Best wireless gaming headsets in 2023

The best wireless gaming headsets all have superior sound without being tied to your PC or console. In most cases, a premium is attached to that freedom, though you can bet that the best wireless headsets today sound as good and carry just as little latency as their wired counterparts.

The best wireless gaming headset is the HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless (opens in new tab). That's because, alongside fantastic audio quality, it bares two of the most important features wireless gaming headsets need: a flawless connection and a great battery life. The best gaming headsets I've tested will last a few days on a single charge—30 hours of battery life is a decent starting point. But don't be surprised if you see some premium headsets offering hundreds of hours of battery life.

I'm glad I'm seeing more headsets featuring Bluetooth connectivity since it frees up a USB slot that a wireless dongle would take up, and you can connect your phone to them. But it's worth noting that a Bluetooth connection is often used only for a battery-saving option because, as a gamer, you will want to go for an essentially lag-free 2.4GHz connection instead. You'll even see a pair of wireless gaming earbuds on the list in case you want something to pair with your Steam Deck (opens in new tab).

If you're a serious audiophile whose primary focus is music instead of gaming, you should check out our picks for the best headphones for gaming (opens in new tab) (they're not just for gaming). The real bargains will be found in the best gaming headsets guide, but they won't provide the magical air of freedom the ones below will.

Best wireless gaming headsets

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The HyperX Cloud Alpha is perhaps the most praised thing to exist on this site. We all love it on team and now HyperX has cut the cord on its best pair of cans. The biggest drawcard for this headset is the new huge battery. This is offering up to 300 hour battery life while in wireless mode while still keeping the headset relatively light and comfortable. It's a pretty massive feat and I feel HyperX has pulled it off.

Out of the box this unit was reporting having about 80% charge, so I decided to leave it there to see how well that held. I spent a work day listening to music and checked the battery again: I swear it still said 80%. I have been using this thing for gaming and music listening pretty consistently for the past week and I'm not even at 50% battery yet.

That impressive battery life is of course, a best case scenario. A lot of that has to do with the volume you're running the headset at, and volume is probably my only real complaint. It's absolutely loud enough but I can listen to it at full volume and still be fairly comfortable.

But the sound quality truly is incredible. Music sounds amazing. It's always fun to listen to some of my favourite sound heavy songs on a good pair of cans and try to pick the different instruments or bites used. These do an excellent job, and are definitely one of the better gaming headsets I've used to listen to music on. When playing games the directional sound is also very nice. I was able to easily locate hidden batteries by directional beeps in Deep Rock Galactic, and had a wonderful time bouncing along to the tight beats of Shadow Warrior 3. I loaded up some Doom Eternal and promptly terrified myself. If you've ever wanted to know what it sounds like having a Cacodemon suddenly show up and whisper sweet blah-things into very specifically your left ear then these can absolutely deliver.

The Cloud line is always touted for comfort and despite the hefty battery this still definitely fits the bill. I'm someone who struggles with too much weight or tightness on my head, and I have a real sensitivity to uncomfortable headsets. The top band is thick and has soft padding underneath. This coupled with the equally soft ear cups makes for a very cozy experience, and does an excellent job of blocking out noise.

Sadly, the mic is your fairly standard affair and while it will work just fine for chat in games, it's very basic and uninspired when it comes to sound quality. 

Though all things considered, I struggle to imagine a customer who wouldn't be happy with these as a wireless gaming headset. They're pricey, but within reason for their specs, and they certainly deliver on everything you could want for gaming, and listening to music, on your PC.

Read our full HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless review (opens in new tab).

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The wired Razer BlackShark V2 is our favorite gaming headset (opens in new tab) and the wireless 'Pro' version takes all of the best bits from those excellent headphones and snips off the cable. It was previously sat in the number one spot but with the Cloud Alpha Wireless offering similarly excellent audio but with an absolute massive battery, we gave it to HyperX cans. That said, the BlackShark V2 Pro is regularly discounted as it's been around a little longer now, and with a big enough discount we'd definitely make the switch to Razer's pair.

The BlackShark V2 Pro is still the gaming headset I use on a daily basis, despite the fact I've got $400 and $1,300 planar magnetic headphones, both over and in-ear, in my kit cupboard. Largely that's because of the freedom of wireless connectivity, but also because the audio experience is as good as any dedicated gaming headset is able to offer.

The TriForce driver design apes the fantastic HyperX Cloud Alpha headset and matches its fantastic audio delivery, helping knock the previous top gaming headphones off their perch. They feel detailed, punchy, yet still rich enough to deliver an incredible experience in your chosen gameworld.

They're also super comfortable too and, call me a luddite, but having a physical volume dial is incredibly useful, and saves me otherwise fumbling around for buttons on an earcup. In fact, our only real issue is that I'm not a fan of their wee boom mic, but given there are some fantastic budget gaming mics (opens in new tab) out there right now, that's not a biggy.

When they were $180 the BlackShark V2 Pro was an excellent, though expensive wireless headset, but now it's regularly down to the $130 mark it's absolutely the one I'd recommend to my friends. And you, my new friends.

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I'm a naughty audiophile. Thankfully the new Audeze Maxwell gaming headset means I no longer have to be. You see, I love really good audio. I love the tingle down my spine that accompanies listening to a tune you know really well, but suddenly hearing something new in it; I love getting immersed in an all-encompassing game world now brought to vivid life, all because of the hardware I'm using.

But I'm also intrinsically lazy. It's a curse. 

And that curse means I would rather not have to deal with the special hassle of wired headphones even if I know that I'm getting an objectively worse aural experience as a result. That's why I ditched the beautiful-sounding Audeze LCD-1 wired headphones from my home PC setup in favour of the cable-free Razer BlackShark V2 Pro.

But the Audeze Maxwell headset means I no longer have to make that compromise, because I can have both planar magnetic drivers, gorgeous sound, and a wireless gaming headset in one. In fairness, Audeze has already created such a gaming headset in its Penrose, but it lacked either the battery life or the high-res audio chops of this new updated Maxwell design.

So what's my obsessive deal with planar magnetic drivers? Your standard gaming headset uses dynamic drivers, which operate on a principle largely similar to traditional speakers. They have a cone-shaped diaphragm that is vibrated using a single magnet, and a magnetised coil, to generate sound. It's relatively simple, but creates a distinct shape of wavefront as the sound hits your ears.

With planar magnetic drivers, however, you (generally) have a pair of magnets either side of a flat diaphragm. Essentially, the way they generate sound waves is the same—using electrical currents to interact with the magnetic fields and move the diaphragm—but because of the wider, flatter structure of the driver the way the sound hits your ears is broader and more natural.

This is why planar magnetic drivers are able to create such a natural soundstage, and why I think they are the best technology for gaming headsets if you want to deeply immerse yourself in your chosen game world.

The main issue, though, is they end up being rather heavy as a result of the larger magnets. And in a wireless headset, that has to also contend with an added battery. Together the weight can become an issue. At 490g, the Audeze Maxwell is heavy, and there's no getting away from that. But thankfully the design of the headband and ear cups is such that I've never felt fatigued from wearing them, even after long gaming sessions.

In terms of the actual connection, you have four choices. You can either connect through an analogue 3.5mm jack, a USB type-C cable, Bluetooth 5.3, or a low latency 2.4GHz wireless connection via an included USB type-C dongle. You can also set it up with both Bluetooth and 2.4GHz wireless at the same time, though that doesn't mean you can hear both at the same time. If it's connected to your phone and PC then if you get a call it will auto-switch to the Bluetooth input so you can chat.

And it's all super quick, and pretty slick. We're pretty used to latency not being an issue with 2.4GHz wireless, but Maxwell also allows for high-res audio to be flung over that wireless connection. With the Penrose you were limited to 16bit/48KHz, but the Maxwell goes all the way up to 24-bit/96KHz audio. If you were after proper audiophile wireless chops, Audeze has delivered here, and in a gaming headset.

Sure, $299 is a lot of cash to drop on any peripheral, but that's not a lot of cash to spend on a planar magnetic headset, even less so on one that's capable of high-res audio over wireless to boot. It's certainly a better value bundle than the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro (opens in new tab), our previous favourite high-end headset, and a better-sounding one, too.

The Audeze Maxwell is absolutely now my daily driver of a headset. It services both my desire for wireless freedom and my pretentious audiophile pretentions, and it's just the best aural experience you're going to get in a gaming headset.

Read our full Audeze Maxwell (opens in new tab) review.

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Corsair's HS80 RGB Wireless Gaming Headset is easily one of the best headsets the company has ever made and also one of the best wireless headsets around. It takes some of the best headset features available and executes them really well. At $150, it boasts the latest and greatest lag-free Slipstream Wireless tech, high fidelity audio, and Dolby Atmos. The microphone is outstanding and the new design lets you wear them for ages without fatigue.

It's said that imitation is the highest form of flattery and the new HS80 imitates some of the best headsets from Steelseries. Corsair has finally adopted the same floating headband design that uses an adjustable strap to evenly distribute the weight across your noggin. Furthermore, the HS80 feels bulkier on my head than any Steelseries headset but at 370g, it's not much heavier. The ear cushions use plush, breathable fabric that wraps around your ears like a warm blanket, too, but can get humid in summers.

The HS80's ear cups can swivel 90-degrees and each one has a backlit Corsair logo. You can change the lighting in the Corsair iCUE, and it's actually quite understated.

The HS80 uses 50mm drivers that output 24-bit/48kHz audio over Slipstream wireless and a higher fidelity 24-bit/96kHz over a USB Type-C cable. The latter will require something better than your typical Spotify to notice the difference though.

But all this just means that the HS80's sound fantastic with rich, full-body sound with well-balanced bass. The sub-bass can be a little lacking at times and I noticed some distortion even at low volumes.  This holds the HS80 back from true greatness but there's an EQ in iCUE that you can play with to fine-tune the audio to your liking.  

However, it's the spatial audio where the HS80 surprises, with impressive 3D audio and accurate positioning. This, as you can imagine, is great for games like first-person shooters or large open-world environments. This is made even better with support for Dolby Atmos and Corsair provides an automatic license with the headset. I've been playing a lot of Halo Infinite which supports Dolby Atmos and it has sounded amazing on these cans.

Battery life on the HS80 was consistent with the marketing claims of 20 hours. For me, this meant charging the headset every two days—with 10 hours of work and play each day. I didn't test to see if turning off the RGB lighting made a significant difference but given how small the lights are, I doubt it. Charging the HS80 is easy thanks to a Type-C connection that also allows you to listen to them while it charges.

The Corsair HS80 is a great headset. It sounds great in both games and other media with a wonderful implementation of Dolby Atmos. If you do a lot of chat, the microphone is one of the best we've tested.

Read our full Corsair HS80 RGB review (opens in new tab). 

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The JBL Quantums are your classic wireless fare, aping the long-stemmed look of Apple's AirPods but with a black finish. They come in a magnetic charging case, which helps extend the battery life of the buds themselves, and this case also holds the USB Type-C dongle, which allows you to connect to other devices, such as a gaming laptop.

One feature that propels the JBL Quantums ahead of the pack is Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity and 2.4GHz wireless via a Type-C dongle. And the switching is fast, and the connection is robust.

The noise canceling is decent, too, even if it inevitably cuts down the battery life from eight to five hours. Using the JBL phone app, you can tune them to your ear canal to further enhance the ANC as well. I would say the Creative Outlier Pro buds have the edge when it comes to completely blocking the outside world, but the Quantum buds are still impressively effective.

But what about the audio quality? I've said they're not the best-sounding buds I've tested, but the sound quality is still really good. I would steer clear of the QuantumSURROUND feature if you're running them from the USB dongle on your desktop PC, though—I almost blew out my eardrums with the unreasonable bass thuds in Red Dead Redemption 2 from just a short gallop through the desert cacti. 

With that off, the bass tones are more subtle. And I did bump the EQ to Bass over the Bluetooth connection to squeeze a little more feeling out of The War on Drugs, but in general, they sound better with a flat EQ. The JBL app will also allow you to enable game mode, which helps sync game and video audio, but the fact you can jam the Type-C dongle into your laptop or Steam Deck and play without delay makes the Quantums incredibly versatile.

And they're affordable, too. Considering that the Audeze Euclids—easily the best-sounding earbuds I've ever used—is $1,200, the JBLs are more usable daily, and a tenth of the price is pretty astounding. 

Read our full JBL Quantum TWS review (opens in new tab).

Wireless gaming headset FAQ

There are a few wireless-specific elements we need to test for, too: battery life, charge time, range, and latency. The former is pretty self-explanatory, though, in addition to an ‘everyday use’ battery life test, we also run the headset at full volume to discover how quickly the charge drains under those conditions. To ascertain charge time, we… well, we charge the headsets and note how long it takes.

Range and latency are trickier to test scientifically. However, having a pleasant walk around the house gives a good indication of range, and latency ultimately comes down to perception. After several days of use, we’re in an excellent place to make the call on a headset with all that taken into account.