GAMING HEADSETS

Treat your ear holes to smooth and responsive audio with one of the top headsets.

- Jacob Ridley, Dave James

The power of quality audio for gaming cannot be understated, and while you’ll find plenty of computer speakers capable of rumbling your inner ear, it’s the gaming headset that comes out trumps for most of our gaming needs. Finding a pair of cans that delivers excellence in positional audio, fidelity and comfort is high on the shopping list for the budding PC gamer.

If there’s one thing we’re not short of in PC gaming in 2021, it’s gaming headsets. So you’ve quite the job narrowing down your options. Depending on your budget, you’ll want to weigh up whether you wish to be free of wires or tethered to your desk by one. Then there are more technical decisions such as choice of driver, microphone and whether you want an open-back or closed-back design.

Blackshark V2 Pro

RAZER £180

Beating the Cloud Alpha at their own game

The wired Razer Blackshark V2 is a great gaming headset, and this wireless ‘Pro’ version takes all of the best bits and snips off the cable. The Cloud II Wireless we’ve also featured in this test has a slightly longer battery life and is a little lighter on the wallet too, but the Blackshark V2 Pro is a very close second and personally I much prefer the soundscape the slightly pricier Razer cans can deliver.

The TriForce driver design apes the fantastic HyperX Cloud Alpha headset, and matches its fantastic audio delivery. They feel detailed, punchy, yet still rich enough to deliver an incredible experience in your chosen gameworld.