TL:DR; What wireless headset do you recommend (obviously works well with Linux)?
Just finished upgrading my gaming rig and monitor. Got everything up and running (EndeavourOS and the usual gaming things). The last piece to upgrade all my stuff is a new headset. I would like it to be wireless (if possible), works well in Linux (if that’s even a “problem”), lightweight, good quality audio and microphone (lots of Discord talking). I’m simply not up to speed as to “what’s a good gaming headset”. What do you guys have/recommend?
You could get any headset and attach a modmic to it, it opens up a lot more options.
I’ve never heard of modmic. Will look into this. Thanks!
If you don’t mind spending the extra money, I can recommend the Steelseries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless. I went with these because they can do high quality audio over 2.4GHz wireless, which was a must for me in a wireless headset.
How reliable is it on Linux?
I’ve used it on Pop!_OS and Mint Debian Edition and had to do no setup, the system recognized it as a sound device out of the box. My only issue was in Pop!, where the microphone would output garbage unless I switched audio devices back and forth when I connected to a discord voice room. I’m not entirely sure that was an issue with the device or with discord on that distro, but on Mint I’ve yet to have issues. The software from Steelseries doesn’t have a Linux version, so maybe I’m missing out on some fine tuning, but for my purposes it works great.
I use it on Fedora, never got that issue. But you are right, it lacks some fine tunning, but overall it is a great headset for Linux.
My only criticism would be about the cushions, which broke apart quite early. Fortunately they are easily replaceable.Interesting, my ear cushions are still in decent shape (I’ve only had them about a year now). I bought a replacement set early on just to have in storage, but I’ve yet to need them.
I use this Asus H1 headset works natively with Endeavour and Pop OS both steam and discord works out of the box with no tweaks or configs needed
https://www.microcenter.com/product/647403/asus-asus-tuf-gaming-h1-wireless-headset-(discord-certified-mic,-71-surround-sound,-40mm-drivers,-24ghz,-usb-c,-lightweight,-15-hour-battery-life,-for
I’d recommend staying away from anything Asus due to their extreme enshittification.
Fully agree by today’s standards I got these years ago
I remember when they were the “go-to” MB manufacturers. Why is every good thing from yesteryear getting eshitified so fast? It’s a sad world we’re living in.
🤣🤣
Do you really only get 15 hours of battery life?
More like 10 to 7 depending on how heavy the use
Surprisingly the Sony PS5 pulse headset works great in Linux. It’s dongle based and has really good quality.
If you look into PlayStation from a software angle, it makes perfect sense. Sony has always been pretty pro-unix.
They had an official Linux kit for the PS2 (came with a custom Linux distro on a CD, a HDD, and a KB+M).
OtherOS was also a selling point on the PS3, and was only ditched when they realized it opened the door to major security risks.
Further, CellOS, the operating system for the PS3, and OrbisOS, which is the base operating system for the PS4 and PS5, are all based on FreeBSD.
So, a lot of their hardware is designed around Unix systems already. I know all their controllers since the Dualshock 3 are natively supported by the Linux kernel (no dongles or drivers needed in theory).
I was able to acquire a Jabra Evolve2 85 through my last employer and it’s absolute shit. The sound quality drops to telephone/ AM radio quality when the microphone turns on. Otherwise it’s okay.
Why not get a separate standing microphone like a Blue Yeti or snowball and have much better audio quality with no wires on your headphones and you are free to choose whatever headphone that you like?
Standing mic plus a Bose quiet comfort is top tier wireless setup. Or you can even use earbuds at that point.
That’s what I did for my wife and no complaints yet.
A good mic is essentially “buy it for life,” whereas wireless headphones are “consumable.” It’s much better to not have to find a good mic and good audio at the same time, just get a good mic and then feel free to experiment with headphones.
I use the steelseries arctis 7 (I think, it’s the non-pro version). It works great in Endeavor and is very simple. I don’t think I can tell how much charge the battery has but I charge it every night so that’s not an issue. Highly recommend buying a magnetic USB cord for it.
I was looking into these but it mentions software a lot in the reviews as in you must use the software to ensure good audio quality. Is this true? How long have you had them?
I was also looking into the Logitech Astro A30
I’ve had mine for at least 5 years, probably more. You don’t need any software on Linux, it’s picked up as a normal USB audio device:
SteelSeries ApS SteelSeries Arctis 7I’m no audiophile, but audio quality is great. I had the Logitech G930 before and I like this better. The one USB device actually presents 2 audio devices to the computer because it has this neat dial that lets you mix your game sound and chat sounds right on the headset.I have the Arctis 7 as well and the default EQ sounds just fine, although I do prefer the Bass Boost. You can run the software inside a Windows VM, passthrough the USB dongle and configure all your settings as well. They get saved into the headset and work just fine in Linux without Linux native software.
Oh I didn’t know it saves settings to the headset itself. That would come in handy.
I have invested lots of effort and research and sadly money over the years into this specific question. And nowadays my recommendation would be: keep it simple.
That means: get a headset that is well reviewed and uses a wireless connection. Do not use Bluetooth. Bluetooth has good quality now, but no matter what perfect settings you use, you will have a noticeable delay, which is especially noticable during hectic gaming voice comms. Some headsets with a dedicated wireless receiver ( usually a small USB dongle) offer BT as an extra option, which can be great if you want to use it for listening to music or doing occasional calls while moving outside while linked to your phone.
Second tip: don’t get a combined all-in-one gaming headset. They can be good, but are always overpriced für what they offer. Marketing ftw. Instead get a good headset and get a simple separate mic. Modmic or any derivative works.
Overall, you’ll get tremendously better quality for significantly less price. The sheer amount of options for good “generic” headphones is immense. Added bonus: because the two are separate, you can swap one out when it breaks. Especially the addon microphones have a tendency to last decades, unlike the headsets themselves, which suffer more immediate wear and tear.
Are there wireless version of modmic? I only saw wired ones which would kinda defeat my purpose of cutting the chord with my current setup.
Antlion itself an official wireless modmic, but it’s a staggering 150 bucks, was cheaper a could years ago… On the upside, it’s pretty much a lifetime purchase and really good quality. But it’s definitely overpriced.
If your budget is lower, you can look at lavalier mics or wire mics. Those are the kind that TV/ video guys usually wear. Lavaliers are simply tacked to the top of your shirt, while the wire mics are super thin wires that you wear under your actual headset. Both are light, have good audio quality and nur importantly are available at much wider and fairer price ranges, as they are less of a nice. Lav mics can be as cheap as ten bucks.
I won’t recommend a particular model, but I will say that my experience with “touchpad control” based headsets, as compared to ones with mechanical buttons and switches, has not been very good. Controls are unreliable and too prone to being bumped. Unfortunately, a number of high-end headset makers seem to like making these
I’ve watch a few videos that compare a few headsets and for the “lower” audio and mic quality ones, they usually say that with their tweaking software you can make it a bit better. I was wondering about it since usually those type of programs are made for Windows only plus I don’t really think I want something that I must use software to make better. Long story short, thanks for the heads up!!
Disclaimer: I’m incredibly ignorant. Wouldn’t wireless necessarily mean high-latency?
I don’t think it’s necessarily true anymore. Perhaps at one point in time but generally speaking, this isn’t the case anymore.
The short answer is that new Bluetooth codecs have made the latebcy pretty much unnoticeable
You might want to consider VoIP headsets, too. They often have better sound and build quality than many “gaming headsets”.
As for compatibility, I would expect any headset to work as long as it connects as a USB audio device or with analog plugs. Just make sure that any nonstandard controls are on the device itself instead of requiring special software.
