• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Best wireless gaming headset?

G

Guy Montag

n00b
Joined
Apr 22, 2008
Messages
48
I have a Logitech ClearChat PC wireless headset that has been pretty good until now (left side speaker is going out), and I've been looking around for replacements, but haven't seen many.

What are the best wireless headsets out there for PC gaming?
 
Most wireless headsets are pretty mediocre in comparison to their wired counterparts because both microphone and speaker rely on the transmission of current. If you want wireless, everything has to be processed using stuff on your head leading to either quality compromises or weight increases, often both...and that's before we have to start talking battery life.

At a guess, the best you could probably get is to find one of the Sennheiser RF-based headsets (IR would work, but is directional and can be a PITA) and then start looking for a wireless mic to attach to it (or your shirt or w/e). It really depends on your expectations here, and it's going to be inferior to a similarly priced (or even usually cheaper) wired solution.
 
The audio quality isn't as good, true, but it'd be for gaming, not music.

I have a pair of wireless ones already, the Logitech PC ClearChat wireless. Battery life is about 4 hours, it does the job. Sound quality is acceptable. Unfortunately, the left side has a bit of a short, so you have to wiggle it sometimes, which is annoying.

Creative also has a wireless headset, the HS-12000. Bigger, heavier, 8 hr. battery life. No idea what the quality is like.

But those are the only two wireless headsets I know about that work for PC gaming. I was hoping there were more out there - anyone here know of others than the ones I listed?
 
If I may ask, why do you have a preference for wireless headphones? Are you planning on straying far from your computer desk?

As others have said, your money could buy immeasurably better sound for the same money with a traditional wired pair.
 
Mr. B said:
If I may ask, why do you have a preference for wireless headphones? Are you planning on straying far from your computer desk?

As others have said, your money could buy immeasurably better sound for the same money with a traditional wired pair.
Click to expand...

I'm not looking for 'immeasurably better sound' - I know it sounds crazy. After having a wireless keyboard and mouse for gaming, I tried a wireless headset and between the three, I've liked it so much I'll never willingly go back to wired peripherals.

The primary purpose is 'enjoyable gaming'. Not 'high quality sound'. So wireless, despite its disadvantages, is still better because it's wireless.

However, it's difficult to find wireless headsets that have both a mic and stereo sound for gaming. I'd rather not tape together a wireless set of headphones and a wireless mic - integrated really is better.

I don't want to be nit-picking here, but please don't try to sell me on wired headsets. I've got a very nice wired set of cans I use for music, but they're entirely unsuitable for gaming.
 
In that case you might as well go with the HS-1200. Quality is pretty much a non-starter for wireless, and largely amounts to "do they have glaring defects in addition to the effect that they're already wireless?"

I wouldn't go around saying they're unsuitable for gaming either. Pretty much everyone uses wired headphones - especially for gaming, where players tend to look for any edge they can get such as improved audio imaging and clarity. The problem seems to be more that you don't know what to do with the wire, or that you have your playing area set up in a really odd way.
 
ashmedai said:
In that case you might as well go with the HS-1200. Quality is pretty much a non-starter for wireless, and largely amounts to "do they have glaring defects in addition to the effect that they're already wireless?"

I wouldn't go around saying they're unsuitable for gaming either. Pretty much everyone uses wired headphones - especially for gaming, where players tend to look for any edge they can get such as improved audio imaging and clarity. The problem seems to be more that you don't know what to do with the wire, or that you have your playing area set up in a really odd way.
Click to expand...

Thanks! Have you used the HS-1200's before?

I've used wired headphones for about a decade for gaming, and between rolling over the wire, having my range of movement restricted, having my head snap back when I turn around to talk to someone, getting tangled up in it, the wires getting in the way of my wireless keyboard (I put it on a tray with the mouse, and that sits on my lap, so I'm about a foot away from my desk). Etc, etc, etc.

Having a wireless headset has fixed all those problems, and I rarely game for more than 4 hours straight, so the battery life hasn't been a huge issue (they just turn into a wired headset when the battery is too low anyway). The sound ain't great, sure, but for FPS type games, all I need really is to tell what direction sounds are coming from, so as long as they have stereo, that's all I need besides a mic (can't play L4D without one and do well at it).

I'd hoped there were more wireless headsets out there besides Creative's HS-12000's and Logitech's PC ClearChat Wireless, but it seems like that's about it :/

Still, thanks for all the input :)
 
Bingo, wire problems.

There are a few more...but those are likely to give better results compared to a lot of the no-name options. Of the two, the Logitech looks like a cheap POS by comparision and you've already killed one...on the other hand, it's lighter and you've already used one to death. Depending on how long you had it and if you think that's a reasonable number, you could just get another one too seeing as battery life is a relatively minor factor for you.

Random question - why not speakers?
 
Speakers don't work well with a mic :/

Which is a pity, because I have a nice set of speakers :/

Can you list a few of the no-name ones?
 
They do if you get the right kind of microphone.

Others for example, this which is just weird, Plantronics which tends to be pricey without really helping much, all the Jabra cellphone stuff which could be repurposed....there really aren't that many when you consider that wireless headphones are rare to start with. Most of the market here is tied up with telephony devices where it has useful applications.
 
Directional microphones are pretty common...many of the scenarios where a microphone is used involve a significant level of background noise which you want to avoid picking up. Ideally you stick it on your desk, point it at you, and that's what it picks up.
 
I also want a wireless headset to use for gaming, and as you have already stated I have found a severe lack of options in this headset category.

Like you, I hate having wires. I have an oldschool Logitech MX1000 laser mouse that I bought in...oh I think 2004. I haven't come across a mouse that fits my hand better, and is as nice as this mouse, so until it craps out on me I won't be purchasing a new one.

I've book looking around and yes there is the Creative HS-1200 which as far as a wireless gaming headset I have heard is "fairly decent" or "acceptable". I also noticed there is now a Plantronics .AUDIO 995 that was retailing for around $130 at the store I saw it in. A bit too pricey for my liking considering some of the reviews I read said the sound quality was quite poor with anything out of mid-range as well as getting distorted at time....though it was mentioned it was excellent for voice chat.

I may get the Creative HS1200 set soon if I can find one cheaper than retail. I can't justify spending $90 on ANY computer peripheral lol.

Aside from the Logitech Clearchat, Creative HS-1200 and the Plantronics .AUDIO 995 there are sadly, very few other options. Most are not quality name brand and will most likely be terrible.
 
Bump.

I also have the same questions as the OP, and would like to get more responses on this. I found many of the responses above to be ineffective and more argumentative than helpful.

First, wireless headphones don't need to have "everything processed on the headphone". And thus, getting great sound quality doesn't require large heavy headphones and a huge battery. The most of the processing of the digital signal, DSPs, etc, is all done on the receiver. The headphones simply need to convert the IR signal to analog. But all of the necessary data is already encoded in the IR signal. Same goes for RF headphones.

I have a pair of Pioneer SE-DHP800s which I love. The only problem is that they don't have a mic. So I have the same problem as the OP... however it still stands that there should/could in fact be a pair of wonderful-sounding headphones that include a mic as well. Though I haven't found them yet, and am not sure how many similar products actually perform.

Regarding wire problems: A wire is a wire. I don't think I or the OP has somehow failed miserably to manage our headphones wires. We simply don't want to used wired headphones. Most games do; good for them. I prefer wireless, but am looking for a solution that is better than my current solution yet still wireless.

Thoughts / ideas?
 
I've been happy with my Sennheiser RS280 and budget condenser microphone setup. Of course their primary use is not for gaming but it still works well.
 
PCMusicGuy said:
I've been happy with my Sennheiser RS280 and budget condenser microphone setup. Of course their primary use is not for gaming but it still works well.
Click to expand...

Those look nice, except I'm actually looking for headphones with surround. Either multi driver r something like Dolby Headphone (or a competitor to DH). I can't give up the surround, unfortunately :(
 
I definitely understand. I use the CMSS3D to simulate the surround but it doesn't replace a full surround experience.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top