.